Friday Election Musings...

Now that the dust is starting to settle on Monday's election here are some thoughts I have had the last few days...

Harper may be anti-choice and anti-gay marriage, but I think the main reason Liberals fear him is because he may actually be competent. That would force the Grits to come up a coherent policy platform next time around. Come to think of it, a policy platform period would be a start for them.

The next time some smug arsehole tells you how polarized the US is between blue state/red state, point out our election results to them. The only left of center support in any concentration is in Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver. It's urban vs. rural, the exact same way that it is in the US.

As I was watching the NDP seat count go up Monday night I was actually hoping for the Tories count to stay in the low 120's. I just couldn't stand to watch Jack Layton with that shit eating grin on his face give a speech thinking he held the balance of power.

I think Harper will lead us to a revitalized foreign policy. As I've said before, doing whatever the UN does and doing the opposite of what the US does is not a foreign policy. Harper's apparent refusal to recognize Hamas is a very good start.

Olivia Chow is going to win the "Svend Robinson Media Whore of the Year Award" for at least the next two years. The hacks in the Ottawa press corps are going to love her. She'll be their headline maker during the dull times in parliament.

We're about to find out whether or not Duceppe is a good politician or not. To this point leader of the BQ has been the easiest political job in Canada. Being a city councillor in Flin Flon has been tougher. Now that he has a PM who says he is willing to give provinces more power, we'll see how Gilles reacts.

The Tories need to put gay marriage to a vote immediately. Harper won't win it in a minority and he can say he tried his best and put the whole issue to bed (pun intended). There's nothing they can gain from this issue.

Harper needs to be very aggressive in his first budget. The capital gains tax deferral has to be put through, GST cut, corporate tax cuts, etc. None of the other parties are in a position to force an election now and the Liberals will want to cooperate for a while to show they still have a clue how an economy is supposed to function. Throw some money at the cities and the Grit will be happy. This will be the Tories best shot at getting things done because the other parties will get things together by next year.