TORIES … who will not be voting Hudak come June 12th.
And dear readers, it is all due to Hudak’s stupid announcement that he will lay off 100,000 public servants.
First there is Tasha Kheiriddin – National Post and long time Tory admitting in writing that she cannot in all conscience vote Tory this time. Kheiriddin has a daughter with a learning disability and she is most dismayed at the thought of a reduction in the number of teachers and teachers’ assistants whom her daughter desperately needs in order to function in adulthood.
Then there is our good friend involved in community service to the elderly but she too does not want to see the number of educators reduced since one of her grandchildren also has a learning impairment. “I have voted Tory all my life” she told me …”but not this time I just cannot do it to my grand-daughter”
And then there is a very close family member who is a teacher and said to me “I was going to vote Conservative but I cannot this time, it would be like voting myself out of a job”.
And you know what, I cannot blame any one of them. I think they are wrong since in the long run everyone will suffer greatly should either the Liberals or NDP get into power, but these three are concerned, like most folks, for their short term welfare.
And let’s not forget their spouses, adult children, and extended family; indeed when you consider that there are in excess of 1 million bureaucrats in the Province who could be one of the unfortunate 100,000 it means that at least 3 million are on pins and needles worried about the future should the PCs win.
And when you consider that only 4 million, 3 hundred and 16 thousand voted in the last Ontario Election (a paltry 52% of the electorate) it does not leave very many unaffected to still vote for Hudak.
Since making his infamous statement, which I have been most critical of from the very start – Hudak has attempted – weakly in my opinion - to back track saying much of the 100,000 will be dealt with through attrition (i.e. public servants quitting or retiring). Sadly for Hudak, what stands out in everyone’s mind is his initial “100,000” statement.
I said then that he should have kept his mouth shut entirely about layoffs but if he felt obliged to pontificate on the subject he should have initially only said that there would be a cap on hiring and on wages. Full Stop.
That he failed to do so, shows to me why he is not way out in front right now. Indeed, recent polls suggest he is tied in the low 30s with Wynne and that the NDP are coming on.
Hudak can still win but his disastrous campaigning has made what should have been a walk in the park a most difficult journey.
In addition, a minority win really is not much good to him since the other two left wing parties will gang up and foil any attempt at the Tories governing.
So on that depressing note, stay tuned for my next ‘let’s pretend its election day’ and we will see the lay of the land then.
But don’t be surprised if it is much the same as it is today.
As I see it…
‘K.D. Galagher’
