GOOD JOB, ONTARIO!

As you likely know, a significant proportion of the Ontario electorate stayed home during this month's election.

Roughly half of the eligible voters in Ontario (total 8.38 million), didn't vote.  It was the lowest voter turnout in Ontario's history.

Of the 4.2 million people who voted, 42% or 1.76 million voted for the McGuinty Liberals.

So, the McGuinty Liberals are representing about 21% of the total electorate, or 13% of the total population.  Yet they have 71 of 107 seats in the Legislature while the Progressive Conservatives, who despite media bias and misrepresentation garnered 32% of the popular vote got only 26 seats in the House.

In other words, 1.76 million people elected 71 people to speak for 13 million people.

Something is terribly wrong with this picture.

Why don't people vote?  The advance polls were open for 10 days from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm.  On election day, the polls were open from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm.

So, it can't be because voting is inconvenient.

Anybody who has been paying even minimal attention to this government's track record should want to vote them out of office.  I think that's the problem.

The majority of people really don't care.  As long as they can shop at Big Box, keep their jobs, buy themselves the odd treat and some cheap knockoffs made overseas, they figure everything is fine.

Politicians don't care about the 6% of people who actually pay attention and care about issues - there aren't enough votes to matter.  They aim their platforms at the majority of people who get their information in 10-second media clips or from the first three paragraphs of news stories.  These people can't discriminate between opinion and fact and frankly, I don't blame them.  It's almost impossible to find a supposed news report these days that isn't an editorial of some kind, especially on TV.

As we know, and as Marjorie likes to say, if you get your information from the mass media then you don't know anything about a subject.

Most people don't know anything about a subject.

They don't care about the chipping away of their Charter rights, corruption, mismanagement of public money and policies based on news clippings rather than expert opinion.  The reason for this is obvious:  they get their information from the same sources.

A friend suggests that the politicians are motivated by media fear-mongering and I agree.  It is the media who decide which issues matter, what they mean and what people should think.

It is the media who are actually driving things these days.

My greatest disappointment isn't that the McGuinty Liberals weren't punished at the polls for their abysmal performance.

It's that dog owners didn't get out and vote. If the conservatively estimated 1.5 million dog owners in Ontario had voted against the Liberals, the impact at the polls would have been tremendous.

I suppose it's the herd mentality.  As the Gnus run by, the lion grabs one who is a soft target.  The rest of the herd not only doesn't notice or try to assist their fellow Gnu, they race away, likely thinking 'better him than me'.

Trouble is, in human society, him is me.

Thanks to the people of Ontario for affirming this government's shocking disregard for what's right, fair and just.

This time you asked for it so don't cry to me.

Good job, Ontario!

Comments

[unknown]

I agree, it sure is a sad state of affairs.
People just dont care.

[unknown]

I wonder if all you Psychics that knew how it was going to turn out,
("that`s why I didn`t bother voting")
could take over my stock portfolio and make me 10 million so I can get the hell out of this province and maybe this country!
http://jmac53.bravejournal.com/entry/25093

[unknown]

I worked on the election at the polls and was dismayed over the lack of YOUNG PEOPLE that came out to vote. I saw the ones in the walkers, wheelchairs, canes but I didnt see the young people out voting. It will be their fault when in the future their rights are even more eroded. They will be able to own dogs, but only ones that will be no bigger than cats. They dont seem to get it that we had to fight for this country, our rights and we STILL DO. Ontarios dog holicost, the loss of basic fundmental rights and the fact that they dont dig deep to educate themselves beyond 10 second media bites is shamefull and when WE are gone, WE the ones that LOOK into what is really happening, ask the tough questions and do real research into matters, THEY will deserve what happens to Ontario with their IF it dosent directly ME, it cant matter attitute. The SAD thing is that THEY THINK it dosent affect them and THEY couldnt be more wrong.