Tomorrow Canadians may elect "a caucus of Kuciniches and Sanderses"

[JackRiddler]

NOTE: Very important developments that can have a major impact on the United States as well.

Canadian friends invited to post here and everyone who's excited about this, PLEASE KICK.


Tomorrow, May 2nd is the Canadian election:

Most likely the genuinely socialist third-party NDP led by Jack Layton will become the largest opposition party, and the long-established Liberals under the neocon clone Ignatieff will be reduced to a small third party. That alone would constitute one of the most dramatic tectonic shifts in Canadian electoral history.

However, now that the NDP has made a historic breakthrough to second place in the polls, voters are coalescing around it as the only viable alternative to the Conservatives under the Canadian Bush, Stephen Harper, whose goals include the dismantling of the Canadian public health care system that we here can only envy.

Canada like us is saddled with a first-past the post system, so a mere plurality of 35 or 40 percent can in some scenarios capture a majority of the parliament. Based on today's poll, less of a shift is required to achieve a plurality for the NDP than would be required to achieve the sought-after Conservative majority.

Says a Canadian friend:

"The federal NDP have had influence in minority parliaments, but have never been this close to governing, and so have attracted a fairly quixotic brand of politician; moreso than some of its provincial counterparts. It's more like a caucus of Kuciniches and Sanders."



Layton's political philosophy, from 2003:

Leo: What about the question of language? Is the old language of socialism still relevant or is there a new language; or is socialism not necessary for your vision? Do you still see yourself as a socialist, Jack?

Jack: When I ran for city hall I found that the language I was accustomed to using on campus is not the language people are using on the Danforth in Toronto. To tell you the truth, I think the old language is alien to most people. They don’t know what it means and we have to spend too much of our time explaining it to them. That’s not productive. I find that the language of story telling is more effective. Like “Let’s get this housing project built.” Or “Let’s stop our garbage from going up north - We’re up against the biggest waste company in the world - We’ll take them down with grass roots action in favour of composting.” People share our concerns and they can identify with that type of language about very concrete things. I doubt I’ll ever use words like capitalism or imperialism though maybe there will be an occasion. Socialist? I’m proud to call myself a socialist. I prefer it by far to democratic socialist. But I don’t go around shouting it out.

http://canadiandimension.com/articles/2009

The NDP has always been against the NATO intervention in Afghanistan, and is very much "troops home now." (See Urban Dictionary entry, "Taliban Jack.")
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Taliban%20Jack



With regard to Libya, the NDP joined a parliamentary consensus for a no-fly zone. Though with some caveats:

NDP Leader Jack Layton said he has been concerned since the start of the Libyan conflict about the possibility of "mission creep."

"We insisted on parliamentary review and three months after , there will have to be a further review by Parliarment," Layton said in Esquimalt, B.C.

"We will be insisting on the government to produce an exit strategy and an end game at that point."

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canadavotes2011/story/2011/04/08/cv-election-hillier-libya-1020.html#

Jack Layton on the record -- VIDEOS:


Opposition to tar sands oil exploitation:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-UZ6CFDfgU&feature=player_embedded


Renegotiating NAFTA! Fair and sustainable trade:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_MR7tL7tWs&feature=player_embedded


Globalization:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmem49ohsY8&feature=player_embedded




Global War On Terror:

The leader of the NDP has cast the global war on terrorism as a George W. Bush pet project and says Canada should be looking elsewhere for international challenges to tackle.

Jack Layton noted that AIDS, poverty and climate change are killing far more people than terrorism and he accused the federal government of ignoring those scourges.

"All of the focus has been on the issues and the world view as identified by George Bush, and what he regards to be the greatest threat," Layton told a news conference Friday during an NDP convention.

"There has been such a totally disproportionate investment of the world's energy, time and money on the issues that George Bush has defined as the threat to human security.

"(That is) as opposed to the real threats to human security."

http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Canada/20060908/NDP_Afghanistan_060908/

Go NDP!

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