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The Only Two Parties to Vote For

web posted May 1997

If you are going to vote this year, there are only two political parties to support.

You must either support the New Democrats or the Reform Party.

Think about the Canadian political scene for a minute. You have a centrist governing Liberal Party, one that is deathly afraid of letting Canadians learn its core beliefs. It shimmies between the left and the right, afraid of being in any one position for too long, lest an actual belief become ingrained. Congratulations indeed for reducing the deficit, but enough with statist policies masquerading as the right of government. Remember the farmers under the yoke of the Canada Wheat Board if you think of voting Liberal.

ESR is a conservative e-journal, so Gord must be supporting the Progressive Conservatives, right? What was once a viable force on the right has disintegrated into a parody of the Liberal Party. Hoping to prove his credentials as a Chrétien clone, Jean Charest has introduced a platform that is at once a call for less government and for more statist controls. Truly, Charest deserves the moniker of Jean Charestien, conferred by Enter Stage Right last month (See last few paragraph’s in "Is Jean Charest the Future?").

The Bloc Quebecois, besides being a regional party, stand only for the separation of Quebec. Any stands they might fall into are basically a defense of any benefit that Quebec might receive from Canada. A hodge-podge of socialists, former (?) supporters of separatist terrorist group F.L.Q., and genuine morons, the BQ will forever sit on the sidelines of real political thought. Here’s a Gekko prediction: Look for the BQ to return to Parliament with less seats this year.

That leaves then only the New Democrats and Reform Party as viable candidates for your vote.

Note, I am not of the opinion that either party has much of a chance to win high office in 1997. My position on the New Democrats and Reform comes from the fact that both have done something that is rare in today’s federal political scene. They have both stuck to their core beliefs.

In the case of the New Democrats it is disappointing. At their policy convention they offered same old tired platform of anti-capitalist, pro-interventionist government policies.

To create jobs the party calls for job creation financed in part by tax on big profits, multi-million dollar water and energy conservation programs, and banks reinvesting in communities. The party has called for a special tax on bank profits.

The health system would be expanded to include prescription drugs and home care. The NDP would also eliminate drug patent law and encourage generic companies to develop copies.

Taxes? The party promises a minimum corporate tax to recover what they have estimated to be $50-billion in untaxed profits. Not finished there, they would also impose a wealth tax, excess-profits tax and eliminate tax deductions for business entertaining. Of course, no tax cuts from Alexa.

What to do with the poor? They call for a national anti-poverty program and expand the child-poverty initiative announced by the current government.

By comparison, the Reform Party looks to be a breath of fresh air. In their platform, the party promises action on some of their basic goals.

They’ll reduce the size of government. Reform says that it will make government smaller by "eliminating waste, duplication and red tape to save $15 billion a year" and will balance the budget by March 31, 1999.

The party pledges to lower taxes, $2 000 by the year 2000 for "the average family." Reform says it will also cut the capital gains tax in half, cut Employment Premiums by 28 per cent and eliminate federal surtaxes.

The party also states that they will get tough on crime by moving forward with a Victims’ Bill of Rights, reform of the parole system, elimination of the Young Offenders Act, hold a referendum on the return of the capital punishment, reform the gun registration system and, to out trump some American states, introduce a two-strikes system for repeat violent offenders.

They’ll make sure that all Canadians are equal, will safeguard Canada’s interests in future referendums on Quebec succession, and de-centralize power, so that there will be 10 dictators instead of one.

The Reform Party, distressingly, also states that they will "repair the social safety net", by adding $4-billion a year to health care and education payments to provinces. They’ll also make sure that the pension gets reformed…which means my generation will have the pleasure of continuing to pay for someone else’s retirement.

While some of the elements of the Reform Party worry me, I have come to the conclusion (with generous help from frequent ESR contributor Michael Miller) that the party is the only one left which bases its policies on the core beliefs of its members. They are the only party to remain true to the beliefs that launched them into the national limelight just a short years ago. They are the only credible conservative party left in Canada.

The New Democrats are necessary to remind Canadians what can happen if we make the mistake of swinging to the left. They also provide conservatives with things to write about, so clearly we need them.

The Reform Party is the only one that gives hope to conservatives who want someone elected who will begin to move against the statist government that has been built up by successive Liberal and Progressive Conservative governments. Reform is the only one left that still believes in the wisdom its members.

So if you are a member of the left and beyond any redemption by me, please vote New Democrat.

If you are a conservative, consider voting Reform. The federal PC Party has betrayed nearly every principle and has shaped themselves into pragmatists, a party willing to say or do anything to get elected. Don’t give Charestien your approval for making his party into a pale clone of the Liberals.

So put up a sign, canvass, hand out stuff, and show up to Reform rallies, do whatever it takes. It is time Canada voted for a party that promises freedom, not the same old slogans of bread and circuses.

Reform in ‘97!


Speaking of Michael Miller! He's launched his own site full of his penetrating essays, as well as a plethora of other useful stuff. Miller's Quackgrass Press is full of great material of interest to anyone who wants to read about individualism and freedom. If you visit only one new page this month, please visit Quackgrass Press! (Find its listing on the Links Page).


Enter Stage Right was graced with its second award last month, this one courtesy of Mike Pettengill. Mike runs Pettengill's Conservative Corner, a site I urge you to check out (go to the links page). At any rate, Mike gave ESR his Conservative Achievement Award on April 4.

Thanks Mike!


My apologies to those who tried to read ESR last month and couldn't get connected. The ISP hosting us changed providers themselves and it took a few days for them to get around to the specific server with ESR. The problems seem to have been fixed so you should be able to get back any time you want.


I have been one busy mother.

As part of the never ending process to try and improve ESR, nearly every graphic has been manipulated so that they are smaller (in terms of kilobytes that is), hopefully cutting down on the time you'll spend drumming your nails. Pity more sites didn't do this.

You might have also noticed that there is a new link on the Table of Contents called "Archive" (it's only five months late). By clicking on that, you will be transported to an archive of every single issue I've put out. One note: you will have to press the "back" button on your browser to get back to the main archive page.

Finally, you'll see a little graphic that says "new" next to some items. Just my way of giving you a quick guide to what's changed on some of the pages since the previous month (besides the articles of course).

Enjoy!

Gord Gekko




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