Like an "opportunistic" election has never happened before

I have to laugh at the latest "talking point" of the Conservative government. Prime Minister Harper has said it, Government House Leader Baird has said it, and Conservative strategists have said it. "It" is that the opposition rumblings of forcing an election (by calling for a vote of non-confidence, since the opposition is claiming the Conservative government of being undemocratic) are "opportunistic"! It never ceases to amaze me when it comes to the hypocrisy of politicians. It was Prime Minister Harper that forced the 2008 election, after only two years in office, and AFTER enacting legislation that would prevent the sitting government from calling snap "opportunistic" elections to gain more seats, in his bid for a majority. Disgraceful. And it just goes to show you how short memories are. I have yet to hear of anyone in the media pointing this out.

The side show to all of this is three Conservative MPs announcing that they will not be running in the next election. I find it interesting that MPs Strahl and Cummings were first elected to the House as Reform Party Members, and Stockwell Day was the Canadian Alliance (which rose out of the Reform Party as a basis) leader. Interesting in that the Alliance Party, "...platform and policies emphasized, inter alia, the rights and responsibilities of the individual, Senate and other democratic reforms, and smaller more fiscally responsible government." Yet, people have argued that the Conservatives have become less than democratic. They have run up a record high deficit (some argue the government would have run into significant deficit even without the recession happening) and Mr. Harper, in this latest session of Parliament, has a record number of Cabinet Ministers (37 at last count), not to mention the Parliamentary Secretaries on top of that, thus increasing the costs of running the government.

It makes me wonder if these former Reform/Alliance members are bristling at Mr. Harper's (and those of some of his Cabinet Ministers) antics, which clearly rub against the grain of the former Reform/Alliance platform. I think a strong case for this is when Mr. Day was asked why he was leaving, he said he wanted to focus on the future, and when he was asked for specifics, he seemed very vague about what he may do (other than spending more time with his family). It was pointed out by one media person that all three bailing MPs currently hold BC ridings and that they would feel the effects of the province adopting the HST. It was also noted that these are strong veteran Western MPs (the Conservative Party base) and that some of the remaining strong MPs are in Ontario and were members of the Mike Harris Ontario provincial government. I guess it will be the Ontario "elite" that will be holding the reins of the Conservative Party through the next election.

When the election does come, Canadian voters need to ask hard questions of their candidates. Try to get past the talking points and decide which candidate, and party, you want to vote for (or vote against). I think its time for Canadians to stand up and voice their concerns, not just stay away from the polls because they can't be bothered or are upset with politics in general. Afghanis had massive voter turnout even when faced with death threats from Al Qaeda! Surely you can get up off your couch and vote. You don't vote, you can't complain about the result.