Posts
Elizabeth May loses, but it’s not her fault
by Scott Gilbreath ~ October 15th, 2008
Green Party Leader Elizabeth May (at right) went down to defeat in Central Nova, and it wasn’t even close. Conservative incumbent Peter MacKay took well over 18,000 votes (46.6 percent of the popular vote) compared to Ms May’s 12,600 (32.2%). This despite the fact that Stéphane Dion agreed not to nominate a Liberal candidate in the riding.
But the loss was not her fault. She implicitly blames NDP candidate Louise Lorefice, who finished third with 19.6%. One of May’s prominent supporters puts it like this:
“The NDP allowed the Conservatives to win here,” said a disappointed Bernadette MacDonald, a former local NDP supporter who campaigned for Ms. May this fall. “NDP voters here should have voted strategically here. They didn’t. They failed us.”
How pathetic is that. The Green Party failed because the NDP insisted on running a candidate. NDPers should just roll over and let the Greenies win.
The implication is that the Green Party cannot win unless everyone else is off the ballot. And Greenies fancy themselves a powerful force in Canadian politics? Get real.
Moreover, it is highly unlikely that May could have won even if the NDP had not fielded a candidate. Mr MacKay fell just 1331 votes short of an absolute majority. That is less than 20 percent of the NDP candidate’s vote total. If only one in five NDP supporters had voted for MacKay, he would still have won.
In 2006, when a Liberal was on the ballot, Peter MacKay’s popular vote was 40.7 percent. Yesterday, it rose to 46.6 percent, indicating that he picked up probably over 2000 votes from would-be Liberal supporters. He would likewise gain if the NDP dropped out.
Print This Post
October 15th, 2008 at 07:13 PM
Well, of course, she should have been appointed and anointed. How dare the NDP, or anyone else, stand in the way of leader of the Green Party! The election itself was an an insult to the environment, and no doubt contributed to man made global warming. /sarcasm off
October 15th, 2008 at 07:49 PM
I don’t know if you heard her comment that if everybody 5 years old and up were allowed to vote she would have won. Unfortunately it’s true. The screen showed a crowd of elementary-age kids waving placards and banners. Our young kids are being thoroughly indoctrinated into the green agenda.
October 15th, 2008 at 10:53 PM
terrence, Some Greenies seem to find elections such a bother, kinda like Liberals.
John K, I noticed that, too. The NDP used to muse about lowering the voting age to 16, but Liz May is now away out in front on that issue.
October 16th, 2008 at 02:48 PM
[...] things in public? “The Green Party: Preschoolers Think We Rock!”; Earth Betty loses, but it’s not her fault …. (dmb, [...]