Thursday, October 16, 2008

Bang on George...too much name calling..

I was watching the House of Commons on TV one evening when my youngest boy piped up and asked what everyone was "whining about" and with all the name calling, yelling, clapping and screeching going on I couldn't remember... but I remember him walking away mumbling something to the tune of "they sound like a bunch of babies"... I can't say one party is any better than another but I do believe our representatives whoever they are should show a little more respect for our Parliamentary system and get away from the name calling, etc... there's enough of that going around by folks like myself ... so when you see your local MP it certainly wouldn't hurt to tell them how you feel about this..
Negative ads, Commons bickering keeping voters away: former MP
TERESA WRIGHT
The Guardian
Despite the millions of dollars spent on election ads, voters turned out in record low numbers for this federal election. Only 59 per cent of Canadians bothered to cast a ballot this time around. Even voters on P.E.I., who usually garner higher turnout rates than the rest of the country, dropped this year. P.E.I. did have the highest voter turnout in Canada at about 69 per cent. But this represents a drop of 5.48 per cent from the 2006 general election turnout. George Henderson, who represented the Egmont riding for the Liberals from 1980 to 1988, believes Islanders are turning out in fewer numbers because of the confusion and negativity pushed on them by political parties. “I think it turned people off,’’ he said.“The campaign as I saw it was so negative, and I’m not meaning any one party. Every party was just negative upon the other one calling one another liars and that sort of thing.’’ Henderson has been retired from politics for a number of years now. He said the difference between the political scene 30 years ago and politics today is vast. “In this last session of the House of Commons, the decorum got terrible — just yelling at one another,’’ he said. In the past, MPs were more respectful and campaigns offered a chance to debate the issues, rather than conduct smear campaigns, Henderson added. It’s this kind of virulent behaviour that’s been turning voters on P.E.I. and in Canada off, he said. “It seems (politicians) lose all dignity when it comes to one another. This name calling doesn’t do anything for me and I know it doesn’t do anything for most people."

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