The Only Thing Worse Than Beating A Dead Horse Is Betting On One

I need to cherish this moment.

Have you ever been in a relationship that took a terrible turn? Have you ever been walked out on? Do you remember that feeling, after the messy break up, after the fights, after the name calling - that moment of clarity when you realized life will be much better off? 

Have you ever had a terrible employee, someone who you aren't really sure how to deal with, quit their job? Do you remember the heavy burden that was lifted from you? Do you remember how you wanted to just tell them, "you can't quit, you're fired!"

Well guess what Ontarians, we were in a bad relationship with a bad premiere for far too long. We have had a dishonest employee working under us for years now. 

Sometimes I think we forget, that politicians are employed by the people, for the people. That prestigious title of "Premiere", "Mayor", or "Prime Minister" is nothing more than a reminder, that they are to represent the whole of the group, and to serve us, the people. What goes wrong or right, what is true or false, what is honourable or deceitful, that responsibility lies on the shoulders of us all. We may act like a victim, but the truth is, we had our chance to drop the deadbeat boyfriend more than once.

And in that sense, Dalton McGuinty has accomplished what all modern politicians desire. Fueled by the hunger for power, the modern politician attempts with all their might, to establish a culture of voters that are uninformed and irrational. They are the brain children of advertisers and marketing. They want you to forget what has happened during their rule, and focus on what will fictitiously be promised. The most important part of democracy is not what is said during an election. This small process of democracy is almost not worth paying attention too.

Let's take the deadbeat boyfriend analogy a little bit further. 

A deadbeat boyfriend will treat you like royalty at the beginning of a relationship. He will bring you flowers and promise to love you. He will tell you he will stay out of your business, let you have your friendships and relationships. He comes across decent for a little while.

Things get serious, and well, he starts to control you a little bit. He starts stealing your money and spending it. He lounges around your house and eats up your food. He starts meddling in your relationships, he tells you how to live your life. He goes back on his word, time and time again.

Let's just say, you could come up with a list of say... 30 astronomically bad things about your deadbeat boyfriend, don't you think you would drop him?

Deadbeat boyfriends mess you up. They wax eloquently when it comes time to drop them. When things get really rough, they simply bail. They try to move on to some other sucker to drain dry. (Federal Liberal leadership anyone?)

The reign of Dalton McGuinty needs to teach us the importance of paying attention to what is going on when the speech writers are on break, and the campaign signs aren't on the lawns. And you know what is really the terrifying thing? I will let you in on a little secret...

Every mainstream political party has been doing the exact same thing for decades. I think it's about time we stop betting on dead horses, and try something different. We need a reformed system that won't let this happen. We need to be better informed. We need to shrink our democracy down for the people that matter the most - our neighbours and communities.

Sure, Dalton the Weasel has resigned, but if something doesn't change, it will be just a matter of time before this whole awful relationship starts up all over again.