Christian Conservative Christian "Independent"

I'm an evangelical Christian, member of the CPC, but presently & unjustly exiled to wander the political wilderness.
All opinions expressed here are solely my own.

Saturday, September 29, 2007

Harper may have a winning policy

Just finished talking to my mother-in-law... a totally committed Green/leftist supporter, who typically hates all things Conservative. I like throwing a barb or two at her from time to time, we always have fun with it.

Anyway, she just shocked the life out of me today. We're talking about the Ontario Election, and MMP, and how she's disappointed with the non-candidate who's running for the Greens in her riding... he hasn't even returned her phone calls. She said she may not even bother voting for anyone this time. (that's shock number one) Then she asks me about MMP, and where I stand on it... she then tells me she's all torn up on the MMP vote, and is presently leaning against it because she doesn't like some of the details on how it will work. (that's shock number two, as I figured she's be all for it) Then, she drops this third bombshell of a shock on me and said something that I NEVER thought I'd hear come out of her mouth...

"You know what we really need for electoral reform in this country? AN ELECTED SENATE."

?!?!?! I think I must of stood there for a second with my mouth open in disbelief. Then I reminded her, "You do know that the only party that supports an elected Senate is Mr. Harper and the Conservatives, right? And that to get an elected Senate, you'd have to vote for them in the next election, right?"

Her reply was a simple nod of the head and an, "Uh huh".

If Mr. Harper can get my totally leftist mother-in-law onside... majority, here we come.

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posted by Christian Conservative @ 5:07 p.m.  

11 Comments:

  • At Sat Sep 29, 06:21:00 p.m. EDT, Blogger Tony said…

    I agree. The longer Harper and the Conservatives remain in power, the more Canadians take a liking to his patry and his policies.

    My Liberal next door neighbour, who has never voted for any other party, is so turned off by his party that he is actually going to vote for the Conservatives in the next federal election.

     

  • At Sat Sep 29, 07:31:00 p.m. EDT, Blogger KC said…

    Ummm Im a Liberal supporter and want an elected Senate as much as the next guy.

    That being said it is NOT a vote getter, and whats more what Harper is proposing (ie elections without fixing the problem of arbitrary distribution of seats) is NOT real reform.

     

  • At Sat Sep 29, 08:26:00 p.m. EDT, Blogger rob said…

    Kyle hit the nail on the head there. An elected senate my be preferable for people, but it isn't a vote-getter. Things like the economy, social programs, and the environment are much more important.

     

  • At Sat Sep 29, 09:16:00 p.m. EDT, Blogger Eric said…

    Kyle and Rob:

    I respectfully disagree. While an elected senate is not the top of the 'to-do' list it can become a very important issue during a campaign.

    Especially if a certain party leader portrays any attempts to reform it as an attack on a 'national institution'. It polarizes the debate and alienates people.

    Just like the school funding issue wasn't at the top of the list of important issues, it became a polarizing issue that alienated a lot of potential voters for Tory.

    One more important thing is an elected senate has universal appeal. Health care solutions are divisive, adding social programs splits the country right vs. left. The environment, while probably more important has proven itself not to be a vote getter either.

    But everyone, or almost everyone, can agree that Senate reforms would be nice. It unifies and unites.

     

  • At Sat Sep 29, 11:11:00 p.m. EDT, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    If an unelected senate blocks legislation that IS of importance to voters; then all of a sudden an elected senate does become a vote getter.

     

  • At Sun Sep 30, 12:05:00 a.m. EDT, Blogger Paul MacPhail said…

    I think the point of this post that is being missed is that people who could never bring themselves to vote Conservative are now finding that there are reasons to vote Conservative, once they get past the idea that it requires a change in mislead beliefs.

     

  • At Sun Sep 30, 08:26:00 a.m. EDT, Blogger Christian Conservative said…

    Well said Paul.

     

  • At Sun Sep 30, 03:57:00 p.m. EDT, Blogger Brian in Calgary said…

    CC - Your mother-in-law sounds like a person who likes to think for herself.

     

  • At Mon Oct 01, 11:30:00 a.m. EDT, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Exactly how would an elected senate work in our current parliamentary system?
    I am genuinely interested in the answer.

     

  • At Mon Oct 01, 03:56:00 p.m. EDT, Blogger Christian Conservative said…

    Most suggestions at this point would be to hold elections in the provinces where a seat needs to be filled, and to elect them for a term anywhere from 6 to 10 years.

    Constitutionally, the power to appoint Senators rests soley with the PM. Therefore, Mr. Harper has proposed legislation that basically says that he (or his successors) will name to the Senate any person duely elected by the people of that province.

    Thus, anyone could in theory run for an open senate seat, and the seats would likely be filled on a shifing basis, so that various Senators terms overlap. (so we're not electing an entirely new Senate every decade or so)

     

  • At Tue Oct 02, 11:51:00 a.m. EDT, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    How would the House of Commons and the Senate work together? We don't have an executive branch of government.

     

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