Voter Suppression: Canadians Continue To Vent Their Fury

While the rogue Prime Minister continues to deny his party's involvement in voter suppression, Canadians continue to vent their fury.

The Tory Strategy of Fostering Voter Disengagement

I have long believed that a good part of the Conservative strategy to become Canada's natural governing party rests on a strategy of disenfranchisement. By lowering the tone of public debate, by acting in high-handed and undemocratic ways, by hobbling data-gathering apparatuses, and by employing a myriad of other tactics very ably outlined recently by Lawrence Martin, Harper and his wrecking crew have been systematically convincing more and more people that politics is not worth their time, and that their vote doesn't count. As I have written previously, that leaves the voting field open for Conservative true-believers to wield a disproportionate influence on election outcomes.

Tim Harper has written an important piece on this problem in today's Star, must-reading for those concerned about this very dangerous trend.

The Star Continues Digging into Tory Voter Suppression Crimes

While Canada's so-called newspaper of record continues doing only a perfunctory job in its coverage of the voter suppression crimes that may very well have affected the outcome of the last federal election, The Toronto Star continues to dig deeply and widely, bringing readers a very comprehensive picture of what one would like to hope will be the beginning of the end of the Harper regime.

Today's coverage, for example, confirms that attempts at election-rigging were not restricted to a putative rogue party functionary in Guelph. Indeed, the crimes seem to have extended all the way to the West Coast, where Ken Hancock was told that his voting location had been changed from the usual location — a local school not far from his Pender Island, B.C., home — to the municipality of Saanich on Vancouver Island.

The supposed new location meant that Hancock would have to drive to the ferry dock at Otter Bay on the northwest side of Pender Island, take a 40-minute ferry ride south to Vancouver Island, and then drive another 30 kilometres to Saanich to cast his ballot.

As citizens of this country, we have a responsibility to commit the time and effort necessary to educate ourselves fully into the extent and range of these very serious crimes. Fortunately, The Star is doing much of the legwork for us.

The Conservatives: Farther Gone Than I Had Realized

The Harperites are more out of touch with reality than I realized if they think this Tory bought-and-paid-for hack is going to do them any good in their voter-suppression crimes.

The Public Responds To Conservative Voter-Suppression Crimes

While I normally spend little time reading readers' on-line comments in The Globe and Mail, these, I think, help to capture the fury more and more of the public is feeling over Harper-inspired malfeasance.

John Ibbitson's Faith In Stephen Harper

While acknowledging the seriousness of the voter suppression crimes being uncovered, The Globe's John Ibbitson writes the following:

... we can be reasonably certain that Mr. Harper, who is Leader of the Conservative Party as well as Prime Minister, knew nothing about what was going on in Guelph or elsewhere. Campaign officials protect their leaders from that sort of direct knowledge.

To put it mildly, his is not a faith I share.

John Ibbitson on Voter Suppression

John Ibbitson has an interesting online article entitled 'Voter suppression' the Canadian way. I have long-suspected that the Conservatives, with their extensive record of contempt for democracy, are using this election campaign to both appeal to their base and to discourage non-supporters from voting, thereby giving a minority the ability to help determine the future shape of our country.

Harper's efforts at fear-mongering, his sowing of suspicion and anger, his relentlessly negative ads may indeed serve the goal of voter suppression.

Take a look at the article and see what you think.