Didn't want to ... but I did.

[The Terrible Sweal]

During the whole campaign, not one single candidate called, stopped by, or dropped off literature at my home, except one. The Liberal candidate, in the neighboring riding.

If I'd heard anything from them, the Greens might have gotten my vote. With the Crappers and the NDP being basically unacceptable (we can't legitimize these people -- it's a slippery slope), I ended up deciding that Paul Martin earned my vote a few years back and his recent missteps notwithstanding, I wanted to see what he could do.

Yes, this is an apologia for voting Liberal.

[Michael Hardner]

Me too. I haven't voted Liberal in a long long time.

But Martin seems to me the kind of person who could possibly map out a true "third way", ie. truly effective and efficient government providing superior services at a relatively low cost.

And I also believe he's smart enough to realize that the West needs some real representation in Ottawa and that he can't provide that himself.

[August1991]

I have seen the federal Liberals do this bait and switch tactic too often to believe that PM PM is any different.

If Canada was not a fundamentally fractured country, the Liberal Party would have long since disappeared.

We just went through an election where the BQ was involved in an English debate despite having no candidates running in English Canada. And obviously, the Greens were excluded from the same debate.

Only Edward Albee could capture such nonsense.

[The Terrible Sweal]

This was my first Liberal vote in about 9 years.

Ironically, if Harper falls short, or his minority is discredited quickly, I think this election will represent a big missed opportunity for the hard blue west to have significant influence in a national government.

As for Duceppe in the English debate, he's perfectly entitled to be there... there are SOME Quebeckers who don't speak French as their language of best comprehension. I don't doubt that Duceppe earned some of their votes, do you?

Here's a prediction btw:

If Harper leads a minority it won't last 6 months. If Martin leads a minority with the NDP if could hold up for a couple of years. Either way, the Liberals win the next election.

[idealisttotheend]

I voted today and voted for the NDP candidate. In my riding it is between the Cons and the NDP with the Liberals not really being a big factor. Last election I was living in Alberta and I voted Liberal because the NDP was not a real factor there. I did though, like many people in this thread it seems, feel guilty about not voting my conscious and am glad that I don't have to apologize this time.

I really think that poliing parties during elections should be banned so we could get rid of strategic voting even though I have done it myself.

[Goldie]

Just a few words,

I'm not a superstitious person but I observed a few interesting "omens" on voting day.

I don't feel silly considering the G&M

consulted witches and astrologers prior to the vote.

Before voting I had to mail a box to Winnipeg. After about 20 Mins In line some guy behind me says, "where is the Fed-X outlet?". Then I thought "WOW" Canadians refuse to stand in line for mail service at the Government run outlet but may very well vote to stand in line for health services at the government run outlet.

This guy knew instinctively to opt for better service and said so. Nobody chastized him for saying it and wishing for an American company to lessen his waiting time. Maybe this will be manifest in the election too, I thought.

The church I voted in was on Stockwell Drive....Interesting.

I came back home to find no audio on CBC Newsworld. I could see Don Newman and Norman Spector but no sound . I laughed out loud at the Liberal mouthpiece silenced on election night........Spooky.

Well we will see if there is anything to it.

[Reverend Blair]

As soon as the wife gets ready, I'm going to go and vote for Bill Blaikie. No guilt, no doubt. He's been an excellent MP for as long as I've been living here and he represents the NDP, the only party in Canada that seems to think that Canada is strong and capable enough to move forward on its own.

I think we'll get a Liberal minority that will last 18 months to a year. I also think that Stephen Harper and Paul Martin are both going to be scrambling to hang onto their jobs as party leaders after this mess.

[Hawk]

Paul Martin is the biggest blundering idiot on the planet, the fact the Fiberals keep getting re-elected shows that Canada does NOT learn from past mistakes. Heck, 5 terms... that is terrible. In all honesty I am seriously considering joining the Western Seperatist Movement, in addition to alot of us out here in the West. We are happy the Liberal lost their majority but are sick and tired of the rest of Canada treating us like redneck trash.

Martin didn't even mention us in his public speech, all he says is he will govern EVERY region... well what if we dont like the way he is governing our region? He isn't representing our views or our ways.

But oh my didn't he just kiss some more French @$$ on national television (as do most Liberal candidates)

It disgusts me.

PS My prediction: More scandals arise, Liberals now with minority government can't do as much to cover up such things and soon their corruption will doom the party. They dont know how to function as a cohesive unit, as a government responsible (hahahaa) for the well-being of a nation. The Conservatives and the Bloq will make the Liberals look so bad that next election the Liberals will be lucky if the Conservatives dont get in on a majority... wouldn't it just be hilarious if the BQ ended up the official opposition? xD

[Michael Hardner]

Gracious in victory... gracious in defeat...

I think Martin will make a concerted pitch to mend fences with the west. Furthermore, I think it will include some real changes that the west have been calling for. And ... it will probably fail.

[Hawk]

Yes it will fail, because chances are it wont happen. You see the West learns from the past, when we see a government that ignores us for 5 terms and never once tries to do anything to lessen the alienation of us from Ottawa what more can you expect?

We aren't the deciding vote, Quebec and Ontario are. That is why you see the Liberals sucking up to Quebec and using the West as the big bad enemy of the East for their own uses.

[Argus]

Gracious in victory... gracious in defeat...

I think Martin will make a concerted pitch to mend fences with the west. Furthermore, I think it will include some real changes that the west have been calling for. And ... it will probably fail.

Gracious?! Martin! Have you ever watched Martin in the House? He is anything but gracious. He is an arrogant, jeering, sneering jerk. As for mending fences, I don't see it happening. He ran this election in large measure by trying to scare Ontarions by suggesting Harper was too "Alberta" and too "American". Don't look for any friendly help on trade issues from the White House, and don't look for westerners to reward him for portraying them as ignorant hicks central Canada needed to be protected from.

[Michael Hardner]

Gracious?! Martin! Have you ever watched Martin in the House? He is anything but gracious. He is an arrogant, jeering, sneering jerk.

I wasn't talking about Martin, I was talking about us MapleLeafWebbers.

And I don't ascribe to the idea that people's appearances and mannerisms inform us as to their personalities 100% of the time. Somebody even tried to convince me that Stephen Harper was evil because of his evil stare.

As for mending fences, I don't see it happening. He ran this election in large measure by trying to scare Ontarions by suggesting Harper was too "Alberta" and too "American". Don't look for any friendly help on trade issues from the White House, and don't look for westerners to reward him for portraying them as ignorant hicks central Canada needed to be protected from.

Nobody was portrayed as a hick. The only Albertan that was vilified in part was Ralph Klein, and why not ? He arrogantly stated that he would be remodelling his province's health care irrespective of the law, didn't he ?

This is the kind of thing Ontarians can't understand. They vote for PMs who come from other provinces in election after election. Why ? Because they identify themselves as Canadians first, not Ontarians. Not even Harris could have rustled up separatist feelings here.

If you think the CPC's disappointment in Ontario was an anti-West message, maybe you're identifying the CPC with the west too much.

Don't worry. Harper will do better in Ontario next time, I'm sure.

[August1991]

We aren't the deciding vote, Quebec and Ontario are.

Quebec?

This is the kind of thing Ontarians can't understand. They vote for PMs who come from other provinces in election after election.

They are very uncomfortable voting for Western leaders.

If you think the CPC's disappointment in Ontario was an anti-West message, maybe you're identifying the CPC with the west too much.

There is almost no other way to iunterpret this. The Liberal negative attack ads worked in Ontario. But they didn't work in the West. (The French attack ads didn't work in Quebec.) You draw your own conclusion.

[Michael Hardner]

There is almost no other way to iunterpret this. The Liberal negative attack ads worked in Ontario. But they didn't work in the West. (The French attack ads didn't work in Quebec.) You draw your own conclusion.

But the ads didn't attack the CPC based on their Western-ness. They attacked the CPC based on the Charter of Rights, Iraq, Abortion etc.

The scare-mongering ads worked in Ontario because they appealed to Ontarian's fears of the unknown, and reminded them of their recent experiments with Harris and Rae.

Can't the CPC just drop the social conservative stuff once and for all and move on ? That would probably boost their fortunes.

[The Terrible Sweal]

I came back home to find no audio on CBC Newsworld. I could see Don Newman and Norman Spector but no sound . I laughed out loud at the Liberal mouthpiece silenced on election night........Spooky.

Spector is an old-line Mulroneyite, not a Liberal.

[The Terrible Sweal]

... a government that ignores us for 5 terms and never once tries to do anything to lessen the alienation ...

I don't think that's a valid criticism. The Liberal Party ran a full slate of candidates in Alberta every time and they run into a completely intransigent wall of Rightwing self-righteousness.

News flash: if you want a party to take account of your special interests, you have to elect someone who can inform them of it.