No All Party Debate?

I was beginning to get a little bored with the 2007 Provincial election. I'm at the point where no one party has distinguished themselves. They all promise the moon and generally look alike. I had assumed one party would begin to stand out as e-day neared. Not so, so far.

I was looking forward to the all-party debates. Until one party pulled the rug out from under the voter's collective feet. It seems Gary Doer and the NDP are afraid of something. It's probably a good strategic move on their part. It is also cowardly and more than a little arrogant.

Doer has dodged the difficult questions for the entire election. I wanted to see how Doer responded to intelligent debate. Where he did not have the luxury of declining to comment or responding with a flippant remark.

Doer took that away from me, us.

Why this troubles me mostly is the apathy of my fellow Manitobans. With blinkers on, they seem satisfied with the status quo. A have-not province, with an economy too dependent upon big brother. With half our economy driven by government and government related make work projects.

We must move away from a socialist model if we want Winnipeg and Manitoba to really grow and prosper. When we are denied an opportunity to see the real issues debated, where we can challenge the status quo, we abandon the opportunity to see the tigers' real stripes.

Bring on the debates.