All other BS aside, I really have a tough time figuring out how people can stand to vote Liberal again after all the scandals. Ornge, eHealth, gas plants, Squinty saying he won't raise taxes and doing the exact opposite, HST, etc. Seriously, this stuff just happened for crying out loud. It wasn't 10 or 20 or 40 years ago, its the current government. Do people just not know? I gotta start talking to my neighbours with red signs on their lawns... seriously wtf is going on here?
A message needs to be sent damnit. It's the only way to hold government accountable for their mistakes - don't re-elect them!!!
I won't be voting Liberal, but I think I have the answer to this question.
From observing everyone's comments and their allegiances, it seems to me that people vote almost entirely based on ideology, rather than platforms or track records. I see it in others and I recognize it in myself. And it's more about voting AGAINST the "wrong" ideology than voting FOR one.
For me, I can't bring myself to vote NDP or PC because I don't believe their ideological perspective is correct. For example, I can't trust the NDP to reign in the spending. From the NDPers I know, they fit the stereotype of rose-coloured glasses, hippes, do-gooders, bleeding hearts, who believe there isn't a problem in the world that the government can't fix. For them, it's all about binding together as a big happy family and everything will work out.
IMO the Conservatives are the exact opposite. It's about individualism, government is the problem, it's always corrupt and wasteful, there is nothing it can do right. Life is supposed to be a struggle against personal demons and we should all only act in our own personal best interests. Hudak in particular is strongly ideological in this respect. He has the simple but strongly held faith that by stepping out of the way, things will generally improve. For example less taxes = more jobs. It's true on a theoretical level but society is too complex to follow the theory precisely. Besides, if things were that simple then there should be NO taxes (some people will actually agree!)
I believe the truth lies in the middle, and we have to take a more pragmatic approach to government that is more often represented by the Liberals. The problem is that the pragmatic thing for a political party to do is to lie, and cheat and steal (or buy) votes to get elected. So if they say they won't raise taxes and do it anyways, I understand - but I only support it to a certain degree. I suspect most Liberal supporters didn't particularly care about that claim anyways, but it got them a few votes from the right from those who are ambivalent between PCs and Libs. I could live with that untruth because it wasn't believable to begin with, and I believe raising taxes was necessary anyways.
As for ehealth and Ornge I could get into detail, but I don't see them as scandals at all. There were some failures in management but no evidence that they were deliberate or corrupt. Were they wasteful? Yes. But waste is inevitable as I've said before. A few $B over ten years, during which time 1000 $B have passed through the hands of Liberals, is tolerable to me. The PCs will waste money too. Maybe less, maybe more. It's not a scandal.
The issues where I break ranks with the Liberals are twofold: First is the blatant vote-buying they performed with the gas plant cancellations (no so much the cost, but the ethics of it). Followed by what appears very much to be an attempted cover up. This crosses the line IMO. It's as bad as any corruption (You Oakville and Mississauga Liberal voters need to give yourselves a gut-check). Second is that I see Wynne as leaning too far left. She has some of the same characteristics I dislike in NDPers. From all reports, she really wants to help everybody and my worry is that she will try!
So I'm voting Green. The arguments I see from others against them boil down to ideology, rather than substance just like people do with all the other parties. But I don't see them as ideological. The tree-hugger stigma that they had for a while (with good reason) has been shed years ago. They know they can't lead based purely on an environmental platform. They have fully-costed policies and serious and capable candidates (Federally Elizabeth May is a model for how all MPs should work). But even their environmental bias is justified IMO. The general trand is for improvements everywhere, safety, health, quality of life... except the environment. I know people won't agree until their commute is partially submerged, and I've accepted that. But again it all boils down to ideology. People see them as ideologically unpalatable and I don't.
So, people will vote Liberal because the party isn't ideologically contrary to their views. Little else seems to matter to voters as far as I can tell.
