This Election Will Not Be Copyright (Unless Harper wins and then all bets are off!)

I've not blogged a lot about this election. There's really not much for me to say. The Harper Party has framed this election about image, and he's winning in that frame, although Jack Layton is a strong second.

Harper's agenda is no longer hidden - it's well known but mostly ignored by Canadians, who tend to focus on his authoritarian and doctrinaire leadership style as desirable - although for the life of me, I can't figure out why. Few of us individually would stand for Harper's style and methods in our respective families and workplaces; why should we stand for it collectively as a country?

To gain an insight on what Harper-style legislation might look like, consider the impact of former Copyright Reform Bill C-61 on your life, and then apply this to other, perhaps more important aspects of public policy:



For those who enjoy the Conservative Party scandals and playing fast and loose with the rules (until caught), the squandering of the fiscal surplus, the obvious futility of the Afghan military mission (tell the Taliban we're gone in just over two years, and they'll continue to pick off our soldiers, biding their time without incurring heavy losses on their side), the dismal ecological record, their record of anti-women policies, and on... well then, yes, go ahead and vote for Stephen Harper.

However...

If you are choosing not to vote for Stephane Dion's Liberals because he doesn't appear as leaderly as Harper, or are choosing not to vote for Jack Layton because the NDP can't possibly form a government (I'm guessing that people will not choose not to vote for Elizabeth May or Gilles Duceppe and otherwise stay home), please reconsider what your apathy might mean to your day-to-day life, and vote ABC.

[Technorati tags: federal election | stephen harper | stephane dion | jack layton | elizabeth may | gilles duceppe | copyright reform | bill c61]