Beware, this kitten has claws.

Vote Your Conscience

Between all the mayhem happening at the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis (more than 800 arrests, in case you missed it—which would be odd, considering that number included nearly two dozen journalists) and my interviewing noted historian Ronald Wright about his scathing new book, What Is America?, suffice it to say the USA wasn’t exactly in my good books this past week.

So when word hit that Stephen Harper was indeed going to call a terribly convenient election in less time than it usually takes the government to answer a question, I wasn’t really in the mood for an update from the official “Who cares what’s best for the voters?” department. A wiffly-waffly climate change platform that won’t be revealed until after the election? A continued military presence in Afghanistan, as we tremble near the 100-dead mark? No real action on health care? Slick campaign and attack ads that are nowhere near as clever as they think they are? Sounds a lot like U.S.-style politics to me.

At a time when the scales may finally be starting to tip towards sanity south of the border, are we really going to re-elect this guy up here? Take a page from the Obama playbook, people, and vote your conscience this October 14. Forget about majority governments and the inconvenience (and cost) of another election, and focus instead on one simple question: do you really want Harper officially in charge for the foreseeable future?

Looking at the federal field around us right now, it all looks pretty clear to me. Denise Savoie and Keith Martin have both done good work representing the concerns of Greater Victoria and its people; meanwhile, the Green Party has finally decided on a Victoria candidate (Adam Saab) and sitting MP Gary Lunn has done a remarkable job of smiling for photo ops, not calling reporters back and ensuring that oil tankers remain free to frolic along our living coastline. (But hey, that’s just the Conservative way.) Then there’s Briony Penn, Lunn’s Liberal opponent in the closely watched Saanich-Gulf Islands riding. Penn has a decades-long commitment to the environment—one small facet of which was her long-running Monday column, “WildSide”—and has walked her talk so many times and for so many causes that her dictionary must surely have permanent footprints upon it. Who cares what party she’s chosen? She’s passionate about ensuring the survival of this planet, not simply maintaining the carbon-taxing status quo.

Spare a thought for the poor municipal candidates running in the civic elections on November 15, however, since they’ll now be saddled with a double-shot of voter apathy once Hurricane Ottawa finishes blustering across the land. But hey, it’s now or never for Harper to take a shot at a majority government, so what’s good for the PM must surely be good for us all. No, really.

And once you’re finished laughing—or weeping—don’t forget to mark the election dates on your calendars. M