I just got a call from the socialist political party I support. It turns out they’re beating the bushes and digging in the couch cushions to try to find financial support for their upcoming election drive. The very nice young woman who called me warned me that the opposing party (which is doing a pretty okay job of running the province, if you ask me, which you haven’t done, but I’m telling you anyway) starting to fundraise for their party already (DANGER! DANGER WILL ROBINSON! DANGER! UPCOMING ELECTION!). I would have been *far more frightened* had she been able to pronounce the leader of the provincial opposition’s name.
I have been a philosophical supporter of the provincial socialist party (otherwise known as the New Democratic Party) for as long as I can remember. I’m talking five, six years old. My indoctrination took place early, often, and was fairly comprehensive. And it’s the good kind of indoctrination, and I’m not going to debate politicial ideals in this post. It was only natural last year when I actually purchased a membership and became an actual card-carrying socialist (I’ve carried cards stating as much before, but they’ve been mostly handmade, laminated with mactac, and coloured in in highlighter and magic marker). I took out a membership during the NDP leadership race.
I did not cast my vote for the man who is now leading the party.
So this nice woman stumbled through his name, which was kind of cute because I don’t like the guy, and then she asked me for my support for the provincial party in the upcoming election campaign. I told her, “you know, I have absolutely no problem providing financial support for my provincial party, and I have absolutely no problem providing support for candidates running in my riding. But I will not…I WILL not support Dwain Lingenfelter. I will not give you support to run him as the party leader. I do not support him as party leader. I’m actually considering not supporting the party at all while he is leader. I firmly believe he will drive this party into the ground. He is an ass, and a political opportunist. Worse yet, he is inconsistent and would most likely deny being a political opportunist. I feel that any money I give to this campaign, with him leading the party, will be throwing good money after bad, or bad money after good, or however that expression goes, I’ll be wasting my money and my effort. Should Dwain Lingenfelter be hit by a meteorite, and I’m not saying I want him to be, but should he become a victim of the fell chance of circumstance, as William Ernest Henley would say, I would donate craploads of money, and my volunteer time, to the party. But I cannot support you with him in the lead. My apologies.”
“Oh, um…ohhh…” I can tell she’s looking at a sheet and checking if my option is on her list. “…uhhh….would you like me to arrange a time to call you back, or would you like me to give you a number for you to call at a later time?”
And I thought, this…**this** is one of the reasons I support the provincial socialist party. It’s the unbridled and slightly mad optimism. I asked her for her callback number, and told her I would think about it. Had she been on the ball, she would have told me all the reasons I should support the *party* even if I don’t support the *leader*. That would have been a good thing for her to say. Because then I would have said “Normally, I would agree with you. However, I believe that if I supported the party, that should the party win, it would mean Dwain Lingenfelter would be leader of the province, and that, Miss, that would make me personally at least partially responsible for the downfall of the provincial government. Because I believe Dwain Lingenfelter would run this province into the ground. Possibly even further. Possibly he would run this province **all the way to CHINA**.”
But she didn’t ask, and I didn’t say that. If she’d asked, I’d have said it, though.
Yet another reason, SWCoyote, I would not do well in politics. I don’t think I’d be good putting my support behind someone duly elected to lead if I thought they were bad for the people.
i make squee noises when you tell me stuff.