Here, discussing how Justin Trudeau is campaign entirely according to the formula so thoroughly documented by Martin Lukacs – and why voters seeking change need to reject politicians committed to the preservation of power and privilege. For further reading…– Others have also discussed Lukacs’ The Trudeau Formula, including Nora Loreto
Continue readingTag: Electoral Reform
Accidental Deliberations: Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Paul Kahnert writes that tax cuts never lead to widespread prosperity – but do further entrench the wealth and power of those who already have the most. Andrew Jackson points out how the Cons’ platform follows a familiar pattern of freebies for
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – David Moscrop writes that the Libs’ choice to break the promise of electoral reform to instead lock in an unfair and unrepresentative electoral system fits with their pattern of action: What of the strategic questions? Do the Liberals regret their decision to
Continue readingDemocracy Under Fire: Advanced Polls are open…..
I will be driving the few miles to the polling location shortly to waste my time voting for a candidate who will not be elected, its more of a protest vote against the ‘party’ of the fellow who will almost certainly get in in this traditional conservative riding. I have
Continue readingCuriosityCat: NDP LEADER EMASCULATES HIS PARTY BEFORE THE OCTOBER 21 ELECTION
With just over a week to go before the (Read more…) NDP leader Jagmeet Singh has made a rookie mistake and reduced his party to the tail trying to wag the Liberal-dog. Singh has ruled out his party supporting the Conservative Party under any circumstances. Because the Conservatives will
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Tom Rand and Mike Andrade point out that the Alberta tar sands wouldn’t be sustainable economically even if people ignored their environmental effects. Bruce Livesey offers a reminder that Andrew Scheer’s plans are built entirely around favouring dirty oil at the expense
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Emily Stewart reports on Elizabeth Warren’s message about the need to end corruption and corporatism in order to make U.S. politics work for people. Martin Wolf writes that a rigged economic system is undermining the prospect of viable democracy. And Andrew MacLeod examines
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Afternoon Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – Meghna Charkabarti interviews Branko Milanovic about the destructive amount of inequality embedded in capitalism as it’s currently structured. Connor Kilpatrick and Bhaskar Sunkara argue that the corporate class has only tolerated an acceptable distribution of income and wealth when it’s been accompanied by
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Rick Salutin writes that Canada’s lack of accessible housing arises primarily as the result of general inequality. Derek Thompson notes that youth athletics are just one more sphere of activity in which concentrated wealth is driving out participation by people who don’t have
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – John Nichols interviews Bernie Sanders about the importance of resurrecting the principle of economic rights. Gallup examines how the American public is again recognizing the value of unions. And Simon Goodley writes about the positive effects of shortening the work week to 4
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – PressProgress reports on federal government focus groups indicating the twin problems of precarious employment and high costs of living: According to recently published public opinion research commissioned by the Privy Council Office (PCO) newly reviewed by PressProgress, the Trudeau government’s own internal
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Susie Neilson discusses the growing health gap between the rich and the rest of the population in the U.S. And Ricardo Tranjan writes about the unfairness of an Employment Insurance system in which people with the most precarious work pay a higher
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – Phil Dzikiy discusses how GE is already losing massive amounts of money due to its incorrect assumption that fossil fuels would be profitable. And Brad Plumer points out that far more corporations are recognizing the need to plan for the fallout from a
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Ego, Brain Farts, and Electoral Reform #nlpoli
Public ignorance of our political system is a scourge. Tackling that is the first step to meaningful electoral reform in Newfoundland and Labrador. The second priority is to make sure the players do not set the rules for everyone, as they have done repeatedly, and disastrously, since 2003. Most of all, we
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Riley Yesno rightly calls out the Libs for telling Canadians they have no choice but to settle for a slight variation in tone from Andrew Scheer: When we become comfortable with the idea that the best we can hope for is a
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Paul Wells weighs in on the far-too-long-delayed exposure of Justin Trudeau’s fundamental phoniness – particularly when it came to his promise that Canada had seen its last first-past-the-post election: The operating assumption seems to be that we’re simply supposed to read between
Continue readingPolitical Potshots: The Death Of My Electoral Reform Idealism
Perhaps one of the most over-analyzed and oft-criticized campaign promises the Liberals broke from the 2015 campaign was the one on electoral reform – that the 2015 vote would be Canada’s last under first-past-the-post. I knew it was an empty promise from the moment it was spoken, and I would
Continue readingSong of the Watermelon: Pro Rep: Infinity War; or, In Defence of Endless Referendums
Winston Churchill (apocryphally, as it turns out) is believed to have said, “The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.” In light of British Columbia’s referendum on electoral reform this past fall, one is tempted to agree. But let’s not let the media, politicians, and
Continue readingSong of the Watermelon: Pro Rep: Infinity War; or, In Defence of Endless Referendums
Winston Churchill (apocryphally, as it turns out) is believed to have said, “The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.” In light of British Columbia’s referendum on electoral reform this past fall, one is tempted to agree. But let’s not let the media, politicians, and
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: New column day
Here, on the need for progressive leaders to treat consultation processes as a path to goals worth achieving rather than an excuse not to pursue them – particular in the face of right-wing politicians determined to reverse progress at the first opportunity. For further reading…– Ian Bailey notes that Quebec
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