For me, the thing to understand about this election is this:
Most of the time, an election is either a choice or a referendum.
Choice elections happen when voters are offered competing and different options, both of which are fundamentally reasonable, in that neither party is unacceptably tainted by scandal, and neither is doing something we should all reject because part of the Democratic bargain is that we voters have to punish (ie “fire”) politicians who break certain fundamental rules.
A referendum is an election where we really are faced with a decision about the incumbent party. Is the behaviour of this party acceptable? If it’s not, we have to vote them out—even if it’s only temporary—in order to show ALL politicians that there is some conduct that we just will not tolerate. Like, for instance… getting too cozy with seditionists might be one example.
Where an election is a choice, it makes tons of sense to do things like the CBC vote compass, assess the competing platforms of the parties, consider which party “aligns best with your values” in a policy sense and so on. When it’s a referendum, the analysis is different. The main question is the incumbent’s behaviour and whether you are fine with it or find it unacceptable.
This election is a referendum. The question to me is not whether Notley is going to enact policies that 100% align with my ideology every time. Almost certainly she won’t, but I also know from 4 years of NDP government that she will at least be governing in a way that is intended to bring about prosperity in our province, and won’t be taking calls from people who literally want to upset the social applecart.
For me, the question voters should ask themselves is not about ideology—it’s about behaviour. If you can look at Danielle Smith’s government and think, “yeah, sure—more of that makes sense to me” then I suppose you should consider voting UCP.
But I can’t. I think we need to send a message that voters will not support a government that is beholden to the “Take Back Alberta” extremists, or a premier who tries openly to interfere in prosecutorial discretion and then just openly gaslights us all by pretending it never happened, even though before that she said she would do it and afterward bragged about doing it.
We have to tell the UCP—and all parties—that there are some lines you don’t cross and when you do, the voters — your employers — will fire you. Then, maybe, the UCP will clean house, get rid of TBA, and come back with a better conservative option the next time around.
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