Undecided voters could turn the end of this boring campaign into a real nail-biter Graham Thomson, The Edmonton Journal
From http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/features/albertavotes/story.htm...
At least Monday might be exciting
Undecided voters could turn the end of this boring campaign into a real nail-biter
Graham Thomson, The Edmonton Journal
Published: Thursday, February 28
They're starting to droop, beginning to fall over on their faces.
You can see them as you drive along the road -- election campaign signs sliding into the gutter.
The snowbanks that once held them firmly in place are starting to melt. Or maybe, just maybe, it's because even the election signs grow tired of this campaign.
They, like many Albertans, seem to have given up.
Or at the very least they don't know what to make of this campaign.
There is no big ballot issue, no outstanding leader.
We have four, or five, middle-aged guys in suits promising more help for, among other things, seniors, teachers, students, parents, children, police, farmers, renters, homeowners, the homeless, drivers, Calgarians, Edmontonians, farmers, and, in the case of the Green Party, people who make mead.
It doesn't seem to matter that there are real policy differences over issues such as the oilsands.
The Liberals and New Democrats, for example, want to slow down the pace of development; the Conservatives and
Alliance don't. Liberals want to put tighter restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions; the Conservatives don't. The NDP wants public auto insurance; the Conservatives don't.
There are dozens of issues but no big issue that is swaying great numbers of people one way or another.
In this election campaign the public's imagination hasn't been grabbed, sparked or engaged. It, too, seems to be sliding into the gutter.
Consequently, people are falling back on their old biases and political bigotry.
"Liberal" is still a four-letter word for many Albertans even though the party is separate from the federal party and takes great pains to preface itself with "Alberta."
Conservatives say Liberals are free spenders who will rack up budget deficits immediately. The Wildrose Alliance says Conservatives are free spenders who will be racking up budget deficits within a year.
Liberals say Conservatives are arrogant and out of touch after running the province for 37 years. New Democrats say Liberals are out of touch with average Albertans. All of them say the New Democrats are simply out of touch.
There's been a fair amount of ridiculous finger pointing.
The Liberals, for example, put out a news release last week describing a "bumbling" Conservative Leader Ed Stelmach who "unravelled" during the leaders debate.
Stelmach may not have set the house on fire but he was competent. He didn't bumble and he didn't unravel.
Stelmach, for his part, is playing to political prejudices with his repeated claim that, if elected, the Liberals would kill 335,000 jobs with their proposed reductions on greenhouse gas emissions from the oilsands.
JOB-LOSS CLAIM FOUND LACKING
Stelmach has never been clear where that number comes from. It certainly is not coming from the Liberals.
At first Stelmach said those jobs would be lost in Alberta alone. Now, he's backed off a bit, saying the job losses would be spread across the country.
But he still can't seem to explain where that number came from.
Stelmach is twisting the facts, insisting the Liberals would impose Kyoto-style reductions.
The Liberals are not saying that at all. They want a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, true, but not to the extent Stelmach is talking about.
Greenhouse gas emissions and climate change are issues Albertans care about. The environment is a major concern. And, according to a recent Leger Marketing poll, the government is failing on this issue.
When asked if the government was doing enough to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, 57 per cent said no.
Not only that, 62 per cent of those surveyed said the government should reduce emissions even if it means delaying or cancelling some oilsands projects.
Almost half of respondents said they would prefer a change in government -- but the Conservatives still lead in voter preference.
If there is one big overriding issue, it might be leadership and/or trust. On that, Stelmach comes out on top, according to the Leger poll.
It's all relative, though.
Take, for example, this question: "If an election was held today, which political party would you vote for?"
Ed Stelmach's Conservatives: 40 per cent.
Kevin Taft's Liberal Party: 18 per cent.
Brian Mason's New Democratic Party: 5 per cent.
George Read's Green Party: 5 per cent.
Paul Hinman's Wildrose Alliance: 6 per cent.
"I don't know": 27 per cent.
Nobody is the odds-on favourite. The majority of Albertans want somebody else, even if they don't know who that is.
On the question of who has run the best campaign so far, Stelmach gets the highest rating of any leader with 32 per cent. But the absolute winner is "None of the above/I don't know" at 40 per cent.
If the Liberals are indeed being held back because of their name, they should change it to the "I Don't Know/None of the Above Party." They'd probably win on Monday.
I hasten to add that a boring campaign doesn't mean a boring election night.
During the 2004 election campaign, the polls indicated another 70-plus-seat government for the Tories.
Instead, they lost a dozen seats. Not because a significant number of people switched to the opposition, but because a significant number of traditional Tory supporters stayed home.
What has been a boring election campaign might yet turn out to be an interesting election night.
gthom...@thejournal.canwest.com
GRAHAM THOMSON
Off the Ledge
In Graham's blog, he digs through the political rhetoric.
To read Graham's blog go to http://www.edmontonjournal.com and click on blogs
© The Edmonton Journal 2008
At least Monday might be exciting
Undecided voters could turn the end of this boring campaign into a real nail-biter
Graham Thomson, The Edmonton Journal
Published: Thursday, February 28
They're starting to droop, beginning to fall over on their faces.
You can see them as you drive along the road -- election campaign signs sliding into the gutter.
The snowbanks that once held them firmly in place are starting to melt. Or maybe, just maybe, it's because even the election signs grow tired of this campaign.
They, like many Albertans, seem to have given up.
Or at the very least they don't know what to make of this campaign.
There is no big ballot issue, no outstanding leader.
We have four, or five, middle-aged guys in suits promising more help for, among other things, seniors, teachers, students, parents, children, police, farmers, renters, homeowners, the homeless, drivers, Calgarians, Edmontonians, farmers, and, in the case of the Green Party, people who make mead.
It doesn't seem to matter that there are real policy differences over issues such as the oilsands.
The Liberals and New Democrats, for example, want to slow down the pace of development; the Conservatives and
Alliance don't. Liberals want to put tighter restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions; the Conservatives don't. The NDP wants public auto insurance; the Conservatives don't.
There are dozens of issues but no big issue that is swaying great numbers of people one way or another.
In this election campaign the public's imagination hasn't been grabbed, sparked or engaged. It, too, seems to be sliding into the gutter.
Consequently, people are falling back on their old biases and political bigotry.
"Liberal" is still a four-letter word for many Albertans even though the party is separate from the federal party and takes great pains to preface itself with "Alberta."
Conservatives say Liberals are free spenders who will rack up budget deficits immediately. The Wildrose Alliance says Conservatives are free spenders who will be racking up budget deficits within a year.
Liberals say Conservatives are arrogant and out of touch after running the province for 37 years. New Democrats say Liberals are out of touch with average Albertans. All of them say the New Democrats are simply out of touch.
There's been a fair amount of ridiculous finger pointing.
The Liberals, for example, put out a news release last week describing a "bumbling" Conservative Leader Ed Stelmach who "unravelled" during the leaders debate.
Stelmach may not have set the house on fire but he was competent. He didn't bumble and he didn't unravel.
Stelmach, for his part, is playing to political prejudices with his repeated claim that, if elected, the Liberals would kill 335,000 jobs with their proposed reductions on greenhouse gas emissions from the oilsands.
JOB-LOSS CLAIM FOUND LACKING
Stelmach has never been clear where that number comes from. It certainly is not coming from the Liberals.
At first Stelmach said those jobs would be lost in Alberta alone. Now, he's backed off a bit, saying the job losses would be spread across the country.
But he still can't seem to explain where that number came from.
Stelmach is twisting the facts, insisting the Liberals would impose Kyoto-style reductions.
The Liberals are not saying that at all. They want a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, true, but not to the extent Stelmach is talking about.
Greenhouse gas emissions and climate change are issues Albertans care about. The environment is a major concern. And, according to a recent Leger Marketing poll, the government is failing on this issue.
When asked if the government was doing enough to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, 57 per cent said no.
Not only that, 62 per cent of those surveyed said the government should reduce emissions even if it means delaying or cancelling some oilsands projects.
Almost half of respondents said they would prefer a change in government -- but the Conservatives still lead in voter preference.
If there is one big overriding issue, it might be leadership and/or trust. On that, Stelmach comes out on top, according to the Leger poll.
It's all relative, though.
Take, for example, this question: "If an election was held today, which political party would you vote for?"
Ed Stelmach's Conservatives: 40 per cent.
Kevin Taft's Liberal Party: 18 per cent.
Brian Mason's New Democratic Party: 5 per cent.
George Read's Green Party: 5 per cent.
Paul Hinman's Wildrose Alliance: 6 per cent.
"I don't know": 27 per cent.
Nobody is the odds-on favourite. The majority of Albertans want somebody else, even if they don't know who that is.
On the question of who has run the best campaign so far, Stelmach gets the highest rating of any leader with 32 per cent. But the absolute winner is "None of the above/I don't know" at 40 per cent.
If the Liberals are indeed being held back because of their name, they should change it to the "I Don't Know/None of the Above Party." They'd probably win on Monday.
I hasten to add that a boring campaign doesn't mean a boring election night.
During the 2004 election campaign, the polls indicated another 70-plus-seat government for the Tories.
Instead, they lost a dozen seats. Not because a significant number of people switched to the opposition, but because a significant number of traditional Tory supporters stayed home.
What has been a boring election campaign might yet turn out to be an interesting election night.
gthom...@thejournal.canwest.com
GRAHAM THOMSON
Off the Ledge
In Graham's blog, he digs through the political rhetoric.
To read Graham's blog go to http://www.edmontonjournal.com and click on blogs
© The Edmonton Journal 2008
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