It's Over

We're only two days into this election campaign and it's already clear that partisanship will trump everything else.

Harper will almost certainly get his majority and Canada will see an end to any possibility whatever of anything even resembling progressive action on any front at all.

No new social programs and reduced or eliminated support for those that still exist. No meaningful action on climate change. Nothing more for the arts and probably a sharp reduction. Even less support for programs affecting women.

An immediate return to deficit budgeting with increases in national indebtedness to follow.

Even greater alignment with whatever policy the White House proposes - unless Obama actually wins, has long coattails and turns out to be who he says he is. Then it's an open question who Canada's natural allies might be - Russia maybe?

Further militarization and more international entanglements that won't involve peace keeping.

More antagonism from us and toward us at the UN. Canada could well replace the US as the pariah state at the UN if the American conservative movement and the neo-conservative power structures in the US are roundly repudiated. Harper will have to be the sole bearer of the torch that is "...a light and an inspiration to people in this country and across the world."

It's a near certainty that his Alberta firewall speech will finally bear fruit, except that every province, not just Alberta, will be firewalled off from Ottawa. The result will be a loss of the certainty that national standards bring in almost everything.

This year marks my tenth year of writing online against the creeping conservative movement ideologies. I started back in '98 on the old Utne Cafe, then another US based private community that must remain unnamed, then the political websites that predated blogs, then US blogs, then Canadian blogs, then Dave invited me to join the Beaver crew.

What's been the result of that ten years? The conservative movement in the US is losing ground and may in fact receive a blow that could set it back 25 years. But in Canada it's strong and growing and looking near certain to take over the House of Commons the morning of October 15.

Around 60% of Candians do not want this to happen.

No one represents us yet many represent us. We can't come to any agreement about not allowing this to happen to our country. So it's going to happen. Whether we like it or not. And if Harper and his successors play their cards well it will continue to happen for a good long time.

Harper will make his dream come true and the political landscape in Canada will be changed forever.

I won't be writing much about this election any more.

I might not be writing about much of anything any more. I'm examining that possibility.

After ten years of futilityI'm tired and dispirited.

Good luck to you all.