DEMOCRACY — OR NOT

Www.thetyee.ca – See ‘Whipped,’ Sean Holman’s Expose on Slavish Politicians by David Beers, April 22, 2013. After you read David Beers article and/or see the documentary you may want to ask yourself what the MLA’s do for us – the people. We pay them wages, expenses, golden pension plans but for what?? They don’t represent us, only their party.

You may wish to go to the following websites to read the rest of the articles and for information on a documentary showing in the Lower Mainland on:

“Whipped:  The Secret World of Party Discipline” Thu/Fri/Sun – source: www.fairvotingbc.com

Screenings: Thursday, April 25 (7:00 pm), UBC, Buchanan Building, Room A103;
Friday, April 26 (7:00 pm) The Vic Theatre 808 Douglas Street, Victoria;
Sunday, April 28 (7:00 pm) Alice MacKay Room, Library Square Conference Centre 350 West Georgia St.

 

Update:  This is now on YouTube
Sean Holman says “Are we happy with a political system where most MLAs only have a say in secret? Are we happy with a political system where MLAs are often unable to tell voters when they disagree with their party? Are we happy with a political system where government has the power to get whatever it wants in the legislature?

“Because that’s the system we’ve got.” ……

www.straight.com -The Georgia Straight – Sean Holman documentary exposes how political parties keep MLAs in line – by Charlie Smith – April 24, 2013.

David Chudnovsky said “They sent us here to govern, and we don’t,” the MLA said. “Everybody who works here knows that the real governing takes place in the premier’s office with a few handpicked friends and advisers.” …….

And you wonder how the politicians (and their friends) can steal your democracy, your rights. It is obviously very easy. Who is going to stop them.

Www.thehuffingtonpost.com – Whipped: The Secret World of Party Discipline – by Sean Holman. He said: “In fact, I’ve discovered, out of the 32,328 votes cast between June 2001 and April 2012, just 80 or 0.25 percent were cast by MLAs voting against their own party.

That means a party with a majority can essentially do whatever it wants in the legislature — so much so that the last time a government bill was defeated was 1953, the same year Joseph Stalin died. But those numbers also suggest, as one former MLA told me, “There’s got to be times — random chance if nothing else — that some of us actually disagree with what we’re voting on.”