Sunday, January 22, 2006

Canada votes!

If you believe the polls, we will end up with a pro-Bush, anti-Kyoto, Christian Reformer for a prime minister tomorrow night.

Then again, the polls erroneously predicted a Stephen Harper victory the last time around. So anything could happen.

Heck, even a Liberal majority is possible. Not bloody likely, but possible. I know at least 15 people who are abandoning the NDP to vote Liberal for the first time in their lives because they are terrified of a Conservative majority.

Personally, my ideal government would be a Liberal majority with the NDP as the official opposition. But I think a Conservative minority is exactly what we need right now.

Jack Layton is right when he says the Liberals need a "time out." They need time to regroup, get rid of Paul Martin, elect a new leader (hello, Frank McKenna) and come back stronger than ever to blow the Conservatives away during the next election.

There's nothing scary about a minority Conservative government. It will be very difficult for Stephen Harper to renege on Kyoto and repeal gay marriage.

Plus, Stephen Harper won't be able to keep the old Reform Party wingnuts quiet once they're in power. Someone is going to say something stupid (hello, Stockwell Day) and Canadians will realize they don't want a ragtag group of extremists running the country.

It's not going to be pretty. It's going to be like getting drunk at a bar and waking up the next morning with a nasty ass stranger in your bed and a sick feeling in your stomach, thinking "Oh god. What have I done?" (I’m not speaking from personal experience, I just couldn’t think of a better analogy.)

Happy voting!

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