voting

Tuesday November 6, 2018

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday November 6, 2018

‘Full Trumpism’: President’s apocalyptic attacks reach new level of falsehood

President Donald Trump is painting an astonishingly apocalyptic vision of America under Democratic control in the campaign’s final days, unleashing a torrent of falsehoods and portraying his political opponents as desiring crime, squalor and poverty.

August 18 2017

As voters prepare to render their first verdict on his presidency in Tuesday’s midterm elections, Trump is claiming that Democrats want to erase the nation’s borders and provide sanctuary to drug dealers, human traffickers and MS-13 killers. He is warning that they would destroy the economy, obliterate Medicare and unleash a wave of violent crime that endangers families everywhere. And he is alleging that they would transform the United States into Venezuela with socialism run amok.

April 13, 2018

Trump has never been hemmed in by fact, fairness or even logic. The 45th president proudly refuses to apologize and routinely violates the norms of decorum that guided his predecessors. But at one mega-rally after another in the run-up to Tuesday’s midterm elections, Trump has taken his no-boundaries political ethos to a new level — demagoguing the Democrats in a whirl of distortion and using the power of the federal government to amplify his fantastical arguments.

In Columbia, Missouri, the president suggested that Democrats “run around like antifa” demonstrators in black uniforms and black helmets, but underneath, they have “this weak little face” and “go back home into Mommy’s basement.”

February 25, 2017

In Huntington, West Virginia, Trump called predatory immigrants “the worst scum in the world” but alleged that Democrats welcome them by saying, “Fly right in, folks. Come on in. We don’t care who the hell you are, come on in!”

And in Macon, Georgia, he charged that if Democrat Stacey Abrams is elected governor, she would take away the Second Amendment right to bear arms — though as a state official, she would not have the power to change the Constitution.

Unmoored from reality, Trump has at times become a false prophet, too. He has been promising a 10 per cent tax cut for the middle class, though no such legislation exists. And he has sounded alarms over an imminent “invasion” of dangerous “illegal aliens,” referring to a caravan of Central American migrants that includes many women and children, is travelling by foot and is not expected to reach the U.S.-Mexico border for several weeks, if at all.

With his breathtaking cascade of orations, tweets, media appearances and presidential actions, Trump has dictated the terms of the political debate in the final week of the campaign even though he is not up for reelection for two years. (Continued: Hamilton Spectator) 

 

Hope in Election 2018

By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator, 1997-

Just days to go until election day and like a lot of voters in Ontario, I can’t decide who I’m going to vote for.

But I know what to hope for.

Call me a wishy-washy centrist, a Bill Davis PCer, or, maybe a Red-Tory, none of the options in this election are very palatable. A predicament pointed out in a missive written in this space after Doug Ford was elected PC leader in March, it’s nothing new, though, as this seems to be the usual position (at the voter buffet) I have found myself in leading up to election day going well back into the last decade. I’m not one to throw away my vote for fringe parties for the main reason they don’t really matter in elections, and secondly since they don’t really align with my values anyway. For people like me voting nowadays follows a process of eliminating candidates from a slate rather than actually choosing the perfect representative.   

In the current campaign none of the three parties are addressing the realities of a ballooning debt, with big spending plans by the Liberals and NDP on one hand, and huge tax cuts by the PCs on the other. Servicing debt has become one of the biggest costs the Province is responsible for – enough money to build 12 hospitals per year. While the Libs say they can do better to address Ontario’s debt situation than they have over the past 15 years, the NDP is saying taxes on corporations and rich people will be used to deal with debt. The PCs, while being very outspoken in their criticism of the Liberal’s handling of the debt, simply suggest the dividends from finding “efficiencies” will be used to tackle the debt.

When it comes to spending, the Libs and NDP are promising their own versions of province financed pharmacare, dental care, childcare, and money for student debt, with little mention of how much money will be borrowed and how much taxes will need to be raised.

The PCs are addressing promises made by the other parties, namely, subsidizing day care and dental care, and like them aren’t saying how they’ll be paid for. There’s also big pledges, made specifically in sloganeering, to add 30,000 long term beds, and billions for mental health. All the while the tax cut promises are abundant: doing away with carbon taxes, lowering provincial tax on gas by 10 cents a litre, 12% cuts on Hydro bills (with an added symbolic measure of firing the richly salaried CEO of Hydro One), and cuts on corporate taxes and income taxes for low and middle class wage earners.

If not a promise, but clearly an expectation, the PCs if elected will with certainty follow in the footsteps of a Harper government or Trump administration in their disdain for traditional media. While this may for some voters come with shrugged shoulders, or jubilation it’s bound to ramp up the manufacturing of propaganda and alternative facts in Ontario. As the past 6 weeks have proved, Doug Ford’s handlers have kept media scrums along the trail very brief and controlled. There have been exits from rallies through back doors, no shows for broadcast interviews, crickets from press queries, and a complete avoidance from newspaper editorial board meetings. In the two decades I’ve attended Ed-boards at the Hamilton Spectator every PC leader going into an election has sat before our panel of editors, columnists, and writers to answer a some straight up questions, all the while serving as a model for a live sketch. While it’s a great indicator of executive readiness, Doug Ford receives a big fat zero because he didn’t bother to show up for the test. What may be perceived as Trump style disdain for media, it’s more likely an indicator of Mr. Ford lacking depth of principles, and his party’s dearth of policies. A political machine that hides its leader during a campaign for office, will surely continue hiding that same leader elected to a position of running a government.  If the so called “little guy” electorate chooses not to be bothered by a candidate willfully evading scrutiny while seeking office, then they get what they asked for when their leader is crowned.

Gone are the days when political parties would release somewhat responsible, realistically costed platforms. Doug Ford has been on the receiving end of much criticism for not releasing a costed PC platform, as if a platform is the be all and end all of what a party will do once in office. The NDP proudly boasts their election centre piece even though a multi billion dollar mistake was found in their costing. I’m not sure if the Liberals officially have a platform, I’ve heard conflicting answers to this, but how does it really matter given the discrepency between their budget accounting to that of the Auditor-General’s?  An official costing of a Liberal platform is guaranteed to invite criticism from analysts due to the budgetary shell game orchestrated by the Liberals over the last 4 years. 

It’s been a brief campaign since the election was called just 6 weeks ago. Aside from a few mini-scandals, namely, exposure of misbehaving candidates with running for the NDP, and the PC party, the past few weeks have been mostly gaffe free. A data breach at the 407 which forced the resignation of one candidate raised suspicion of more widespread fraud committed in the already dubious nomination processes dogging the PC Party during the Patrick Brown era. While Doug Ford has brushed the theory off, I suspect we’ll be hearing more about this breach after the election dust settles, much like downplayed ghosts haunted Kathleen Wynne for years.

If anything can be regarded as dramatic in this campaign it is the decline of the Ontario Liberal Party. While there seemed to be a general sense at the start of the campaign that the tired 15 year old government had a big challenge ahead in fighting against a throw-the-bums-out attitude among voters, polls consistently showed them dropping from day one as both the Tories and NDP duked it out 15 points ahead of the Liberals. A withering Kathleen Wynne, as she herself confessed in a Hamilton Spectator Editorial Board meeting, became the lightening rod for voter disenchantment against the Liberals. With only a few days left before the election Premier Wynne made the most honest assessment any politician can make in an election: that her party will not win. Facing what the numbers show as a potential decimation to single digit seats at Queen’s Park, the political obituaries for the first woman Premier of Ontario have been circulating for weeks. Feisty National Post columnist Christie Blatchford summed it up best in a piece writing that, “Kathleen Wynne is so clearly heads and tails smarter, better informed and more capable than Doug Ford that it borders on the ridiculous.”  

Should the overwhelming opinion that Kathleen Wynne and the Libs will and should be rejected on June 7, it may soon be realized further down the road of a new government in Ontario the old line of ‘you don’t know what you have until it’s gone’. I think this attitude is already sinking in with voters, which makes it so difficult to vote on one of the other two options. One option, the NDP, clearly reaping the benefit of voter interest not just because the Libs are a dead duck, but because the PCs look so ill-equipt with sloganeering Doug Ford at the helm.

One thing is clear, neither the PC party, nor the NDP, whichever party forms government, can be trusted with a majority. If I can’t figure out who to vote for, I know what to hope for: a minority government – and we can go through this again in two years when all the parties and their leaders can get their act together. 

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Thursday February 2, 2017

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday February 2, 2017

Trudeau drops pledge to reform Canada’s electoral system

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has abandoned his longstanding promise to overhaul Canada’s voting system.

December 9, 2016

Trudeau made the dramatic reversal of a key platform plank in a new mandate letter for Karina Gould, his newly named minister of democratic institutions.

“Changing the electoral system will not be in your mandate,” reads the letter.

“There has been tremendous work by the House of Commons Special Committee on Electoral Reform, outreach by Members of Parliament by all parties, and engagement of 360,000 individuals in Canada through mydemocracy.ca,” Trudeau wrote.

“A clear preference for a new electoral system, let alone a consensus, has not emerged. Furthermore, without a clear preference or a clear question, a referendum would not be in Canada’s interest.”

December 2, 2016

That clearly contradicts a report submitted by a parliamentary committee to the government last fall.

Trudeau had long said the Liberals would ensure the 2015 election was the last one held under the current first-past-the-post system, under which the party that wins a plurality of votes gets to form government, even if it doesn’t win a 50-per-cent-plus-one-vote majority of the popular vote.

In a town hall in Belleville three weeks ago, Trudeau admitted he was “on record” as personally in favour of a ranked ballot system. But he insisted at that time he would not back away from its plan to change the way Canadians vote and elect their governments.

Instead, Trudeau set out a broader goal — with some new marching orders — for Gould.

October 21, 2016

“As Minister of Democratic Institutions, your overarching goal will be to strengthen the openness and fairness of Canada’s public institutions. You will lead on improving our democratic institutions and Senate reform to restore Canadians’ trust and participation in our democratic processes,” he wrote.

Gould told reporters her priorities will be to legislate changes to boost transparency for cash-for-access political fundraisers, and getting the government’s key electronic signals spy agency (CSE or Communications Security Establishment) to assess the risk posed by hackers to Canadian political and electoral activities.

On the defensive in her first major news conference, Gould said that the government undertook major consultations and listened to Canadians on electoral reform but “we realized there was no consensus to move forward with electoral reform.” (Source: Toronto Star) 

 

Friday December 2, 2016

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Friday December 2, 2016 Liberal MPs recommend breaking electoral reform promise Liberal MPs are recommending the government break its promise to overhaul CanadaÕs electoral system by 2019. An all-party committee report released Thursday recommended giving Canadians a choice between the status quo and a new, more proportional voting system in a nationwide referendum. But the Liberals on the committee dissented from that report, saying the timeline set by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is too Òrushed,Ó and the recommendations of the committee too Òradical.Ó ÒWe believe Canadians are far from being adequately engaged with the electoral reform discussion,Ó their dissenting report reads. ÒOur position is that the timeline on electoral reform as proposed in the (report) is unnecessarily hasty and runs the risk of undermining the legitimacy of the process by racing towards a predetermined deadline.Ó Trudeau promised during last yearÕs election campaign that Ò2015 (would be) the last election under first-past-the-post,Ó a system that critics argue distorts the popular vote. The last two majority governments, for instance, were elected with less than 40 per cent of the popular vote. It took months, however, for the government to strike an all-party committee to begin studying the issue. And in May, Democratic Institutions Minister Maryam Monsef changed the promise, pledging electoral reform only with Òbroad supportÓ from the public. What constitutes Òbroad supportÓ has still not been defined. But in their report, the Liberals simply say not enough Canadians are engaged on the matter to move ahead with a new system for 2019. It will be up to Trudeau and the Liberals to either accept their MPs recommendations, or to push ahead with their promise. (Source: Toronto Star) https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2016/12/01/liberal-mps-recommend-breaking-electoral-reform-promise.html Canada, electoral, reform, votin

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday December 2, 2016

Liberal MPs recommend breaking electoral reform promise

Liberal MPs are recommending the government break its promise to overhaul Canada’s electoral system by 2019.

An all-party committee report released Thursday recommended giving Canadians a choice between the status quo and a new, more proportional voting system in a nationwide referendum.

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Friday October 21, 2016 Is Trudeau jockeying to avoid fulfilling promise on electoral reform? Is Justin Trudeau laying the groundwork for reneging on his promise to make the 2015 federal election the last to be conducted under the first-past-the-post voting system? Or is the prime minister trying to drive a hard bargain with the NDP and Greens to abandon their own ambitious preference for a proportional voting system and settle for a more modest change to a ranked ballot system? Those questions were touched off Wednesday by an interview Trudeau gave to MontrealÕs Le Devoir newspaper. In it, Trudeau said major electoral reforms would require ÒsubstantialÓ support. But he simultaneously argued that the public clamour for change seems to have diminished since the Liberals defeated Stephen HarperÕs Conservatives one year ago. ÒUnder the current system, (Canadians) now have a government theyÕre more satisfied with and the motivation to change the electoral system is less compelling,Ó he said. NDP Leader Tom Mulcair took that as clear evidence that Trudeau is preparing to break his promise on electoral reform. ÒI do believe that Mr. Trudeau is showing the type of cynicism that he used to always decry when he was in opposition,Ó Mulcair said. ÒWhat could be more cynical that to say, ÔYou know what? This is a totally unfair system because it allowed Stephen Harper to get a massive majority with only 39 per cent of the vote,Õ and then, exactly one year later, say, ÒOh, but by the way, itÕs a darn good system because it allowed Justin Trudeau to get a massive majority with just 39 per cent of the vote.ÕÓ (Source: Toronto Star)Êhttps://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2016/10/19/is-trudeau-jockeying-to-avoid-fulfilling-promise-on-electoral-reform.html Canada, Justin Trudeau, Thomas Mulcair, electoral reform, election, reform, electoral, torch, promise

 October 21, 2016

But the Liberals on the committee dissented from that report, saying the timeline set by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is too “rushed,” and the recommendations of the committee too “radical.”

“We believe Canadians are far from being adequately engaged with the electoral reform discussion,” their dissenting report reads.

“Our position is that the timeline on electoral reform as proposed in the (report) is unnecessarily hasty and runs the risk of undermining the legitimacy of the process by racing towards a predetermined deadline.”

Trudeau promised during last year’s election campaign that “2015 (would be) the last election under first-past-the-post,” a system that critics argue distorts the popular vote. The last two majority governments, for instance, were elected with less than 40 per cent of the popular vote.

It took months, however, for the government to strike an all-party committee to begin studying the issue. And in May, Democratic Institutions Minister Maryam Monsef changed the promise, pledging electoral reform only with “broad support” from the public.

What constitutes “broad support” has still not been defined. But in their report, the Liberals simply say not enough Canadians are engaged on the matter to move ahead with a new system for 2019.

It will be up to Trudeau and the Liberals to either accept their MPs recommendations, or to push ahead with their promise. (Source: Toronto Star)

 

Thursday June 2, 2016

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Thursday June 2, 2016 'We can do better': Liberals kick off push to change Canada's voting system Having promised that the last federal campaign will be the last one conducted under the first-past-the-post voting system, the Liberal government is proposing that a special committee study the alternatives and report back to the House of Commons by Dec. 1. A motion to create the committee was unveiled on Tuesday night. Democratic Reform Minister Maryam Monsef and Government House leader Dominic LeBlanc explained their government's plans on Wednesday morning. The committee would consist of 10 voting members: six Liberals, three Conservatives and one New Democrat. One Bloc QuŽbŽcois MP and Green MP Elizabeth May would be members of the committee, but not allowed to vote. "In a multi-party democracy like Canada, first past the post distorts the will of the electorate. It's part of why so many Canadians don't engage in or care about politics," Monsef told reporters. "While there's no such thing as a perfect electoral system, we can do better.Ó The committee would be asked to "identify and conduct a study of viable alternate voting systems, such as preferential ballots and proportional representation, to replace the first-past-the-post system, as well as to examine mandatory voting and online voting.Ó Options would be judged on the basis of five principles: * Effectiveness and legitimacy. * Engagement. * Accessibility and inclusiveness. * Integrity. * Local representation. The committee would invite every MP to conduct a forum on electoral reform in his or her riding and file a report on the discussion by Oct. 1. And the committee itself would conduct a "national engagement process," including written and online submissions. (Source: CBC News)Êhttp://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/liberals-electoral-reform-1.3576472 Canada, Justin Trudeau, electoral, election, reform, garage, democracy, voting, ballot, box

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday June 2, 2016

‘We can do better’: Liberals kick off push to change Canada’s voting system

Having promised that the last federal campaign will be the last one conducted under the first-past-the-post voting system, the Liberal government is proposing that a special committee study the alternatives and report back to the House of Commons by Dec. 1.

A motion to create the committee was unveiled on Tuesday night. Democratic Reform Minister Maryam Monsef and Government House leader Dominic LeBlanc explained their government’s plans on Wednesday morning.

The committee would consist of 10 voting members: six Liberals, three Conservatives and one New Democrat. One Bloc Québécois MP and Green MP Elizabeth May would be members of the committee, but not allowed to vote.

Electoral Reform referendum 2007

“In a multi-party democracy like Canada, first past the post distorts the will of the electorate. It’s part of why so many Canadians don’t engage in or care about politics,” Monsef told reporters. “While there’s no such thing as a perfect electoral system, we can do better.”

The committee would be asked to “identify and conduct a study of viable alternate voting systems, such as preferential ballots and proportional representation, to replace the first-past-the-post system, as well as to examine mandatory voting and online voting.”

Options would be judged on the basis of five principles:

  • Effectiveness and legitimacy.
  • Engagement.
  • Accessibility and inclusiveness.
  • Integrity.
  • Local representation.

The committee would invite every MP to conduct a forum on electoral reform in his or her riding and file a report on the discussion by Oct. 1. And the committee itself would conduct a “national engagement process,” including written and online submissions. (Source: CBC News)