Why I'm voting NDP in this election and why you should too.

The apathy of the general populace is palpable in this election campaign. Everywhere I go I'm hearing people saying things like "Why bother voting? It doesn't matter who we vote for no one has our best interests in mind."

Well that's because we keep voting in the wrong people!

I'm not saying the NDP is perfect or they wont run deficit budgets. What I am saying is they will spend more of your money on the things that you want. And why? Because the people that run the NDP are much more like you than the people that run the Liberals or the Conservatives.

So to anyone that is apathetic about this election I leave you with this from Tommy Douglas. It is just as true today as it was sixty years ago


"This is the story of a place called Mouseland. Mouseland was a place where all the little mice lived and played, were born and died. And they lived much the same as you and I do.

They even had a parliament. And every four years they had an election. Used to walk to the polls and cast their ballots. Some of them even got a ride to the polls. And got a ride for the next four years afterwards, too. Just like you and me. And every time on election day all the little mice used to go to the ballot box and they used to elect a government.

A government made up of big, fat, black cats.

Now if you think it strange that mice should elect a government of cats, look at the history of Canada for the last 90 years and maybe you'll see they weren't any stupider then us.

Now I'm not saying anything against the cats. They conducted their government with dignity. They passed good laws - that is, laws that were good for cats. But the laws that were good for cats weren't very good for mice. One of the laws said that mouse holes had to be big enough so a cat could get his paw in. Another law said that mice could only run at certain speeds - so a cat could get his breakfast without too much effort.

All the laws were good laws. For cats. But, oh, they were hard on mice. And life was getting harder and harder. And when the mice couldn't put up with it any more, they decided that something had to be done. So they went en masse to the polls. They voted the black cats out. They put in white cats.

Now the white cats had put up a terrific campaign. They said, "All Mouseland needs is more vision." They said, "The trouble with Mouseland is the round mouse holes. If you put us in we'll make square mouse holes." And they did. And the square mouse holes were twice as big as the round ones, and now a cat could get both paws in.
And life was tougher then ever.

And when they couldn't take that anymore, they voted the white cats out and black ones in again. Then they went back to white cats. Then to black cats. They even tried half black and half white cats. And they called that a coalition. They even got one government made up of cats with spots on them: They were cats that tried to make a noise like a mouse but ate like a cat.

You see, my friends, the trouble wasn't with the colour of the cat. The trouble was that they were cats. And because they were cats, they naturally looked after cats instead of mice.

Presently there came along one little mouse who had an idea. My friends, watch out for the little fellow with an idea. And he said to the other mice, "Look fellows, why do we keep electing a government made up of cats? Why don't we elect a government made up of mice?" "Oh," they said, "he’s a Bolshevik. Lock him up!"
So they put him in jail.

But I want to remind you: That you can lock up a mouse or a man but you can't lock up an idea."

- Tommy Douglas, 1944

The problem isn't people are voting for the same wrong people. The problem is anyone who gets chosen to be President (notice I say "Chosen" and not "Elected") is given his rules and regulations by TPTB and he, or possibly one day she has to conform to what they are being told, otherwise they'll find themselves a few grains heavier in the steel and copper deparment via the CIA or loose their spot in the fallout bunker when the world turns to $h!t.
At least that's the way it works here in America.

I can see where you're coming from, and while I'm inclined to agree that a mouse ruled government would be better suited for a society of Mice, I can't help but think that the mice are still dependent on food, medicine, and money supplied by the cat lobbyist, and any mouse elected would just find himself intimidated by the Cats in power.
We need to sheriff in a Canine. One who'll get rid of the cat population and leave the mice to live their lives in peace.

reply to post by Mactire


I agree, and that's my point. The system is messed and no matter who gets in you're going to get screwed. What I'm advocating is, unless we wake up and demand real change, we should atleast choose to be screwed by the people who will buy us dinner first.. =)

reply to post by Buddha1098


Please excuse my embarrassing ignorance, but what does NDP stand for and what is it? I've never heard of it.

reply to post by Terrorist


It stands for the New Democratic Party, which is one of the main political parties in Canada.

Helmed by Jack Layton..

For the record I always vote NPD..

Since I have turned legal age to vote in Canada I have never missed an election and I have always voted NDP Provincially and Federally.

BCNDP put British Columbia into a deficit but at least that deficit was caused by the party introducing programs and services that people in this province were very happy about including social assistance, healthcare, education, and so forth. I would rather be put into a deficit because we are helping people rather than cutting all the programs and causing people to suffer to "balance the books". That is injustice.

A few months ago I was on public transit heading to my college when I realized that in the train car ahead of me was Jack Layton. At a stop I hopped off my train car and entered his in hopes of maybe meeting him. Not only did I meet him, but had a conversation with him about the HST, the costs of college and the low minimum wage in our province. The man was kind, polite, intelligent and insanely down - to - earth. People call him the "Used Car Salesman" out of all the Party Leaders but in reality he really comes off as a decent individual.

I'm voting NDP.

reply to post by Buddha1098


I agree we need a serious change both countries, but unfortunately nothing will ever change as long as we are under the umbrella of the "Cats", or in this case the fat cats that run Wall Street, the pharmaceutical companies, and these big Chain Stores that are crippling the world.
You can't pass laws regulating lobbyist powers when the law makers are owned by the lobbyists. You can't elect in a President who'll demand change and out the corruption when the President is picked by groups like Bilderberg, and you can't arrest any of them because they own the CIA, FBI, and every other law enforment agency in America.
The only way change can happen is if we get rid of the problem at the source, and the only way to do that is to wage war on them physically, or wage war on their way of life, ie their money/power. Both seem like infinitely impossible tasks, but until these tasks are met, we're all Purina for the pussies.

reply to post by Buddha1098


I'd love to vote NDP. In Canada we don't vote for our prime minister directly, you vote for the party affiliate in your area. Since I live in a city that traditionally goes to either Liberals or Conservatives, I had to vote strategically to get Harper out.

That said, I truly hope people vote NDP where it will matter. There's a website that I can't remember right now but it covers all the areas and how to vote strategically to defeat Harper. I hope someone links it.

NDP talks a great game but I don't see how they plan to pay for all the programs they are promising without raising taxes and the HST. I think they'd be an amazing opposition party and by the time we're at the polls again, they might actually have a shot at winning.

In any event, the people and specifically the youth of Canada have made their message clear.

"We're mad as hell and we're not going to take it anymore!"

Horrah

I like the fact that the NDP have a real shot at keeping the Conservative party in a small majority, and putting the liberal party down to a minority seating. Hopefully this will bring about a decent change for the better for what it's worth... I am so sick of that smirking moron Dalton Mcguinty - Hope he gets tossed in all of this.

reply to post by Buddha1098


I am too was going to go green party until i saw todays polls NDP is leading the Dem and only trailing the Cons by a couple percents. Might has well throw in where it will count eh....


FnS for the OP and all you Patriot Canuks and those who love us help us keep this Bumped!

reply to post by phishyblankwaters


Jack's plan is mostly to raise the Corporate Taxes and reign in spending on un-efficient programs. Lord knows there's a bleed of spending going on in Health Care, Welfare just to name a few.

And most Canadians aren't opposed to paying more taxes so long as they see the benefit immediately from what I can gather. That being either lower cost of consumer goods to balance out the more taxes, or lower cost of government services like the DMV and passport costs etc.

~Keeper

Originally posted by Terrorist
reply to post by Buddha1098

 

Please excuse my embarrassing ignorance, but what does NDP stand for and what is it? I've never heard of it.

No Damn Pride.

Anybody who votes NDP is a loon.

reply to post by leo123


Anyone who votes otherwise is crazy in my eyes so I guess we will agree to disagree.

Originally posted by Dendro
reply to post by leo123

 

Anyone who votes otherwise is crazy in my eyes so I guess we will agree to disagree.

www.theglobeandmail.com...

This pretty well sums up my feelings about the NDP:

Jack Layton has energized the New Democrats and the electorate, and seems more able than the other leaders to connect with ordinary people. He has succeeded in putting a benign gloss on his party's free-spending policies, but those policies remain unrealistic and unaffordable, at a time when the country needs to better manage public spending, not inflate it. He has shown that a federalist party can make serious inroads in Quebec, but it has come at the cost of an unwelcome promise to impose provisions of Quebec's language law in federal workplaces.

===

So if you want this country to be run by self-serving unions - who WILL be running the show - by all means, fill your boots.

reply to post by leo123

Originally posted by tothetenthpower
reply to post by leo123

 

The following is my opinion as a member participating in this discussion.

Yeah, god forbid the corporate interests are at the whim of the hard working unions eh? That would totally suck for Harper and his cronies...

As an ATS Staff Member, I will not moderate in threads such as this where I have participated as a member.

The NDP ran BC in the 1990's and virtually brought our economy to a halt. During the 1990's:

- It was the worst preforming economy NORTH AMERICA

- They saddled taxpayers with an additional $28,000,000,000.00 in debt

- Marginal income tax rates hit 50% when you were only making $50k - they considered you *RICH* at this point.

- They went through 4 Premiers, one of which was even crimanlly charged for corruption.

- There was no end to the a$$ kissing of unions to the point where even a cleaner at a hospital was making $25/hr.

==

I could go on and on but the bottom line is they were a DISASTER for BC and the old adage about them is even truer today:

"If you are young and are not and NDP'er (socialist), you haven't got a heart, but if you are old and are STILL and NDP'er, you haven't got a brain.

I live in Nova Scotia. The first time I ever voted, I voted NDP, provincially, and we got Darrell Dexter. I don't live in either Halifax or Syndey, so that means I've been getting screwed ever since. I won't be voting NDP in this election, or in any election ever again.

And I'm sure people from Ontario will agree with me.

Nova Scotians didn't listen to Ontarians and now we're paying the price. I hope Canada learns the lesson from both provinces.

Originally posted by phishyblankwaters
reply to post by Buddha1098

 

That said, I truly hope people vote NDP where it will matter. There's a website that I can't remember right now but it covers all the areas and how to vote strategically to defeat Harper. I hope someone links it.


Horrah

I believe you are thinking of this site: Project Democracy

Originally posted by leo123

Originally posted by tothetenthpower
reply to post by leo123

 

The following is my opinion as a member participating in this discussion.

Yeah, god forbid the corporate interests are at the whim of the hard working unions eh? That would totally suck for Harper and his cronies...

As an ATS Staff Member, I will not moderate in threads such as this where I have participated as a member.

The NDP ran BC in the 1990's and virtually brought our economy to a halt. During the 1990's:

- It was the worst preforming economy NORTH AMERICA

- They saddled taxpayers with an additional $28,000,000,000.00 in debt

- Marginal income tax rates hit 50% when you were only making $50k - they considered you *RICH* at this point.

- They went through 4 Premiers, one of which was even crimanlly charged for corruption.

- There was no end to the a$$ kissing of unions to the point where even a cleaner at a hospital was making $25/hr.

==

I could go on and on but the bottom line is they were a DISASTER for BC and the old adage about them is even truer today:

"If you are young and are not and NDP'er (socialist), you haven't got a heart, but if you are old and are STILL and NDP'er, you haven't got a brain.

I'm not going to address your personal attacks, they are unbecoming of an intelligent human being however.

And yes I dont' disagree that the NDP did somewhat hurt BC's economy, however the other side is that they did put in place social programs that were VERY popular. And as far as I know, they had a plan to rebalance the deficit within just a few years.

I could point out a million more examples of Conservatives and Liberals abusing their powers and either breaking perfectly well working provinces with massive spending, political scandals and all other manner of wrong doings. I won't do that though, because it's not relevant to our current situation.

The NDP are the only current party who has never screwed the majority of Canadians, can you say the same for the others?

~Keeper

reply to post by leo123


The fact that you think someone making 50k isn't rich is pretty telling... 80% of the world lives on less than $10 a day. So vote conservative, they only spend money on things that really matter like F-22s and the 2010 Olympics...