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There’s An Election?

Election 2005

By only

Friday May 13, 2005

Voting Is For Voters

The provincial election campaign has been dull and depressing. If you don’t care or didn’t even know there was an election, don’t worry about it, you missed shit. It was the same rich old fuckers in suits prancing around in makeup, pouting their wet lips and promising a tossed salad for every vote.

The debate between the two major parties was not about tackling the systemic problems the province faces, such as growing poverty, the lack of economic diversification, ballooning health care spending and aboriginal rights. Instead, it was all about image. Who do you trust the least? Sure, the NDP and the Liberals are both corrupt assholes, but who is the bigger twat? And if you can’t stomach either, are you willing to throw your vote away to the Greens? And who the fuck are these capitalist hippies anyway?

“It’s not in their consciousness [to address the issues]. The view above all else for many Liberal activists is to prevent the election of the New Democrats as supposed to moving forward,” says Allan Tupper, political science professor at UBC. “This is one of the major complaints about modern mass televised politics…there’s an intense difficulty in getting serious dialogue engaged.”

Welcome to the continued Americanization of Canadian politics, where the dumb downed media is king and the important issues are the peasants. Despite repeated claims that BC is more polarized then ever, the two major parties have never looked more alike. In an effort to distract voters on their bloody track record, the Liberals became generous pimps doling out cash on their electoral hoes. Meanwhile, back on socialist island, the NDP copied much of the Liberal economic policies and promised not to undo any of the useless tax cuts for the rich that went hand in glove with social spending cuts.

“When you put out a platform that’s almost identical to Liberals’ platform…and then you don’t attack Gordon Campbell for his four years in office, voters are supposed to say, ‘Why change?’” says political commentator Will McMartin whose Battleground BC column on thetyee.ca predicts riding victories. “I see the Liberals winning a comfortable majority and you wonder how things might have gone otherwise if the NDP had decided to actually fight an election rather just coasting through and settling for second best.”

The NDP, ignoring their decade of madness in power, ran on the
platform that the Liberals are douche bags. The Liberals ran on the bullshit claim of a rejuvenated economy—they have done little to help BC’s economic rebound and dick all to secure long term growth. The Greens actually made some interesting social and environmental proposals, but showed no way to pay for them. They did a good job of attacking both parties, but since trees don’t vote, they’ll be lucky to win one seat.

The only positive part of this mess is the electoral referendum. Along with voting for a new government, the public can chose to replace the voting system. Instead of the current winner-takes-all, BC could have a more balanced and distributive system called Single Transferable Vote (STV). Unfortunately, the media and major parties have purposely ignored the referendum and since it needs 60 per cent approval plus a majority in 48 of 79 ridings, there’s no chance it will pass.

Even though the election result has been predetermined by the media and big business, go out and vote anyway. Vote Sex Party or Work Less or People’s Front or Green or Libertarian or even NDP if you must. Just don’t vote Marijuana or Liberals—it’s the same bad trip. Vote for STV. It will produce a milder version of this democratic dictatorship. If you can’t bring yourself to support any of these losers then spoil your ballot. Eat it, fart on it or write ‘Campbell’s wife plays a mean Rusty Trombone’ on it. In the end your vote will mean shit, but at least there’s one day when the politicians have to eat yours.