Is vote-splitting the way to go?
p2pnet news view | P2P | Politics:- When Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper first decided it was time to call an election persuaded to do so, possibly, because like other economists, he saw bad waters rising, the environment was perhaps the principal issue.
However, he wasn’t able to escape the coming flood and is now under attack for not having immediately responded with a plan, although he claims he already has one; that it’s been in place for some time in the shape of existing policy and in effect only needs tweaking.
Be that as it may the environment, initially the primary focus, is now taking something of a back seat as it becomes evident the looming financial crisis is far worse than anyone ever suspected.
But this doesn’t mean the environment is completely out of the picture.
On VoteForEnvironment.ca, Alice Klein and Kevin Grandia are continuing to carry the message the environment is where it’s at.
We’re out of time, they say, “and we must start to reduce our fossil fuel pollution now to save the planet from dangerous climate change”.
They go on »»»
We believe that the Harper Government`s collusion with the Bush White House to obstruct progress on climate change at recent international summits does not reflect how Canadians want their leaders to behave on the world stage. The Harper and the Conservative Party are simply not in step with what scientists say is needed, with Canadians’ concerns, and with economic benefits of dealing with climate change.
The other major Parties have programs which seriously address critical climate concerns and are talking about them in this election, continue Klein and Grandia, saying vote-splitting as the way to defeat Harper.
Here’s how the Wikipedia explains it »»»
The “spoiler effect” is a term to describe the effect a minor party candidate with little chance of winning can have on a close election, in which their candidacy results in the election being won by a candidate dissimilar to them rather than a candidate similar to them by taking votes away from the viable candidate with similar views. The minor candidate is often referred to as a “spoiler.” It is a real-life demonstration of the kingmaker scenario.
In sports, the “spoiler effect” refers to a similar phenomenon, in which a team or individual has failed to win enough games or competitions to make the playoffs or qualification rounds like the finals, but affects the playoffs or finals anyway by beating a more successful team or individual before the end of the season, says the post.
Good idea or bad?
Some believe vote-splitting brought George W. Bush to power with Ralph Nader blamed for splitting the anti-Republican vote with his independent campaign.
“Some Gore supporters believed that many of the 97,421 votes that went to Ralph Nader in that state would likely have been votes for Gore, had Nader not been running in the election,” says the same Wikipedia post cited earlier.
“Some Gore supporters contend that Nader’s candidacy ’spoiled’ the election for Gore by ‘taking away’ enough votes from Gore in Florida and many other states (in particular, New Hampshire being the allegation most statistically supportable) to allow Bush to win.”
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