Iggy Spins

Deputy Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff said his party was extremely aware that Canadians don’t want to go to the polls.

“There’s no question … that Canadians are electioned out,” he said. “We have a responsibility to listen to that. That issue will be central in our minds, indeed.” globe and mail

Spare me. An election is twenty minutes of one’s time and, perhaps, a moment’s reflection. Do Canadians lust for the polls? Likely not. But please don’t pretend voting is like a root canal.

Iggy is making the classic error of confusing the fear and loathing of elections current in the stumbling Liberal Party with the views of actual, workaday, Canadians. Of course, never having met an actual Canadian, virtually everything Iggy says on the subject is the merest speculation. A plausible hypothesis awaiting the inevitable collision with the facts. An election would do him good.

Update: Westcoast Girl, who likes to stop by to roll her eyes at my AGW skepticism has a wonderful description of the voting procedure:

You see, it’s not as easy as you think. First, you must choose who you like. Then, you must say “I sure wish they were running for office!” Then, you figure out who actually is running. Then you figure out who might actually win. If you don’t hate that person a lot, you vote for them. Or if you do hate them a lot, you vote Liberal so that they will lose. Or if you’re one of the 20% of voting Canadians who is still full of that sweet, innocent hope that you should treat the world as it ought to be instead of as it is, you vote NDP. westcoast girl

And she’s on the left (albeit the thinking left)…does she have any idea how tough voting is for a libertarian. In Canada.

Written by jay on October 17th, 2007 with 2 comments.
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#1. October 17th, 2007, at 9:20 AM.

How about his line addressing the two other opposition party’s stance to oppose the Throne Speech where he said “his party is the only opposition party that can truly form government. Leaders need to take these things seriously (talking about the throne speech decision).” Funny he used the plural form of leader.

Translation: we’re hooped!!

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#2. October 19th, 2007, at 9:55 PM.

He’s just spewing talking points carefully crafted based on poorly rendered polling data from poorly constructed polls. Of course polling data says that Canadians don’t want another election but what these talking points fail to recognize is that if they have to go to the polls voters are going to cast their ballot for somebody and that decision will not be based very much on having to go to the polls.

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