...born with the gift of laughter and a sense that the world was mad

Harpoon’s sour grapes: Despite his best efforts to tar Harper with the Bush brush; despite his canard that a Harper government was the first one to “starve” Gazans as a matter of policy; despite his beating the drum time and again for everything that most big and little “C” conservatives abhor (bigger government; more power in the hands of Islamists and the UN and a less powerful U.S.; “justice” for the Palestinians as the expense of Jewish sovereignty in Israel, etc.)—despite all that, Canadians still went and voted for a man that Harpoon Siddiqui despises. Here’s his bitter post mortem which, what are the odds?, includes a new and even direr warning about the state of our nation:

…The Prime Minister's greater challenge, besides the economy, will lie elsewhere: our growing democratic deficit.

The Tories won 19 seats more than they did in the last election with just 1.3 percentage points more of the popular vote. Such is the quirk of parliamentary arithmetic, especially with five parties running.

Canadians residing on the left of centre will begin to echo what used to be the standard complaint of those on the right, namely that a party with less than 40 per cent of the vote gets to implement policies rejected by 60 per cent or more of the voters.

The parliamentary answer is that like-minded parties can come together or work together.

But uniting four parties is harder than it was to unite two – Reform and the Progressive Conservatives. But the Liberals, New Democrats and the Bloc have the option of using their Commons votes strategically. If they misuse it, they will pay a price.

It is the nearly 7 per cent of those who voted Green who will feel the most cheated. This "wasted vote" will trigger greater demands for a proportional representation system.

Add the steadily decreasing turnout – less than 60 per cent Tuesday, the lowest ever – and you are staring at an alienated electorate.

The problem of the disenfranchised and the disenchanted is not confined to Canada and not attributable to a sitting Prime Minister alone. But it does become his brief.

It is, therefore, essential that Harper deliver on his promise of providing "inclusive and responsive" government. That standard refrain of the winner takes on greater meaning on the more defining issues of the day.

Harper will have to stop ordering the opposition around. He will have to curb his partisan, deeply divisive and often vindictive instincts and those of some of his colleagues, such as attack dogs Jim Flaherty, John Baird, Peter Van Loan and Jason Kenney.

Harper will have to reduce the dissonance between his view of the world and that of a majority of Canadians, as measured by polls and partially proven by the election. He has to think hard about how best to work with a new U.S. president three months from now. He has to rethink our Afghan mission…

Yeah, the heart bleeds for those “nearly 7 per cent” who voted Green and now feel “cheated” because they “wasted” their vote. Also for all those Harpoonians who won’t get to go to Durban II, who won’t get to vote in lockstep with the UN Jew-haters' annual raft of anti-Israel resolutions, who won’t get to foist a shifty environmental tax scam on the Canadian taxpayer, who won’t get to see a Bambi equivalent at the helm on Parliament Hill when Bambi takes over in Washington.

It must suck to be them.

Update: To clear things up--this is Harpo; this is Harpoon. Only one of these clowns writes for the Toronto Star.

Posted by: scaramouche at 10:35 | link | comments (1)

Comments:

#1  17 October 2008 - 13:46

 

"It is the nearly 7 per cent of those who voted Green who will feel the most cheated. This "wasted vote" will trigger greater demands for a proportional representation system."

Yes but the five years old and up demographic apparently are solidly in May's camp (according to Liz). Now if they had been allowed to vote - who knows?

Cyclist

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