Harper Majority---Yahoo!!

[Happytrails]

Such a blessing. Somehow I believe that the younger voters must have been a big factor. The CBC isn't as powerfull as they thought. Guess the impending demise of the CWB doesn't belong in beef production but the end of the long gun registry does. The gun registry makes criminals of me and a lot of my neighbors. Good ridance if the C's follow thur with ending it. Great News! HT

[ALLFARMER]

HT Harper will do nothing to the CWB, he will say its farmer controlled and up to farmers to decide, end of story.

The Long gun registry he will kill as a gift to his western base.

[grassfarmer]

Such a weird idea of democracy in western Canada. All the jubilation over on the commodity forum about the imminent demise of the CWB. Just a minute though what's this really about? shouldn't the farmers voting in CWB elections decide what happens to that organisation? Truth is the farmers have consistently voted to retain the CWB by electing pro-board candidates. The minority who don't want the CWB after trying and failing to achieve their ends have worked with the Government to try and skew the elections and actions of the CWB using even resorting to court. So now the minority are rejoicing because they think a Harper parliamentary majority will encourage him to take stronger, less democratic measures to end the CWB. Wierd, wierd idea of democracy and what is right and wrong.

HT, you are a hoot - you are so concerned that the long gun registry was making a criminal of you but at the same time you are trying to organise a revolt so that ranchers will not follow the law with regard to cattle identification and tracability requirements - can't you see the irony?

[Happytrails]

No inconsistency (a better word) from my vantage. If you find it funny GF I hope it makes the election sour g****s go down better.

All of these programs (CWB, traceability, and gun registry) are aimed at seizing control of personal property. If some chose to submit willingly to the power mongers they have every right but please leave me out. We have just elected a government that has promised to reduce the coercion for 2 of them. Right on and lets make it 3.

[kato]

Democracy? Our polls were closed for exactly seven minutes when the networks declared the outcome. It was over before any of us even had our ballots pulled out of the boxes. Of all the things about election coverage that bother me, this is the big one. After five minutes we turned the station, and didn't check back until morning.

I guess now we'll see what Harper and friends really have planned for the country. The true colours will show, and there's not a thing anyone can do about it. They've got four years of unstoppable power to work with, and it will be interesting to see what does or does not happen.

As for the CWB, they boys who want it gone better lobby for stronger support programs that at least match the U.S. Farm Bill if they think they can do better without it. There's a reason the Farm Bill is worth billions.

[grassfarmer]

Kato I don't see the early announcement of the winner as a challenge to democracy - just a reality based on the population size in Ontario and the different time zones across the country. Your vote was still counted and if every vote west of Ontario had been cast for the Green Party that would have been reflected in the number of seats once the votes were counted.

Western Canada remains a very naive democracy in my opinion - nearly all the seats in AB were won with 75-80% of the votes going to the PC candidate. This is not electing a Government it's electing a dictatorship. I don't care which party gets the votes it is just not healthy to give that kind of % to any one party. If the winners were getting in the 52-56% of the votes with the runners up getting into the 40% range it would make all politicians work harder and keep them more honest.

[15444]

Actually, judging by what is being said by Harper and his team about various subjects (health care, public service cuts, CBC), I don't think we will see major changes for some time, if at all, which is a shame.

I was really looking forward to heavy public sector cuts, slashing programs, cutting funding for the CBC in half, ending the gun registry, abolishing the Senate, cutting the funding to political parties, opening up the telecom industry, eliminate the GST entirely, etc., etc.)

A real good one would be bringing back capital punishment, but I don't think even the Conservatives could stomach that one.

We can eliminate this deficit in no time, it's called slash and burn. Slash and burn and stick the throats of the fat pigs that have been buried in the feed trough for the last 20 years.

[rkaiser]

"Actually" is right 15444. Very little will change. And nothing would have changed if the Liberals would have gotten back in.

Jack --- well he might have done a few things different but a win for him would have affected the short term economic position Canada has in the world.

I agree with GF and say that my Green vote is the best chance we have to see any long term change.

That being said - I will say that the stability of a majority government will have a positive effect on short term economics. I only hope that Jack keeps yapping and can keep Stephen and his toe gang in tow.

[BTOfarmallll]

Couldn't agree more wit you 15444. Anyone who votes fer the Green Party, please leave Comedia, yous ain't wanted here & that includes the SELL OUT......

[rkaiser]

once a victim always a victim.... poor BTO

[greybeard]

I hope Layton's newbe crew from Kabec will go a long way to getting rid of some of those fat hogs at the pork barrel. They probably won't have a good understanding of dirty politics just yet.
Kind of like when the old Reform party first got real popularity. They had to learn how it all worked in order to take the next step. Thus don't expect any of those promises from those old platforms. Power is more important than ideology. In our system you have to choose one.
GF, you haven't been around long enough to understand the west's intense hate for the Liberal party of Canada. I am probably a liberal as I have been raised under the Sask socialist system. I couldn't vote Liberal if two revenue Canada goons held my head in the crapper giving me a flushy to get me to put my X on their candidate. They made their own bed,and they will be sleeping in it for a long while yet.

[greybeard]

I forgot to say, I think poor old Downtown Jack is in a way over his head. He can yap till he's blue in the face, but those people who voted for him always expect big returns. Yapping won't get him anything.

[burnt]

The GREATEST irony in this election outcome is the fact that the NDP and now-totally hapless Liberals, both of whom did not like Harper's way of doing things, are now relegated to looking on from a position of helplessness across the floor.

They at least had a good deal of clout with the ruling, minority CPC's before they brought them down. So, from that perspective, it is pretty hard to give them much sympathy. Now they got pretty much nuthin'.

Kato, as far as them having "unstoppable power" - it is true that they have a lot of power.

However, there is no government that is immune to the extreme pressure that can be brought to bear on them by an aggrieved constituency.

If the people feel powerless, it is likely as a result of them not getting off of their duffs and making noise.

In my limited experience, I have learned that by far the majority of people would prefer to drown in their own tears than pick up the phone and call their MP to voice their opinions.

Kato, Randy, others who are involved with bringing the gov't into mediation on the BSE issue, I'm sure that you found it much easier to get names onto petitions than it was to get people to pick up the phone and call their MP.

A common response that I heard when I asked petitioners to call their MP was - "What do I say?"

AAAAAHHHHH!

Perhaps I get plenty passionate about such matters but by golly when someone gets onto something that so drastically impacts their livelihood, should they not know what to say?

Conclusion - I don't think it matters who got elected in any riding - you owe it to the freedom of this country to get on your MP and put the screws to them on any and every issue that comes up in your area, and likely a few that wouldn't come up without your help.

Because that's the ONLY way we can hope to preserve any semblance of healthy democracy in our land.

[grassfarmer]

Funny who you see as the fat pigs at the trough 15444. The nameless beurocrats, the public sector workers, health care, the CBC. Typical case of Tory blindness to their friends in the corporate circle. This being a beef forum wouldn't you like to see some cuts in the "welfare payments" to the likes of Cargill and Nilssons? Or is your head stuck so far up Harpers behind that you can't see who some of the fattest pigs at the deepest trough are?
Yeah, lets cut healthcare that benefits every Canadian and pass a few million more to Cargill they really need it. Any more bright ideas?

[15444]

Didn't say I supported those payments GF. Slit their throats too.

But something is definitely wrong when the CBC pays people like Ron McLean $750,000.00 a year to talk about sports. With Dum-dum Cherry included, you know there is over $1 million being spent to let these two morons BS.

What is Mansbridge and the rest getting paid? Too much I suspect.

I don't mind a little bit of private healthcare at all. Just had my wisdom teeth taken out a week ago. Farmer, so no dental plan for me. Just a shade under $2000 for 15 minutes of work and drugs afterwards. So a doctor's time can't be any more expensive than that.

Best thing is keep yourself healthy and you won't need a doctor. Too many sick people in this country getting a free rid, while the red pill and the blue pill should be free to anyone.

If I ever have anything serious, like cancer, I'll guarantee you I am visiting a doctor in the US. Too many up here botch exams or the testing afterwards. If I am worried about my health, I'm going to see (and pay for) the best, not the equivalent of the Salvation Army.