Revolutionary Moderation

My decision is made



You know, considering I live in a rural Alberta riding, a riding that could be called with certainty for the Conservatives six months before the writ was dropped, I certainly did spend some time agonizing over my vote. But come Monday, barring a voting booth conversion ("My God, Stephen Harper is right! This is my chance to finally take a stand against child porn!"), I'll be casting my ballot for Ellen Parker, the local NDP candidate.



Six weeks ago, that would have been a foregone conclusion: I give money to the NDP, I belong to the NDP, I was volunteering for an NDP candidate. But regular readers know I've been having my doubts this election (though I won't go into my concerns with Layton's Clarity Act position again). It's taken me a month to realize that on balance, the NDP still looks like my party.



They did a few things very well, to retain my vote. They began the campaign by making balanced budgets a central tenet of the campaign, something I've wanted to see the party do for a decade. Their revenue projections are more conservative than the, er, Conservatives. Meanwhile, they remain unambiguously on my side of social issues like gay marriage or abortion access. I asked a question of all my local candidates about collaboration, and the only answer I recieved was from Ellen Parker.



I'm not happy with how the NDP ran this campaign. I've never seen an electorate so open to new ideas or to changing their vote, but the NDP isn't walking home with those ballots. I'm going to wonder for a long time what would have happened if Layton's first-week momentum hadn't been tripped up by Martin the Murderer and Clarity. But that has nothing to do with who I trust to govern.



I was one of the voters that was open to something new. The NDP had to earn my vote, and I'm kind of relieved that they could.