CFN – Did NDP leader Andrea Horwath agree to call an election just to get rid of Tim Hudak? Polling is showing very little over all movement.
On Eric Grenier’s Threehundredeight.com support shows that the NDP really are not going to improve in spite of a scandal plagued Liberal government under Premier Kathleen Wynne and her predecessor Dalton McGuinty and the brutally ugly campaign led by Tim Hudak.
I mean, it’s one thing to tell your close supporters you’ll chop 100,000 civil service jobs, but another to trumpet it. You just created 100,000 guaranteed votes against you not counting their friends and families. And aren’t some of those civil servants Conservative voters too?
Being an economist and not being good with numbers doesn’t inspire your own troops either. While most in Ontario would agree the scandals were bad and costly, and many even would agree that the Civil service needs to be pruned and costs need to be reigned in and controlled some of the remedies espoused will most likely end up with Mr. Hudak being bounced by his party after losing another election.
And frankly if you can’t beat this Liberal government you should not be a party leader. The PC’s do seem like a divided house with hard core rural Conservatives not really meshing with the Urban Blue.
Ms Horwath’s failure to gain with her competition really is a failure for her leadership and party as well. It should be interesting to see if hard line old school dippers keep the faith if she doesn’t pick up her numbers?
Short of some miraculous new scandal or change during the debates Premier Wynne will be at the help of another NDP supported minority government.
Locally Prescott Russell’s Liberal MPP Grant Crack might just hang on; but in Cornwall the Liberals are sliding towards third place.
(Photo:Facebook)
There’s a bit of irony here in SD&G as MPP McDonell is the Critic for Municipal Affairs and has as a worker that he personally thanked, South Stormont Deputy Mayor Tammy Hart who was dinged not once, but twice, by Integrity Commissioner Robert Swayze for multiple offences. Mr. McDonell is expected to pull in over 70% of the votes on election day for the riding.
Fantastic day campaigning in Long Sault, Avonmore and Chrysler. I can’t thank the many many volunteers enough who are working with me! I truly appreciate it. Thanks @Tammy Hart and Rick Currier! — with Richard Currier and Tammy Hart.
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None of them are any good at all. They all look and smell the same like crap. I made my promise and I always keep my promises and in this case I will never vote ever again. I know the real truth about the entire system of government including the reality of the US that the vast majority know nothing about. No tanks.
I am not so sure the NDP were smart enough to try and get rid of Hudak judging by their campaign.
The PC’s have done a lousy job promoting the 100,000 jobs cut. But with 50,000 a year leaving on their own for retirement etc. reviewing each position for need except front line health / police, it should be easy to get back to the 2009 level. That’s right, the current liberals added 100,000 taxpayer funded jobs since 2009.
Neither Wynne nor Horwath want to “get rid” of Hudak. He’s the gift that keeps on giving, and I’m sure they want him to stick around forever. The old Dippers who are giving Horwath grief right now are fools. Now sure isn’t the time to be attacking their leader.
Well Furtz if that’s the case they may actually be Hudak’s gift….
Just wanted to comment that, for years, I would tell people if you don’t vote, you don’t have the right to complain after the fact. However this will be the fifth election where I am not casting a ballot. The reason is simple, none of the parties are giving me any reasons to vote FOR them, though they are good at giving reasons why I shouldn’t vote for the other guy. I will say Hudak comes closest to my concern and he certainly is the only party leader that seems to have a plan but I find it difficult to accept his numbers on the million jobs plan. Score one for Hudak for at least coming out with something but he loses the point because I don’t believe the numbers are honest. It has now been shown that in preparing his material he went on the basis of person years meaning that each job is counted as long as it lasts a year. So if a job is created for 10 years, under some of the math Hudak uses, there are 10 jobs created though there is only one position. As for other three parties(including the Greens) there is just nothing to support or believe in.
I think he’s going to win. The brutality of cutting the public sector jobs is so delicious I’m salivating for a PC win.
@ Marc. Yup. All kinds of real economists are poking holes in Hudak’s “million jobs” BS. And Hudak claims he will cut red tape by 30%! How does one measure red tape? Is it by the centimeter or kilogram? Is he talking about food inspectors? Water inspectors? Hudak is making a huge mistake by underestimating the intelligence of the voters, just like he did in the last election.
For those not voting and / or disillusioned by the three major parties there are alternatives.
With all the political promises and mud slinging the result on June 12 should be interesting.
Hugger: Would you tell me what the options are please? None of the parties are worth voting for, what is left?
Only thing I can think of is another option on the ballot marked “None of the Above.” In my perfect world, if that gets most of the votes there should be no one elected until a run-off is held. Not likely to happen, but it’s a thought..:)
A politician says something and you believe him or her?
Anyway, cheaper electricity / cheaper payroll taxes alone / modernize trades apprenticeships will be a more attractive climate for a business to expand and hire I would think.
Furtz, check the PC website, it says a million jobs is ambitious, but even if we come close, is that not better?
http://ontariopc.com/millionjobsplan/accessible/
Marc Pilote – Ontario liberal green energy plan promised how many jobs? How many materialized?
“When ex-premier Dalton McGuinty introduced his Green Energy Act in 2009, he said it would create 50,000 jobs in Ontario by the end of 2012.”
Now the Liberals say their Green Energy Act has produced only 31,000 jobs up to mid-2013, not the 50,000 jobs by the end of 2012 promised in 2009.
From the auditor-general’s report in 2011, we can safely conclude most of those 31,000 jobs are temporary, lasting one to three years.
“But even verifying that these reported 31,000 jobs are real is difficult because most of them are “indirect” as opposed to “direct.”
http://www.torontosun.com/2013/06/26/green-energy-job-claims-are-a-farce
Eric: Your last two posts prove my point — there is nothing worth voting for so why bother? Show me something to vote FOR and I will consider it. Otherwise, I want politicians to stop giving me the same old BS, no matter which party is shovelling it.
Eric: I note too that you cite that source of complete, balanced and fair news, The Toronto Sun, to make your point. LOL…..in that case I will direct you to the Toronto Star, since the Star is known to be just as complete, balanced and fair. Nothing in either paper or anywhere in the media will give you the all the facts because they are all biased.
However I will say lowly CFN at this point doesn’t seem to have a bias and actually does allow for discussion and disagreement, something I find truly refreshing. Just wonder how long that will last if Jamie succeeds in selling it off?
@Marc Pilote: Green Party of Ontario, Ontario Libertarian Party or a spoiled ballot.
No one party is all things to all people and we have 20 listed right now for this election. If only a few people voted, we could end up with the Communist party, Northern Ontario Heritage Party, or the Party for Special Needs making rules that would affect your life. Vote or not, your choice.
The only way things will change is when enough of us get together and DEMAND BETTER.
The right to vote is a fundamental democratic right that is protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It is the cornerstone of democracy.
When we vote, we choose the representatives who will make the laws and policies that govern how we live together.
The legitimacy of a government lies in the fact that it is elected. Low voter turnouts may call into question this democratic legitimacy.
While democracy involves much more than holding elections every five years, voting is a powerful way to send a message to governments and politicians. The more votes, the more powerful the message is. In other words, every vote counts.
Compared to other forms of political participation, voting does not require a lot of time or effort – in other words, it is one of the easiest ways to have a say in how your society is governed.
Why is the youth vote important?
According to our research , only 37.4% of 18 to 24-year-olds voted at the 2008 general election. That means over 60% of young Canadians did not participate in selecting this country’s government.
When politicians know in advance that most young people don’t vote, they may be less interested in making the effort to be responsive to issues that matter to younger Canadians.
Some say that young people don’t vote because politicians don’t care about youth issues or don’t talk to young people in their own language. But by not voting, young Canadians lose an important opportunity to make their voices heard by politicians.
Marc, all of the papers are somewhat careful about defamation, libel(written) and slander(more for spoken or video), and one has to judge what is written for grains of truth. I get the impression some people would rather not do any research on their own, get involved to direct opinion, just to justify why they choose to do nothing.
Hi Eric. Believe it or not I agree with every word in your last post. For the record I am 62 but I still say I will not vote because there is nothing on offer that I can vote FOR. Until that changes I don’t feel I need to go to the ballot box and confirm the BS politicians are offering, though I would vote if there were a “none of the above” box that was included in vote totals — something I suggested in a light way in a previous post. I suggest the falloff in voting is because everything is negative and there are no positive reasons to vote. Maybe young voters are just ahead of the curve and don’t want to mark a ballot for negative reasons. Again, give me and young people and everyone, a reason to vote FOR rather than against.
Eric
Though 50,000 may be leaving on their own you need to understand 30,0000 will return as contractors. Still reaping the monetary benefits that could better be done by the next generation who actually would pay more in taxes
You are not completely accurate when you say “When we vote, we choose the representatives who will make the laws and policies that govern how we live together”
When we vote we only chose the individual the party best figures will represent their platform of plan for the future.
Hudak, Howarth, Wynne all combined do not have the intellect to organize a drunk in a pub.
look at their history and qualifications, none of then has ever truly accomplished anything save for being in the right place at the right time
@Marc Pilote: A “none of the above box” is called a spoiled ballot.
Hugger…I agree that a spoiled ballot is an option. Please note however, that in a previous post I indicated you should be able to mark it and it should be part of the total vote count. Spoiled ballots are not officially counted. In addition, I feel if for some reason the greatest number of ballots are spoiled, there should be another election. Again, that was part of my earlier posts…:)
Well folks we got our voting cards in the mail this morning and we tore them all up and put them in the garbage. People are only voting for a puppet who is on strings like a real dumb bell which they all are. Hailey I sure love your description of the 3 stooges the way you said that they couldn’t organize a drunk in a pub. LOL LOL. ROLF! Yes indeed you have an excellent description of all three. These jerks have absolutely no brains at all and an old saying goes “empty barrels make a lot of noise” and empty for sure.
Well Jules in that case any posts you making complaining about Ontario Provincial governance will be instantly deleted. If you don’t vote you don’t get to complain.
Jamie it doesn’t matter who you vote for the result is the same. I sit here laughing my head off and cursing at the same time because not one are any good. You are an intelligent man Jamie think about why these jerks are running and it isn’t for you and I and the rest here on line or anywhere else. These jerks are wanting to get themselves at the government slop trough and it would be the hell with the rest of us. There are no jobs out there and you would be shocked if you had to go around and search. Things are going to get worse as time goes on and that is the truth and worse is hardly the word to describe what is coming. I used to think that Bare Ass would be a good mayor and boy was I shocked. “No tanks Jamie” if you wish to delete me go ahead because even those who would be voting will complain when whatever jerk gets in will continue to bankrupt Ontario even more. The jobs have taken off overseas and you should read what is going on in the US. More and more people are losing their homes and businesses and it is coming here to Canada and the rest of the world as well.
Jules all I’ve said is that because you’ve declared that you destroyed your voter cards you don’t get to complain about provincial politics. There are always options and spoiling of a ballot. If you don’t vote you don’t get to criticize.
Jamie do you know that I wanted to spoil the ballot by appointing your “sweet little Fitzie” as the Ontario PM and believe me I was mighty tempted. You may have a good laugh or think that I lost it but believe me Jamie it has been a mighty long time where all I see are people who are there to screw the system. Everything is going up in price and going to get much worse. When we lived here in Ottawa back in the 70’s and 80’s we never heard about food banks, etc. but nowadays that is all I hear about and even people working making good money are having a very hard time to get by and these rich jerks are screwing us over badly.
LOL Jamie, welcome to what my position on voting was about 10-15 years ago, roughly when I was your age. The problem is that as you get older you realize that there is little difference between the parties and the only thing they do is put down the other guy, rather that telling you why you should vote for them. As I have said consistently, give me a reason to vote FOR you and I will cast a ballot. Count spoiled ballots and make their numbers matter as a sign of disgust with what is on offer and I will cast a ballot. However given the lack of choice and the lack of anything to vote for I have no option but to say at this point I will not be voting. But I refuse to accept that I don’t have the right to complain. That used to be what I believed but given the poor state of what is on offer, I cannot support it any longer.
Jules people died. They gave their lives so that we could all vote. It wasn’t that long ago and there are places in this world where people have no vote. It’s not something to rejoice in not doing. In some countries voting is actually mandatory.
Jamie, I agree. That’s one thing that I was taught in civics class….if you don’t vote, then don’t complain about what or how things are being done.
Jamie I do understand fully what you are saying and in Australia it is compulsory to vote and it is a country like our Canada. I have heard rumors that with the time it will be compulsory to vote in Canada as well as the US and elsewhere and you and I know very well what that means. We are really not free at all my dear man believe me we are not free. We are given certain privileges by the global elite and I know all about it. In communist countries they have no choice and in some Middle Eastern countries as well they have no choice. In my husband’s country of Lebanon it is a mighty crooked system. Just this morning my husband’s nephew put his Skype on and my husband saw his sister for the first time since 1984 and cried his eyes out to see her looking so mighty old (she is 76 and looks like she is in her 80’s) and they went through hell and still are. Nothing good will come about that country and is really finished and the people are divided as a nation and you know what I mean. Christian against Christian and Muslim against Muslim and I can go on and on. My husband’s sister told him not to go over there and there is no government just now. People are being kidnapped and killed. Jamie there is so much going on that would make your hair stand on edge. I gave up hope altogether. My daughter is only working 12 hours a week at minimum wage and she goes through hell and so does the rest of the staff. The staff are great people Jamie and some of the nicest people that you would want to meet.
On the other hand, if you live in a riding like mine, where the same party has won for over a hundred years, voting is almost pointless. If June 12th is a sunny warm day, and I can ride my motorcycle to the voting station, I’ll do my civic duty. Otherwise, I’ll just stay home because I know my vote is like a fart in a hurricane.
Jamie, Furtz and folks in the riding that I live in Alta Vista here in Ottawa people vote Liberal and it has been that way as long as I can remember. David McGuinty (brother of the nitwit of Ontario) who is in the federal and is also a lawyer nearby with the nitwit and lives in my riding somewhere and both of these brothers are fiberals and are voted in all the time. I tore up David McGuinty’s news letter when it came in as I usually do. Today I literally tore up my voting card and so did my husband and daughter. The only one who votes here is my son so we left his intact. LOL LOL. I don’t know whether I should laugh or cry but I am doing a little of both just now. There are no good candidates at all and Hailey Brown had a very good description that is making me laugh. Not one of them have any brains at all and believe me Jamie “your sweet little Fitzy” has more intelligence than all three put together. I mean that Jamie and it isn’t a joke but the truth.
Compulsory voting is in 22 countries, but not enforced in 14. To me compulsory voting is very undemocratic, bordering on being a socialist republic. I can’t see it ever being enacted as a law in either Canada or the U.S.A.
Hailey I would disagree with your statement “we only choose the individual the party…”. We vote only for the party. End of story. Liberal voters endorsed McGuinty but ended up with Wynne and we all ended up on wrong end. This is the Canadian way. We are a rather apathetic lot comprised of an unfortunate majority of uniformed voters struggling with a staggering debt level soon to get a whole lot worse.
I do agree with your opinion of the current leadership talent pool(not). Wynne is promising to do what they could have been doing in last ten years, right. The Socialists under Horwarth still have not figured out how to fund their dreams and offer only a new Rae Day government, oh joy. The PC’s have continued to hang on to the hope that Hudak will leave the larva stage and finally emerge a leader, ya.
I think FURTZ has a handle on the future, we are all going get burnt again ( or was that we are all going to burn ?) Well whatever, really does anyone care ?
David, I think you have me confused with someone else who said that Ontario would burn because we have a gay premier.
I think Ontario is burning because we have a bad Premier. Sadly the other parties seem to be offering up amateur pyromaniacs as options…
Had a bad Premier? Seems we’ve had bad Premiers for a very long time. Will it change? I highly doubt it.