Okay, let me preface this with the following: I love politics. I love elections. With Canada just to the north of us, and the unique, enigma that is Quebec our most influential trading partner, I’ve always wondered one thing…

While politics can stretch across state lines (i.e. the mythos that all of New England is a liberal sanctuary, or the common knowledge of the leanings of the Pacific Coast states, etc), why is it, with such ties across the country, why does a small, formerly unimportant border cause politics in Stanstead, QC to elect social democrats like the Bloc Quebecois and now the NDP candidate who swept the riding yet politics in Essex County (and the Northeast Kingdom on the whole) to trend centre to centre-right?

I <3 musings.

Also, the NDP nationally did amazingly well. The Bloc is basically gone, the Greens may finally have a seat in Parliament, the Liberals have their lowest share in history, and the Conservatives have their first majority government. Man, this is so cool to watch.