...On 'Tactical' Voting.
Longtime reader S on D wrote the following in a comment to our recent post on the Green candidate who took a hard look at all the numbers in his Redmonton(ish) riding and suddenly quit and asked his supporters to consider voting for the Dipper:
"...This is yet another occasion to gage leader Elizabeth May’s cavalier position(s) on tactical (“strategic”) ~voting and voting ‘from the heart’ instead of with the head.
She sniped at the NDP for clarifying allegations that its “candidates” had gone Green —which May initially welcomed until the disingenuity of the report was outed. She retorted her party “gave” the NDP leader his by-election win in a riding the Greens wouldn’t have won. The NDP leader had to defend against this smear, not apologize.
It’s May’s conceit that the Greens will hold the balance of power in a minority: the NDP or Bloc are much more likely to win that position.
May insists the BoP will empower her to force a minority government—even a ScheerCon one—to implement proportional representation without the alleged divisiveness of a referendum (after a series of convincing referendum defeats). Can May expect a ScheerCon minority to impose pro-rep on an electorate that’s reiterated its distaste for it—all to advantage a small party like hers? (The day is yet to come when the Cons want pro-rep as much as May; they have to be reduced to fringe party status first.)
In today’s Tyee, May said not to “worry about strategic [sic] voting, or at least decide the strategic [sic] vote is Green,” speaking to voters who want to help “wild salmon, climate policy and reconciliation.” But in ridings like mine that would split the vote, elect the Conservative candidate, and maybe a Conservative government—a curious recommendation for a professed environmentalist given the incumbent NDP MP here has done all those things and more whilst in Ottawa. For May, tactical voting equals ‘bad’ (so ‘bad’ as to recommend pro-rep which, May claims, would preclude such ‘evil’)—unless it tactically helps the Greens, a remarkably flexible ethic).
May is flexible, not only about tactical voting and balance-of-power brokering, but also about which ridings Greens may or may not run in. Nominated candidates may not continue to run if they pre-concede the contest in favour of an environmentalist candidate with better odds of winning (who released Green supporters can assist); they may not run in by-elections where the leader of another party is seeking a seat; and they may not run in ridings where May is courting a stand-offish Independent candidate like Jody Raybold Wilson. But it’s too bad a Green may run in ridings like mine where the risk of Green supporters splitting the vote and electing an environmentally unfriendly party is almost certain without tactical voting.
It’s remarkable is how poorly the Greens have polled despite the environment being the number-one issue. What is holding an overtly environmentalist party back in this circumstance? Perhaps it’s not so much what as who.
I don’t wish the Green Party ill, I just want Green supporters to vote tactically in ridings where the Party has little chance of winning but where Green votes are likely to split the anti-ScheerCon vote; the party simply isn’t strong enough yet to discount this electoral tactic —or to get preachy about tactical voting as if this general election is a referendum on electoral systems. The Greens have made this their centrepiece platform in every election without reward. If electoral-reform was so good to JT and BC’s NDP and Greens, why not for the federal Greens?
May I say to my Green compatriots: whatever happens on Moon’s Day, you might consider making this the last election to use Elizabeth May as leader considering y’all should be doing much, much better than having to affect cavalier conceit about parties, elections, parliaments and voters."
Hard, for me at least, to argue with that.
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In our riding here in Lotusland's near Eastern Townships, which apparently has something to do with way of Kings not named Emerson, I sure do hope that progressive leaning folks of a certain bent realize what kind of disastrous split an impulsive vote for the former TeeVee teleprompter regurgitator could lead to given the rapidly rising European SUV quotient around here.
Which reminds me...Might be time to grind out this election's version of 'Stopping Cons In Lotusland'... Trouble is, compared to last time there appears to be a bit of a dearth of riding-specific publicly available polling available (unless I've missed something).
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2 comments:
In my riding in Nanaimo, its between the Greens and the NDP. Not being keen on the Green M.P..........
If I lived in Richmond where its between the Conservatives and Liberals, not being keen on the conservatives...........
In Vancouver, where they have a bonus candidate, JWR.......she looks better than any one else.
There is more to life than "green" and in my opinion, the Greens aren't green enough to make me change my vote. I can get my "green" quota from the federal Liberals or NDP.
In my opinion the Green party spends a lot of time attacking the oil and gas industry, other political parties, big corporations, but not much on personal responsibility. Haven't seen them or other environment types tackling some of the unpleasant truths in our society such as our over consumption of clothing, plastic toys, imported goods, constant purchasing of new vehicles, luxury goods, tech toys--phones, t.vs. computers, etc. that would upset people and they wouldn't buy into their political theory. Its easy to rant about plastic straws, plastic bags, etc. but in the grand scheme of things, it doesn't matter. Every one I knew, used their plastic bags as garbage bags. Now they have to buy ones manufactuered for that purpose and most of them have additional scents added to them. ah, yes never heard the Greens and the enviornmentalists suggest we do away with dryer sheets, all those scents for the house, etc.
I love plastic straws and bags. Don't buy a new tech item until the old one can't be repaired, so my cells last 8 yrs, t.v.s up to 18, cloths up to 5 and 10 yrs.
I did read Scotty on Deman's post when it originally went up and he is bang on.
Now lets go out and vote.
What this election is about in my opinion, is keeping Scheer and his Cons out of office. We don't need to turn the clock back and have another dose of Harper or his dumber former Speaker.
Nanaimo is a very, very tough one between the Green and NDP.
Sure hope there is cancellation with Con up the middle....
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