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qallunat

(16 posts)
28. Thank you for the welcome!
Wed Apr 15, 2020, 12:08 PM
Apr 2020

In our system, in theory, every parliamentary vote on a bill can turn into a confidence vote, which could result in the immediate dissolution of the government. This necessitates that coalitions be formed by minority governments, but essentially allows majority governments a rubber stamp for any legislation they propose, assuming their majority is sufficient to buffer against member absences. In analogy to your system, ours behaves as though there were no presidential elections, but rather, as though Congressional elections were held for the whole House every four years, and the leader of the majority party automatically became President. By the rules of our system, Nancy Pelosi would be President of the United States . I am not going to get into whether it's a feature or a bug, but this means that our MPs (congresspeople by anaolgy) are most often elected as avatars of the Party Leader. This make sense because generally MPs are expected to fall in line with their party when voting (the confidence vote rule makes it clear why). Interestingly, it's our Conservative Party that has historically been less authoritarian about "whipping" votes.

About coalitions: in practice, we have 3 parties that vie for control of the parliament, the Liberals (centrist corporatists, socially leftish), The Conservatives (generally center-right, but whose tent houses the more socially/fiscally extreme rightwing voters) and the NDP (nominally to the left of the Liberals, but AOC, for example, would be more to the left than the rank and file in this party, but not radically so). I exclude the Greens because they have never elected more than a couple of MPs and the Bloc Quebecois because they are a regional party whose ideology is difficult to situate between the Big Three for a very specific set of historical and cultural reasons to do with the role of Quebec in Confederation. Only the Liberals and Conservatives have held power federally. Where the NDP have held power provincially, they move to the centre and become indistinguishable from Liberals in governing.

I have seen it said on this forum, that the Democratic Party would rather see Trump re-elected than have Bernie as a Democratic President. I am not going to comment on that, but looking at Canadian politics through an ideological lens, it is true that, despite their left-leaning rhetoric, the Liberals always enact policies that cleave closer to Conservative rhetoric, and will always form coalitions with Conservatives (mostly informal, as Liberals tend to be tribally hostile to Conservatives and contemptuous of the NDP, broadly speaking) as opposed to the NDP. This is due to lobbyists, quid pro quo deals and somewhat less importantly, donors (we have no Citizens' United ruling, thank God!).

For leftists in Canada, then, we are stuck with the NDP, who tend to compromise their progressive tone whenever they feel it might reduce their electoral chances, and in any case, govern from the centre when in provincial power, and the Liberals, who campaign from the left and govern from the centre-right. The saving grace of our system, in general, is that our Conservatives are not crazy. Fundamentalist religion, while accommodated by the Cons, does not in general drive policy and although the oil and gas lobbyists are powerful, every party at least pays lip service to fighting climate change. Bay Street (our Wall Street) drives a lot of Liberal policy (e.g. NAFTA, USMCA or CAMUS, as we call it here).
All this to say, the general social, economic and environmental currents that colour your politics are present here and because we are in America's pocket economically and in many ways culturally, we watch your politics closely.

Recommendations

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along with his republican accomplices who only care about $$, not for humanity nt msongs Apr 2020 #1
A One Historic Devil Once Said, Ma'am The Magistrate Apr 2020 #18
Indeed! SheltieLover Apr 2020 #2
This is why ibegurpard Apr 2020 #3
"The enthusiasm to punish Repukes is off the charts." liberalla Apr 2020 #8
45-47% of polled voters think otherwise.. ramen Apr 2020 #13
"half of the folks being asked say everything is fine" ... That's off the charts itself uponit7771 Apr 2020 #16
Even Rasmussen, Sir The Magistrate Apr 2020 #19
Great post Sir malaise Apr 2020 #4
Thank You, Ma'am The Magistrate Apr 2020 #22
K&R Solomon Apr 2020 #5
Eloquent. K&R for visibility. crickets Apr 2020 #6
Kick dalton99a Apr 2020 #7
Well put Sir, especially the last line of your first paragraph - i.e. the pundits. "Never as c-rational Apr 2020 #9
Thank You, Sir The Magistrate Apr 2020 #23
Appreciate your reasoned responses and some thoughts. c-rational Apr 2020 #30
Again, Sir, Many Thanks For Your KInd Words The Magistrate Apr 2020 #31
Yep not fooled Apr 2020 #10
They Certainly Have, Ma'am The Magistrate Apr 2020 #51
Yup. This is where we are. Joinfortmill Apr 2020 #11
I Am Glad You Agree, Ma'am The Magistrate Apr 2020 #26
Well said and may explain why Dems prevailed in Wisconsin and risked their life to vote. Pepsidog Apr 2020 #12
I Think That Explains Wisconsin As Well, Sir The Magistrate Apr 2020 #32
I hate him I hate him I hate him I hate him demtenjeep Apr 2020 #14
All Decent Human Beings Do, Sir The Magistrate Apr 2020 #33
Well said, Sir. kentuck Apr 2020 #15
Thank You, My Friend The Magistrate Apr 2020 #34
Agreed greenjar_01 Apr 2020 #17
Thank You, Sir The Magistrate Apr 2020 #44
kick for visibility lamp_shade Apr 2020 #20
Manly? Dworkin Apr 2020 #21
Not A Term I Would Apply To The Cheap Thug Either, Sir The Magistrate Apr 2020 #45
You have nailed it! qallunat Apr 2020 #24
Welcome To The Forum, Sir The Magistrate Apr 2020 #25
Thank you for the welcome! qallunat Apr 2020 #28
Thank You Very Much, Sir, For That Excellent Briefing The Magistrate Apr 2020 #29
This message was self-deleted by its author geralmar Apr 2020 #36
Well said! MountainMama Apr 2020 #37
True, Sir, But Where Passion Runs High, More People Go To The Polls The Magistrate Apr 2020 #38
It was my pleasure qallunat Apr 2020 #41
Do trump cultists realize how many of us there are and how deeply we hate him? mwb970 Apr 2020 #27
No, They Do Not, Sir The Magistrate Apr 2020 #42
I think it was an exit poll from the Dem. primary in State of Washington GusBob Apr 2020 #35
I Have Seen Similar Figures, Sir The Magistrate Apr 2020 #43
Righteous rant... Wounded Bear Apr 2020 #39
Thank You, My Friend The Magistrate Apr 2020 #48
Fine, as long as the criminal conspirators go down WITH him. Hortensis Apr 2020 #40
It Is True, Ma'am, The Cheap Thug Is A Symptom Of An Underlying Sickness The Magistrate Apr 2020 #49
Hear, hear. There could be no McConnells without the voters Hortensis Apr 2020 #50
Huge kick and rec. love_katz Apr 2020 #46
Thank You, Ma'am The Magistrate Apr 2020 #53
I am back because of my visceral hate for Trump and his supporters. Tommymac Apr 2020 #47
I Know The Feeling, Sir The Magistrate Apr 2020 #55
Yes, I hate Trump, McConnell and all the rest of these disgusting shills for PatrickforO Apr 2020 #52
"Defeat of a hated enemy is something to be for." yortsed snacilbuper Apr 2020 #54
kick yortsed snacilbuper Apr 2020 #56
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