A truly wasted vote and the legacy that comes of disenfranchisement
Arguably, no vote is wasted, at least not by the voter. The vote cast contributes to the collective decision to select a representative for the constituency.
But with the Liberals racking 10 abstentions or so, you have to wonder if Stephane Dion is wasting all the votes cast in ridings represented by Liberals.
No matter who the vote was originally cast for.
And then you have to worry about what might come of that in the long term.
I think what it comes down to is disenfranchisement. Parties will make strategic decisions on individual votes, and that's fine. But with the Liberals abstaining on ten important votes in the House of Commons, you have to ask yourself just how many Canadians are not being represented in parliament.
This isn't just about embarrassed Liberal supporters. This is about voters who cast votes for the Conservatives, or the NDP, or the Green Party, or whatever, in each of these ridings currently represented by Liberals.
This is also about the people who didn't cast a vote in those ridings, either by choice or by some circumstance.
All these people are expecting to be represented by their Liberal MPs in the House of Commons, regardless of their personal political affiliation.
And yet all these people, thanks to Stephane Dion's inability to get the Liberal Party ready to fight an election, have not been heard from in the House of Commons for months now.
The NDP is keeping a chronological list. The majority of the items on the list are occasions when the Liberals refused to vote on the bill (either entirely or only with a rump caucus).
These people in these ridings have been effectively disenfranchised. No one knows when they might ever see their Liberal MP stand to vote on anything remotely important. This could go on until October 2009.
Of course, the Liberals might finally vote by the end of March. But by then, the damage is done. What might be the result?
One possible consequence is that people who voted Liberal will take their vote elsewhere. At least they haven't given up on the political process, just on the Liberals.
Another possible consequence, and far more serious, is that voters from across the political spectrum, and from across the country in all ridings, will be less likely to vote, having been subjected to the spectacle of the Liberals refusing to back their rhetoric with action.
All talk and no walk.
That sort of sentiment can be contagious, undermining faith in the government regardless of who is in power.
That would be the most regrettable legacy of Stephane Dion's turn as Liberal Party leader.
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