Voting Liberal, without hope

Well, very little time left to make a decision and I don’t have a favourite party.

I have been very interested in listening to Green Party candidates and I believe that they ought to have a voice in parliament. So if I lived in a riding with a very strong Green Party candidate, I would vote Green.

I might also vote NDP if the local candidate was strong. That is because I know Jack Layton will never become Prime Minister. To tell the truth, even as I adopt more and more socialist tools, I remain a staunch liberal. This is a small “l” liberal because I believe that the Liberal Party of Canada is still in disarray. I prefer Liberal polices over other policies but Dion hasn’t come out swinging enough to win me over.

But I am a liberal. As much as I believe in democracy with all my heart, I believe in inalienable human rights even more. I know this because democracies make huge mistakes all the time. Sometimes self-government flips into mob rule — governed by ignorance, stupidity, or plain old depravity — particularly when the electorate is threatened, or simply feels threatened. If I had to choose between living in a democracy where my inalienable human rights were not respected and an autocracy where they were, I’d take the autocracy every time because I absolutely believe in the liberal idea of inalienable human rights limiting the power of mob rule. George Bush was elected (at least once and maybe twice). Hitler was also elected. And, while this is probably a lesser disaster, the morons in my riding are going to vote Conservative. Oh, that someone could save me from the mob rule of my neighbours.

Incidentally, that’s why I am not completely socialist. The last thing I want is for a bunch of addled-brained zealots tromping all over my rights because they have an idea. Some socialists can talk themselves into some pretty heinous behaviour. I am particularly frightened by people who seek to improve me, or do me good.

Anyway, nobody in my Alberta riding has a hope of beating the Conservative incumbent but, if I lived in a riding where somebody (dear god anybody) had a chance, I’d vote for them. Generally, I don’t like to vote strategically. I like to vote for the party and the person who most closely embodies my values and preferences. But let’s face it: the only reason Harper is in office today is because the Progressive Conservative and Alliance parties got over themselves and merged. I think we’re in rough enough shape financially and environmentally that we can’t take the chance of a Conservative majority.

I found out how my neighbours are likely to vote at a nifty page that allowed me to search by postal code (www.voteforenvironment.ca). If you’re interested in how they arrived at their prediction, check out their “advanced prediction model” at http://advanced.voteforenvironment.ca/poll_list.php.

I’ll be voting Liberal, without hope. And I will be joining the Liberal Party and the NDP and start advocating for a merge. Frankly, both parties could do each other a lot of good.

Happy thanksgiving.

– Eleanor Claire