Sunday, September 30, 2007
Random MMP based thoughts
Woke up this morning to some good news in the form of the Toronto Star rejecting MMP from their editorial page. Now, editorials don't mean as much as people may think but I'd still rather have the Star on side then off side. I just came back from canvassing here in Kingston. People are in general very happy to receive any information regarding the referendum. The failure, thus far, of Elections Ontario's education campaign is downright pathetic. I don't care which side of this referendum you support. However, the pro-MMP side's advantage was on display for me again today. They had apparently canvassed the same area yesterday and I found numerous mailboxes loaded up with both vote for MMP propaganda and the the supposedly neutral Citizens' Assembly flyers. No MMP has cobbled together our pennies and paid for a few radio ads in major centres this week. So keep your ears out. I missed the TVO debate Thursday night but I look forward to watching it when it is released on the Agenda's website.
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3 comments:
That editorial was despicable. One oughtright lie, and at least 3 (I'd say 4) total distortions about MMP all crammed into a single piece.
If the Star has to wander so far from the truth to endorse FPTP, one has to wonder just how many people are going to buy it (that is to say how many will buy the argument, AND how many will continue to buy the Star, as at least one blogger I know has already canceled his subscription over that editorial). Sadly, as you point out, the lack of education suggests that it may be many people who swallow their arguments. Polls show that those who know the most about the choices choose MMP 60/40, while those who know the least choose FPTP 60/40.
I don't think there's much chance MMP will get the 60% province-wide and 50% in 60% of the ridings it needs to pass though, so I wouldn't be too worried if I were you. Luckily (for the anti-MMP forces) the government decided this was much too important a decision to leave up to a system as insane as FPTP. If we ran the Referendum as a FPTP vote, I'm certain it would win.
I don't care which side of this referendum you support.
Sure you don't -- that's why you call it "propaganda" to support it.
Unlike you, I genuinely don't care which side people support - it's a very difficult issue, and a lot of people have a hard time grasping it. I'm leaning strongly towards voting for it, though it's not my preference, because I don't believe we'll get an opportunity at a different system for a very, very long time in Ontario - yet I think it's a disappointing idea, and I can't understand why this citizens' coalition couldn't come up with far better.
I'd lay a hundred bucks it will fail - I can't see any remote chance of it passing. And hey, we live in an extraordinarily prosperous, safe, and diverse corner of the Earth here - FPTP has given us decent government for a long time. I won't be crying when it fails. But LKO really nails it - if it was being decided with FPTP rules, it'd pass in a second, and it's a bit rich for the government to apply such a higher standard to the referendum than to it's own re-election.
Is it a bit rich to apply those rules to the ammendment of the constitution?
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