Support hope not fear

One of the lines of persuasion Liberal supporters like to use on voters is what I call electoral blackmail: either vote Liberal or Harper will win a majority!

Well that's not exactly how our election system works. If the Liberals win the election, but don't win a majority, they will be forced to work with the NDP — which certainly isn't a bad thing if you're a progressive voter.

Ontario example

In Ontario, the McGuinty Liberals were leaning towards austerity measures and corporate tax cuts. But when he failed to win a majority, and was replaced by Kathleen Wynne, the Liberal party needed NDP support and all-of-sudden became centrist again.

This pissed off right-leaning Liberals among their ranks who leaked the latest Liberal budget to the neo-con party because it included $5.7-billion in new spending measures. (For shame! For shame!)

Best government in history

If one looks back to the best government in Canada's history — which was an informal coalition between Lester B Pearson and Tommy Douglas — Liberal-NDP cooperation was a wonderful thing for Canadians. It brought about universal health care, the Canada Pension Plan, Canada Student Loans, the 40-hour work week and two weeks paid vacation.

If Pearson had won his coveted majority, Canada would probably be a very different country today.

Trudeau not exactly progressive

Given Justin Trudeau has vowed not to reverse any of Harper's $44-billion/yr in "starve the beast" tax cuts and is writing Alberta a blank check on tar-sands development, the NDP is sorely needed to keep the Liberals honest if they form the next government.

Conclusion

To quote Jack Layton, hope is better than fear. With real hope we can bring real change to Canada and undo the damage Harper has caused. Don't let them tell you it can't be done.