Politics from the 90 year old’s point of view

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Today’s Blog Post


Politics from the 90 year old’s point of view

Yesterday as we entered the Voting Station my mom trucked along with us. She negotiated the bumpy entrance to the school pushing her blue walker. At 90 years old she was taking part in the election process one more time for Ontario.

With all the political ads locally and across the Ontario scene three main leaders of the parties were often featured on TV. Dalton McGuinty – the Liberal Leader, Tim Hudak – the Progressive Conservative Leader, and Andrea Horwath – the NDP (New Democratic Party) Leader.

My wife and I had discussed at length which local candidate that we would be voting for. Based upon what we knew of his life, ability and openness – he was our choice.

Mom however had not spoken of who or what she would vote for. For the most part I didn’t really think she could decipher which local leader was the one she would choose. But mom does watch a lot of TV and I guess she must catch all of the negative and positive politics that have gone on.

When we entered the voting station at the school we were greeted by the first lady who pointed us to the same gymnasium that we had come to in the last election. At the gym door another man we knew warmly greeted us and directed the three of us to a table with two other men that checked our I.D. and gave us the ballot.

I voted first. Then came back to help mom over to the small cardboard divider box that had the pencil that would be used to mark the ballot.

Thinking that mom might need help to mark the person’s name I pointed to the candidate’s name that my wife and I had voted for.

Mom didn't know the names at all. That was clearly evident.

She looked at me and questioned me, “Which one is the one that is for the woman? You know the woman in TV.”

In our area there are no women running… only men. And on the ballot there were only men’s names.

I knew she was referring to Andrea Horwath, the NDP Leader.

I pointed to the NDP candidate that was shown on the ballot and mom then reached out with her frail old arm and hand and placed an “X” beside the NDP name.

As we walked away from the voting station I couldn’t help but grin again. What I had just witnessed was really amazing. Out of the 13 million of so people that live in Ontario now, one little old lady had shown her choice to be clear and done all she could to be sure her voice was heard.

You may ask, “So what is the big deal about one vote? What difference would one vote make?”

My mom was raised in Southern Saskatchewan and in a family where men were considered to be the wisest of all creatures. What men said, women did. Most women really never thought that much about the political landscape of that area. They were too busy with the kids and the household matters to care about the political things of life.

In the family that mom grew up in, my Grandpa Kirk, her dad, was a political creature for sure. He liked Tommy Douglas and when the CCF Party of Saskatchewan was formed by Mr. Douglas, my Grandpa accepted what he presented and he became a CCFer – FOR SURE.

The Liberals of Canada along with the Progressive Conservatives had almost always “screwed” the farmers of Saskatchewan. The Grits and the Torries were only interested in their own butts and the butts of the their friends in Ontario and Quebec. And at that stage in life there was no world that was further away from my Grandpa’s thinking than Ontario and Quebec – and the Liberals and Torries!

When Tommy Douglas and the CCF party came into being it was very much a local and provincial party… and they cared for the local people.

In Wikipedia it states of Tommy Douglas… quote…
Thomas Clement "Tommy" Douglas, PC, CC, SOM (20 October 1904 – 24 February 1986) was a Scottish-born Baptist minister who became a prominent Canadian democratic socialist politician. As leader of the Saskatchewan Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) from 1942 and the seventh Premier of Saskatchewan from 1944 to 1961, he led the first social-democratic government in North America and introduced free, universal healthcare to Canada. When the CCF united with the Canadian Labour Congress to form the New Democratic Party, Douglas was elected as its first federal leader and served in that post from 1961 to 1971.
End quote.

My Grandpa Kirkpatrick watched all that happen. Tommy Douglas became the Premiere of Saskatchewan the year I was born. My Grandpa had two things to celebrate – the guy he liked was elected to be the main leader and HIS FIRST GRANDSON was born – that was me.

Now having said all that… back to yesterday…

You guessed right… my mom’s “X” was placed beside Mr. Dave Nickle the NDP candidate.

The count of ballots being done, Dave received “12,457” plus “1” from Marion Nellie Kirkpatrick-Lincoln making his total 12,458.

Gary Beamish, of the Green Party -1,235 votes
Alex Long, of the Freedom Party – 127 votes
Ken Rainey, of the Socialists Party of Canada – 104 votes
Alan Wilson, of the Progressive Conservative Party – 15,309 votes
Jeff Leal, of the Liberal Party – 19,319 votes making him the WINNER and new MPP for Peterborough

Although Jeff Leal and Alan Wilson were both higher with Jeff winning, I think that Dave Nickle was the greatest winner. The NDP came way up in their popular vote in our community… and one very little, old lady… thought that the “woman” on TV cares about the Seniors like her!

Now it could be that mom is still voting the “Saskatchewan way”… the way that Grandpa Kirk said they should vote when they went to town to cast their ballot.

But… nope… I think she still picks up enough and thinks about it slowly, long and hard and the woman on TV just made more sense to my mom.

Way to go Andrea Horwath… one person heard you!

~ Murray Lincoln ~
http://www.murraylincoln.com/ 

Resource:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Douglas
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_party_(Canada)
http://www.wemakevotingeasy.ca/en/general-election-district-results.aspx?d=071
http://www.wemakevotingeasy.ca/