this post was submitted on 12 Jan 2024
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That’s unfair
He stands for higher taxes, no public transit, and higher immigration
This feels like the general vibe of canadian politics on federal and provincial levels for the last decade.
Definitely. It felt like Jack Layton was going to make a difference in Canada. Such a shame
But more to the point, the NDP has been unsuccessful at movement building and mobilization, particularly among young voters, where it tends to find support, if not turnout at the ballot box
Because most of the NDP is not from the labour movement, at lease not any more. It's a slightly-less neoliberal Liberal Party, with a problematic share of professional- and investment-class people people running it.
It's expensive to be a politician, both in terms of time and money: you need to be able to devote months to run, and tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of dollars. You need to put your working life on pause for almost a quarter of the year, and that's pretty much not an option for anyone in the working class.
I'd love to quit my job and run for office, but I have to pay rent, help my kids with tuition, not kill my career and not starve. So, basically, I can't.
But, do you know who can? Independently wealthy, usually older, usually white, people. Business owners, landlords and professional board members. People who don't need to work for a paycheque. That's most of the modern NDP, all of modern Liberals and (though Poillevre is desperately trying to hide it) every single Conservative.
This didn't used to be the case: when union membership was larger, unions would fund candidates, which ensured a working-class voice in office. And we need a voice in office for people who don't have their day-to-day needs met via a network of rich friends and a passive source of income that just keeps growing without their having to do fuck-all.
That's an excellent description of a plutocracy - "a country or society governed by the wealthy."
It's a joke to keep repeating and blindly believing that we exist in a democracy. The only democratic control common people seem to have is the ability to vote every few years .... and with the amount of influence and marketing that only rich people and corporations have, it's even difficult to describe elections as democratic.
Gawd I miss the Rhinoceros Party of old.
Too bad the twats in Parliament got their underwear in a knot over the Rhinos coming in second in a few ridings, so brought in new rules that wiped them out. :(
The party abstained from the 1993 federal election while they questioned the constitutionality of new rules that required the party to run candidates in at least 50 ridings at a cost of $1,000 per candidature. On September 23, 1993, Canada's Chief Electoral Officer, Jean-Pierre Kingsley, refused to accept the party's abstention and ordered the removal of the Rhinoceros Party from the Registry of Canadian Political Parties, effectively eliminating them from the Canadian political system. Kingsley also directed the party's official agent, Charlie (le Concierge) McKenzie, to liquidate all party assets and return any revenues to the Receiver General of Canada. On instructions from the party, McKenzie refused. After two years of threatening letters, Ottawa refused to prosecute McKenzie, who now claims to hold the distinction of being Canada's "least-wanted fugitive".
blindly believing that we exist in a democracy. The only democratic control common people seem to have is the ability to vote every few years .... and with the amount of influence and marketing that only rich people and corporations have, it's even difficult to describe elections as democratic.
Right. We should give up. Gotcha.
Nothing says "working class" like being a career politician and never having had a real job!