“What is the lesson for Canada? Democracy no longer works in the ‘Land of the Free.’”
To the Editor, I WONDER IF STEVE Kannon, in his weekly column, hasn’t missed the mark. Middle-class dissatisfaction undoubtedly cost Hillary Clinton some votes, but that was very far from the main reason that she lost the election. I do not excuse the faults that he accuses her of, but I know that she would have embraced the world’s leaders in the spirit of friendship and cooperation, while Trump will confront them as the perfect example of the “ugly American,” an aging, bloviating, immoral, arrogant, demagogical America-firster.
Meanwhile, the crisis of the biosphere is evolving very quickly. We don’t have time for the disruptions and setbacks that will come with his presidency. On Nov. 17, the Washington Post carried this headline, “The North Pole is an insane 36 degrees (F) warmer than normal as winter descends.” And we are told that by 2020 two-thirds of wild animals will be dead! If that is true, we are all on the cusp of a situation that calls for mobilization. Trump, if he is to keep any of his ill-considered promises to the disaffected, will need to mobilize America as well, much as Hitler did Germany prior to the Second World War. Under Trump, America will mobilize in all the wrong directions.
What is the lesson for Canada? Democracy no longer works in the “Land of the Free.” Because the distribution of seats in the Electoral College has not changed in ten years, Clinton now leads Trump in the popular vote by more than two million votes, yet she did not win the presidency. Trump has fewer votes than either of the Republican candidates defeated by Obama. A huge part of his voter base came from people who would die rather than vote for any other party than that of their family’s tradition, no matter how reprehensible the candidate.
There is growing and plausible evidence showing that in swing states controlled by Republicans at the state level, e.g. Ohio and North Carolina, the Republicans stole the election through fraudulent voter suppression. Third party (i.e. Bernie Sanders) dissatisfaction led to strong voter boycott. Seven million votes went to Greens
and Libertarians. Social media was largely irrational across the entire political spectrum. Many voters, disgusted by Trump’s cynical appeal to the vilest of public impulses, and convinced by the mainstream media that Clinton was a shoo-in anyway, opted not to exercise their democratic responsibilities.
Were the Electoral College to arrive at its decision using a proportional count, Hillary Clinton would win the presidency. All this describes a completely broken democratic system. Disproportionately powerful America has not been paying attention to its democratic institutions. The whole world is saddled with the precarious result and Canada, under a firstpast-the-post system, is not immune from a similar electoral catastrophe. The election of the far-right rump conservative party (the Reform/Wild Rose faction) that came to be known as the Harper government is a perfect example. That Kellie Leitch, who has spoken with great enthusiasm about the election of Trump and the need to carry his message to Canada, is currently out front of the Conservative leadership race is disconcerting because under first-past-the-post she could become our prime minister.
The Canadian Parliament will soon act on the recommendations of the Special Committee on Electoral Reform (ERRE). While we will not likely end up with the current first-past-the-post, the oldline parties may well opt to force upon an uninformed electorate some form of preferential voting. The net result will effectively shut out third parties like the NDP and the Green.
We urgently need inclusive, fairly representational government in order to deal with the evolving crisis of the biosphere. That means some sort of proportional government, the overwhelming opinion of the representations to the ERRE committee, and by a wide margin the choice of successful democracies around the world.
Last month, the people of PEI voted in a plebiscite to enact mixed-member proportional voting at the provincial level. The majority Liberals of that province have already voted to ignore the results of the plebiscite. All of us need to demand a proportional system of voting adapted to the peculiarities of Canada. Now is not the time for a referendum. That can come after a couple of election cycles, which will give the electorate a chance to evaluate whatever new system is put in place.