Well done Canada

[Peter_Puget]

Now that the shit storm has blown by and the shit puppets are out of office...peace and tranquility will reign.

 

an ideal to follow

[j_b]

54% of the seats for <40% of the vote. Something stinks in Canada.

[j_b]

The concept of preliminary then runoff elections is so difficult to comprehend that commentators can only flaunt Harper's new found mandate for neoliberal policies.

[prole]

Seriously, why is Canada about 30 years behind everyone else? Somebody should tell them the 70's ended. Neoliberal policies are as stale as Harper's hairdo.

[tvashtarkatena]

You can still get donuts AND a sandwich at Timmy Horton's.

 

30 years behind is OK by me.

[Hugh Conway]

I can hear PP fapping to this pic lightyears away

[murraysovereign]

I'm OK with the Conservatives, generally, but Stephen Harper is a petty, mean-spirited hypocrite.

 

It's guys like Harper that give assholes a bad name.

[bstach]

54% of the seats for <40% of the vote. Something stinks in Canada.

 

Like the electoral college shenanigans makes any sense...oy...glass houses

[j_b]

I'd be among the first to claim the electoral college an archaic practice that has no legitimate place in a democracy. Why are people so defensive they feel they have to defend the indefensible?

[bstach]

I should have added that i agree with you...electoral reform is desperately needed in Canada

[j_b]

Ha! Good for you.

[murraysovereign]

54% of the seats for <40% of the vote. Something stinks in Canada.

 

That spread isn't too bad, compared with some past election results. Our system was not designed with parties in mind, and has evolved to handle two parties fairly well, but it breaks down with three or more parties splitting up large chunks of the vote.

 

As for why it hasn't been fixed... well... how often do you guys try to amend your constitution, and how successful have you been? For instance, clarifying that business about the right to bear arms - I mean, c'mon, how hard could it be?

[j_b]

Well, at least you guys have more than 2 major parties but nothing justifies media silence about absolute rule of the minority for the next 4 years and how Harper will use it to entrench regressive rule, which will make amending the constitution even more difficult.

[G-spotter]

The social democratic party gets their biggest ever chunk of seats, and the Greens elect someone in first-past-the-post rules (only second time that's ever been done in the world) but everyone's crying?

[j_b]

These are positive developments but I wouldn't be so concerned if Harper hadn't already shown to be among the worst kind of warmongering, anti-regulation, anti-tax, anti-environment neoliberals. Canada largely avoided the recession because the Harper types didn't have the power to destroy the state's regulatory apparatus. That balance of power changed as of this weekend.

[murraysovereign]

The social democratic party gets their biggest ever chunk of seats, and the Greens elect someone in first-past-the-post rules (only second time that's ever been done in the world) but everyone's crying?

 

I think most people are glad May finally won a seat, and they're at least bemused at the NDP's success. Add to that the near-elimination of the BQ, and it's all good. It's the "Harper Majority" part they're crying about. He was a smug, arrogant prick when he led a minority - he'll be insufferable now.

 

Say goodbye to Insite, and hello to tankers in the Great Bear. Oh, and hello to God-knows-how-many-billions of dollars worth of new prisons to house the perpetrators of "unreported crimes."

[G-spotter]

I'm skeptical that such blatant moves will fly. It's things like defunding climate research that I expect are more likely.

 

But I don't expect Harpo will last four years. He hasn't learned anything from years in minority and a criminal scandal will spell the fall of his regime within 2-3 years.

[bstach]

The concept of preliminary then runoff elections is so difficult to comprehend that commentators can only flaunt Harper's new found mandate for neoliberal policies.

 

So j_b...what countries have preliminary and runoff elections at the federal or state/provincial level. Not trying to be cheekey, I really am curious if this has been implemented for realz. I think it would be good for Canada.

[murraysovereign]

...I don't expect Harpo will last four years. He hasn't learned anything from years in minority and a criminal scandal will spell the fall of his regime within 2-3 years.

 

You may be right. When I heard he'd reached the majority, my first thought was "shit" and my second thought was "oh well, maybe now he's got enough rope"

 

But I think you're wrong on Insite - the mouthbreathers in the Reform wing of his caucus have been after shutting it down ever since it opened. They'll be out for blood now, and Harper will have to throw them a bone for fear that they'll turn on him. The Supreme Court could stop him in the short term, but I don't expect he'll let it rest.

[Mal_Con]

In Australia they have preferential ballots where you number the names in the order of your preferences. In counting they look at the first preferences first and if anyone has 50% they win if not they go to the 2nd etc. The parties hand out cards in the order they want to be strategic.

[KaskadskyjKozak]

 

Is spray really so fucking boring now that we have to talk Canadian politics?

 

;-)

 

[bstach]

Perhaps you should get back to the Bin Laden thread then

[j_b]

So j_b...what countries have preliminary and runoff elections at the federal or state/provincial level. Not trying to be cheekey, I really am curious if this has been implemented for realz. I think it would be good for Canada.

 

There are at least 2 possible ways to account for more than 2 parties getting significant number of votes: proportional representation (or a mix of first past the post and proportional representation), and the preliminary + runoff I mentioned earlier (not to be confused with party prelims like in the US). Germany, Italy, Brazil and likely many more have proportional representation in parliament. I can think of France that has a 2 rounds election system for parliament and presidential, but I am sure there are more. My guess is that fptp systems exist mostly in England and former colonies (UK,Canada, US,.. and India) but I could be wrong about that.

 

Not only fptp systems are less democratic but they also tend to force toward a 2-party system, which is terrible for pluralism.

Edited May 4, 2011 by j_b

[Hugh Conway]

Perhaps you should get back to the Bin Laden thread then

 

hey adultfriendfinder avatar - maybe you should get back to the Stephen Harper pedophile lounge?

[murraysovereign]

In Australia they have preferential ballots where you number the names in the order of your preferences. In counting they look at the first preferences first and if anyone has 50% they win if not they go to the 2nd etc.

 

There was a referendum a few years ago regarding implementing a version of that for BC provincial elections (Single Transferable Vote) but it failed to reach the threshold for approval. There was some talk of trying again, but I haven't heard of any plans. I think there will have to be a number of provinces implementing some form of proportional representation before there's a realistic chance of even discussing it federally. At the provincial level it just requires an act of the legislature, but federally it probably means amending the constitution, and that's a rat's nest no sane person wants to disturb...