Re: [sixties-l] Gore v. Bush

From: Jerry West (record@island.net)
Date: Mon Jun 26 2000 - 08:37:03 CUT

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    William Mandel wrote:

    So I believe I have a basis for opinion on Canada, and I agree with you.
    It is, for want of a better single word, a sensible country. Its people
    are quite right in thinking we are primitive in not understanding the
    benefits of what we call single-payer health care. The remarkable thing
    is that Canadians are conservative in culture but highly progressive,
    relative to us in the U.S., in socio-economic and political matters.
    After all, we don't have anything like the New Democratic Party, for all
    its faults.

    JW reply:

    Canada's single payer health care is quite popular, but under attack.
    The Alberta government is moving toward a two tier system which some
    fear will lead to Americanization and open the door through NAFTA for
    the multi-national medi-corps to move in and colonize us.

    We have reactionary governments in Alberta and Ontario and a reactionary
    opposition in BC that well may win the next election, turfing the NDP in
    the province after 10 years.

    The federal liberals are akin to the republicrats, our by Jean is
    buddies with Slick Willie and Tony Blair and all three are Third Wayers
    looking for a way to sell capitalism and corporate dominated
    globalization to the masses.

    A new right-wing populist party has just been formed from traditional
    conservatives and western yahoos who have been winning elections for
    seven years now, and we are heading into a federal election sometime in
    the next year.

    The NDP, of which I am an activist member, is a socialist party founded
    by Tommy Douglas (Keifer Sutherland's grandfather). It was Tommy that
    took on the doctors in a fierce battle and brought about our public
    health care system in Saskatchewan and forced the Liberals to adopt it
    Canada wide or face losing elections over it. Today the NDP is
    undergoing some serious naval gazing with many of the grass roots
    members calling for a return to more fundamental socialist values. It
    is the feeling among these members that a drift to the right and Third
    Way policies by party leadership and governments (BC, Saskatchewan and
    Manitoba now, Yukon and Ontario in the last decade have or had NDP
    governments) is the result of declining membership and popularity. In
    BC the NDP traditionally gets about 40% of the popular vote which can be
    enough to translate into a majority of seats in the house.

    Party leadership is mainly from the sixties crowd. The current BC
    leader is in that group, he grew up in the Punjab. His main contender
    for party leadership last winter is also in the group. He grew up in
    Oakland, CA. The federal leader is a woman in the same age bracket.

    -- 
    Jerry West
    Editor/publisher/janitor
    ----------------------------------------------------
    THE RECORD
    On line news from Nootka Sound & Canada's West Coast
    An independent, progressive regional publication
    http://www.island.net/~record/
    



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