End of Liberal era beckons as Canada votes (AFP)

[Anchor Man]

http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rs...o.com/s/afp/20060123/wl_canada_afp/canadavoteAFP - Canadians vote in an election expected to drive the scandal-smeared Liberal Party from power after 12 dominant years, and nudge the country to the right with a new Conservative-led government.


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[Grand Prix]

Expected? They can't expect anything... The Convervatives don't even have a platform. Their entire policy is based on criticizing the Liberals. "Oh god, the Liberals are corrupt! Help us!" WTF? EVERY politician in the WORLD is F---ing corrupt!! At least we don't have the corruptness of the Belgian government....Or the Italian one, hehe.

Paul Martin turned our economy around, made our dollar higher, and has replied to every criticism. Frankly, I think he's doing a darn good job.

If you are going to vote, make that vote based on the party itself. Corruptness is a given. What makes you think the Conversatives are going to be less corrupt?

Edit: Plus, Quebec might vote Liberal this time, JUST to keep the Conservatives out. (Hey, they're Quebecois...) The Bloc got 55 seats last year...Most of them could swing Liberal, perhaps enough to give them a majority, even.

 

[FoolKiller]

Michael Moore pleads for Canadians not to do this on his website.

Oh, Canada -- you're not really going to elect a Conservative majority on Monday, are you? That's a joke, right? I know you have a great sense of humor, and certainly a well-developed sense of irony, but this is no longer funny. Maybe it's a new form of Canadian irony -- reverse irony! OK, now I get it.

 

[Solid Fro]

If these Liberals are anything like the Democrats here, then the Liberals are in deep trouble and will continue to lose elections until they return to reality.

 

[Carl.]

Edit: Plus, Quebec might vote Liberal this time, JUST to keep the Conservatives out. (Hey, they're Quebecois...)

And?

The Bloc got 55 seats last year...Most of them could swing Liberal, perhaps enough to give them a majority, even.

Seems you're wrong, Conservatives have made some gains in Quebec, against both Libs and PQ. And we're not afraid to give the majority of our vote to conservatives when we're pissed at the Liberals and the Conservatives looks like they have their religious right moralists out of the picture. Remember the 80s?

I agree about what you said about Martin though. As much as I was pissed about things like Canada Steamship Lines being based in a tax heaven, or the sponsorship scandal (in which he wasn't directly involved anyways), I agree that they did a fairly good job, overall. We're enjoying budget surplus, the economy is stronger, our debt is lower while the quality of services remained basically the same since they took power in 1993. (that said, healthcare and education would still need better funding, and more importantly, better management). To me their biggest screw-up was the gun registry fiasco, but in the end, that still doesn't offset the fact that they a decent job, generally speaking.

Oh, and I have one award to give for the more clueless strategic move of the year to Jack Layton. *applause* Are you happy Jack? NPD is still party #4, and the governing party is the only one being exactly at the other end of the political spectrum as yours, thanks to you guys! Great job, genius. 👍💡

Oh well, looking at the positive side, at least the conservatives are on a tight leash since don't have a majority, the Liberals will finish their cleanup, and the BQ lost a few seats in Quebec, which is a small step in the right direction...

 

[dbartucci]

I'm very pleased with the results of this election, and as for the poster above who said the Conservative platform consisted of attacking the Liberals, I think he should consider which side was running the conservatives = no abortions, gay marriages and going to iraq ads.

Paul Martin did an admirable job as finance minister but has been ineffective as PM. So it's time for a change.

Edit: Hey Carl, been a while, how's it going man?

 

[Slicks]

Minority Government! Yay! It'll be what, another year before we figure out how bad the Conservatives are and call another election? That'll make it what... 3 in 4 years?

My view:
The Liberals did a good job. They were very fiscally minded, and although a *few* million dollars slipped into a few pockets, we are still very well off. They've maintained both healthcare and education, and taken a stand on many of the issues of, well, trade bullying with the US (Softwood being one issue). Sure, it wasn't an extremely strong stand, but much better than nothing.
To be honest, I think Cretien was really great. He didn't take any s**t from Bush or anyone, did well financially, and created political stability in Canada.
I think that that ****tard Gordon Campbell was the downfall of the Liberals. It was a close race, but if everyone in BC didn't hate Campbell, they would have had alot more Liberal support.
I'm glad the NDP is gaining seats, even at a slow rate. If people weren't "strategically voting" (read: Vote Liberal so the Conservatives don't get in, vice versa), then I think they would have had a much stronger prescence in the polls. Jack Layton (whom I like, by the way. He's very well-spoken.) does not have enough experience to become Prime Minister, IMHO, but I think it would have been great for them to become the Official Opposition.
The Bloc Quebecois is not a good thing. They're a separatist party, for chrissakes! Plus, I think Bouchard is a pompous, arrogant, jerk.
I'm not too sure how the Conservatives will do. The last thing I want is for them to go "Ooh, lookie! A surplus! Lets spend it all!", but all I guess we can do is wait and find out. His GST thing is pure bull, considering that we will only get a little bit of it in his first term, and I don't like their whole child-care plan. I don't like Stephen Harper. He's creepy looking.

Edit - By Liberals, I mean the party as a whole, even though Paul Martin isn't my favorite. Also, how much money exactly was stolen?

 

[Carl.]

I'm very pleased with the results of this election, and as for the poster above who said the Conservative platform consisted of attacking the Liberals, I think he should consider which side was running the conservatives = no abortions, gay marriages and going to iraq ads.

Paul Martin did an admirable job as finance minister but has been ineffective as PM. So it's time for a change.

Edit: Hey Carl, been a while, how's it going man?

Hey! Not bad, been staying out of virtual Roman empire building Are you guys still playing?

I agree with all you said, well, besides the "very pleased" part. The campaign ads from the Liberals were absolutely pathetic. Instead of focusing on what they did right, they grossly overplayed the hypothetic witch hunting song. And looking at some of those ads, relations with the US would have been quite shaky had the Liberals won.

Speaking of ads, there was a good mock up ad on This hour has 22 minutes:


*cue music *

"To get rid of corrupted Liberals... "

(people making awfully disgusted faces in slow motion - camera scroll down - while voting)

"Conservative Party.

It tastes awful, but it works!"

 

[Slicks]

Awesome!!!! Was that in the pre-election show? I missed most of it.

 

[Ev0]

Minority Government! Yay! It'll be what, another year before we figure out how bad the Conservatives are and call another election? That'll make it what... 3 in 4 years?

My view:
The Liberals did a good job. They were very fiscally minded, and although a *few* million dollars slipped into a few pockets, we are still very well off. They've maintained both healthcare and education, and taken a stand on many of the issues of, well, trade bullying with the US (Softwood being one issue). Sure, it wasn't an extremely strong stand, but much better than nothing.
To be honest, I think Cretien was really great. He didn't take any s**t from Bush or anyone, did well financially, and created political stability in Canada.
I think that that ****tard Gordon Campbell was the downfall of the Liberals. It was a close race, but if everyone in BC didn't hate Campbell, they would have had alot more Liberal support.
I'm glad the NDP is gaining seats, even at a slow rate. If people weren't "strategically voting" (read: Vote Liberal so the Conservatives don't get in, vice versa), then I think they would have had a much stronger prescence in the polls. Jack Layton (whom I like, by the way. He's very well-spoken.) does not have enough experience to become Prime Minister, IMHO, but I think it would have been great for them to become the Official Opposition.
The Bloc Quebecois is not a good thing. They're a separatist party, for chrissakes! Plus, I think Bouchard is a pompous, arrogant, jerk.
I'm not too sure how the Conservatives will do. The last thing I want is for them to go "Ooh, lookie! A surplus! Lets spend it all!", but all I guess we can do is wait and find out. His GST thing is pure bull, considering that we will only get a little bit of it in his first term, and I don't like their whole child-care plan. I don't like Stephen Harper. He's creepy looking.

Edit - By Liberals, I mean the party as a whole, even though Paul Martin isn't my favorite. Also, how much money exactly was stolen?

Firstly, there will probably be another election in 2-3 years; definitley not in 4. Minority governments almost never last since nobody can agree on anything.

Secondly, the Liberals didn't waste millions. It stretched well into the billions of dollars. Cretchien (sp?) was a crook of astronomical levels. The gun registry wasted over $2 billion of taxpayer money. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. I know every government is corrupt to some extent, but the Liberals were just out of hand. It wouldn't surprise me at all if over $10 billion was stolen over the 12 years they were in power (mind you, for the two years Martin was in power, they probably stopped stealing, especially because by that point, the media was all over them for corruption).

That being said, I like Paul Martin, but unfortunately for him, I have no faith left in his party.

But I'm somewhat happy the Conservatives are in power (eventhough I voted NDP because of their views on healthcare). The Conservatives seem to be the only party that gives a crap about properly equipping our military.

 

[Grand Prix]

And?



Seems you're wrong, Conservatives have made some gains in Quebec, against both Libs and PQ. And we're not afraid to give the majority of our vote to conservatives when we're pissed at the Liberals and the Conservatives looks like they have their religious right moralists out of the picture. Remember the 80s?

I agree about what you said about Martin though. As much as I was pissed about things like Canada Steamship Lines being based in a tax heaven, or the sponsorship scandal (in which he wasn't directly involved anyways), I agree that they did a fairly good job, overall. We're enjoying budget surplus, the economy is stronger, our debt is lower while the quality of services remained basically the same since they took power in 1993. (that said, healthcare and education would still need better funding, and more importantly, better management). To me their biggest screw-up was the gun registry fiasco, but in the end, that still doesn't offset the fact that they a decent job, generally speaking.

Oh, and I have one award to give for the more clueless strategic move of the year to Jack Layton. *applaused* Are you happy Jack? NPD is still party #4, and the governing party is the only one being exactly at the other end of the political spectrum as yours, thanks to you guys! Great job, genius. 👍💡

Oh well, looking at the positive side, at least the conservatives are on a tight leash since don't have a majority, the Liberals will finish their cleanup, and the BQ lost a few seats in Quebec, which is a small step in the right direction...

They were only predictions. But thanks for correcting me.

Guess what Stephen Harper said yesterday? "God Bless Canada!" I'm serious...

Good luck on cutting down taxes, idiot, your party can't even pass the law with a minority. As soon as everyone finds how awful these guys are, it will be a Liberal Majority next election. It happened to Mulroney and it happened to Joe Clark. (to answer Viper Zero's question)

You want a millitary Canada? Guess what? You have to join it to make it bigger. Good luck with the draft, suckers. I'm impaired! Bwahahahahahahaha.
(Although Canada never drafts unless it's in a war. But I can assure you there will be wars...)

And no, I don't care about improving US relations. And with the Conservatives in power, Canada can now be considered a target for terrorism. Great voting, geniuses.

 

[dbartucci]

Firstly, there will probably be another election in 2-3 years; definitley not in 4. Minority governments almost never last since nobody can agree on anything.

They usually last about 18 months, so Slicks was right when he said 3 elections in 4 years.

Guess what Stephen Harper said yesterday? "God Bless Canada!" I'm serious...

So?

Good luck on cutting down taxes, idiot, your party can't even pass the law with a minority.

They'll have to do consensus building with the other parties, but I don't think the other parties would vote against decreasing the GST. The Conservatives won a minority mandate from Canada, which means they'll start to implement the policies outlined in their platform.

As soon as everyone finds how awful these guys are, it will be a Liberal Majority next election. It happened to Mulroney and it happened to Joe Clark. (to answer Viper Zero's question)

I'd say the Liberals are like the Republicans and the Tories are like the Democrats (not ideologically). Since 1935, the Grits haven't been in power for about 16 of those years. This country votes Liberal untit they got bored, then they go Conservative for a term or 2, then back to Liberal.

And no, I don't care about improving US relations. And with the Conservatives in power, Canada can now be considered a target for terrorism. Great voting, geniuses.

US-Canada relations are very important to both countries, where over 1 billion dollars flows across our border every day, anyone who would dismiss this relationship is either incredibly short-sighted or fails to see the larger picture.

As for Canada being a target for terrorism because of a change in goverment, I fail to see the connection, incidently, if you've scared people into voting a particular way it seems you've already become a victim of terrorism.

 

[Grand Prix]

So?

I don't like him.

They'll have to do consensus building with the other parties, but I don't think the other parties would vote against decreasing the GST. The Conservatives won a minority mandate from Canada, which means they'll start to implement the policies outlined in their platform.

Of course they'll vote against it. That's the whole point of being the opposition. To defend the rest of Canada. (I know that doesn't make sense at first, but if the Conservatives lower taxes, our debt might increase if they aren't efficient enough, or aren't "incorruptable", hehehehe)

I'd say the Liberals are like the Republicans and the Tories are like the Democrats (not ideologically). Since 1935, the Grits haven't been in power for about 16 of those years. This country votes Liberal untit they got bored, then they go Conservative for a term or 2, then back to Liberal.

Hmm, maybe. But no doubt they are a popular party. Parties don't define the country, the country defines the parties. Nothing wrong with long reigns if the people want them in power.

US-Canada relations are very important to both countries, where over 1 billion dollars flows across our border every day, anyone who would dismiss this relationship is either incredibly short-sighted or fails to see the larger picture.[?QUOTE]

If Canadians were a "money grabbing people", B.C. and Alberta would be U.S. states.

As for Canada being a target for terrorism because of a change in goverment, I fail to see the connection, incidently, if you've scared people into voting a particular way it seems you've already become a victim of terrorism.

...So begins the viscous cycle. I feel sorry for people who voted for the Conservatives because of terrorism. We used to be a brave country. And when I say brave, I mean lack of fear. Courage is standing up to fear, but true bravery is all about having no fear, at all. The lack of fear for locking our doors. The lack of fear for earthquakes, blizzards, and fires. The lack of, in essence, true enemies.

It was one of those things I felt proud to be Canadian for, a value I was raised with, to have no fear of anything but fear itself. But if some of us are now scared of something from outside, I now feel truly ashamed of this country. Truly saddened.

 

[Carl.]

Of course they'll vote against it. That's the whole point of being the opposition. To defend the rest of Canada. (I know that doesn't make sense at first, but if the Conservatives lower taxes, our debt might increase if they aren't efficient enough, or aren't "incorruptable", hehehehe)

That would be quite hypocritical, since Liberals also promised tax cuts (just not on the sale tax). Anyway, since Martin resigned, they will be focused on finding a replacement for the next few months, so the Conservatives will enjoy a weaker opposition for a while.

I don't mind spending a bit more in our military budget, our army is currently a friggin joke in terms of equipment, they could use a few upgrades.

 

[dbartucci]

Hey! Not bad, been staying out of virtual Roman empire building Are you guys still playing?

Yeah we're still going, a lot has changed, many players have left, the alliance dynamics have changed and we're locked into a bitter and long war on 2 fronts.

And how could the Libs vote against reducing the GST, they've promised to eliminate it 2 or 3 times. Voting against a tax cut (even if you think you have a better tax package) would be disasterous, the tories would go to the polls and force the libs and ndp to say they know how to spend your money better than do you (which is what they say when they tax more than they spend).