I have always felt that we must be true to our convictions, and in this democratic country being true to your favourite political party is paramount to being true. But, in this changing world, one’s convictions can be suddenly altered with a change in your party’s intentions when spin doctors in the back room of a party sees an opportunity to advance an opinion that might improve the chances of being elected even though this opportunity might be in direct conflict with the past convictions of the party.
For years I was a staunch supporter of the NDP, but now it seems that someone with direct dialogue with the party brass has suggested that the surest path to a political victory would be to tug at the heartstrings of the public by playing the environmental card. Protecting the environment should be high on the agenda of all citizens, but using this position to increase votes is almost tantamount to political usury and I will not support this form of electioneering.
I have written, emailed and phoned as many NDP legislators as I could, asking where the money will come from to pay for all of the present social programs if all of our natural resources are strangled by government intervention, but to date I have not had a response. Is this because they don’t have an answer and are hoping that I will go away, or is it because that there is no answer? Without royalties, stumpage fees, etc., there will have to be a decrease in social services, less money for maintaining the infrastructure, and therefore taxes will have to increase just to fill the gap. Tax increases are in direct opposition to the former NDP position, as it is the common man and woman that suffers the most and it has always been the poor that seems to pay the price.
So in the next election, who will I vote for? Not for the NDP as they appear to be the Green Party. Not the Liberals as they are small ‘c’ conservatives, and definitely not the Conservatives as they are too far to the right. This is very perplexing.
Donald E Thorsteinson
Oliver
