RABBLE-BABBLE: OPINION: Getting rid of Harper

[Oscar]

RABBLE-BABBLE: Opinion - Getting rid of Harper

[ http://rabble.ca/babble/election-2015/g ... rid-harper ]

March 22, 2015 - 6:17pm

The means must match the desire

There is a strong desire by many Canadians to see that Harper’s conservatives do not win another majority. Damage has been done to the fabric of Canadian society. It is time for change and it is urgent.

Those who want change must first of all recognize he has a very good chance of winning another majority, for the deck, as they say, is stacked in his favor and he has four good aces up his sleeve.

The first is that he is in the incumbent and has a well-funded, well-oiled election machine.

The second is that our archaic first-past -the post electoral system. Brian Mulroney’s landslide victory, the largest Parliamentary majority ever was achieved with only 43% of the popular vote. Harper’s current majority is based on 39%. So much for representative government!

The third is that the center/left is split. The Liberals and NDP refuse to cooperate with each other and are too willing to sacrifice the national interest on the altar of their petty partisanship. They cherish thoughts of getting rid of Harper, but he is tlike Jean Chretien- enjoying a free ride as long as the opposition parties are split.

The fourth ace is voter apathy. Voter indifference and voter suppression are Harper’s best friends. The former is with us in abundance, and he is no stranger to the latter.

There is only one way to trump Harper’s four aces and that is to polarize the vote around one party.

The Party best positioned to win is the NDP by virtue of its seat count and role as the Official Opposition. There will no doubt be howls of protest at such a proposition but progressives have to ask ourselves do we really to win or be spectators to another Harper victory? Are we willing to sit back and tacitly endorse the irresponsible partisanship of the opposition parties and see Harper consolidate his stated desire for a single party state?

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Harper’s worst nightmare is to have to face a unified center/left. If the Liberals and NDP refuse to coalesce, voters should unify behind one party and be willing to sacrifice the other.

Progressives and the center/left must force unity where there is none. We must ask ourselves do we really want to win or just be spectators to another Harper victory. It is time for voters to bring forth the full force of our electoral power by polarizing this election into a two party race. It is time to have an election that does not mock us but truly represents the will of the majority.