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Results so far:
| Yes | 48% | 49 votes | Total: 103 votes | |
| No | 52% | 54 votes |
Yes
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Add to FavoritesAlmost anyway you look at the political spectrum, it is an ideology. Everything from Marxism and Leninism to the Christian right, and everything in between is an ideology. The term most often used to describe former President Bill Clinton's ideology is that of a "moderate Democrat". Where as for former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, he was more of a centrist than anything else.
All of politics is a vary of degrees; if you're a hard-nosed liberal, everyone thinks of you as a taxing, spending, socialist, pinko commie. But if you are on the opposite end of the spectrum, a hard headed Republican, than you are considered by some-if not most- as bible hugging, gay bashing, "don't take my guns" rednecks.
It's slightly a different story in Canada, where if you are a hard left-winger, you're considered corrupt, and if you're on the right, than you're considered power hungry.
The Conservative Party, tax cuts until we all start bleeding red ink, but do any hard working ordinary Canadians see any of the money from these cuts? Of course not, all the money goes to Alberta oil tycoons and to Toronto to the corporate interests on Bay Street.
The Liberal Party are in favour of tax cuts for Canadians, but only if you make more than one hundred thousand a year. Is it just me or does that sound a lot like a right-wing kind of position? Just a day in the life of a Canadian political junkie.
If you're in the New Democratic Party, you're considered communists, loved by labour and hated by capitalists. This is the party who claims to fight for the working family. They are in favour of tax cuts for people who need them most; single mothers, families barely hitting the poverty line, if they're hitting it at all. "Putting Working Families First" was a slogan used in a previous campaign.
The Bloc Quebecois are the separatist party in Canada (the Canadian version of the Scottish separatists), and if you are simply thought of by the rest of the country as simply...crazier than a loon.
But again I say, politics is always a matter of degrees, much like everything else in live.
Learn more about this author, Catlin Hogan.
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No
People who live in the UK will tell you that Bliar's Third Way meant nothing. It was a marketing message rather than a true political ideology. What we were promised was a new way of politics and government.
The Third Way was meant to do away with the sleaze that had dogged the Major government. Within weeks of the new government we had the Ecclestone Affair. The man behind Formula 1 motor racing donated 1 million pound to the Labour Party, just as they were discussing banning tobacco advertising in sport. Formula 1 were given an extension that most others sports were denied.
We were promised a new dawn in foreign policy; it was to be "ethical". No one explained exactly what this meant. BAE Systems was still allowed to export weapons to oppressive third world regimes without interference.
Then we followed a foreign policy that led to us doing whatever George Jr wished us to. in fact we even drew up fraudulent intelligence papers that helped justify war with Iraq. Then we went in without a plan to secure and rebuild the country afterwards.
At home we had the Labour Party turn from a party that supposedly represents the workingman into just another tool of big business. They replaced a non-political civil service into one run by political appointees and riddled with "consultants" from the big corporations - especially defence, oil and accountants. Government policy is decided by unaccountable, self interested, special interests groups.
We have a Labour government that was more willing to proceed with privatisation than any previous government. They even sold our gold reserves at the bottom of the market. They are mortgaging our future tax revenue to pay for over expensive schools , hospitals and government buildings that could have been built far cheaper by the government.
This is what the Third Way has meant. No political accountability. As much sleaze as we have seen anywhere else. Scandal after scandal involving lies, fraud and political corruption. A loss of our basic freedoms, more of which are removed every year.
Let's hope that Bliar's departure sees an end to his empty Third Way retoric.
Learn more about this author, Jeff Parry.
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