Alberta Elections

This week is really big for me: my first election. Where my friends were excited for their eighteenth birthday because they could now legally do all the same things they were already doing illegally, I was excited for voting (sad, I know). I think this picture nicely sums up my feelings about being eighteen (also because feel like cat photos are the sort of thing you obliged to do on the internet).

Anyway, I've always had a fairly active interest in politics and current events, and I'm certainly very opinionated. Finally being able to actively participate is a really exciting prospect. Naturally, I swing towards the left end of the political spectrum and am, therefore, naturally inclined towards the NDP and the Liberal Party. Living in Alberta, this makes me a minority. I actually really dislike party politics, and I think that continuously voting for the same party because "that's what I've always done" is closed minded and is the sort of mentality that leads to a situation like we've had with the Progressive Conservatives.

I don't care who you are--whether you're Liberal, PC, NDP, or the goddamn Marijuana Party-- no party should be allowed to hold a majority government for 44 years, at a municipal, provincial, or federal level. This very election, and, indeed, Albertan mindset as a whole, is a prime example of the dangers of having one group in power for too long. The PCs have had the run of the place for so long, they feel absolutely no accountability. It is the height of arrogance to complain about a lack of money only to call an election that costs nearly $30 million, especially when polls show that nobody wanted it. This was a blatant attempt to monopolize on the troubles of the only half decent opposition, and pure dirty politics.

The fact that the election is coming back to bite them in the ass is quite satisfying. I'll admit, I was expecting another PC walk in the park. I expected people to complain to one another in their living rooms but, on election day, vote exactly the same "because they always have." No one thought the Wildrose would hold out as well as they have and nobody was even thinking about the NDP as a serious contender. But Prentice overestimated his strength, and I underestimated Albertans' level of frustration. I don't usually like to admit that I am wrong, but I gladly do so here.

The Herald wrote a good article on how this campaign came back to bite the PCs in the ass: http://calgaryherald.com/news/politics/sleep-walk-campaign-has-turned-into-a-fight-to-save-a-dynasty

I really, really hope that the NDP gets in. I really, really hope that the PCs are sent packing (I actually even thought about voting Wildrose for a while, when they looked like the front running "opposition"). As I said, I don't like party politics. I will vote where I find myself intellectually and philosophically aligning. This Tuesday, I'm voting for the first time, and I'm voting NDP. Even if they don't succeed in unseating the Conservative dynasty, I am at least fairly confident of a strong opposition.

I'll end with this picture. I think it sums things up quite nicely.