It has been a long time since I’ve agonized this much over writing something and the response has been… fascinating. So far most of the people upset with me and most of the people thanking me are from the exact same group - longtime Greens.
To me deciding whether to keep voting for Elizabeth is the political equivalent of the trolley problem.
How many climate-denying, plastic-hugging, electric-car hating, drill-baby-drill Tories is it okay to elect in the rest of Canada so that Saanich-Gulf Islands gets to be repped by Elizabeth May?
The number I’ve heard (from inside the tent) is usually seven.
To bring this very close to home… those wildly unclear calculations from 338 that Greens claim show Elizabeth as the best anti-Tory hope in SG-I also show a first-year UVic student likely to pull enough votes in Esquimalt-Saanich-Sooke to stop either the NDP candidate or the former Alberta NDP cabinet minister turned Liberal candidate - who the Greens tried to recruit to run for them (then us) in 2019 from taking the seat.
Leaving aside that this election is different because of Trump…
Pierre Pollution wanted this election to be about “climate policies” and whether there should be any. He was and still is running on a policy of, “f*** the planet.”
The Greens have always wanted climate to be the big-ticket issue. Congrats! So does Pierre!
So for a climate voter - even if Trudeau was still running… this should have been a binary choice and the party should have done what Jonathan Pedneault pretended they did and stood down anywhere they might help a Tory win. They didn’t. So how is this not “politics as usual.”
Also… here’s a fun question that felt like overkill for the article, but it goes to Elizabeth’s leadership and her skills at team-building and it goes to the public face of the party.
How many of the party’s most successful (but unelected) candidates have run twice?
Some of the party’s best numbers have been in the two ridings next door to Elizabeth’s — Victoria and Esquimalt Saanich-Sooke. There are also other ridings out there where the Greens have had candidates who made credible runs.
Which of those candidates - several of who placed second or a very high third - and who would likely have upped their numbers and possibly won in a second run - like NDPers often do - decided to run for the party again?
Which Green “star” candidates from across Canada - and there have been some truly amazing ones - have run twice?
Not asking rhetorically here… this has been “my team” for a decade now and I can only think of one Green star who made a second run - Jo-Ann Roberts - and unfortunately she had to change from Victoria a riding I absolutely believe she would have won, to a riding she couldn’t.
Helluvan article mark. Well done.
Thank you.
It has been a long time since I’ve agonized this much over writing something and the response has been… fascinating. So far most of the people upset with me and most of the people thanking me are from the exact same group - longtime Greens.
To me deciding whether to keep voting for Elizabeth is the political equivalent of the trolley problem.
How many climate-denying, plastic-hugging, electric-car hating, drill-baby-drill Tories is it okay to elect in the rest of Canada so that Saanich-Gulf Islands gets to be repped by Elizabeth May?
The number I’ve heard (from inside the tent) is usually seven.
To bring this very close to home… those wildly unclear calculations from 338 that Greens claim show Elizabeth as the best anti-Tory hope in SG-I also show a first-year UVic student likely to pull enough votes in Esquimalt-Saanich-Sooke to stop either the NDP candidate or the former Alberta NDP cabinet minister turned Liberal candidate - who the Greens tried to recruit to run for them (then us) in 2019 from taking the seat.
Leaving aside that this election is different because of Trump…
Pierre Pollution wanted this election to be about “climate policies” and whether there should be any. He was and still is running on a policy of, “f*** the planet.”
The Greens have always wanted climate to be the big-ticket issue. Congrats! So does Pierre!
So for a climate voter - even if Trudeau was still running… this should have been a binary choice and the party should have done what Jonathan Pedneault pretended they did and stood down anywhere they might help a Tory win. They didn’t. So how is this not “politics as usual.”
Also… here’s a fun question that felt like overkill for the article, but it goes to Elizabeth’s leadership and her skills at team-building and it goes to the public face of the party.
How many of the party’s most successful (but unelected) candidates have run twice?
Some of the party’s best numbers have been in the two ridings next door to Elizabeth’s — Victoria and Esquimalt Saanich-Sooke. There are also other ridings out there where the Greens have had candidates who made credible runs.
Which of those candidates - several of who placed second or a very high third - and who would likely have upped their numbers and possibly won in a second run - like NDPers often do - decided to run for the party again?
Which Green “star” candidates from across Canada - and there have been some truly amazing ones - have run twice?
Not asking rhetorically here… this has been “my team” for a decade now and I can only think of one Green star who made a second run - Jo-Ann Roberts - and unfortunately she had to change from Victoria a riding I absolutely believe she would have won, to a riding she couldn’t.