Fixed Elections, F**ked Democracy

 Ensuring dictatorships, as in Russia, one step at a time.

 Of course, political scientists have already dilated at endless length on this subject, so far be it from me to invade that virgin unread territory with any comment I might have.

 Still, I’d like to comment, specifically with reference to Canada, and also perhaps with reference to other countries.

 First of all, let’s consider the nature of “fixed.”  Voters often love this term, for they feel that the word “fixed” somehow allows them to “fix” their representatives to a particular term, and jettison those representatives if the voters don’t like them.  Yes Virginia.

What voters fail to grasp, of course, is that anything “fixed” allows “fixers” to “fix” elections all the more easily.  Thus rendering voting more or less useless.

 Let’s take Canada.  Provincially or federally, parties had up until five years to make up their minds about elections.  Typically, they chose somewhere around four.  If a party went for three (Peterson in Ontario for example), that party got smacked for hubris.  If a party had to drag it out for five (Rae, Mulroney), it likewise was smacked.  Four was the norm.  Canadians knew this, intuitively, as they had for generations.

Now, though, Canada chosen to go with fixed elections, all the time.  (In a precedent-setting unprecedented setting move, Stephen Harper’s Conservatives announced and then lied about their intentions and did not hold fixed elections.) And that means one thing—all campaigning, all the time.  No more policy, no more thought.  Just trying to catch up to the party that has the most cash for attack ads.  It’s sleazy, it’s cheesy, but Canadians love it like Cheez-Whiz on celery.

One year (at best) of policy, three years of campaigning and fundraising.  We have done it to ourselves.  Smugly, stupidly, we feel good about it.  It will beggar our country and bomb our children back to the nineteenth century, but our arrogance will ensure that we wreck the future for our children.  Way to go!!  Now we can be just like Americans, who have no policy debates, only superpac campaigning that leaves 99% of Americans completely out of a say in how their country is governed.

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