(WARNING: I wrote this at three in the morning after a very, very long and emotional day and more than a couple of beers, and I went a little over the top in a few places. I was actually thinking of toning it down a bit in the bleary light of day, but then I figured - screw it. It's my blog, and that's how I was feeling when I wrote it. If you have tender sensibilities, feel free to skip it.)
_____________________________
I've been drinking a bit, so I will be posting in point form this evening.
- People get the government they deserve, and on that note... fuck you, Ontario!!! I hope you all enjoy the next 1-4 years.
- This is our Kerry year. You remember - that year when nobody with more than two brain cells to rub together could even conceive of the possibility that Dubya could ever win another election after demonstrably lying his way into a war and occupation and digging the U.S. into debt hole from which they may never recover? Yeah. That year.
Next year in Jerusalem.
- If you haven't heard already, Garth lost. And the blogosphere just became a little less interesting tonight. I was honestly shocked by how much he lost by, but it appears that he just fell victim to the mouldy blue tide sweeping across Ontario. Speaking for myself and Zorph and possibly others, I am BEGGING Garth to keep up his blog, or start another. Even if you aren't our guy in Ottawa for now, we still value your wit and insight.
Blog on, Garth. Blog on.
- I think it's a given that nobody in Halton will ever attend another Town Hall meeting, or receive a telephone or email response from Lisa Raitt regarding anything they wish to ask of her. We have just elected Stephen Harper as our MP.
- We received several 'crank' phone calls at the campaign office this evening. The least offensive was one I took myself, wishing us all 'bad luck' in this evening's vote. A worse one said something about setting election signs on fire with lighter fluid. Nice people you have onside there, Lisa. Have fun with them.
- North Oakville polls rawk. We need to re-jig the riding boundaries next time to include more of north Oakville, less of north Burlington. And the Milton developments are o-tay too.
- If my sister out on Salt Spring Island voted Green, I will be having serious words with her.
- We cannot go forward in the same way that we did during the last parliament. Something must be done about Stephen Harper declaring every piece of shite he puts before the House of Commons as a do-or-die confidence matter. The three opposition parties MUST put forward a motion to prevent the government from declaring anything but budget bills as confidence motions.
- I am deeply concerned for the future of the Liberal Party, and not just because we've lost seats or that we are about to further bankrupt the party through another leadership convention. Stephane Dion, for all his faults, represents the long-neglected left wing of the Liberal Party. His failure to sell his vision to the majority of Canadians in this election will be regarded by many of the 'old guard' Martin Liberals as a failure of the left wing in general, and will provide an excuse for a shift back to the corporatist policies of the past in the form of people like Michael Ignatieff.
That, plus the influx of orphaned Progressive Conservatives like (sorry to say) Garth Turner into the party may well knock the Liberals off of their traditionally slightly left-of-centre position into something more closely resembling a Red Tory party. Which means that I may well have to start voting NDP again.
- For a terrifying glimpse into the future of Canada, I strongly recommend "The Wrecking Crew" by Thomas Frank. It's sure scaring the shit out of me right now, and I'm only about half way through (I want that back, Esther).
- Speaking of Esther: THIS IS IN NO WAY YOUR FAULT! It was Harper and Dion and buckets of money and weak minded people crawling home to Daddy in fear. And yeah, a bit of it was Garth being Garth. You did nothing but help his chances. You are the best. Never forget it.
- I filked my own version of 'Barrett's Privateers' for the occasion tonight, but didn't feel it was appropriate to serenade Garth with, given the circumstances. I'll post my lyrics on his blog or mine later this week.
- Nothing lasts forever. Nothing lasts forever. Nothing lasts forever...
"We cannot go forward in the same way that we did during the last parliament. Something must be done about Stephen Harper declaring every piece of shite he puts before the House of Commons as a do-or-die confidence matter. The three opposition parties MUST put forward a motion to prevent the government from declaring anything but budget bills as confidence motions."
ReplyDeleteInebreated or not you hve hit upon the key to having any kind of functional government in the near future. I have said before that the ONLY vote that brings down a government should be one which says "This house has no confidence in......". The opposition partys could get together and propose and pass such a bill, but even in the unlightly event that it happened would the Cons simply ignore it as they have every other longstanding rule and convention in the house!
Losing sucks, I know, but it's unfair to call voters "weak minded." They voted the way they did for a reason. You might not like their reason, but the joy of democracy. Pick up the pieces, figure out where you went wrong, and do it better next time.
ReplyDeleteWhat's with slamming your sis for (potentially) voting her conscience? As long as we only consider one of our two "daddies" for government, then we're only going to see more of the same.
You're quite right - the 'weak minded' crack was unfair. I was actually going to change that and tone down a couple of other things in the bleary light of day, but then I decided - screw it. That's how I was feeling when I wrote it at three in the morning, so that's how I'll let it stand.
ReplyDeleteAs for my sister, that was mostly a joke. The people I'm really pissed at are the 3,500 or so who, out of either ignorance or spite, voted for the candidate who wasn't even running! And Lunn won by about 2,500. Gah.
And please, don't trot out the old "cats and mice" story on me. I am a huge supporter of having multiple and diverse parties in parliament. The more the merrier. I would love to see the NDP in opposition. I'd be nervous with them forming the government, but that would still be infinitely preferable to Harper and his wrecking crew.
But as long as we keep treating candidates like contestants on some reality game show or teams in the Stanley Cup Playoffs instead of people who will determine the future of our country - THAT'S why we will just keep seeing more of the same. Disengagement. Disinterest. Disaster.
"Pick up the pieces, figure out where you went wrong, and do it better next time....."
ReplyDeleteJust to make sure I understand what you're saying.....am I to understand that you are suggesting that Jennifer should do a better job of picking the party who does a better job at the politics of destruction?
_____
(great bit of live blogging here by the way.....even if I did read it afterwards)
.
For myself, I voted from fear rather than hope for the first time in my life in my riding...and the person I hoped to keep out still got their seat back. My "strategic" voting was not allowed to matter.
ReplyDeleteBack to hope for me.
So, what do we do now? Is she gonna even have an office in the riding?
ReplyDeleteShe'll be required to have an office in the riding. I don't know if it will be in Milton or closer to her home in north Oakville (which, ironically, is the only area where Garth won most of the polls).
ReplyDeleteNot to fear - I'll be all over her like white on rice, regardless. Get ready for The Lisa Chronicles.
Unbelievable.....and you are running the haltonwatch blog? Clearly, we have another Garth like blog that will lose many Libs (and Cons) with these kind of attacks. I strongly encourage barb the proofreader to join your cause and further alienate the left and right from the insane!
ReplyDeleteYep. And I'm pretty sure you'll going to be the first to make it onto the banned list unless you can keep a civil tongue in your head.
ReplyDeleteBTW... attacks?! What attacks are you referring to.