More than four billion people can vote in elections this year, many in elections that are not rigged and some only pro forma; some are even democratic although they are ‘first past the post’. Full disclosure: Canada is not scheduled (yet) so I am not voting, just doing the armchair thing and maybe mailing in a few fake ballots for a friend in Florida.
The Merikan election is no doubt the most important for us Canadians, even more important than if we had one ourselves, because when that elephant next door farts we have to hold our noses for years. And it doesn’t seem to matter if it is the elephant or the donkey if the past two elections are any indication of how they feel about their largest trading partner. Other than China. Remember NAFTA?
I am getting my Merikan election news from CBC and CTV. I gave up on getting it straight from the horse’s ass by watching CNN and Fox battle it out in the last election, thinking our Canadian newscasters might not be soooo partisan. Trying to get a handle on the grassroots news from Buffalo or Detroit (where I watch football after the CFL season ends) is hopeless. I can’t get past the local mayhem without switching channels.
Anyway, I am relying on CTV and CBC to get me the news about the most important election in 2024. I say most important because Merika used to be the strongest, most powerful nation in the world. However, they are being replaced by China, Russia, Iran, and expatriates of many flags who seem to be banding together in some countries as fifth columns. If you think that last comment is unfounded, just listen to the Republican frontrunner in the Merikan election chatter, tweets, and sound bites ad nauseam about immigrants.
So, relying on the foreign correspondents of our Canadian news networks, why is it that when they interview Merikan citizens, they pick people who Rick Mercer would love to have had on his skits of ‘Talking to Americans’? Surely these people are not representative of the Merikan electorate. Surely.
Why not interview some people with-with-with – you know, education of world politics, an understanding of trade and economics, civil rights, common law, common sense, history, literature, the next state, or even their constitution, and how to count votes? Heaven forfend you ask them about abortion, the Supreme Court, evolution, climate change, book-banning, or education. You are scaring me.
We Canucks are fortunate that our election is next year – unless someone upsets the apple cart and we go to the polls in 2024. At least if we do get to choose a leader, we have some younger candidates than the Merikans where two old men are duking it out.
PP, the man of a million questions and zero answers, who some compare to The Donald, might be an interesting debating opponent to JT, who I haven’t trusted a word he says since the Lavalin Affair. All of the Other candidates do not have a chance as long as we are stuck with a first-past-the-post voting system. Proportional Representation anyone?
Maybe that should be our takeaway from all the elections around the world this year: can we learn from the results of others in their selection of candidates, their system of voting, and how they counted votes? And how satisfied the voters were with their system and the results. And you Merikans, please, no riots if you don’t like the results. Maybe try a trucker’s convoy protest in Washington, D.C. Just saying.
