This post is for Canadians who are fretting about who to vote for in the federal election on October 19th. There must be a great temptation to adopt the stance of Mark Twain [or was it H.L. Mencken? Ed.] who wrote "Don't vote. It only encourages them."
The counter-argument is that all that's necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do nothing. So Walt recommends voting in every election, if you live in a country where elections are free, fair and meaningful. Ah, but we risk going around the Horn here. Let's not. The question for Canucks is, which party and/or which leader is the least of the three evils.
The prospect of Steve Harper's quasi-Conservatives being returned to power for a fourth term fills most of Walt's Canadian agents with fear and loathing. It's one thing to have a dictatorship forced on you at the point of a gun, but to go out and vote for the Dear Leader -- on the better-the-devil-you-know theory -- is beyond contemplation.
That leaves the quasi-socialist New [sic] Democratic Party, led by Angry Tom Mulcair, and the decidedly liberal Gliberals, Canada's former Natural Governing Party. The same old Toronto-centric elite have a shiny new front man, Justin "Nice Hair" Trudeau, son of Himself.
As Walt sees it, there are two ballot issues. Canadians are rightly worried about their economy, which has sunk into a recession from which it can only recover if there is a miraculous increase in the price of oil. [Is there a patron saint of oil? Ed.] Mr. Harpoon claims he (and he alone) can pilot Canada through the rough waters. At the same time, he says the country's economic and financial crisis is due to global conditions, not to any failure of management on his part.
The NDP and Liberals claim to have plans to revive the economy by throwing money at Canada's middle class, which neither Mr. Mulcair or Mr. Trudeau can really define. In fact, the Liberal economic policy begins with "Oremus", and the NDP version with "Let us pray."
The other issue is nothing less than the future of democracy in Canada. More than ever before, political power in Ottawa resides with and in the Prime Minister's Office. The House of Commons, where Mr. Harper commanded a majority in the last parliament, has no power. The Senate, packed with Tory hacks and bagmen [and bagwomen. Ed.] marches to the beat of the PMO's drum. When the Supreme Court of Canada rules against Mr. Harpoon's legislation, the Dear Leader ignores the ruling.
Stephen Harper has more power, in "his" country, than the Prez of the Excited States of America, perhaps even more than Vlad the Impaler in Russia. The ongoing trial (for bribery and fraud) of Senator Mike Puffy -- Harper's appointee -- reminds us of Lord Acton's dictum: Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. In Walt's opinion, Canadians must end the corrupt Harper dictatorship. Throw them out!
But who to vote for? Ed. won't give me any more space today to explain why I can't recommend either the NDP or the Liberals. Good arguments can be made for and against both parties. But, for today, I'll leave you with a little ditty by "Canada's Favorite [sic] Musical Comedy Duo", Bowser and Blue. Thanks to Agent 6 for sending this along.
Note from Ed.: I have no idea why the screen is split like that. Reminds me of an old stereopticon. (Look it up.)
Further listening: Click here to check out the Bowser and Blue YouTube Library.
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