Disenfranchised In BC
Now that the election is in the news in BC, I’ve decided to see if there is anyone that someone who has middle to right wing views, like me, could actually vote for.
Now that they’ve stuck down the gag law, I’ll assume they won’t be coming for me if I write about this subject...
I’ve always wondered why BC always seems to shoot itself in the foot politically, but after a quick review of what’s on the menu as far as candidate and party choices, it becomes crystal clear.
We have the Liberals, NDP and the Green party and then a slew of whacko parties . Somewhere in the list is a Conservative leader that is completely unknown, and never mentioned in the media. Search “BC Election” and see if you can find any mention of any party to the right of Karl Marx.
BC lacks choice – all parties are pretty much the same – only difference is the degree of left wing philosophy.
Although there probably is a silent majority of conservative-thinking residents, somehow they’ve managed to be locked out of the political process. Or up until now, they’ve been working too hard supporting the welfare state we have, to help organize a party.
Here’s a list of parties to show how far left BC has become in the political system:
Registered Political Party Leaders
| Political Party | Leader |
|---|---|
| Advocational International Democratic Party of British Columbia | Michael J. Yawney |
| Annexation Party of British Columbia, The | R. Gordon Brosseuk |
| BC NDP | Carole James |
| BC Refederation Party | Mike Summers |
| British Columbia Conservative Party | Wilf Hanni |
| British Columbia Democratic Futures Party | Chad Bester |
| British Columbia Liberal Party | Gordon Campbell |
| British Columbia Libertarian Party | |
| British Columbia Marijuana Party | Marc Emery |
| British Columbia Party | |
| British Columbia Patriot Party | Andrew Hokhold |
| British Columbia Social Credit Party | Carrol Woolsey |
| Citizens Action Party | William Savage |
| Communist Party of BC | George Gidora |
| Democratic Reform B.C. | Graeme Rodger |
| Emerged Democracy Party of British Columbia, The | Tony Luck |
| Green Party Political Association of British Columbia | Jane Sterk |
| The Herb Party | David Malmo Levine |
| Link BC | Harvey Maser |
| Moderate Democratic Movement, The | Interim Leader, M. James Solheim |
| Nation Alliance Party | Wei Ping Chen |
| Party Of Citizens Who Have Decided To Think For Themselves And Be Their Own Politicians | Gordon Watson |
| People’s Front | Charles Boylan |
| Planting Seeds Party | Rebecca Ambrose |
| Platinum Party of Employers Who Think and Act to Increase Awareness | Interim Leader, Espavo Sozo |
| Progressive Nationalist Party of British Columbia | Brian Taylor |
| Reform Party of British Columbia | |
| Sex Party, The | John Ince |
| Western Canada Concept Party of BC | Douglas Christie |
| Western Party | Barry Edward Chilton |
| Work Less Party of British Columbia | Conrad Schmidt |
| Your Political Party of BC | James Filippelli |
It’s like choosing between Castro or Chavez. Pick the lesser of two evils. I think I’ll pass.
It’s no wonder that we now are number 1 for hidden cause-based taxation – they have snuck taxes on anything you buy that could do harm – even bottled water. We have environmental taxes, recycling taxes, entertainment taxes (on the most heavily-taxed alcohol in Canada), and the list goes on. Check your receipt next time you buy something – and be ready for a surprise.
With a party list like the one above, I can’t help wonder what happens when “we run out of other peoples money“?
The Liberal party blessed BC with the carbon tax, which the NDP promises to scrap, along with a promise to raise minimum wage and lower taxes. That about covers the issues in the BC Election.
The only party that intrigues me is “The Party Of Citizens Who Have Decided To Think For Themselves And Be Their Own Politicians”.
I think I’ll get behind the Sex Party. It’s the only one that makes any sense out here in lotus land.
April 12th, 2009 at 9:45 am
Vote to reform our electoral system. Vote for BC-STV, the new voting system recommended, 146 to 7, by the BC Citizens Assembly on Electoral Reform.
As a disenfranchised voter like myself, you’ll make the most important electoral decision of your life when you vote for this much-needed change.
Voters in BC must be empowered to change politics in this province. You and I likely share some views and not others – I’m a social libertarian, so am strongly in favour of free speech/anti-censorship, for example. But we both deserve to be represented by MLAs which represent our views.
April 12th, 2009 at 10:22 am
Nice to know there are others who are feeling the same sense of disquiet about not having any real alternative to vote for in B.C.
But, that is about as far as things will go, I suspect. Sharing the frustration.
Who would ever trust the NDP again, even with all their cheap talk about removing the carbon tax. They would not be able to resist making that legislation worthless by including some other approach to energy legislation.
Don’t think I lifted you up any, did I? Sigh….
April 12th, 2009 at 12:12 pm
STV would make it WORSE by far. BC would become like Italy or Israel where the politicians decide who runs the show after the election. Who the hell wants that?
April 12th, 2009 at 8:23 pm
The BCLiberals got into office on a ‘Unite the Right’ campaign but Campbell has swung dangerously left in his second term, ignoring the people who put him there. I joined the party to get our former Social Credit MP into government and cabinet (it worked) but I resigned from the party when the idiotic Carbon Tax was introduced. As far as STV goes, it would be an unmitigated disaster. I have lived in Europe and seen the totally disfunctional governments run by the whim of minority parties, like the Greens, who hold the balance of power. We need to keep ‘first past the post’ but with, horror of horrors, a party leader who sticks to the small ‘c’ conservative principles he espoused.
April 17th, 2009 at 2:08 am
Um, a lot of those parties are “to the right of Karl Marx”. Green Party, Marijuana, Libertarian, Reform, Western Canadian Concept Party (The party’s leader is Doug Christie, a far right lawyer best known for defending Holocaust deniers), British Columbia Social Credit Party, and probably a couple of others like British Columbia Patriot Party, the Western Party, Citizen’s Action Party, and the BC Refederation Party.