The Man Or The Party...?

When I was in grade 12, we had a debate as to whether, in an election, we would vote for the man or the party. The premise was, if the right man were running for the wrong party, would we vote for the man or the party? Or alternatively, what if the wrong man were running for the right party? Of course, the definition of right or wrong would depend on where the individual stands.  If one is left-leaning, then that is the right party; or if one is right-leaning, then the left party is the wrong party.  Confused?  The conclusion I reached after the debate was that I would vote for the person, not the party.  The candidate who heads the party is ultimately responsible for setting the tone.

On May 2nd, exactly one month from today, Canada faces a federal election, and the two main candidates are these two men pictured here.  The man on the left is our current Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, the head of the Conservative party.  Folks in Canada love to hate Stephen Harper because he is a staunch conservative, but they keep electing him.  He has been Prime Minister twice (39th and 40th) and I predict he will be the 41st -- with a majority.  He is the very definition of conservative, and he makes no apologies for it.

The man on the right is Michael Ignatieff, the head of the Liberal party, and he scares the sh*t out of me.  Really.  He is the very definition of smug and disingenuous. He was born in Canada, but until very recently he lived out of the country for 30 years, referring to himself as an American. He is also on record as being the Member of Parliament who missed the most days in the House of Commons.  If a man is voted by the public to do a job, shouldn't he at least show up for work?

Canada has had a reputation for being soft on crime, and while our crime rate is not as high as many other countries, we have had an increase in violent crime. However, until now the criminals have had more rights than the victims. In 1984 the "Young Offenders Act" was enacted, which basically gave license to anyone under the age of 18 to do whatever they wished. Last year two boys aged 16 and 17 murdered 16 year-old Kimblerly Proctor in Victoria, B.C. They kidnapped her, tied her up, repeatedly raped her, choked her, kicked her and beat her, suffocated her, mutilated and burned her body and then dumped it under a bridge. It was a pre-meditated murder which they had carefully planned. These two monsters young men should be locked up for life and never see the light of day again. But because they are "youth", they will be sentenced under the "Young Offenders Act" and will get a minimal sentence, perhaps three years, with time off for "good behaviour", and we will never know their identities. This law should be changed, or scrapped altogether. Our current Prime Minister, Mr. Harper, is tough on crime, and says "Canadians deserve to live in a country where they don't have to worry when they turn off the lights at night, where they don't have to look over their shoulders as they walk down the street, where they can expect to find their car where they parked it."

Maybe we have swung too far to the left, and we need more structure. I don't know. I'm not particularly a conservative, but in this case I may vote for the man and not the party. At least Mr. Harper is Canadian.