Hi Rob,
On , you wrote me:

 MG>>Peter, aren't you glad you have the freedom to not vote if
  >>that is what you wish to not do?

 MG>>Are you going to be happy you did not contribute if a Liberal
  >>wins in your riding. or they form the next government?  Are you
  >>going to be happy if you did not help prevent that?

 RM> The problem with not voting or 'potest' voting for some
 RM> no-name party is that, perhaps the party you voted for before
 RM> has peeved you some but do you want to see the next runner-up
 RM> in power instead? You really should be voting for the one
 RM> you want in there the most, or at least the one you Hate the
 RM> least, because someone else getting in may do you more damage
 RM> in the long run.

 RM> Voting someone out may hurt them some but there's not a lot
 RM> of point if it hurts you More...   (IMHO)     B)

You do make good points.  That's the Catch 22 of the situation.

Consider the results from yesterday: the Green Party managed to increase
their share of the vote to the point where they now qualify for funding via
the system.  I did not vote Green, but those who did probably were largely
people who saw value in making a statement with their vote.  They knew the
Green Party wasn't going to win.  They did not know the Green Party was
going to do as well as it did.  The net effect is there is now another
small party for the big guys to think about.

What did you think of the minority result for the Liberal party?  What did
you think of the increase in NDP ranks?  Do you think the message was that
Canadians weren't happy with the status quo, and considered the
alternatives still to be a bit unpalatable?

If I were Paul Martin, right now I would be doing some thinking about how I
was going to win the NEXT election in 2008 or 2009 (assuming they survive
non-confidence votes until then).  I think the message should be clear:
Canadians want responsible government.

I'm no expert at politics.  I'm a victim of apathy, but I'm trying to change.



From the desk of...


   Michael
... Canada join the United States? Where would young Canadians run off to
for adventure? Where would Americans run to escape?
- Peter Jennings, Toronto born ABC anchorman, Maclean's 25 June 1990



--- Devil's Point System 6.66