MattersVille
The first thing...From a raw politics point of view how could Horgan and the gang not have gone this fall?
The second thing...I'm not sure how I feel about what appears to be a wiping out of the Green Party given how well, overall, that tenuous balance worked out the last three years...Put another way, do we really want a 'New Labour' third-way type strategy to run rampant, unchecked, for the next four years?
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I realize that last bit will upset some readers...But I'm saying this as a progressive who has been paying attention.
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9 comments:
You are taking as a given that the Green influence was positive and progressive over the last 3 years. I'm not sure the evidence is clear on that point. It is certainly crystal clear that the NDP would not be government without the greens...so there's that. But I think, generally, the Green's are pretty phony. They are non-ideological, mostly anti-worker, anti-union elitists. They certainly care about the environment but even here... did they push the government greener than they would be otherwise? Maybe unshackled from the Greens we will see a more progressive majority government that can really make a difference. Or maybe I'm just wishful thinking :)
Interesting perspective Glen and I do hear what you're saying re: the Greens, especially their historical anti-labour stance..
I've got to think about this harder...But I sure would like to see a tangible sign that things will go the way you are wishing for.
(and I assume that you know likely have more actual knowledge about which way the wind is actually blowing inside the orange tent than I do)
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haha. Don't assume that! I push pretty hard, but really have very little influence. Maybe that's why they are so popular!
The greens seem to be chastising and criticizing the dippers platform a great deal more than they do the b.c.libs during the campaign. I guess the greens figure the dippers are more likely to take votes from them. I know all are competing for votes but maybe there is more animus there than meets the eye that urged Horgan to seek his majority.
OK...
Now that induced a genuine chuckle.
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Sorry Bruce--
Was responding to GC when your comment came in.
I think you are on to something re: the animus.
Or maybe it's just that no one was going to get along with Mr. Horgan as well as Mr. Weaver did.
Regarding where the votes come from/go to, it seems that that folks who vote green or orange go together for 1st or 2nd choices.
Or it least it did in the past which was a big concern last time around for the Dippers.
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I can imagine the upcoming leaders tv debate where 1st-to-no lists all that is wrong with the dippers where Horgan can reply “remind me again why this is an unnecessary election”.
I still haven't completely figured out my personal election plan. My mail ballot package is sitting unopened on the kitchen table.
My riding in the Northern Sacrifice Zone is a safe BCLib seat, and the long-term incumbent is running again. Although the NDP did hold this riding as recently as the mid-90s, they've been in decline ever since, and didn't break 30% in 2017. This time, they barely scraped together a paper candidate before the deadline.
I absolutely don't want the BCLibs back in power for all the zillion reasons that don't need repeating here. And I've certainly been glad that Adrian Dix has been Minister of Health this year. Imagine if we were getting screamed at by Jas Johal every afternoon.
But Horgan has been a disaster for energy and environmental policy. And along with the NDP's provincial sections in AB and SK, the BC party's leadership has been offside on the major moral test of our time. However, Horgan's performance was pretty much what I expected based on his record and who he hangs with, and I could be persuaded that he actually believes that LNG, Site C, the out-of-control BCTS etc. are good things. I judge much more harshly those who cultivated a greenish aura prior to getting elected, and obediently fell into line afterwards. I really can't decide whether George Heyman or Michelle "Paddle for the Peace" Mungall has provided the more pathetic spectacle.
And I agree with you about the dangers of having our own "New Labour" run unchecked for a full term. So what to do?
I've never voted Green at any level before, mostly because of their weird libertarian flakiness on labour and economic policy, e.g. Weaver's obsession with ridesharing and delay of minimum wage improvements. But I have a great admiration for Alexandra Morton, so the first concrete electoral thing that I did this season was to send her a donation.
But that ballot package is still sitting there ...
I hear you Bruce.
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SB--
You have, essentially, summed up my feelings also, point-by-point.
I'm in a near Eastside of Vancouver seat that is historically pretty-safe for the NDP, but over the last 5 years the European SUV quotient has gone up dramatically, so now I'm not so sure...I sure would like to see some solid riding-specific, granular polls - which in our system are the only ones that matter, of course...Regardless, when it comes to the Greens actually winning it's the Republic of Vancouver Island that really matters...
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