If an election comes soon, there might be a bit of a problem, but honestly, I doubt it.
Many Canadians have been desperate for an alternative to the liberals for some time, but have kept voting liberal because they feel that they have no reasonable alternative. No matter how bad this scandal turns out to be (and I think it is, in reality, worse than most people imagine), I think the liberals will still be a significant power simply because Canadians lack an alternative. The conservatives are an even less attractive alternative to most past-liberal voters now than ever because of their disturbingly irrational, religously-motivated positions on various issues. They have talked about overriding the constitution using the Not-Withstanding clause to ban homosexual marriage. Even people opposed to gay marriage don't like to hear democratically-elected officials talk about messing with the consitution for what is --when it comes down to it-- a 100% personal issue.
You see, very few people in Canada really want to vote conservative anymore. Even many of those that oppose homosexual marriage are even more concerned about the way religiously-motivated elected officals insist on invading the personal space of Canadians. Much of the conservative vote in the last election was, without question, a protest vote.
While there are more bible-quote-of-the-month voters out west (sorry, I love you guys, but it's true), a lot of people out there aren't voting conservative for religious reasons, and are very concerned by the fact that the party seems intent on turning itself into a Republican-type platform instead of an actual conservatively-minded governing body which would be
conservative with regards to governement intervention in the lives of their consituents and with regards to fiscal responsibility. The father of a friend of mine, who lives in Winnipeg, is one the craziest bigots I know. He hates homosexuals, but he hates government intervention in people's personal lives even more. I wonder how many people out west feel the same way.
I actually used to vote Tory, back in the day, before they became a bunch of bible-thumping nut-jobs, but I, and the majority of Canadians, are terrified of what the party is turning into --especially because we can see how disgusting things can get when people like that get into power just by looking south. After all it's in our faces all the time, because our TV is dominated by American networks. And don't think the disastrous economic performance and budget management skills of the Republicans haven't tarnished Canadians' images of conservatives in general. We certainly notice that incredibly weak dollar
. Conservatives keep talking about gay marriage, but Canadians what health-care fixed. After that we want drug costs fixed. After that... well, frankly that's all we're asking for. We're still enthralled with reality.
My prediction is actually that the NDP might do tremendously well if an election were to be forced by a non-confidence vote. They certainly wouldn't get a majority, but I would bet they would expand their share of the house significantly. Stephen Harper, the conservative party leader, has been blustering back and forth, and I think he knows that he is unlikely to gain nearly as much from the fall of the liberals as he might hope. By forcing an election, he might actually
lessen his party's effective clout
even if the party gains seats by introducing a strengthened, harder-to-deal-with NDP party to the House at the expense of the liberals with whom he can more easily compromise. I think he's well aware of this, and that's why he is being so cautious. That's my take.
Between watching the Iraq War, the Schiavo Stupidity, Quantanomo Bay, Abu Ghraib, the failing performance of the American economy, the incredible infringements on freedom in the U.S., and health-care issues at home it is my opinion that the majority of Canadians have never been more inclined to vote like the digusting liberals we are
.
