"Many pundits say the same thing, along with inane claim that Canadians don't want an election. When do people ever "want" an election?"
It's a translation error. For "Canadians don't want an election" read "the Liberals don't want an election".
Thanks Mark,
Before today I didn't know that [...] was shorthand for [Omit all context here].
The price tag was secondary to his point, which was...
"It won't be a Liberal budget. Unfortunately, the ideas I have put forward won't be in the budget,”
“But we also have to respect the decision of the voters in 2006,"
I have no doubt that the Liberals don't want an election right now, but your post is completely disingenuous about the situation. Dion isn't too cheap to "let people actually vote", he's actually just respecting the results from the last time they did.
As for wanting an election what's the damn point? I'll save you $350 million right now:
Conservative minority government based on a whole lot of campaigning informing people about how they aren't the Liberals and not much else.
"Conservative minority government based on a whole lot of campaigning informing people about how they aren't the Liberals"
Good enough for me.
I think $350 million would be ill-spent at this time. It seems most people have what they want right now. Harper is governing well, but is held in check from having majority power, but only by a weak opposition. Thus the government functions conservatively and Parliament can get through necessary legislation so long as it is not so extreme to give the Liberals fodder for an election. Without that fodder, the Liberals flap and flail with minor impact and things get done.
Posted at 2008-02-21 16:09:10 [PermaLink]Amen, Murray.
The point isn't whether $350M is too expensive but rather that there's absolutely no legitimate reason for causing this Government to cut short its mandate.
To equate the 0pposition's phony ire with a basic fault in the electorate's right to vote makes a mockery of the whole democratic process.
Personally, I'd be somewhat pissed off to have the Feds spend the next few months getting no work done while going through a process that would produce a result not unlike what we have right now.
The general population will be reminded, whilst doing their annual homage to Can. Rev., just how much those folks in Ottawa extract from our wallets...not really a good time to be making expensive promises.
The Liberals are not "saving" Canadians $350m, they're just deferring the expenditure until later. Sooner or later, there will be an election. All that is saved is (about) 0.05*$350m*the number of years the election is delayed. A pretty trivial sum in total.
Posted at 2008-02-21 21:55:54 [PermaLink]Maybe Steffie just check the LPC chequing account and found it 10 or 12 million simoleans shy of what they need to fund an election campaign. And, without the ability to just fund it with racketeered federal funds, well I think we all get the picure. The numbers indicate the Libs would do OK in an election, but I think they'd run out of cash few weeks in, with no means of replenishing the funds. IIRC, they are still carrying a pretty big debt, aren't they?
Posted at 2008-02-22 07:27:32 [PermaLink]You guys should just switch to "American-style" pre-planned elections for anything short of a no-confidence vote or the GG deposing the government.
Think of the trouble it'd save! Plus, everyone would be able to plan ahead for elections! Everyone wins!
" Dion isn't too cheap to "let people actually vote", he's actually just respecting the results from the last time they did."
Did somebody spike your coffee with an overdose of naivete today, Dara, or were you simply annoyed at Mark for attacking the leader of your preferred political party?
"Toronto Star - Dion hints there could be a spring election
November 30, 2007
THE CANADIAN PRESS
OTTAWA – A tough-talking Stephane Dion appears to be setting the stage for a spring election, warning that his Liberals won't continue propping up the minority Conservative government for much longer."
[External Link]
"preferred political party"
Nope. I voted for Chretien once, but I'm not a Lib. At the moment, I'm not anything else since I have yet to see Harper lead, and the others seem to be misguided, to various degrees.
If you read what Dion actually said though, it in no way fits with Mark's post unless you substitute the first two thirds of it with [...]
The CPC and their supporters are far too caught up on Dion and the Liberals at the expense of their own message.
"Nope. I voted for Chretien once, but I'm not a Lib."
Then that just leaves naivete as the most plausible explanation for your depiction of Dion as this principled respecter of the will of the public, in terms of the 2006 election results.
As the Canadian Press story from last November indicates, there isn't anything principled about Dion when it comes to the timing of the next election. Today, his position is that he's deferring to this supposition that the public doesn't want an election right now. Three months ago, he was singing a very different tune, wasn't he?