To counteract the record low 58.8% voter turnout in the 2008 federal election, there was an unprecedented push to engage voters this past election.

With only 37% of 18 to 24 year-olds casting a ballot in 2008, many of the ‘get out the vote' efforts in 2011 were focused on young voters: Rick Mercer rants, vote mobs and vote socials, ShitHarperDid. It looked as if things might be different this time around.

The 2011 federal election was historic in many ways and most of us are still trying to process the outcome. It is crucial that we pause to reflect on its meaning and think carefully about the next steps we must take.

While it is true that the remarkable surge in support for the NDP means a more dependable progressive voice in the House of Commons than we have had for years, it is equally true that the most socially and economically right-wing government perhaps in Canadian history has just won a substantial majority in the House and -- along with their control of the Senate -- is now free to implement its agenda even if every member of every other party votes against it.

The Harper Conservatives are now free to:

-- cut corporate taxes and transfer payments;

Lately I wonder if there hasn't been a modification to the feminist adage "the personal is political." In the aftermath of the recent federal election -- a decision that left so many of us cringing in anticipation of the onslaught we know will follow -- it became clear that for some, politics is personal.