First Green MP

[Argus]

I don't think the Greens would ever advocate spending money on the environment rather than healthcare. Money for the environment would come at the expense of the military and increased taxes on fossil fuels, etc.

Oh that's real comforting. Why is it whenever lefties want to grab money from something the first place they instinctively go is our already tiny military? It's short-sighted and stupid.

And more taxes on gasoline? Suuuuure, that's just what the economy needs.

[Argus]

And a woman too. Not for the first time but one with more spunk than those juiceless females the Dippers had as leaders.

Maybe she'll burst into tears and start praying. That would certainly be unique.

[maldon_road]

Maybe she'll burst into tears and start praying. That would certainly be unique.

I believe you have the elections mixed-up. You are thinking of Sarah Palin.

[Wilber]

As we all know voters vote for a person for different reasons. IF Wilson was voted in for himself then he'll get back in BUT if he was voted in because he was a Lib, he won't. I think in the last election the voters who voted Conservative thought they were electing in a PC and yet, its been pointed out by some in their party.... they are a different party....that's not us!

Last election in that riding

Liberal 23,867

Cons 22,891

Green 3,966

What do you think his chances are?

[cybercoma]

Last election in that riding

Liberal 23,867

Cons 22,891

Green 3,966

What do you think his chances are?

Well since everyone votes for the person whom they feel would do the best job and not the party, I'm gonna say he wins it.

Edited September 1, 2008 by cybercoma

[MontyBurns]

There's no excuse now to have Greens excluded from the debates.

Now we will have to actually listen to their crap. :angry:

[CANADIEN]

Now we will have to actually listen to their crap. :angry:

You don't. Just turn the TV off the same you do with your brain.

[MontyBurns]

You don't. Just turn the TV off the same you do with your brain.

Already done.

[normanchateau]

This is good for the Liberals, they dump a snake-oil salesman and can get a better candidate in a Liberal riding, c'mon this is B.C. we're talking about here. Next elections the Libs get this riding.

I don't think the Liberals will win this one. This riding used to be held by CPC MP John Reynolds. After Reynolds stepped down, CPC chose as their candidate for the 2006 election John Weston, an Evangelical Christian lawyer who posts many articles on the Christian Legal Fellowship website. Unlike Harper, Weston is transparent and candid about his fundamentalist religious views. That's why Blair Wilson won this wealthy riding in 2006. Unless CPC repeats their error, the Liberals will lose this one.

[Ontario Loyalist]

Oh that's real comforting. Why is it whenever lefties want to grab money from something the first place they instinctively go is our already tiny military? It's short-sighted and stupid.

And more taxes on gasoline? Suuuuure, that's just what the economy needs.

You know, whenever someone refers to the Greens as "left," "leftist," "lefties," etc. it simply indicates that the person has no real understanding about the party or, for that matter, politics in general.

This, however, became abundantly clear the other week with your ignorant rant about the deficit, which I thoroughly debunked and you conveniently ignored.

[Ontario Loyalist]

Well since everyone votes for the person whom they feel would do the best job and not the party, I'm gonna say he wins it.

Actually, there is a good chance that he will siphone voters from both the Liberals and the NDP, so I think the party will do much better in the riding, but will likely now go Conservative.

Whatever the case, I think it may cause people in other ridings to seriously consider the Greens and may lead to more exposure in the media even if they don't get in the televised debates.

Also, one good thing about not being in the debates is that May doesn't get grilled by the other leaders and can't make a potentially damaging gaff in front of a national audience.

I predict that the Green will get between 900,000 and 1.1 million votes.

[normanchateau]

Actually, there is a good chance that he will siphone voters from both the Liberals and the NDP, so I think the party will do much better in the riding, but will likely now go Conservative.

So you think that a former Liberal MP who was booted out of his party for unethical activities will make Liberal and NDP voters vote Green? They would have to be completely irrational and out of touch with reality.

Sure, the riding will go Conservative but for entirely different reasons.

[Ontario Loyalist]

So you think that a former Liberal MP who was booted out of his party for unethical activities will make Liberal and NDP voters vote Green? They would have to be completely irrational and out of touch with reality.

Sure, the riding will go Conservative but for entirely different reasons.

He was cleared of anything "serious" by Elections Canada; this should clarify it:

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/st...72-5374245c7fce

So, what we have here is a guy that won a seat for the Liberals, father-in-law tries to ruin his reputation, the Liberals can him, he gets cleared by Elections Canada, tries to rejoin the party, party doesn't let him, so he joins the Greens... I don't know how popular he was, but I'm sure he was a factor in the Liberals' winning the riding (not everybody votes for the party alone); so the manner in which he was treated is going to cost the Liberals.

The NDP will never win the riding, but Wilson has a chance.

[cybercoma]

I think you're giving way too much credit to the entire situation, this won't affect as much change as you think. Most voters won't even know this happened because they care very little about politics to begin with. Of the voters that do hear the story, many of them will simply remember a Liberal got booted out of his party so he joined Green. The insignificant number of voters left over may then decide to vote Green because of him, or it may not affect their votes at all.

The only place that is going to be affected is his own riding; however, a lot of people who vote don't follow politics very closely and simply vote for the person attached to the party which the voter feels best represents their views. The people that specifically voted for this candidate may still give him their votes as a Green, so they might get a small percentage more in the vote. But like you said, it will probably just take votes from the Liberals and NDP, allowing the Conservative in the riding to run up the middle.

[M.Dancer]

If the Americans can manage an orderly and informative televised debate for candidates for a party's presidential candidacy, then why can't we manage to add one more party to the debate? The Green Party is a major party now and has the right to participate.

They are not a major party. They have never polled more than 10% of the pop. vote and have never elected a member. I see no reason why fringe parties should have the same access as parties who actually have elected members.

[cybercoma]

They are not a major party. They have never polled more than 10% of the pop. vote and have nevWher elected a member. I see no reason why fringe parties should have the same access as parties who actually have elected members.

Frankly, I think The Green Party, which ran a candidate in every riding last year, has more of a place at the national debate than The Bloc, which only serves Quebec.

[M.Dancer]

Frankly, I think The Green Party, which ran a candidate in every riding last year, has more of a place at the national debate than The Bloc, which only serves Quebec.

Perhaps but the Bloc which has been the official opposition and is a federal party with elected members, The greens have neither of those two items on their resuma. And since the Bloc actually does have an impact on Parliament, their views and the capability of their leader is of greater value to Canadians than a fringe party which has zero influence on the House.

[Ontario Loyalist]

They are not a major party. They have never polled more than 10% of the pop. vote and have never elected a member. I see no reason why fringe parties should have the same access as parties who actually have elected members.

Neither is the Bloc. The Bloc only runs in ridings in Quebec, while the Greens ran in all ridings during the last two elections. During the last election 660,000+ people voted for the Greens. The Greens qualify for funding. The Greens have an MP. Canada has a democratic system.

[M.Dancer]

The Greens have an MP. Canada has a democratic system.

Let me know when they have an elected MP. Then talk about a democratic system.

During the last election 660,000+ people voted for the Greens

So?

During the last election, The Greens managed to poll 4.48% across Canada.

The Bloc succeeded in counting 10.48% in Quebec alone.

[Ontario Loyalist]

Let me know when they have an elected MP. Then talk about a democratic system.

An MP is an MP. Had we an truly democratic system, though, the Greens would have have elected MPs during the last three elections.

During the last election, The Greens managed to poll 4.48% across Canada.

The Bloc succeeded in counting 10.48% in Quebec alone.

Irrelevant. The Bloc isn't a national party, therefore has no place in the (English) leadership debate (at least).

[M.Dancer]

An MP is an MP. Had we an truly democratic system, though, the Greens would have have elected MPs during the last three elections.

You seem to be missing an important factor. To be elected, they have to get more votes than the second choice.

Getting a seat isn't simply getting 5 out of a 100 people to vote for you.....it's about getting the largest block in any one riding.

[normanchateau]

He was cleared of anything "serious" by Elections Canada; this should clarify it:

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/st...72-5374245c7fce

So, what we have here is a guy that won a seat for the Liberals, father-in-law tries to ruin his reputation, the Liberals can him, he gets cleared by Elections Canada, tries to rejoin the party, party doesn't let him, so he joins the Greens... I don't know how popular he was, but I'm sure he was a factor in the Liberals' winning the riding (not everybody votes for the party alone); so the manner in which he was treated is going to cost the Liberals.

The NDP will never win the riding, but Wilson has a chance.

Sure his father-in-law tried to ruin his reputation but Elections Canada cleared him of only 21 of the 24 allegations.

"Most of the allegations against Wilson were "unfounded or insufficiently substantiated," said elections commissioner William Corbett in a written statement dated June 27, but made public in the government newspaper Canada Gazette on Saturday.

However, the review found Wilson violated the Federal Elections Act on three occasions."

See:

http://www.canada.com/topics/news/story.ht...89-3f1308dc4682

Wilson took the June 2008 decision by Elections Canada to mean that the Liberals, who booted him out in December, would take him back. However, LPC stood by their decision in light of the Elections Canada review.

Poor decision on the part of Elizabeth May to welcome a MP booted out of his party for violating the Federal Elections Act.

[M.Dancer]

Poor decision on the part of Elizabeth May to welcome a MP booted out of his party for violating the Federal Elections Act.

...or a very shrewd plan to make sure all MPs are 100% recyclable

[cybercoma]

During the last election, The Greens managed to poll 4.48% across Canada.

The Bloc succeeded in counting 10.48% in Quebec alone.

What does that mean in numbers? Near as I can figure, they received about the same number of votes. The Block won ridings, where the Greens didn't.

I hate having to support The Green Party because I don't necessarily agree with their platform, however, I don't see it being a particular problem to allow any party that can run a candidate in every riding a spot at the debate.

[cybercoma]

Nevermind, I made a mistake because of ambiguity. The Bloc received 10.48% of the popular vote for all of Canada, not just 10.48% of Quebec. Which I guess doesn't make sense anyway.