The Undecided Voter
When it comes to wearing the colours of the Liberal Red, the Tory Blue or the NDP Orange I prefer the Grey of the Non-Partisan. The Grey is in fact not a bad colour to wear, I am the voter everyone wants. The Voter who tips the polls ever so slightly before the election then tramples with reckless abandon on the predictions on the day after. On these rare occasions we have the distinct opportunity when the party candidates have to sniff me out and pay attention to what I have to say. Here's my take on the three key players in these parts. Federally they call it St. John’s South Mount Pearl.
Let’s start with the Incumbent Loyola Hearn. The Pros: In the tradition of Paul Martin and U2’s Bono I guess we should note celebrity endorsements – Loyola co-wrote “from an Island to an Island” with Nashville-foundland Singer Kevin Collins. On accessibility I can tell you from personal experience Loyola is far more accessible than the other two candidates. He perhaps more than the other two has an appeal to the average Joe. His personable demeanor has served him well in his five years in Parliament and couple of elections he's won federally. The results of the last election though show that his seat can be taken from him but for a handful of the undecided like myself. Given the election timing the greatest difficulty for him may in fact be voter apathy.
The Con: The one big one. Standing up in Parliament for what is largely seen as a vote along party lines and against the Atlantic Accord and Newfoundland and Labrador. To be fair there is a lot to be said about this whole ordeal. First is the fact that if Norm and Loyola had not stood up if would not have changed a darn thing. The numbers would still favour the Liberals. Secondly Loyola argues it was the Liberals who put the Atlantic Accord with that bill instead of being passed separately and previously as the Conservatives had pushed for. Newfoundland and Labrador would have had that money and the interest, months before, in his argument. I haven't been sold one way or the other but Loyola has responded directly on a number of occasions as to his reasoning.
Moving on to the ladies: Peg Norman is the NDP contender. The Pros? She has heart and soul. She has passion. She even has a celebrity endorsement from Rosie O'Donnell. Not Canadian but impressive non-the-less. Most significantly she is NDP at a time when the NDP are enjoying some great popularity. Jack Layton has proven himself as a leader, and the strategic alliances of the NDP were critical in the last kick at the can in office. The Cons: Peg Norman is perhaps not as highly visible or accessible. She is inexperienced in government (maybe that belongs in the Pros). One big thing that makes me uneasy about the NDP is how the unions always carry the Orange banner. There are a couple of things wrong with this. I don't thing any particular party should be owned by an interest group. Labour yes - we all work, but Labour with a capital "L", is an exclusive group. Of course right now I can hear people shouting "if you think the Liberals and Conservatives aren't owned by special interest groups and lobbyists you're off your rocker". Duly noted. My conclusion - I would love to see more NDP in parliament plain and simple.
Siobhan Coady is making a run for the liberal seat, hoping to overturn the solid support for Loyola Hearn of the Conservatives. Siobhan made a solid stab at it a dozen or so months ago when we last walked this path. Siobhan's Pros include her solid business background, her ability to lead and motivate. She is inspiring to quite a number of people,
and has a warm and winning smile and inviting personality. The Cons: The winning smile is like Molasses on a touton, a little is dandy but no one wants to bath in it. And no celebrity endorsements worth speaking of, unless you count Paul Martin... no lets not. She is highly visible but not accessible. Her campaign announcements have that distinctive Liberal smell of spin. She is perhaps tied too closely to the puppet strings of PMPM. Just once I'd like to see her stand on a car and shout "F%$# this S%$T Newfoundlanders and Labradorians have had-a-bloody-nuff!". This would be followed by a lightening bolt from Ottawa I’m sure. Her campaign has resorted to the cheesy concepts of elections past. Drive-by waving, blatantly over-sized signs placed on every corner of the riding. I have a rabbit slip set on a few of them... Rabbits and Grits mmm-mmm better than Jiggs Dinner. I can send you the recipe while Liberals are still in season. The best thing about Liberal Hunting is that a Bull-Only license entitles you to just about any Liberal.
When all is said and done I guess if I vote for the NDP it'll be largely due to the party, and partially due to the candidate. If I vote Conservative it'll be mostly because of the person. If I vote Liberal... someone help me with this... well let me just say I can be convinced between now and January 23. And if I vote Green it is because I have been sedated and spray-painted and I'm being send to a basement in Toronto. God have mercy.
My vote is not for sale - I'm waiting to see who's going to break a sweat in the coming weeks.
When it comes to wearing the colours of the Liberal Red, the Tory Blue or the NDP Orange I prefer the Grey of the Non-Partisan. The Grey is in fact not a bad colour to wear, I am the voter everyone wants. The Voter who tips the polls ever so slightly before the election then tramples with reckless abandon on the predictions on the day after. On these rare occasions we have the distinct opportunity when the party candidates have to sniff me out and pay attention to what I have to say. Here's my take on the three key players in these parts. Federally they call it St. John’s South Mount Pearl.
Let’s start with the Incumbent Loyola Hearn. The Pros: In the tradition of Paul Martin and U2’s Bono I guess we should note celebrity endorsements – Loyola co-wrote “from an Island to an Island” with Nashville-foundland Singer Kevin Collins. On accessibility I can tell you from personal experience Loyola is far more accessible than the other two candidates. He perhaps more than the other two has an appeal to the average Joe. His personable demeanor has served him well in his five years in Parliament and couple of elections he's won federally. The results of the last election though show that his seat can be taken from him but for a handful of the undecided like myself. Given the election timing the greatest difficulty for him may in fact be voter apathy.
The Con: The one big one. Standing up in Parliament for what is largely seen as a vote along party lines and against the Atlantic Accord and Newfoundland and Labrador. To be fair there is a lot to be said about this whole ordeal. First is the fact that if Norm and Loyola had not stood up if would not have changed a darn thing. The numbers would still favour the Liberals. Secondly Loyola argues it was the Liberals who put the Atlantic Accord with that bill instead of being passed separately and previously as the Conservatives had pushed for. Newfoundland and Labrador would have had that money and the interest, months before, in his argument. I haven't been sold one way or the other but Loyola has responded directly on a number of occasions as to his reasoning.
Moving on to the ladies: Peg Norman is the NDP contender. The Pros? She has heart and soul. She has passion. She even has a celebrity endorsement from Rosie O'Donnell. Not Canadian but impressive non-the-less. Most significantly she is NDP at a time when the NDP are enjoying some great popularity. Jack Layton has proven himself as a leader, and the strategic alliances of the NDP were critical in the last kick at the can in office. The Cons: Peg Norman is perhaps not as highly visible or accessible. She is inexperienced in government (maybe that belongs in the Pros). One big thing that makes me uneasy about the NDP is how the unions always carry the Orange banner. There are a couple of things wrong with this. I don't thing any particular party should be owned by an interest group. Labour yes - we all work, but Labour with a capital "L", is an exclusive group. Of course right now I can hear people shouting "if you think the Liberals and Conservatives aren't owned by special interest groups and lobbyists you're off your rocker". Duly noted. My conclusion - I would love to see more NDP in parliament plain and simple.
Siobhan Coady is making a run for the liberal seat, hoping to overturn the solid support for Loyola Hearn of the Conservatives. Siobhan made a solid stab at it a dozen or so months ago when we last walked this path. Siobhan's Pros include her solid business background, her ability to lead and motivate. She is inspiring to quite a number of people,
and has a warm and winning smile and inviting personality. The Cons: The winning smile is like Molasses on a touton, a little is dandy but no one wants to bath in it. And no celebrity endorsements worth speaking of, unless you count Paul Martin... no lets not. She is highly visible but not accessible. Her campaign announcements have that distinctive Liberal smell of spin. She is perhaps tied too closely to the puppet strings of PMPM. Just once I'd like to see her stand on a car and shout "F%$# this S%$T Newfoundlanders and Labradorians have had-a-bloody-nuff!". This would be followed by a lightening bolt from Ottawa I’m sure. Her campaign has resorted to the cheesy concepts of elections past. Drive-by waving, blatantly over-sized signs placed on every corner of the riding. I have a rabbit slip set on a few of them... Rabbits and Grits mmm-mmm better than Jiggs Dinner. I can send you the recipe while Liberals are still in season. The best thing about Liberal Hunting is that a Bull-Only license entitles you to just about any Liberal.
When all is said and done I guess if I vote for the NDP it'll be largely due to the party, and partially due to the candidate. If I vote Conservative it'll be mostly because of the person. If I vote Liberal... someone help me with this... well let me just say I can be convinced between now and January 23. And if I vote Green it is because I have been sedated and spray-painted and I'm being send to a basement in Toronto. God have mercy.
My vote is not for sale - I'm waiting to see who's going to break a sweat in the coming weeks.
posted by BornandBred at 1:01 PM
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