Friday, May 10, 2013

I Voted NDP...

I honestly never thought that I would say this, but today at the advance polls in British Columbia's provincial election, I voted NDP. This would not have happened in a perfect world, but the biggest priority for me in this election is ousting the ruling Liberal Party from power and this is the most efficient way to do so. It was more about a strategically placed protest vote than about me converting to socialism. There was always the option of spoiling my ballot like our absent-minded Premier Christy Clark did, but ultimately I preferred to vote for the party with the highest probability of kicking Christy out of office.

The BC Conservatives have no chance at all in my riding, furthermore they have but a minimal chance in any electoral district. Their attempt at fundraising was a disaster, giving them very little money to run a campaign. There were no commercials, very few campaign signs, and they received very little media coverage. In my riding, there were zero Conservative signs. There wasn't even a Conservative candidate until the 2nd week of the election (and even then his entire campaign seemed nothing more than a Twitter account). Most people in BC won't even know the name of their local Tory candidate until they see it on their ballot on election day. That's not how you win an election.

If the NDP are able to win next week, that will be better for the long term future of the BC Conservative Party. They need to shake loose some donors from the Liberals, a task far easier to do when the Libs don't control the levers of power. I'm not normally the type to demand a change in leadership after a single election, but John Cummins will need to be replaced. They need someone with enough personality to raise money, which is sorely needed to run a campaign. I live in a riding that is held by the Tories federally, and yet we didn't even have a Tory candidate until day 10 of the campaign? This election date was set 4 years ago. I didn't hear or see a single advertisement. That's an F. You can't just open a Twitter account and call that a campaign. I'm sorry.

We will see if the NDP pulls out a win here. When the NDP is running government, opposition campaign platforms write themselves, and the federal NDP tends to struggle in BC when their provincial counterparts are in power. The Liberals deserve a few years in the penalty box. If you live in a riding where the Conservatives actually ran a respectable campaign, then by all means give them your vote. But if you're in a situation like mine and you are deeply disappointed in an absentee campaign, I strongly recommend voting for the party most likely to remove the Liberals from power.

21 comments:

  1. I have to disagree with your logic,Ice.The Liberals most certainly DO deserve a visit to the "penalty box", but if the NDP is elected to government,it's the taxpayers who will pay the penalty.

    Voting NDP is akin to cutting off your nose to spite your face,as the old saying goes.

    The people who will really suffer,are those in the Resource extraction industries,and of course the rest of us will suffer higher taxes,and more taxes,because with the Resource sector shut down,there's no alternative .

    With an NDP government, we can look forward to increases in all our utilities and everything else regulated or sold by government, booze,cigarettes, fishing licences,carbon taxes.

    Within a couple of years,the NDP will have as many scandals going as the Liberals currently do, socialists are NOT saints,and we can look for some real corruption in government contracts and Union contracts.

    We'll trade one set of self-interested crooks for another of the same, only difference is there won't be much of an economy left after a term of NDP government.

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    1. Well dmorris, I voted Liberal in 2009 and have deeply regretted it for the last 4 years. Maybe voting NDP is "cutting off my nose to spite my face", but after 4 years of feeling like shit for voting Liberal, I'm actually very comfortable with my choice.

      Is there really much of a difference between the Liberals and NDP? Policy wise, the Conservatives had by far the best platform, they just ran a piss poor campaign. Voting for Christy Clark would be a left wing vote, so I substituted one left wing vote for another.

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    2. Is there really much of a difference? Good lord,Ice,the NDP is philosophically opposed to private enterprise,and private ownership of firearms. They see Government as the answer to everything!

      You surprise me.

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    3. There is very little difference between the Liberals and the NDP in most portfolios. They only disagree on about 20% of issues.

      The Liberals need to be replaced, by any means necessary. The more time I have to reflect on my choice, the better I feel about it.

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    4. See, now this is why I have thought for a good while now that there should be a negative vote option. If there is no party that you want to vote for, you should have the chance of at least negating one positive vote for the party you least like.

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    5. NDP 1991 - 2001 better job creation less deficit and better economy. That's the facts

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  2. I agree with what Dmorris wrote. I have not yet decided for whom to vote, but there is no way I would ever consider voting NDP as my memory is not that short. I may go for one of the two independents running in my riding, and yes I know I will be told it would be a wasted vote. So be it but I would prefer that to contributing to a return to the NDP.

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  3. I'm not voting NDP because a vote for the Conservatives will do the same job as your NDP vote and my principals will not be tarnished. The Liberals need to be completely 100% DESTROYED. It's time to stop this ridiculous choice between left and hard left.

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  4. I live in Mike Farnworth's riding, (and he's going to win by a country mile) so my vote is a protest that will count for nothing. I'm voting Conservative. The Liberal candidate is some kid just out of university, and while she seems like a lovely young woman, it's also blindingly apparent the BC Libs couldn't find anyone more qualified to throw their hat into the ring here.

    It's depressing.

    I'm hoping we have a minority government and Christie Clark loses her seat.

    Now if you'll excuse me, I have to feed my unicorn.

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  5. Ice, better hang on to your wallet or come to Alberta..
    JoeFrmEdm

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  6. Thats unfortunate. I will be voting BC Conservative, as there is no way I could ever vote for the "progressives" NDP (commies) or the federal BC Liberals. Either way we're going to be eating a "progressive" shit sandwich for the next 4 years, all fat and very, very expensive. The damage done will be very real and the consequences will be felt for a very long time afterward. I'm resigned to the fact that the "progressive" marxists will be running the Province's economy into the ground, but there is no way that I' will be part of the reason why it happened.

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    1. I know that I don't have much in common with you all up north, but try living in Obama's America for 8 years-from what I can glean that's about as bad as living under any kind of NDP government!

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  7. Given your most enjoyable blog and interesting posts, I am shocked at your choice, but I am VERY happy that you did vote. It was the responsible thing to do!

    I am a BC Conservative, now conservative, who is completely disgusted with the party and leadership (except their policies), but I could never move this far from my values. I thought about doing what you did as well, as the Liebrals must be taught a huge lesson, and I have zero confidence in Chisty.

    This is an awful election. In many areas, we have a choice between very bad, horrid, completely impossible and outrageous, but we do have a responsibility to decide!

    I would never made the decision you did, but do not have to as I have a fired Conservative to vote for. He will not go far, but I would never vote Green or NDP, and the Liebral in my riding is really an NDP in wolf clothing. I would have held my nose and vote Liberal if I was forced to do so, so I am thankful I do not have to go there.

    I seriously fear that the NDP will put us on the UN Agenda 21 path to destruction.

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  8. when no one in the riding represents one's values and morals it is difficult to even vote. I have abstained and ruined a ballot in the past. voting for the lesser evil is still voting for evil.

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    1. Even worse, NDP is in no way a lesser evil than the Gilberals. If BC gets a Dippy government they will deserve every bad thing they get, and Pragmatictory can hang his head in shame for having done his part.

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    2. I voted Liberal in 2009, despite the carbon tax. Nothing has brought me more shame than propping up this no good corrupt government.

      Voting AGAINST the Liberals, well I feel fantastic about it. I should have done so in 2009. The price of gas is getting really high this week. Did the Liberals jack up their carbon tax again?

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  9. Looking at what the provincial Liberals have done to Ontario and BC any alternative is an improvement.
    Bocanut

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    1. No, any alternative is certainly NOT an improvement. When you elect a Party that has no idea how the economy works,and is fundamentally opposed to capitalism,the reason for our prosperity, you have,to use another old but appropriate cliche,"jumped from the frying pan into the fire".

      The best we can hope for at this point is a minority government with the Conservatives holding the balance of power. Believe me, unless you are employed in a recession-proof industry such as the BCGEU, you will deeply regret the day you ever cheered for an NDP government.

      Dix is a hard-left Marxist type,not a Harcourt-type soft socialist.He will destroy our economy. There are few or no "green jobs",and when Dix takes massive tracts of Crown land out of the land base and into protected areas, you'll see how quickly they wreck the resource industries.

      Then watch your taxes and fees skyrocket as they try to tax their way to an operating budget.

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    2. The BC Liberal Party needs to be replaced. Who brought us the carbon tax? Liberals.

      THEY NEED TO BE REPLACED!

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  10. The last NDP Gov't tumbled BC into recession while the rest of Canada was enjoying boom times. BC was totally opposite, remember?

    The BC Libs deserve a thrashing but our family doesn't have another 10 extra years of recession like the 90's which were supposed to be the height of our best earning years. We struggled like so many people because of the predatory tax practices of the NDP that punishes the so-called rich in order to benefit the poor.

    But I ask, just how many rich do we really have in BC? Scare away drivers of the economy and we certainly will have a tax problem. And a family making 150 grand a year (considered rich) in their prime earning years is considered rich? People seem to be selfishly myopic, to their own detriment.

    Susann

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    1. Umm, up until the asian currency crisis in the late 90's, job and economic growth in BC was better than it has been in under the Libs. The Libs were also handed a budget surplus when they took over in 2001. How has the Libs performance been since the economic crisis of 2008? How much debt have they accumulated since then?

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