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It seems that the Harper government is now expecting to be called the “Harper Government” officially. They seem to want to try to alter the general hegemony in this country in order to keep control. Still, when I hear the term “Harper Government” it’s usually in a negative sense, and the few times I hear anything positive about the government, the particular political party in power   usually doesn’t have their name mentioned.

In fact I used to wholeheartedly support the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada. The very first time I voted in a federal election, it was for Kim Campbell, because I wholeheartedly didn’t think things would degrade further if they   were re-elected into power, and that if the Liberals got in, the country would go to pot. I was 18, idealistic, and incredibly naive back then.

Since then, I’ve bounced politically from right to left, back to right, and back to left, usually trying to navigate my way down the middle of the road but generally keeping an uneven keel. I later voted for the Tories, NDP and Green parties, and I have been berated several times   for not voting Liberal. During the reigns of Jean Chretien and Paul Martin, there were some die-hard Liberals who almost attacked me physically for being anti-Liberal. I admit that I have never voted Liberal in a federal election in my life, and I’m pretty certain that I never will.

When The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada merged with the Reform Party of Canada, I was feeling very skeptical of the way that things would turn out. I believed that the Reform Party of Canada was very dangerous and just as unstable as the Bloc Quebecois. Who, as a proud Anglophone living in the province of Quebec, I felt I must never vote for. That was akin, in my mind, to a Jewish person like me voting for the Nazi party immediately after the Holocaust. Of course I’ve always exaggerated things.

I supported Stephen Harper when the two parties merged, as I liked him better than Preston Manning. I supported the federal Conservative party until the Harper government began blundering, and bending over backwards for the Bush administration and their corrupt corporate backers, whose interests are not always in line with those of the general Canadian population.

I still prefer the Conservatives to the Liberals, but more and more I’ve been leaning towards the NDP. I admit that I’ve never liked Jack Layton, but still, I do agree with many of his party’s policies. Since voting in Canada is for your local representative, and not for the party leader, I will probably vote NDP in the next Federal election.

Laurence Tenenbaum was born in Montreal, and has been involved in many areas and various scenes including but not limited to,the Montreal Music scene, the Montreal Spoken Word / Poetry scene, the Montreal Visual Art scene and has attended many automotive shows. While he should a happy and well-adjusted individual, with a combination of ADD, Gout, A type "A" personality, and the massive tonnage of BS dumped onto him on a constant basis often makes him seem angry and irritable. However he's usually correct in his frustrations, especially when they're directed at assorted things that aggrivate him and many other people too. he therefore brings you "Laurence Rants," a chance to vent his and all our collective frustrations. so if something frustrates, irritates or just plain confuses him, and he thinks other people can relate to it, it just might end up in one of Laurence's Rants. *** *** *** *** *** Annoying legalese-type fine print *** *** *** *** *** *** -- The opinions expressed in Laurence's Rants are the views of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Forget the Box Media, Its sponsors, or anyone else.

Laurence Tenenbaum

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