Most of us know that the Conservative Party of Canada won a minority government last Monday evening. Many are disheartened by this, fearing a neo-con/so-con revolution spreading to that bleeding liberal neighbour up north. More sane and learned observers do not fear this, and in fact, are heartened by the results (myself included). Overall, Canadian voters had the gumption to send this message:
We do not want to back a tired corrupt and arrogant government even if it represents the "centre-left", but we are not willing to swing so far to the other scale that we will suffer the consequences of a dominant "far-right" government. In short, Paul Martin and his Liberals lost their authority to lead us. Stephen Harper and his Conservatives were given a SHORT leash to govern us. What this means is that Harper is able to do certain things on his party's agenda that is agreeable to many Canadians (e.g., fiscal responsibility, lower taxes (even though it's moot), and ethic reform). He will not be allowed to push any radical social agendas that would please the social conservatives (e.g., banning gay marriage and abortion) as well as any plans that would put us in bed with Bush and his neo-con misadventures.
Meanwhile, the Liberals will choose a new leader later this year, and give themselves a chance to renew and mature themselves. They will have to make themselves accountable and be willing to listen to us. Just for the love of God, Liberals, do NOT choose Ignatieff as your leader! The NDP will have this opportunity to make themselves an even more viable party on a national scale.
Ah, back to the main point...Canadians were able to punish a relatively centrist government and prop up a conservative minority. Intolerance of corruption was one major reason. Now, Americans, your GOP government is corrosively corrupt. Far more than the Liberals ever were. Observations indicate that Americans are upset by this corruption. Even many conservatives are bothered by this too. Therefore, this outrage against corruption can translate into many votes against the GOP in this 2006 election. Just keep on nailing on the "Party of Corruption" mantra, and you can see delightful results.
Take comfort from our elections results that the people will bring down corrupt parties, no matter the political persuasion. We punished corruption here. You can punish corruption there too.