When I started blogging, I decided I wasn’t gonna talk about politics or religion, but since it’s supposed to be about what’s going through my head, I can’t avoid it. I’m choked about the election result. Not because the right or wrong party won, or because my guy did or didn’t get in, but because it’s so imbalanced.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m a conservative, and I was ecstatic at first, but then when that wore off, I started to realize that, even if the right party is in for me, it never is a good thing that there is no opposition. And effectively there is no opposition in Alberta. The Liberals and NDP’s really piss me off: not because I disagree with their ideas necessarily, but because they haven’t gotten their act together and became a decent opposition.
It’s true that a government can be more effective and efficient in many cases with a weaker opposition, because it can table legislation and run it through without mucking about, much like a business, but this assumes that it’s the right legislation…
It’s all about balance, and we won’t have that until the Libs and ND’s get their act together. A few friends that I’ve argued with over it recently said “well it’s Alberta, it’ll always be that way?” but I don’t buy that. People will listen but you have to capture their imagination, engage their minds. Just going “ooo that other guy is bad, he’s evil” doesn’t cut it. My answer is always. “Ok, he’s bad. What are you gonna do about it, and how are you gonna pay for it?” I didn’t see any answers to questions like that. Maybe they just didn’t have the funding to get the message out, I dunno. Maybe I’m just being old fashioned, but I remember when other Lib leaders like Lawrence Decore in the old days used to really take on the Conservatives and it was great, because you ALSO knew he would back the motions he agreed with. Now, the Libs and ND’s seem to just bash anything Stelmach says just cause he said it. It’s too bad because I think they (Libs and ND’s) actually have some worthwhile input. With a bit better balanced government (still conservative for me though), we could implement change that even conservatives would welcome.
But until the opposition gets their act together, nobody’s listening, and that’s a shame.
