Dion gets no lift from raising glass with Greens

SIRI AGRELL
October 15, 2008

Stéphane Dion may have been toast the moment Elizabeth May offered to bring the wine.

Election watchers say the Liberal Leader made a strategic miscalculation backing the Green Party throughout the campaign.

In helping her bid to join the televised debate, observers say, Mr. Dion gave her a platform to draw away votes his party desperately needed to unseat the Conservative government. Her performance in the forum raised her profile and that of her party, and appears to have bled votes from Mr. Dion in several close races.

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Peacenik doesn't particularly agree with this article. Peacenik didn't make it a secret that he supported the Liberals in this vote in the Guelph riding. There will be lots of analysis and lots of blame being tossed around. Keeping Harper to a minority is a huge accomplishment given the tenor of the campaign. Peacenik is concerned that so many voters seem to buy into the Conservative anti-tax, anti-green ideology.

Too many voters don't seem concerned that the Conservatives believe what Bush believes. Peacenik thinks they will be concerned very soon. Liberals and progressives have to start positioning themselves now. They will be picking up the pieces of what is left of the Canadian economy once the Harper/Bush policies play out.

What's the Matter With Canada?

How the world's nicest country turned mean.

By Christopher Flavelle Posted Friday, Sept. 12, 2008, at 11:17 AM ET

Last Sunday, news came that Canada—sensible, quiet, some would even say boring Canada—will hold an election on Oct. 14, its third in four years. Those outside the country may wonder what the problem is; in Canada, after all, health care is free, the dollar is strong, same-sex marriage is legal, and the government had the good sense to stay out of Iraq. You might think of Canada as the un-America, where the only debate ought to be whether to spend the country's growing oil wealth on faster snowmobiles, bigger hockey rinks, or Anne Murray box sets.

But beneath the calm exterior, Canada's political system is in turmoil. Since 2004, a succession of unstable minority governments has led to a constant campaign frenzy, brutalizing Canada's once-broad political consensus and producing a series of policies at odds with the country's socially liberal, fiscally conservative identity. Canada is quietly becoming a political basket case, and this latest election may make things even worse.

Read on...

Peacenik says read this story and ask yourself if it describes how you want Canada to be.

Canadian Election - Who to Vote For (or not)

Peacenik is wondering about how to vote in the current Canadian general election. Needless to say, the candidates' and parties' position on Canada's role in Afghanistan is the central issue for Peacenik's decision-making process. To date, in the phony election campaign just witnessed in Guelph, there was virtually no mention of the war. There was one question and a bunch of vague answers in the televised debate. Peacenik doesn't know for certain what Green Party rep. Mike Nagy or the NDP's Tom King thinks about the war. He doesn't care what Conservative candidate Gloria Kovak thinks because he already knows that she will merely echo Prime Minister Harper's war until 2011 (unless the US tells us to stay forever) policy.

So Peacenik did a little research. First stop was Green Party candidate Mike Nagy's blog. Under a link to "other important issues" there is a meaningless phrase "rebalance our role in Afghanistan". What does that mean, rebalance? Does he want a surge, a repositioning, a withdrawal, a change of mission? Who knows?

Next, Peacenik checked out NDP candidate Tom King's blog. Under a link to "Issues," there is a list of ten issues but no mention of the war. Somewhere on the Tom King website, Peacenik found a more than year old anti-taser letter to the editor, "Weapons Make Us Arrogant." There was a mention of anti-Vietnam war protest in the letter, but no mention of Afghanistan. A statement about Tom King's position on the war may be on his website, but it is not prominent. Peacenik couldn't find it.

At Frank Valeriote's website, under a link to "Fast Facts About Frank," there is no mention of the war.

So we have the three leading progressive candidates in Guelph who make no mention of the war on their personal blogs or websites. Peacenik was intrigued and decided to expand his research. A visit to the NDP party website found no mention of the war on the front page. In a list of statements there was a statement about the death of two Canadian aid workers. A letter to oppose the deportation of two war resisters also was buried under a link. And there were multiple statments on the deaths of Canadian Soldiers in Afghanistan.

Finally, under a link to speeches, there was a speech to the University of Ottawa in which Jack Layton says, "its time for Canada to withdraw from the combat mission and lead the process for peace and stability." Sort of namby pamby but leaning in the right direction.

To be fair, Peacenik also checked out the Conservative Party of Canada's website. Under a list of ten key issues, the war is not mentioned. There are no obvious pictures of the war in Afghanistan.

A quick stop at the Liberal Party of Canada's website also failed to find any obvious mention of the war.

What does this mean? We are a country at war while engaged in a federal election. Where is the anti-war movement that at least had a pulse in Guelph prior to the Iraq war? Why are our politicians ignoring one of the major issues of the day? Why does the media let them?

Peacenik knows what he wants to hear. "Bring the troops home now." And Peacenik is still wondering how to vote.