Lorne Gunter has published a column that should serve as an important reference and wake-up call for all voters in the future. Here’s an especially brilliant portion:
One NDP supporter in Ms. Brosseau’s new riding asked the other day whether he and his fellow voters where victims of some sort of scam. No, sir, not victims — participants.
Who votes for someone who was never seen in the riding during the election, someone who doesn’t live anywhere near the riding, doesn’t articulate any policies and doesn’t even speak French all that well, but who is seeking to represent a constituency in which over 90% of the residents list their at-home language as French?
I must admit to being guilty of this ignorance myself. Sometimes I know quite a bit about my local candidate, other times I know nothing. I suspect that I’m not alone.
Update: Listen to Vegas Brosseau being interviewed! (h/t James) If you don’t speak French, give it a minute or so and the interview will switch to English.
Mel, please do your best to poke a hole in this theory:
The majority of Quebec voters are socialists. On many issues, a switch from the Bloc to the NDP really wasn’t a stretch of their principles.
Both Harper and Ignatieff had been so demonized in the public’s mind there that the majority of Quebec voters were going for either the Bloc or the NDP. These same folks figured we were headed for another minority government. So by voting for Jack “Therapeutic Massage” Layton they figured that they would gain control of the House of Commons and be able to demand more goodies, as they have in the past.
Getting closer Robert. 40 years ago I heard and watched hundreds of people from Montreal saying they would vote for a pig rather than the incumbent.
That’s what they did and it was a huge mess that had to wait until the next election to correct.
Still, I’m having trouble understanding why collectively they would throw away their vote.
I agree on the socialist leaning, but I think that is because they always want something for nothing. It may be something cultural that I just can’t grasp.
As I said in my first response, there is a trend of Quebeckers voting as a block. What don’t we understand about this? Is there a network of coffeeshops where they all go to see what others will vote? Then do they all file into the polling booths winking and nodding at each other?
My hope is that they will be so thoroughly embarrassed by this NPD caucus that they will wake up and think for themselves as individuals.
The conservatives must speak commonsense conservatism to the grassroots of Quebec. Why? Because it makes sense
@ RLP 10:46 am
and Rose
“fraudulently nominated candidates just to collect the $2 per vote?”
Bingo …thats what I’ve been saying and posting everywhere I could.
Ms Broussard has admitted to NEVER being in the riding.
Her candidacy was PARTY initiated, the PARTY filed her nomination papers.
She was never expected to win, all the NDP wanted was the $3000 or $4000 dollars of votes she or any name would have got in any other election.
The Elections Canada official wrote her name in the blank spot for the name of the candidate.
Elections Canada needs to be investigated!
How many Green and NDP candidates are legitimate, how many are NOT.
End the $2.00 dollar per/vote political party subsidy gravy train!
Jack Laytons caucus is proof as to why such a funding system is corrupt and DOESN’T work!
glasnost at 8:58 AM
If you meet the candidate and they are a road cone, then you pack the riding association’s nomination meetings and replace said road cone with somebody who has a pulse.
The problem with participatory democracies is that you have to PARTICIPATE, which is both hard and boring.
This is the main reason I place very little faith in political parties to control government. You can go crazy trying to herd all those cats.
Thus it logically follows that since governments are so difficult to restrain they should be SMALL and WEAK, their powers and responsibilities should be extremely limited, and they should always be trying to stretch their too-small budgets so they can afford that one extra box of paper clips.
OMG, she is dumber than Justin Trudeau. I thought that not possible.
OK, Ethel, er Jack. You may take a peek at Brosseau now. But, slowly. Watch your eyes, Jack.
Brosseau is not “Just Visiting”.
…-
“NDP slowly exposes Brosseau to media glare, but she still hasn’t visited riding”
“The Canadian Press”
Dudley Morris:
I disagree. True, thanks to all parties requiring the leader to sign off all nominations, we tend to have hard whip disipline but what goes on in party caucases is important. Leaders in the party may wish to control but the bacjbench can make their life hell. Many “big ideas” at the Cabinet level become toned down when presented to backbench MPs.
It is great when you have an independent minded MP, usually an MP who has options in his or her career. Remember how Hees and Harkenss brought down the Diefenbake government when they walked out of Cabinet over Bomarc missles? Both Hees and Harkness had options: Both had independent money, Harkness had his Army pension and rank (Col.) and Hees went on to run the Montreal Stock Exchange when Montreal was the senior Canadian exchange (mid-1960’s).
When you have political careerists for whom MP is the BEST (prestige & pay) job they will ever have, they must toady to the boss.
Is the new critic for complex files now going to bake us an economic pie?
I can relate to those in Quebec. In order to vote for the party of my choice I had to vote for a pylon. His name is Anders and I am in Calgary. Even getting involved in the riding association will not help as he is protected from challenge. As conservatives we still have work to do
Exiled Maritimer you have to be joking me. I read Anders bio and it sounds like he’s got nearly fifteen years of political experience there over 10 of which was as an MP. That’s not what I would call a pylon.
Wait a minute you guys didn’t realize the $2 vote subsidy is the point of the pylons? Because that’s what the deal is. You don’t even need a campaign office or anything at all just get the money.
I’ve made it a point to talk to the local Reform or Conservative candidate in my riding before every election just to get an idea of where they stand. My current Conservative MP told me she would vote to eliminate the firearms registry and that was the main thing I needed to know. When I lived in Vancouver Center, I knew the majority moonbat vote would go to Hedy Fry so I voted Libertarian in every federal election once there was no longer a Reform candidate to vote for. I’m not going to vote for a Conservative candidate whose primary attribute was that he was homosexual. Anyone who ran as “Conservative” in downtown Vancouver would be looked at as a pinko where I currently live.
Just can’t wait to see the meltdown happening in Quebec when the population realizes they’re no longer entitled to their entitlements. Like other commenters on this thread, I believe that the primary reason Quebec voted for the NDP was to have power in a coalition government without the Blockheads. All I can say to Quebec is that you’ve had your chance and when the new 30 federal seats are created before the next election, you’ll finally assume the minor role in this country that you currently deserve.
DugdF is, in mind, correct. I am a fairly intelligent, reasonable guy, but in terms of my local candidate, I would have voted for a unicorn (OKOK that would be the NDP, let’s change that to a golden retriever puppy)to ensure my party got the vote.
Although my local CPC candidate was well-qualified (and unfortunately lost), my interest was to cast my vote to assist Harper towards a majority.
I would love to see our system gravitate towards independently electing our Prime Minister, but recognize that, constitutionally, it will never happen.
So we are stuck with the imperfect system that we have, which albeit, is better than a number of other systems.
Ms. Brosseau is obviously unqualified for the job. But, damning her with faint praise, she may be smart enough to grow into the job. Lord knows, we have in the past sent even less qualified people to Parliament.
But it makes for an interesting anecdote to share with my business aquaintances on my european trips.
And Layton is in for a world of trouble during the next few years…he is going to find that trying to control a cadre of unqualified novice MPs from Quebec is tougher than herding cats.
Anders may have a bio but he is invisible. Check behind the bio. A lot of people here would like the chance to vote for a real representative – conservative of course
My wife (francophone) has told me (anglophone) that her french is acceptable and better than we were lead to believe. She will get better very quickly as she practices rarely used words in her everyday vocabulary.
As much as I’d love to see the NDP fall on their face it may not happen in this case.
Based on that broadcast interview, her french is rudimentary.
One of the main problems for French-speaking Quebecois is the limited choice they have for news. Radio Canada is so virulently anti-conservative and anti-business that it is little wonder the voter in Quebec can be so easily swayed. The Quebec voter needs a French language SDA.
The minority parties voted to find the CPC in contempt of Parliament just prior to the election. Then the NDP pull this stunt to garner their $2.00 vote entitlements but get blindsided by separatists hoping to hijack a different socialist Party. Now I ask, who really has contempt for Canadian democracy? Bets anyone, on the minority parties trying to vote contempt by the CPC government this parliamentary session?
This was the worst interview I’ve ever heard from a Member of Parliament, she sounds so vacant, absolutely no substance to her.
I could have found name on paper candidates that would at least competent in something.
Brosseau has no competent speaking ability in any language. No knowledge about her job, completely vacant on policy.
I was embarrassed to listen to this. I can’t believe the interviewer was so patient.
Fortunately I see a light at the end of the tunnel. Bernier won his riding by a large margin. The benefit is that Quebec now has a native son that can effectively communicate conservative philosophy in french as well as english. Give him four years, and an ending to the vote subsidy and there will be an end to the perpetual grievance.
The most French ‘pure laine’ and most anti Federalist region of the whole of the Province of Quebec elects an English bar maid who can hardly speak French, from Ottawa; the heart of their enemy’s territory, who never visited the area and was absent during the campaign…
No wonder they lost Quebec city to the English…
This and other examples like Sherbrooke proves without a doubt that Quebecers are not political savvy or in tune with their convictions like it has been commented by political experts in the past; if it would of been the case, they would have gotten rid of the Bloc as soon as the Party Quebecois/poll for seperation shown no win possible and this, many fed elections ago; instead they hung on a guaranteed opposition …They are the epitome of group think and mob reaction motivated by emotion.
They now have ‘wisely’ moved from 20 years in a regional opposition to the next five years in a national opposition…They now can claim they progressed and embrace the Canada they are part of: In the opposition.
HI: in First Nation communities it is based on families and many adults still listen to their parents on how and who to vote for. We just went through an election for the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation (PBCN) 8 community First Nation in Saskatchewan, Canada. I guess our residency clause of PBCN Custom Election Act, 1994, is suppose to ensure people and candidate know each other but people still vote in other communbities. On Thursday, May 5th, 2011, the PBCN Elections Appeals Committe denied Chief candidate, Harold Linklater and Councilor candidate, Florence McKay, their appeals without hearing them. Chief Electoral Officer, Ted Merasty, who’s actions are the basis of both appeals was in and out the hearings all day behind closed doors. Is this fair? Harold will be making an application to federal court as we believe Harold should be in office. See http://www.vote4harold.com and see for yourself, Thank You.
Sore losers. Boo-hoo boo-hoo pass the tissues. She won everyone else lost. The voters spoke. Rhino Party and Western Separatists, best of the worst. The new young movement cannot be worse managers than the to date.
Quebecers thought that the Harper Conservatives would win another minority and that the NDP and the Liberals would unite to form a coalition government, with Jack Layton as PM. They thought that Quebec would end up in the driver’s seat -surprise, surprise, they ended up at the back of the bus! It was a gamble, really, which they lost.
“i’m really excited to work for the new democrats.”
“i’m really excited to work for the NDP.”
mmmhmmm…
Her first answer was in French, and then the interviewer immediately switched to English. I suspect it was because her answer, “Je suis vraiment, vraiment excitée” doesn’t refer to generic excitement as it does in English. In French that sentence mostly means, “I’m really, really horny”. This was unintentionally funny, and the interviewer, without missing a beat, switched to English. I then was forced to stop listening. (54 seconds was all I could take)