Strategic Voting???

Papachongo

Nominee Member
Dec 6, 2005
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nootaksas
I never strategically vote for the simple reason that I can't predict the future. so instead I just vote with the party I agree the most with at the time. of course that being said i agree and disagree with all parties, just on different topics.
 

Reverend Blair

Council Member
Apr 3, 2004
1,238
1
38
Winnipeg
I don't agree with strategic voting either, Papachongo. I wish people would vote on platforms instead. That's not the reality though...people vote on almost everything but platforms.
 

jonsimon

New Member
Dec 28, 2005
1
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Montreal
jsimon.net
The more people believe the NDP can win in their ridings the more they will actually vote for their NDP candidate rather than setlle "strategically" for the Liberal who really does not represent their interests. The only reason they voted for him was to keep the Conservative out.

Is that either smart or strategic, especially when it results in the Conservative winning? If you believe in the NDP (or whatever party) vote for them.
 

Reverend Blair

Council Member
Apr 3, 2004
1,238
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38
Winnipeg
Well put jonsimon. The NDP has generally done better when there has been a moderate conservative government because people feel more free to vote for the canddate of their choice. The problem is convincing people that they should just go a head and vote for the party that they think is best.
 

the caracal kid

the clan of the claw
Nov 28, 2005
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but what % of people are strategically voting?

it is also possible people are voting for who they think is the best party, which would mean a minority considers the NDP the best choice.

i am not saying whether the NDP is a good choice or not, but merely what public perception may be. Remember, marx said "the masses are asses".
 

Reverend Blair

Council Member
Apr 3, 2004
1,238
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Winnipeg
It isn't so much the percentage as the riding it happens in, Caracal. There were a lot of ridings where the margin of victory was under 500 votes last time. Several had a margin of less than 100.

Many of those ridings were two-way races between the Conservatives and the NDP. In a situation where a small number of people who were leaning NDP suddenly vote Liberal because they are afraid of Harper, it actually leads to the Conservatives winning the seat and the NDP losing it. It really makes no difference to the Liberals at all.
 

the caracal kid

the clan of the claw
Nov 28, 2005
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it plays against all parties in some why though, does it not?

wasn't it the cons whining about this exact same thing a few years back which is why they pushed to amaglamate the right?
 

Reverend Blair

Council Member
Apr 3, 2004
1,238
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38
Winnipeg
When they were a smaller party, it did hurt them. That's the thing, it hurts smaller parties in close ridings because the parties don't get a chance to grow.
 

the caracal kid

the clan of the claw
Nov 28, 2005
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but the NDP has been around for so long and should be as well known as the libs or cons. are they really a small party, or just a party with a smaller support?
 

Nascar_James

Council Member
Jun 6, 2005
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Oklahoma, USA
A strategic and protest vote on my part, if I were still living in Canada would no doubt go to the CHP (Christian Heritage Party).

Harper has caved in to great pressure from the Liberals/NDP/Bloc parties that some of his polices are clearly left-leaning.

The CHP takes a clear stand against abortion and doesn't sidetrack the issue as does the CPC. A pro-family federal political party, the CHP is also the only federal party that endorses the principles of the Preamble to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in the Canadian Constitution, that Canada is founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law.

I also like their “Family Friendly Tax Credit” proposal. $12,000 a year would be given to familes with school age children to allow one parent stay home instead of working.
 

the caracal kid

the clan of the claw
Nov 28, 2005
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in a multicultural, freethinking, progressive society we can not put declarations to religious mythologies (or other dogma) at the head of our charters. to do so is plainly exclusionary and divisive.

feel free to practice what you want so long as you do not impose it on others.

would you like it if a government decided to put a preamble recognizing the supremacy of Mythra, or Marduk, or even science?

these things belong outside of government and the charters of nationhood.
 

Nascar_James

Council Member
Jun 6, 2005
1,640
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36
Oklahoma, USA
Re: RE: Strategic Voting???

the caracal kid said:
in a multicultural, freethinking, progressive society we can not put declarations to religious mythologies (or other dogma) at the head of our charters. to do so is plainly exclusionary and divisive.

feel free to practice what you want so long as you do not impose it on others.

would you like it if a government decided to put a preamble recognizing the supremacy of Mythra, or Marduk, or even science?

these things belong outside of government and the charters of nationhood.

We shouldn't be endorsing a multicultural society, Caracal. Canada is a multi-ethnic dual-cultured Country. By promoting multiculturalism instead of assimilation, you will wind up with pockets or ghettoization of groups of individuals based on their ethnicity. Look at what happened in London, England as an example to what is wrong with multiculturalism.

If folks moving to North America don't like the culture here, they are more than free to head back to their country of origin.
 

Reverend Blair

Council Member
Apr 3, 2004
1,238
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38
Winnipeg
Quiet Nascar, the adults are talking.

but the NDP has been around for so long and should be as well known as the libs or cons. are they really a small party, or just a party with a smaller support?

It's largely a matter of press coverage and money. In polls on straight policy the NDP does consistently better than the Conservatives and usually better than the Liberals. They have never had the cash reserves of the Conservatives or the Liberals though, largely because of a lack of corporate connections.

The NDP has also always had trouble getting fair reporting on their campaigns. Every major media outlet in Canada endorses either the Conservatives or the Liberals. Less press means less exposure and less exposure means that fewer people know what you stand for.

Since people don't know the NDP, when some right-wing nut-bag starts yakking about the NDP being nothing but tax and spend, the accusation tends to stick. It has little or no basis in reality...the NDP record as provincial governments has been as good or better than the Conservatives or the Liberals...but people believe it because it's what they are told over and over again.
 

the caracal kid

the clan of the claw
Nov 28, 2005
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sorry, nascar but this is not a borg cube!

you are confusing multiculteralism and segregation. What you are suggesting by placing one mythology as the "legit" mythology creates segrigation.

You also seem to be forgetting about the people BORN HERE that are not christian nor recognize christianity in any way. Don't try to lord your symbolism over others under some false pretense of ghettorization! You want ghettoization, look at what happens to people when they are stripped of their cultural herritage and forced to adopt another!

edit: rev,

case in point the constant bob rae attacks on this board?

i have often wondered about the faulty connection between the provincial and federal parties. Take BC for example, the BC libs and the fed libs are two different ideologies.

We always suffer from media bias. It is hillarious watching both right and left fight over how biased the media is.

In the end it seems like people are so ingrained to thinking a certian way they go the old lib-con route because binary thought is easier. As you have mentioned, both the main parties lack real vision or substance but their momentum keeps them going. People do fear change though, and that might be the biggest problem the national NDP face.
 

FiveParadox

Governor General
Dec 20, 2005
5,875
43
48
Vancouver, BC
Multiculturalism • Strategic Voting a Right

Nascar_James said:
We shouldn't be endorsing a multicultural society.

I completely disagree.

Secular multiculturalism is a keystone of Canadian society, culture and identity. The knowledge that one can come to Canada, live among what some would call the "mainstream" Western populous, and yet continue to retain one's own beliefs, traditions and customs, is a beautiful thing, and should be comforting to everyone, not just those minorities. We should through all reasonable measures promote our unique type of society.

Back to the topic at hand...

Yay for strategic voting! It's a democratic right and hey, if that's what floats your boat, then go ahead; I just think that anyone who wishes to engage in the exercise of "strategic voting" should thoroughly research their choice, and to vote responsibly.

Edit Added content to make this post relevent to the topic.
 

Nascar_James

Council Member
Jun 6, 2005
1,640
0
36
Oklahoma, USA
Re: RE: Strategic Voting???

the caracal kid said:
sorry, nascar but this is not a borg cube!

you are confusing multiculteralism and segregation. What you are suggesting by placing one mythology as the "legit" mythology creates segrigation.

You also seem to be forgetting about the people BORN HERE that are not christian nor recognize christianity in any way. Don't try to lord your symbolism over others under some false pretense of ghettorization! You want ghettoization, look at what happens to people when they are stripped of their cultural herritage and forced to adopt another!

Assimilation, along with freedom of religion (as we have here in the US) is what I'm getting at. Here, our assimilation rate is high and we don't have any major issues with pockets of different ethnic groups contemplating acts of terror.
 

FiveParadox

Governor General
Dec 20, 2005
5,875
43
48
Vancouver, BC
Re: RE: Strategic Voting???

Nascar_James said:
Assimilation, along with freedom of religion (as we have here in the US) is what I'm getting at. Here, our assimilation rate is high and we don't have any major issues with pockets of different ethnic groups contemplating acts of terror.

No group of Canadian people are "contemplating acts of terror." If you're referring to the Islamic population, as many citizens of the United States would likely cite concerns therewith according to my experience thus far, then know that several Canadian Islamic foundations have publicly denounced terrorism, and refused to recognize terrorists as Muslims. Canada's Islamic population has my unwavering support in whatever peaceful endeavours they see fit.

As for "pockets of different ethnic groups," you imply that Canadians don't integrate at all. That simply isn't true. Even if, for example, someone of Indian decent decides to move into an "Indo-Canadian neighbourhood," that doesn't mean they're not going to talk to anyone who's not Indo-Canadian. It doesn't mean they're going to oppose legislation on the basis of it being non-Indian.

And if you think that the United States doesn't have problems between its different "ethnic groups," then please bring up statistics to support your assertion; from what I have heard from citizens of the United States, quite the opposite is true.
 

Reverend Blair

Council Member
Apr 3, 2004
1,238
1
38
Winnipeg
He was a terrorist though...one from the ethnic group you cherish so much and sharing many of the thoughts and ideals you have expressed on this board and are expressing right now with your xenophobic rants.

I posit that you not only have ethnic terrorists in your midsy, but the you at least support them.