Poll Dancing
Well, the polls tell us I’m not the most popular guy in the country. I accept that. Doing what’s right is not always what’s popular.
The above is from Premier Dad, Dalton McGuinty on a Liberal TV commercial. Speaking in the third person, he knows we aren’t happy with him. And how does he know? Well, the polls tell them. Hey, Dad’s a tough job: it’s not his job to be Premier Friend. If you don’t like the decisions he makes on your behalf, his big Premier shoulders can take it. If it wasn’t for him you would be in your bed, instead of running about, doing dishes and washing clothes until all hours of the night.
Here’s a question: how much better would life in this country be, how much better would politics be if the Premier didn’t need a poll to tell him he’s unpopular? If he knew because the guy in the donut line told him so, wouldn’t he also have a much better idea the real cost of some of his policies?
Here’s another question: what tough decision has Dalton McGuinty made? In his 8 years on power government spending has increased between 50% and 80%, depending on who’s study your reading. Inflation, meanwhile, has been in the 9% mark in that time. In other words, government growth has outpaced economic growth by a factor of between 6% and 9%. What’s tough about that kind of spending, unless you’re the poor sap paying for it?
Oh sure there’s been unpopular decisions. If you live in a rural area and now have a forest of 60 foot tall wind turbines in your backyard, your none too happy. But unpopular decisions are easy when you don’t have to face the people who’s property value you ruined. Nothing tough about Warren Kinsella – or some other lackey -walking in the room with a piece of paper and saying, John Smith of Leander Street, Wolfe Island is not happy. But meeting John Smith at Tim Horton’s waiting for his morning coffee, having him tell you what you have done to his property value, how he has to go back to work at 75, because you just screwed him out of his retirement income, that’s tough. And when you need the polls to tell you that you are not popular, then you aren’t meeting the people who vote for you at Tim Horton’s.
Besides, who voted for Dalton McGuinty to make unpopular decisions? This is a democracy, and we vote for politicians to enact our wishes, not to make decisions we won’t like. Of course he hasn’t done that, never asked anybody of they want an HST, never asked the people of Wolfe Island if they want their community turned into a wind farm. He has decided, without the authority of the electorate, against the wishes of communities. Yes, that’s unpopular.
Its also undemocratic.
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