Disenchanted with Liberals, Conservatives & NDP?

[PoliticalCitizen]

Here's coverage in the English media of the Quebec Green candidates openly backing the Liberals.

http://www.thestar.com/FederalElection/article/515241#

These types of moves will do nothing to help the Greens build credibility among prospective supporters. To the contrary it leaves the impression that the Green Party does not believe in their own ideology and policies. I guess the Green Party equals the Liberal Party.

For this election the Liberal "Green Shift" program is very close to what the Greens have.

I think it is only smart to support a party that shares your view against a party that's as far as possible from it.

[Dr V]

What don't you like about the Greens?

Oh about the "strategic vote" - bullshit, go with your heart

The Conservatives will win anyway. Maybe giving them a majority government will speed their undoing as the world will see their true agenda (more prisons, less freedom, more money to the rich, less money to the poor, etc...)

After all these posts I still can't tell if you're a cynic or an optimist, PoliticalCitizen

The Green party has more than one kind of supporter. Some supporters are not treehuggers or potheads. Others don't care very deeply about the polar bears. There are even those who do not acknowledge nature as their loving and benevolent Mother; who knows, maybe they have some other mothers who love them. Some even exist who are not convinced - oh blasphemy! - that global warming is the result of human activity. Maybe they're just deeply disgusted by the rampant consumerism and wastfullness that sweep the developed world, and want to establish a sustainable lifestyle.

Okay, so the above is just a foolish fantasy. But there have got to be real reasons to vote Green beyond just rolling our eyes at the other parties!

[independent]

I voted Green in the last election mostly as a protest vote. I did not like any of my local choices. The Green have grown a lot in the last couple of years and are starting to have some interesting ideas. But for this election it's anyone but Harper. I'll vote for the party that has the best chance of beating the conservative candidate. It is my hope Harper gets dumped and replaced with someone with a conscience. Then next election I will be giving the Green party just as much a look as the other parties.

[Vancouver King]

I voted Green in the last election mostly as a protest vote. I did not like any of my local choices. The Green have grown a lot in the last couple of years and are starting to have some interesting ideas. But for this election it's anyone but Harper. I'll vote for the party that has the best chance of beating the conservative candidate. It is my hope Harper gets dumped and replaced with someone with a conscience. Then next election I will be giving the Green party just as much a look as the other parties.

Harper getting dumped is noe pretty much out of the equation. Too bad, I would have preferred a PM with some humanity or class.

[PoliticalCitizen]

I voted Green in the last election mostly as a protest vote. I did not like any of my local choices. The Green have grown a lot in the last couple of years and are starting to have some interesting ideas. But for this election it's anyone but Harper. I'll vote for the party that has the best chance of beating the conservative candidate. It is my hope Harper gets dumped and replaced with someone with a conscience. Then next election I will be giving the Green party just as much a look as the other parties.

My riding is considered safely Liberal so I won't feel guilty about my Green vote

[PoliticalCitizen]

Harper getting dumped is now pretty much out of the equation. Too bad, I would have preferred a PM with some humanity or class.

So is Harper getting a majority, and that's a good thing

[Dr V]

I voted Green in the last election mostly as a protest vote. I did not like any of my local choices. The Green have grown a lot in the last couple of years and are starting to have some interesting ideas.

By the way, does anyone know where the Greens stand now on public funding for Catholic schools? A couple of years ago they were the only party to take a firm stand on the issue. Public means secular, no two ways about it. Are they continuing to maintain this?

[PoliticalCitizen]

After all these posts I still can't tell if you're a cynic or an optimist, PoliticalCitizen

Realist, maybe?

The Green party has more than one kind of supporter. Some supporters are not treehuggers or potheads. Others don't care very deeply about the polar bears. There are even those who do not acknowledge nature as their loving and benevolent Mother; who knows, maybe they have some other mothers who love them. Some even exist who are not convinced - oh blasphemy! - that global warming is the result of human activity. Maybe they're just deeply disgusted by the rampant consumerism and wastfullness that sweep the developed world, and want to establish a sustainable lifestyle.

Okay, so the above is just a foolish fantasy. But there have got to be real reasons to vote Green beyond just rolling our eyes at the other parties!

Well, if you care about the environment more than about political bickering you will vote Green as they're the only party who cannot forget about it.

That is the main reason.

[PoliticalCitizen]

By the way, does anyone know where the Greens stand now on public funding for Catholic schools? A couple of years ago they were the only party to take a firm stand on the issue. Public means secular, no two ways about it. Are they continuing to maintain this?

I couldn't find it in their election platform but I don't believe that the approach changed.

[Dr V]

For this election the Liberal "Green Shift" program is very close to what the Greens have.

Very true. And the proposed carbon tax is inevitably only symbolic at this point, an expression of good intentions and little more. Canada does not have the infrastructure to make a transition from fossil fuels to alternative energy (e.g. ethanol for vehicles). The proposed carbon tax is so low that large polluters will happily pay it and continue to pollute, and small polluters who are already used to spending a lot on their vehicles will also swallow it without much pain. No one, large or small, is ready to get hit with a real, workable carbon tax that can in fact be translated into CO2 emissions.

So maybe I should vote Liberal because when this first lameduck version of the carbon tax falls on its face, it will be attributed to the Liberals. And maybe by then, when there is an alternative fuel infrastructure in place, a real carbon tax will be credited to the Green party. How's that for strategic voting?

[sharkman]

Two Green Party candidates in Quebec are calling on their supporters to vote Liberal. (Sorry, nothing in the English media reporting this)

http://www.cyberpresse.ca/actualites/elect...la-campagne.php

Not surprising as this election is the weirdest I can remember.

So, the Green party is selling themselves as the party with integrity which stands for something other than the usual political horse trading but advise some of their voters to not vote with integrity but sell their votes to the Liberals? Hypocrites.

The Green party can not call itself any different than the others when it advises its own supporters to not vote their conscience.

[WIP]

So, the Green party is selling themselves as the party with integrity which stands for something other than the usual political horse trading but advise some of their voters to not vote with integrity but sell their votes to the Liberals? Hypocrites.

The Green party can not call itself any different than the others when it advises its own supporters to not vote their conscience.

You conservative clowns are only mad about the prospect that the opposition vote may not be as divided as you would like it. If Greens consider environment the most important issue, then they may have to vote for a Liberal if that is the only option available to defeat the Tory candidate!

[independent]

So, the Green party is selling themselves as the party with integrity which stands for something other than the usual political horse trading but advise some of their voters to not vote with integrity but sell their votes to the Liberals? Hypocrites.

The Green party can not call itself any different than the others when it advises its own supporters to not vote their conscience.

You have got to vote for your believes. (If you care for the environment) The worst thing that could happen is letting Harper get in. The Green party has the integrity to look after the best interests of Canada and not just their own self interest. I cannot vote Green this year but they are certainly gaining my respect.

****A Vote Against Harper is a vote for Canada and its environment****

Edited October 12, 2008 by independent

[capricorn]

The Green party has the integrity to look after the best interests of Canada and not just their own self interest. I cannot vote Green this year but they are certainly gaining my respect.

Some Green Party supporters may prefer to vote for their own party and some may want to vote strategically. I think the larger question surrounds Ms. May's integrity in urging her supporters to vote for other parties. How loyal is she to her party and its agenda?

Yet, this still-very-active politico tells Bourque he fears a secret deal has been cooked between Dion and Elizabeth May which may explain why she has been meeting with “key Liberal organizers” and is now actively telling Green Party supporters to vote Liberal, of all things. This, according to our Liberal insider, in exchange for a possible Senate seat and a place as Environment Minister in a Dion-led government. To be clear, Ms May’s curious strategy of backing Dion is creating ill-will within her own party to the point that “a lot of Green candidates are upset”, according to one national news report this morning. Surprisingly, top Green Party representatives are refusing to respond to a query from this organ as to what is the Party’s current position on the Senate. Developing...

http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/5521

[PoliticalCitizen]

Some Green Party supporters may prefer to vote for their own party and some may want to vote strategically. I think the larger question surrounds Ms. May's integrity in urging her supporters to vote for other parties. How loyal is she to her party and its agenda?

http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/5521

Only after the electoral system changes in Canada to better represent the will of its people can you expect citizens NO TO vote strategically.

[Oleg Bach]

Stategic voting is unreliable. What I would like to see is a system where who ever gets the most votes wins. Voting Green is like being part of the European Union...I don't want to be part of the great Hitlerite belated success.. Greens are not about nature or it's care protection and management - Greens are people who hate rich people - they dispise successful liberals and conservatives. My experience with a Green voter has been to witness an attitude that is similar to the Leninists.

[sharkman]

Only after the electoral system changes in Canada to better represent the will of its people can you expect citizens NO TO vote strategically.

To "vote strategically" is a nice sounding turn of phrase crafted by people who want you to do their bidding. Voting is against your conscience is voting against your conscience. My vote is not for hire.

[PoliticalCitizen]

To "vote strategically" is a nice sounding turn of phrase crafted by people who want you to do their bidding. Voting is against your conscience is voting against your conscience. My vote is not for hire.

Huh? What exactly were you trying to say?

Anyway, use both your heart and your head when voting.

[PoliticalCitizen]

Stategic voting is unreliable. What I would like to see is a system where who ever gets the most votes wins. Voting Green is like being part of the European Union...I don't want to be part of the great Hitlerite belated success.. Greens are not about nature or it's care protection and management - Greens are people who hate rich people - they dispise successful liberals and conservatives. My experience with a Green voter has been to witness an attitude that is similar to the Leninists.

You know, for once - you may be onto something here!

Because of their internationality Greens just may become the backbone of the World Government

[TCCK]

You know, for once - you may be onto something here!

Because of their internationality Greens just may become the backbone of the World Government

Weeee, a green party communist state. NOT!!!!

[WIP]

Huh? What exactly were you trying to say?

Anyway, use both your heart and your head when voting.

I guess you can't use your head for a whole lot if there's no brain inside of it!

[myata]

Only after the electoral system changes in Canada to better represent the will of its people can you expect citizens NO TO vote strategically.

This is certainly correct. With the current majortitary system, splitting the progressive vote is near equivalent to supporting conservatives, i.e. making sure change won't happen (because they don't believe in it).

Only broad equal coalition for progress could bring about the electoral change to ensure that we won't have to vote strategically in the future elections, and votes cast outside of main duopoly would still count. Majority party wouldn't be likely to support such change as it would agianst their immediate interests.

Edited October 14, 2008 by myata

[PoliticalCitizen]

Weeee, a green party communist state. NOT!!!!

Who said Communist?