Enough About the AMerican Election Canada is having an Election too.

[Bobtoad777]

And the contestants are:

For the Liberals ==> Jean Cretian

For the Conservatives ==> Joe Clark

For the United Alliance ==> Stockwell Day

For the New Democratic Party ==> Unsure

For the Bloc Quebecquois{sp?} ==> Unsure

For the Rhinocerous Party ==> Joan Kratchien

Who will it be?

Jean Cretian is the current Prime Minister of Canada. His claim to fame consists of fighting of a burglar in the Primeministers house with his wifes Soap Stone Eskimo Dildo carving if I rember correctly.

Joe Clarks Party is a Former Prime Minister who when he was in was ahead of his time, but now is stuck back in the past, with a party that is so far in debt it can't afford to make campaign commercials.

Stockwell Day recently won the leadership of the United alliance which consists of break away liberal and Progresseive conservatives and Independants tires of thier parties and wants to make a difference. This party was formerly known as the Reform Party lead by Preston Manning. This party is situated in Western Canada and is getting a selling of mainstream popularity and could be in contention for this election.

Bloc Quebecois is a party out of as the name Quebec who in the past main theme has been to seperate from Canada and form there own country though I am unsure of theier present course of Action.

New Democratic Party in the past has been refered to as Canada's own Communists, though its been so long since I have heard anything from then I honestly have no clue to what there current goals are.

The Rhinocerous Party is a joke part y that usually has no contention plans they campaign as more of a Joke thatn anything but they usually find Canadates with names similar to leaders in other parties to shake up a little confusion witht he voters. They make strange promises like statues of rhinocerouses in the seweres hence the name. and other bizarre claims.

Tahts the scoop so far as I see, if there is information contrary to what I have stated please stand to correct me.

 

[Nicole]

Enough on both of them ... JUST TELL ME WHEN YOU FUCKING VOTE Please.

 

[R Nitelight]

Help me out. Is this a new thing, or has Canada always had elections?

 

[BlondeBeauty]

Wait, wait, wait...oh, I get it...you can VOTE in Canada too...

In Canada do you vote with a scantron and a #2 pencil??

I'm so confused...

 

[R Nitelight]

I think they hand out ballots at the hockey games.

 

[BlondeBeauty]

No, no, no. That's how you apply for medical insurance. It's a long, complicated process...that's why hockey games are so long and BORING...hehe

 

[R Nitelight]

It's hard to follow a game that has two halftimes.

 

[BlondeBeauty]

Is that what those are?

 

[Bobtoad777]

ROTFLMAO

We have elections to vote in our Prime Minsiter just like you do for your President. The Only differnece is there isn't an intern on the planet that would have any kind of sex with any Primeminister Canadate.

You do secret ballot that has a number on it that is put beside your name when you vote so they know who you vote for. you don't use a scantron with a #2 pencil

 

[Mustang Sally]

Geez, toady, you could at least do your research before posting something like this. To fill in the blanks,

New Democrat Party Leader: Alexa McDonough
Bloc Quebecois Leader: Gilles Duceppe

It's interesting that the Americans have been building up to their election for months on end, while Chretien announces the election 36 days before voting day.

By the way, we don't vote directly for the Prime Minister. We vote for Members of Parliament (MP's) representing each party in our own political ridings. And then, majority rules. This is known as the parliamentary system. Yup, just like the Brits do it.

It really isn't much of a race. Chretien timed this election carefully, only 3.5 yrs into a possible 5 yr term. While the Alliance is picking up steam (God help us!), they simply haven't had enough time to brainwash (errr... convince) the public of their viability. Conservative Joe Clark is an old stick in the mud who simply doesn't have the power to revive interest in the party. NDP isn't much of a contender, either.

So Chretien will win it again. Three in a row! I like him. He's an interesting character. Toady left out the time he assaulted a protester, and just this summer he got hit in the face with a cream pie. He's well known for his stupid off-the-cuff remarks, like when he joked about the RCMP pepper-spraying protesters at the APEC meeting in B.C.

 

[Bobtoad777]

Oh yeha I remember that in the interviews he siad

pooper spray, what pooper spray, i pout popper on my steak, don't know about any spray

 

[Mustang Sally]

Yeah, something like that.
It was in really bad taste at the time, but i laughed anyways. He's funny!

The thing about Chretien is, he hasn't made a lot of changes. He hasn't done anything great, but he also hasn't screwed up too badly. Oh, unless you count the HRDC billion-dollar boondoggle as major. LOL Nah...

 

[Bobtoad777]

Yeah I gues your right but i wouldnt mind seeing Ole Stockwell get in there and shake things up the have cretian follow him up and see itf that could shape canada for the better,

Unite Alliance has a few good ideas but theres no way that they have the viability tha anybody would let them in just yet, they are still a bit green around the gils, maybe next time around.

 

[Weird Harold]

It's interesting that the Americans have been building up to their election for months on end, while Chretien announces the election 36 days before voting day.

That's one of the drawback to our system of knowing when the elction is going to be decades in advance. (Nicole: It's the first Tuesday of November every fourth year -- leap year except for centenary years -- for presidential elections, and the first Tuesday in November in even numbered years for senators and representative.)

It hasn't been months since we've been building up to this election, it's been more like eight years. It didn't get really serious about this election until the first Wednesday of Novemeber four years ago. That's when Al Gore started campaigning.

With the British/Cannadian system, you never know when an election is coming, so you only get hammered with political ads and campaign slogans for a short time when something goes wrong, or the incumbent thinks he can win a new term before the opposition rallies support.

 

[Bobtoad777]

yeah what he said. sorry for that sounding dumb, but you really summed it all up quiet brillantly

 

[Mustang Sally]

The Canadian election is on November 27.

Bobtoad, Stockwell Day as Prime Minister would be scary! He's too extreme. This guy opposes abortion and wants to bring back capital punishment. He considers homosexuality "deviant". Plus, I seriously hate his commercials. Phoney bastard.

The guy promises to make huge income tax reductions (I'm not gonna talk numbers for fear of getting it wrong, but he's talking big-time) and also to put far more towards the deficit than the Liberals will. Sounds good, but it doesn't add up. My question is this: where does he think all this money is going to come from? Hmmm. I think he'd have to slash social services of all kinds - education, health care, etc. Everybody knows the Alliance is the Reform Party with a new name. Their image might be a bit spiffier, and Stockwell certainly has more charisma than Preston, but still. Not much has changed.

 

[KillerMuffin]

I thought Canada was a city in Wisconsin. Was I wrong?


Good GRIEF people. I'm JUST kidding.

(It's really in Utah)


*giggle snicker snort*


If ya'll have any good candidates left over, send them this way, hell, in Missouri the recently passed away Mel Carnahan is still in the lead. Even after about a month. Something is really wrong with this picture.

 

[Cheyenne]

And here I thought the thread said Canada was having an erection. Boy, am I disappointed.

 

[Bobtoad777]

If you really want I am sure Canada can supply an erection or two as well

 

[Expertise]

Like one of the Horsemen of the Appocolypse

Harold what you see as an upside to our system isn't.

1) By calling this election "early" we are spending approximately 200 million dollars a year and a half before we have to, merely because it is advantageous for the Liberals to do so now.

2) The parliamentry system (when a majority government is in place) concentrates the power to a very few, basicly the PM and on occasion his cabinet. His party votes "in line" with their edicts or gets gone. Basicly a democratic dictatorship. No need to look in our version of the congressional record to see how your representitive voted on an issue. He/She voted with their party or they are no longer a member of that party. Unless it was a rare "free vote" which they only call on trivial issues or issues where they are sure the outcome falls in line with the views of the government of the day.

Jean Chretin. Is a walking talking embarassment to our country. The media NEVER has to wait too long for the next gaff, miss step or fuck up from this guy. If the Grits (Liberals) had shown the great good sense to ditch JC and replace him with Paul Martin, Frank McKenna or even Brian Tobin they would have my vote. But since they didn't i'll be voting for the Alliance (Stockwell Day)

Further I believe that this election will be the end of the Progressive Conservatives and the NDP.

What the fuck were the Torys thinking when they brought back Joe Clark. He has all the charisma of the average desk blotter. It would be the equivalent of the GOP running Gerald Ford again.

The NDP has become so out of touch, pathetic and marginalized that even the trade unions are deserting them. Alexa M. as PM .... you have about as much chance of seeing a dinosaur.

Go Stockwell Go Alliance

 

[Mustang Sally]

Expertise

Did you hear Chretien says he'll actually do the whole 5 years this time? Plus, he plans to remain the leader even after THAT term. And there's not much the party can do about it, is there? I didn't really understand that. I know a large faction wanted to oust him this time around but couldn't.

Chretien might be embarrassing at times, but Stockwell is scary! There's a huge policy gap between the Libs and the Alliance, no? How can you say you'll vote for Stockwell just because you don't like Chretien? The Alliance isn't very popular out east, is it?

 

[Bobtoad777]

I dont know from my side of newbrunswick the allaince sems to be very well liked. but thats coming from someone like me who votes rhinocerous party anyways

 

[Expertise]

Hey Sally

Huge policy gap? No not really. The Grits are stealing Reform/Alliance policy planks at a furious pace.

Day and the Alliance frightening? No. The very reasons that the spin doctors for the other partties would use to deem him scary are things he can't do a thing about. They are entrenched in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. His views on them are just that, his views. Although I believe he is sincere in them it is my contention that he espouses them to garner support from the members of his party. Not as a social blueprint. He knows he can't genuinely affect them.

Why wwould I switch from a Liberal vote to an alliance one goes back to the aforementioned leadership. If they had replaced Jean Chretin who is a political dinosaur and represents the worst of "old style politics" with someone else then maybe they would have garnered my vote. Frank McKenna would have gotten a Liberal vote out of me. Brian Tobin probably would have. Paul Martin might have.

A vote for the grits is a vote for the current status quo in politics. Very, very unpalateable to me. Although I dont agree with all Alliance policies I believe in most and I believe in Day.

As far as the regionalism that you aluded to. That has to be fought tooth and nail. Canada needs to see itself as a whole. Not Maritimers, not Westerners etc. Regionalism is something that the old line parties have used as a wedge to twist and drive between us for their own advantage to the detriment of the nation as a whole.

Remember in Canada new governments are not voted in .... old ones are voted out.

Lets let "the little guy" go back to Shawinigan.

My diatribe du' jour.
Remember, in Canada

 

[Mustang Sally]

Blame it on the folly of my youth, Ex. Hell, I even vote NDP when it comes to provincial elections.

~Sal~

 

[Weird Harold]

Harold what you see as an upside to our system isn't.

1) By calling this election "early" we are spending approximately 200 million dollars a year and a half before we have to, merely because it is advantageous for the Liberals to do so now.

2) The parliamentry system (when a majority government is in place) concentrates the power to a very few, basicly the PM and on occasion his cabinet. His party votes "in line" with their edicts or gets gone. Basicly a democratic dictatorship. ...

Less of an "upside" to your system than a "downside" to ours actually. There have been a couple of presidents who would have been vastly improved if they had to face the possibility of a "no confidence vote."

There is a definite disadvantage to allowing the government to call elections early when things are in their favor. I just wish there was some equivalent of the "recall petition" option we have at the local level for removing councilmen, judges, assemblymen, et al, at the federal level so the people could vote out rascals that have too much power to be removed by their peers.

The flip side of the power of a majority goverment, is the impotence of a coalition government, or even a minority government like that in place in Isreal right now.

You have a different set of checks and balances than we do. Ours works fairly well, but it's not perfect. Yours works most of the time, but leaves the possiblity of a government tied up in internal squabbling when a coherent government is needed.

Have you ever read the Honor Harrington series by David Weber? The government in that series is a parliamentary system, and much of the plot revolves around the problems politics can cause in a time of crisis.

[Edited by Weird Harold on 10-31-2000 at 11:00 AM]