As I sit here typing, Paul Martin is on the other side of the campus about to give an announcement, expected to be related to wait times for surgery and other medical procedures. If I didn't have to start work in 5 minutes, I might wander over to view the media circus, but then again it might just make me angrier.
Election promises, especially by the incumbent party, really stink and here's why: if Paul Martin can promise these sweeping changes now, why weren't they introduced while he was in power? It's not as though there has been any significant shift in the way Canadians feel about health care. It's not as if this sort of thing hasn't been asked for by provincial leaders already. It's just posturing with a thick layer of horseshit, and it smells about as good.
I can't remember the last time I felt so VERY bitter about an election. I mean, I usually feel like there is little I can do about who gets to sit in the big boy chair, so I don't get too bent out of shape over it... but this time, I really really don't want to see either Martin or Stephen Harper take that seat.
Locally, I can affect this a little bit. I decided as soon as she announced her intentions to run that I would be voting for former city councillor Denise Savoie who is running for the NDP in the Victoria riding. She's up against a newbie under the Liberal flag, a generic suit under the Conservative banner, and a Green Party candidate who just keeps running and running. I just wish the rest of Canada had as clear a choice. For example, one riding over, in Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca, the race is pretty tight. Incumbent Keith Martin is probably the best person to fill the job, but he is running as a Liberal. The conservative candidate is a patsy whom I know from political days past; but due to ill-feelings toward the Liberals, he may have better chances than he should. In the NDP seat is Randall Garrison, known for his human rights activism; I'm not sure how well known he is in that riding. I have to admit, that it would be a tough riding for me to make a decision; it is one race that will be watched closely.
Tags: tyeeelectioncentral
04 January 2006
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1 comment:
I'd say that (Kieth) Martin and Garrison are about evenly matched credibility-wise, but for different reasons.
I also just remembered another DeSouza tidbit: he represented the City of Victoria in my mother's slip-and-fall suit a couple of years ago. He did a totally adequate job, and performed entirely within median expectations, in my opinion. Totally unremarkable, in fact. I'm sure he could be counted on to carry those qualities to Ottawa, were he elected.
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