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I have a voting conundrum for the first time in a while

Posted by Reagen Apr 19 '12, 20:15

the provincial election is Monday, and you may or may not have heard that there's a strong push from the far-right upstart party (aka Tire Boobs). The Progressive Conservative (centre-right) party has been in government for 41 years (not a typo) and there's a feeling that people are going to change just because. I don't love that party, but they've made a recent progressive move and they'd be waaaay better than the whackos (who've had the typical anti-gay/racist public slipups you'd expect).

My own MLA is from the Liberals (centre to centre-left), and won handily in the last two elections with more than 50% (which is *hard* to do in Calgary). However, it seems like there's a big push towards the PCs because of a sense that anyone's better than the far-right, which I mostly agree with. I care less about who wins this seat than the far-right not winning it. The Liberals winning is just as good as the PCs for the larger purpose of keeping the Wildrose Party out of power. It's going to be tough to figure out whether the Liberal vote is still strong enough for them here, or if it's collapsed to the point where I need to switch. Or if I switch, do I help split the vote for the WRs to eke out a win? Argh.

Responses:

I think my decision is clear. - Subversive Apr 19, 20:53 10
- oh yeah. if you're anywhere even close to rural and don't want WR in, vote PC. -- nm - Reagen Apr 19, 20:54 9
  - Serious question because I haven't followed the election due to new family and shitty shitty work right now: What do you fear? - Name Withheld By Request Apr 19, 20:55 8
    - Reform2? -- nm - zork Apr 19, 20:59
    - From my perspective (I realize you asked Reagen, not me), they're likely not as scary as made out to be. - Subversive Apr 19, 20:57 2
      - I get that, but from afar, the furor over the conscience laws feels totally how SSM and abortion play out federally. - Name Withheld By Request Apr 19, 21:00 1
        
        If you're not going to do it, why mention it? -- nm - Reagen Apr 19, 21:01
    - cuts to services and infrastructure (particuarly schools), conscience laws, and the Alberta "firewall", all for a start. - Reagen Apr 19, 20:56 3
      - On cuts, how long was the deep cuts under Ralph really felt? A few years at most and it set it up nicely for years afterward. - Name Withheld By Request Apr 19, 20:59 2
        
        We're still paying for Ralph's cuts. - Reagen Apr 19, 21:01 1
        
        Of course, neither did his predecessors. And both spent A Lo -- nm - Name Withheld By Request Apr 19, 21:05
I just find it hilarious that there's still an ability to play the "wacko" right wing gov't card in Canada. - Name Withheld By Request Apr 19, 20:47 13
- A more serious answer would be, "41 years is too long for any one party to ride over the government. Flush it out from time to time." - Name Withheld By Request Apr 19, 20:49 10
  - Your IM: the Federal Liberals have been out of power for what, six years? And look nowhere near getting their act together by 2013. -- nm - Roger More Apr 19, 20:51 8
    - took the federal tories/reform somewhere between 10 and 15, and even then a big part of it was liberal implosion. -- nm - mafic Apr 19, 21:05
    - Yeah, but they had a collapse of epic proportions. If the PC's lose the provincial election, they will still be a *strong* opposition. - Subversive Apr 19, 20:54 4
      - Three governments over something like 100 years. It would make dictatorships blush, you oil barons, you. -- nm - Name Withheld By Request Apr 19, 20:56 3
        
        Like I said, I agree with the principle of change. Just that this time, wishing for change is like not reading the fine print on the Monkey's Paw. -- nm - Reagen Apr 19, 20:59 2
        
        I think you used the same line on me in 2004. :-) -- nm - Name Withheld By Request Apr 19, 21:03 1
        
        Might have. :) - Reagen Apr 19, 21:06
    - Different scenario than AB. The NDP federally managed to retain its core throughout Chretien's run AND had provincial successes to build on. - Name Withheld By Request Apr 19, 20:54 1
      - You are closer to these things than me, but my take is that the Liberals see themselves as the natural party of government. - Roger More Apr 19, 21:02
  - I agree in principle but not in practice. -- nm - Reagen Apr 19, 20:51
- But occasionally they are Rob Fords. -- nm - Reagen Apr 19, 20:49 1
  - Right. Just as there's Bob Rae's Ontario. These outlier governments don't tend to last long. - Name Withheld By Request Apr 19, 20:52
In five years, which way would you be willing to admit you voted? also, ... - zork Apr 19, 20:44 1
- It's my nickname for her, which I have admittedly not seen anyone else adopt. - Reagen Apr 19, 20:48
yeah, I'd probably vote Tory, not because I'd want to, but because I feel about the same way as you about tire boobs. -- nm - mafic Apr 19, 20:41
After seeing that the leader of the Alberta Liberals was a sitting member of the PCs just 18 months ago, I've decided that you might as well bite the - Roger More Apr 19, 20:37 3
- not as bad as Bob Rae being an NDP *premier* and becoming a Liberal - zork Apr 19, 20:54
- Alberta politics is so incestuous, it makes the Lannisters blush. -- nm - Reagen Apr 19, 20:40 1
  - *golf clap* -- nm - Subversive Apr 19, 20:51
You lost me at "boobs." -- nm - JaxSean Apr 19, 20:26

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I have a voting conundrum for the first time in a while

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