Evening Star

That's what I was questioning though. NDP and Liberal support may be concentrated in different areas. I haven't studied it closely but I'm not sure there actually are that many ridings that will work out that way.

That's depressingly plausible, cybercoma. I would lose all respect for the Liberals if they did that after basically running an NDP campaign. I don't think I'd be alone. I really agree, Molly. I don't think the LPC would be polling any worse if they had left themselves some room to form a coalition.

(Ha, I actually liked jPod, although I always got the sense that I was in the minority. It's an interesting case if you're attributing politics to it, considering that Coupland is a libertarian. But yeah, the regional thing. I never honestly thought those factors were involved in the programming choices though.)

I don't even really get how this is a waste. The opera is being shown in theatres, right? Besides, networks spend money on projects that don't ultimately make it to broadcast (or last) all the time. Didn't anyone see the last 30 Rock?

But it depends on the regional breakdown, right? How many ridings are there were a Lib/NDP split will let the CPC candidate win? Maybe in BC?

What always amazes me about the Bloc is that they're an ostensibly 'separatist' party who seem heavily concerned with lobbying for more federal funding in Quebec, whether for arts programmes, education, or hockey arenas.

For serious.

Really? This doesn't seem to be the consensus among economists at all from what I've read: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/opinion/walking-the-line-on-corporate-tax-cuts/article1985847/ http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/corporate-tax-cuts-dont-spur-growth-analysis-reveals-as-election-pledges-fly/article1972599/ Debate with three perspectives and many references: http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/News/Politics/1244504890/ID=1872560664 It's an American classic but: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/14/magazine/the-tax-cut-con.html Anyway, I really like the Learning Passport idea. I also really like the idea of promoting strategic knowledge-intensive sectors, including digital technology, as well as the Liberals' ideas on media and culture. I might actually be able to see where you're coming from on some of the other proposals, kimmy.

Some good points perhaps: http://www.punditsguide.ca/2011/04/why-the-conservatives-love-the-strategic-voting-sites/

I dunno, are they? The Liberals seem pretty stagnant in the polls.

But commercial advertising usually tells you something about the product or at least tries to do something distinctive to make the product seem appealing. These lawn signs really tell you nothing but the candidate's name and party affiliation, perhaps with a photo. So I also sometimes wonder what their purpose is. As far as I can tell, it's just a way for people to gauge how popular each candidate is, going by the number of signs per candidate.

I was only responding to this part: and pointing out that even out of the people who do vote, no more than 36% have ever voted for the CPC. I totally agree with the rest of what you're saying.

Maybe if people are saying this based on opinion polls. But the CPC has never received more than 36% of the popular vote in an election afaik.

I have a tendency to agree with you but... realistically, how much more could we do? I did French immersion in an Ottawa high school but, still, my French has become hopelessly rusty now that I haven't had to use it for years. How much more could we expect from someone in Regina or Vancouver (especially if e.g. French is their fourth language), no matter how much we improve the standard of French education? (I had an excellent education in calculus too, by the way. I even took a year and a half of it in university. I didn't remember a damn thing until I studied it again on my own last year.)

I don't remember the Red Book that well tbh. I never voted for the Chretien/Martin Liberals... But punked, why do you think the Liberals won another majority in 1997?

Good points but... Looking at the Project Democracy site, I don't actually see this Liberal bias. They recommend BQ and NDP candidates when they are close to winning and don't seem to favour Liberals in ridings where another candidate can beat the CPC. They (bizarrely) even recommend Elizabeth May in Saanich-Gulf Islands. Perhaps you're right when it comes to partisan LPC proponents of strategic voting.

What seems more important is the fact that ownership of a key resource is under public ownership control in Norway. Isn't that more fundamental to the definition of socialism?

I was 14 but I remember that election well. I actually wrote a Gr 10 history (now called "civics") paper on the NDP platform. (We had to pick one party's.)... Even then, I thought it was in-depth, well-thought-out, and eminently reasonable. McLaughlin was no star personality but she seemed knowledgeable and capable to me... It actually hurt a little to watch them get so thoroughly decimated in that election.

I completely agree with this. I still think that the platform itself is quite detailed though!

The Edmonton-Strathcona example seems to contradict this, though.

No, the Liberal platform is very detailed.

No, not necessarily. In some ridings, the NDP candidate has a better chance of beating the Conservative candidate. The "Liberals for Linda" campaign in Edmonton-Strathcona is probably one of the best examples of effective strategic voting, for example.

I get what you're saying... I guess I just don't place too much emphasis on the 'left-right' spectrum as a way of looking at these things. Right now, the Liberal platform and NDP platform are quite similar. However, there were many times in the fairly recent past when they advocated or stood for very different positions on issues, when even going by the l/r spectrum, I wouldn't have placed the LPC on the left.

It just seems like a weird argument to make in the first place... It would never occur to me to 100% agree with or 'believe in' a political party. Going by a number of factors, I see aspects that I like about both the Liberals and the NDP and aspects that make me sceptical of either. However, I would prefer either to the CPC.

Do you see the NDP as splitting the Liberal vote, BM, or do you see them offering a distinct third alternative?