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Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction
Governments will tend to pander to the areas that support them the most. It's much easier to keep votes than it is to change people's minds, especially when it is ingrained in the fabric of the culture. If Alberta voted Liberal, you would definitely see the party aim its policies towards keeping them happy. As it is right now, they have nothing to lose in Alberta and that fact probably makes Alberta less politcally persuasive than it ought to be in Canada. By not having that vote to dangle over the heads of other parties, they lose in the grand scheme of things, in my opinion.
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I really disagree with what you're saying. Basically if I'm reading it right, you're stating that Alberta should be willing to vote for the Liberal's on faith that if we do the Libs will then shift their platform to include Alberta concerns.
Thats reverse logic. If you want to be a national ruling party then you have to try to fit every region into your platform. The cons have done a fairly good job of that, the Liberal's haven't.
I don't believe that the statement should be "Vote for us and we'll include you", instead it should be "This is why you should vote for us because we will include you". Its like the T.V. shows where the guy kicks the crap out of his wife and then drops to his knees crying and says "Don't leave me baby, I can change" then in the next episode it opens with a backhand slap across her face.
Once you have those votes then you can concentrate on other areas of weakness and try to win those seats. The Conservatives had their breakthrough in Ontario because they did that in combination with the weak Liberal party efforts.
Quote:
Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction
For the Liberals to change the mind of the majority of Albertans, it would take a cultural shift that would take at least a generation to show results as most of the older folks already have perspective that are unlikely to change no matter what... not to mention, parents tend to indoctrinate their children with political beliefs. Sure, they could start trying to make inroads now, but no politicians think long term like that.
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I agree with this, the Liberal's have to stop thinking like a central Canadian Party and embrace the whole country.
But I do disagree with the indoctrination theory in some ways. For example, my father and mother supported The Cons, then reform and Cons. Early on I did vote for a Liberal in my riding and then switched to the Cons. MY three sisters are all Liberal supporters, which by the way makes election time uncomfortable.
Oh and when the Liberal's win office again, and it will happen at some point, then thats a battle that we'll have to take up then, god help us but we'll need to have a better premiere in office by then.