Good riddance to a year of political scandals . . .

Re The high price of a year of scandal,

Opinion Dec. 26 Robin Sears’ excellent op-ed piece sums is what is wrong with the Canadian body politic these days.

Our political class sadly is populated by so many stunning mediocrities who view public service as a pathway to a big salary, benefits, gold-plated pension and a comfortable sinecure in the private sector once their days of feeding at the public trough are over. Is it any wonder voters stay home in droves?

So people like Rob Ford, Dalton McGuinty and Tim Hudak get elected to positions of power and influence far beyond their capabilities.

We need leaders who can earn and keep our trust and inspire the electorate with a positive vision of what we can be. I can’t be the only one who is tired of voting for the least-objectionable alternative. Give people a positive reason to vote and they will turn out in droves. John Bruce, Niagara Falls Robin Sears raises important issues on the impact of scandal and sleaze on voters, who may come to regard the whole voting game as doomed to bring only fresh variations of corruption with each election.

Another factor that contributes to hopelessness is our absurd firstpast-the-post voting system, where candidates we reject are magically transformed into “winners.” The popular vote showed that neither Rob Ford nor Stephen Harper had the goods that the majority of voters were looking for, yet they were elected. What a bizarre, undemocratic injustice. Scandals of corruption hit us after the fact.

Our dysfunctional voting system is a sustained underlying scandal that derails democratic choice in advance. We voters need to understand this, and press for transition toward a properly democratic voting system. Douglas Moore, Toronto When we are looking at scandals we should put them in categories. For example when I look at the Ontario scandals of eHealth, ORNGE and the gas plants, I see incompetence. The Liberals could give an abject apology but these things will happen again and again because the Liberals can’t operate anything in a businesslike manner. When I look at the Senate and Rob Ford scandals, an abject apology can mean something. It could indeed mean that behaviour will be different in the future. Mike Duffy, Pamela Wallin and Patrick Brazeau have not apologized but Rob Ford has. So if my thinking is correct, of the three scandals before us the only one that is not likely to repeat itself is the substance abuse by Rob Ford. Michael D. Smith, Oakville

Remarkably Robin Sears skipped Stephen Harper and his role in the Senate scandal. Even if the PM were originally in the dark, remaining there was by choice. It provided the platform to mislead Parliament and the electorate. Truth and facts remain obscure; an arrogant but calculated risk. Ford was stripped of his power; McGuinty stepped down; the senators lost their incomes. Harper apparently gets off free. Sheila Burns, Ajax Re Goals for the great and not-so-great,

Editorial Jan. 1 In its resolutions for 2014, the Star inappropriately included the U.S. president. Further, in implying that Barack Obama needed to do more work on the policy front, the paper persisted, unfortunately, in the recent practice of so-called progressives of failing to recognize the obvious: that confronted with the second worst U.S. recession ever, and an implacable opposition willing to bring the country to its knees in order to destroy his presidency, Obama and his democratic allies have done more in the areas of access to health care, energy conservation in industry, improving the status of women and gays, while moderating foreign policy objectives, and keeping Wall St., if not Main St., booming, than any modern administration. Romain Pitt, Toronto

Good for the Star! If our current political officials can’t and won’t take the lead on “vision” in 2014 and beyond, GTA citizens will, with the help of your superb leadership. As more and more of our democracy goes down the toilet with every flush, what would we ever do without an enlightened media? John Tudor Harries, Aurora I disagree with your resolution for the prime minister. A former U.S. president said “the buck stops here.” Harper should follow that example and resign. Tom Beattie, Richmond Hill

Why include Alice Munro with this group of mostly politicians? Disrespectful, inappropriate, offensive, not funny. She deserves an apology. Susan Dutton, Port Perry