Is it just me?

[carynb]

So, we're entering political/election frenzy here in Canada.

Being a reasonably concerned citizen, in a bit of a quandary about which way to vote this time 'round, I decided I should start trying to follow the evening news to see what the various political leaders are saying/doing. I'm never home in time to catch all of the 6:00 news, so I've been trying to watch the 11:00.

Note the use of the word "trying", there. It doesn't matter which channel I'm watching, by 11:10 I'm shaking myself awake on the couch, and heading to bed. So, if the coverage isn't in the first 5 minutes, I'm missing it.

So, the Global coverage is flat out - they do the "breaking news in Toronto" stuff first, so I'm not awake long enough to get to the politics. The CBC seems the one with the most "outside Toronto" coverage, which is what I want.

Is the delivery just dull? If I sat down at my computer at that point to catch up on LJ, or read some comics, or even play solitaire, I could easily be up for another hour or two. I'm starting to think that TV-watching is just too passive for me after 10. I'm interested in what's going on, and there's information in there that I want. Maybe I'm more a child of the MTV generation than I thought...

I guess I'll be getting my election coverage from the weekend paper.

Comments

[halfabee.livejournal.com]

Grab the big weekend edition (comics!) and have a look at that. However, if you are looking for unbiased reporting, the newspapers (nor the TV news for that matter) aren't going to provide it. The Sun (which I get for Sunday home delivery) is pro-CPC, anti-Liberal, but not so far that they won't acknowledge the opposite exists.

However, consider this... Did Paul Martin know about any of the financial boondoggles that occurred while he was finance minister? If he did, do you still want to trust him? If he didn't, do you want to trust him? He's either (in broad terms) a crook or an idiot.

[carynb.livejournal.com]

Well, that's the thing. If I don't vote Liberal (which has been my default to date), who on earth do I vote for? The right (Conservatives), which scares me? The completely ineffectual left (NDP)? I need more data than I'm pulling out of the ether in order to make that choice.

I've got some people telling that the new Conservative Party isn't just Reform dressed up in new clothes, that it truly is more moderate. Do I believe them? Can I trust that, even if the platform isn't flat out "penalize every woman in the country who isn't barefoot and pregnant", "outlaw abortion", and "outlaw gay marriage", they will not switch on me if they get in office?

On the other hand, every word I'm hearing out of Jack Layton's mouth emphasizes how much of a bit player he is. He's making wild leaps of hyperbole, and the way he's reacting to a little bit of dissension within his party is a little scary. He just doesn't seem to be ready for the big time.

Both parties are campaigning on nothing more than "Do you really want the arrogant, wasteful Liberal to have another term?" and that's it. Nobody seems to be talking about their own platforms other than to say "not like the Liberals"

It makes choosing difficult.

CPC

[halfabee.livejournal.com]

I think when Reform became Alliance they left most of the far right people behind them and the remainder got dropped with the merger with the PCs. I did a quick scan of their website http://www.conservative.ca and the only item which set off alarm bells was the bit about "family definition" being decided by Parliment rather than the courts. (Not that I necessarily want the courts making all the rules, but still...)

Anyway, when you vote, you are essentially voting for two people - your local representative and the party leader. Try to find out what they are saying and doing and have said and done.