Voting Attendance In Parliament... Just the Facts

So when is someone in the media (or perhaps the LPC) going to stand up and call "bullshit" on this entire "vote attendance" issue?

Attendance to votes in the House is a VERY small portion of an MP's role. MPs spend most of their time in committee, meeting with constituents, or attending events they are required to go to by way of invitation. Question Period is just a "show" put on for the benefit of the public. More to the point, many times MPs abstain from votes or don't show up for votes to make a political point - and to confirm their "neutral" stand on the issue - something more apt for Liberals, being in the center, than the left-wing issue centric NDP, or the right-wing issue centric Conservative Party.

The media was following Ignatieff on his Canada-wide tours since he became leader - meeting the Canadian public. He wasn't exactly standing around picking his bum (unlike many backbench MPs who were in the House). Is it just "election hypocrisy"?

Jack's playing a dirty game here (not complaining)... which may play right into Harper's hands. If Harper does get a majority (a big if), we have Layton to blame. While he decries Liberal policy, his own policy is NOTHING like the policy of Broadbent or the NDP of old..

Maybe Jack IS part of a "coalition", but its a "deal" with Harper that he has:

The NDP had plotted WITH Harper to topple the Martin Gov't (that's one act of cooperation). The NDP did vote within the CPC last year to prop up Harper (remember THAT?)... The NDP almost helped destroy the long-gun registry (anyone recall that?). The NDP did help bury the committee reports.

I do believe we need a strong left - or the discussion keeps moving further and further right... But the NDP should do it on their own merit. So far Layton hasn't been doing that. Too afraid to put forward a REAL NDP platform, with strong socialist values, he has been rimming the center - which is a MAJOR reason young voters are turned off. If the NDP was staunchly on the left on things like marijuana legalization, affirmative action, etc., they would grow quite strong in the student and immigrant sectors. A GREEN plan would help shore up defectors to the Green Party. Where is the NDP's Green voice? A mirror of the Liberals? Pretty much - or shades of grey. In BC the NDP is to the RIGHT of the Liberal gov't in their opposition to the carbon tax. Also their BC opposition to the HST? Instead of expounding the virtues of a solid tax base in Canada, this NDP is speaking out over it? How the hell do they propose paying for all their social programs... or have they given up on those too?

We need a strong left voice - to keep Canada a strong center nation - a true liberal democracy. If not, we continue to inch further and further right - that's the Harper plan. And if we have a see-saw between left and right (like the USA), we'll continue to more right, as all the corporate media continue to fawn over the right... Plus we'll never have a sustained period of moderate gov't to bring about the changes we love in Canada (how we are more forward on abortion, capital punishment, same-sex marriage, medicare).

VICTORY FUND