[darkpuppet]

Nobody should ever complain about Mike Harris.. He kept virtually EVERY promise he made, and it pissed people enough that they didn't stick around to see what could be done once the operating deficit was removed.

The thing is that the good of the country goes beyond 4 years.. it goes beyond the short term.

Alberta figured that out. The government worked hard to cut a lot of things, and it didn't make a lot of people at first, and then they put the money back in where it was needed, built a plan to develop the province, and lo-and-behold, it's one of the most prosperous. I even get the feeling that they're looking far enough ahead as well, by not just blowing the money on pork barrel projects. (yet), and while I don't agree with giving all the money back to the residents of the province, the recent refund is a perfect example of "patience reaping rewards".

The thing is that everyone seems to think, "what will the government do for me".. so the politicians make stupid promises...

"we'll ban handguns" - how does that fix anything?
"we'll spend money in your neighbourhood" - how does that improve the country's economy?
"we'll give you tax cuts" - how do you make the country better by taking money away from it?

I agree with NOS, there's a very good chance that the conservatives would capitulate to the states in order to cover the costs of buying an election.

We really need a government that will put the money back into public works projects, into education, etc... we need a government that won't piss the money away in their favourite riding... we need a government that will keep the country united...

The conservatives can do good, but they're trying to buy the election, so you either have an economic and political mess or a lot of broken promises. Is that something I want to bet on?

The liberals are corrupt, but they may actually re-invest in canada... so long as it's not re-investing in their own wallets, I would be fine, but they need to be taught a lesson.

The NDP -- if your platform is, "at least we're not the other two", you're a part of the problem, not a part of the solution.

I sort of hope for another minority government... led by the conservatives, and an honest to goodness effort by the other 2 parties to keep everything aligned with their social policies. Another waste of 4 years, sure... but it gives us a chance to get some real candidates in power.