Poor Old Alberta · Posted Feb 16, 11:59 AM by Todd Babiak
I was in rural Alberta last week, on a bus with some television people. It was a haunting experience. The Progressive Conservative Party of Alberta was the undisputed leader in each of the three ridings I visited, despite the fact that voters unknowingly expressed opposition to their policies. The people were frightened of their certain future — exponential industrial expansion in northeast Alberta — yet unable to consider voting for a party that might actually represent their interests. They were voting for the PCs not because of policy but because of the circular reasoning one uses to prove the existence of God.
This issue has been explored by academics, journalists, bloggers, and dumbass radio call-in hosts for over twenty years. There is nothing I can add to this body of literature and rank stupidity.
I’m haunted, particularly, by the image of the young man running for the Liberal Party in Ed Stelmach’s riding. Global Television, my companions on the bus, had agreed to interview him for their show. He stood outside, on the cold and snowy Main Street of tiny Andrew, Alberta, waiting for the reporter. He wore a black suit and fiddled with his Liberal orange scarf.
Some men walked out of The Grainery, a tavern, wearing their Ed Stelmach buttons, and mocked the Liberal candidate. They made fun of his suit, as though he didn’t know how to dress in a village featuring the world’s largest mallard statue. Like everyone else in town, they were “friendly,” but entirely hostile to the Liberal’s presence in their town. I was standing close enough to hear one of the men refer to him as a “fat little fuck.” Happily, the man was too far away to hear any of this.
I did not have access to their bank accounts, but neither of the men drove off in fancy trucks. They were unshaven. Their baseball caps were stained. They might have been hording millions, but I guessed they were just regular family men, trying to squeak by in an agricultural region that had not yet received any benefits of the boom economy. What they were set to receive was a drastic change in air quality, as the burgeoning “industrial heartland” of oil upgraders stands between their homes and the source of Westerly winds.
Journalists aren’t allowed to hug strangers. It would be unseemly. But I had immense sympathy for the brave young man who had chosen to run against Premier Ed Stelmach in his home riding. I didn’t want to interview him because my column wasn’t about that aspect of Alberta Votes 2008. But I briefly wished I lived in the riding so I could vote for him.
Of course, voting for someone because you feel sorry for him is just as weak as voting for a party because you always vote for that party. I waved to the man, shivering and lonesome on Main Street, and stepped into the bus.
commenting closed for this article
hi. That was nice that you waved, as that was the only thing you could do. Good for you.
— Crystal Brown. Feb 16, 12:34 PM #
I concur with Crystal.
I like how you write/your writing, it makes me think.
— trinity67 Feb 19, 01:30 PM #
Hi Todd,
Tell me it’s not true that your understanding of the motivations and thought processes of the average voter in Andrew is informed by your observations of a few guys who are leaving a tavern (and who are apparently doing so during the daytime).
Just wondering: Have you checked out the backgound and bona fides of the Liberal candidate in that particular constituency? He has no history with or professed desire to reside in the constituency in which he is running. (I understand that Earl lives in Emonton although a Canada411 search discloses no home number or address for Earl.)
It also appears that Earl is (or has been until recently)a paid employee of the Alberta Liberal caucus.
Earl’s web-site notes:
“Wanting to do more for the people of Alberta, Earl offered his services to the Alberta Liberal Caucus, where he serves (until the writ is dropped) as Communications Coordinator.”
It does seem relevant that the Alberta Liberal party could not find a single (or married) resident of the constituency to run in this provincial election.
That being said, I want to salute Earl for his willingness to participate in the democratic process. While he is not, in my view, a credible candidate (the term appointed hack comes to mind), he is actually working the hustings.
Why has Earl not sought the nomination in the constituency in which he resides? If he truly wants to make a difference, Earl should use his energy and talents to seek the nomination and run in the riding where he lives.
My apologies for the (dareI say) liberal use of parentheses (I spent many pleasureable hours listening to Peter Gzowski on Morningside). See, I did it again!
PJD (Yes, a friend of Ed).
— Peter Dobbie, Royal Park, Alberta Feb 26, 12:33 AM #