PARACHUTING IN POLITICAL CANDIDATES INSULTING
May 19, 2009 14:50:38 GMT -5
Post by proudtobeadp on May 19, 2009 14:50:38 GMT -5
Pinoy: This parachuting candidates into Canadian Federal as well as Provincial ridings before elections or byelections is as old as the game of dirty politics. Every party indulges in it and the practice is a direct insult to the electorate of the riding it happens in. The party is saying vote for the party as the candidate is our stooge anyway and it does not matter if local interests remain un known and local candidates not given the opportunity to be elected to represent with some local flavour of concerns.
It is done for various reasons just like to describe to obtain an ethic vote, a payoff in getting jobs into the constituency or as a political payoff to a major contributor who now wants to run for office. The reasons are many and varied but have little to do with the needs of the riding with to respect the voters in that constituency.
Recent case in point in Manitoba was the parachuting of retired Federal politician NDP MP, Bill Blaikie into the Elmwood riding. 2 NDP newbies were vying for the nomination to run for the seat who know soemthing of local issues and voter dispostions. NDP Premier Gary Doer stepped in, said no to all that and these two upstarts with the notion that Blaikie who sat in the Opposition federally could sit with an actual government in power provincially to round out his service to the public. He annointed his long time friend and NDPer Bill Blaikie who happens to live in the Transcona riding to run in the Elwood seat and that was that. That annointment word was enough to take the wind out of the sails and throw in the towels of the 2 Elmwood resident candidates giving Bill Blaikie the nomination by acclamation. The two former candidates were very subdued but their shirt collars hid any indications of being forcibly choked to get their withdrawls! The NDP won the byelection anyway. Its previous NDP MLA went federal, parachuted into the Transcona riding Blaikie used to occupy for the NDP. Talking about interchangeability!
So the story goes even the NDP believes and uses "Parachuted In Candidates" when it suits them. It is a disease of our entire political system be it federal or provincial showing the sorry state it is in. Political parties however do not look at it any other way than for them and if it works then it is just fine?
It is done for various reasons just like to describe to obtain an ethic vote, a payoff in getting jobs into the constituency or as a political payoff to a major contributor who now wants to run for office. The reasons are many and varied but have little to do with the needs of the riding with to respect the voters in that constituency.
Recent case in point in Manitoba was the parachuting of retired Federal politician NDP MP, Bill Blaikie into the Elmwood riding. 2 NDP newbies were vying for the nomination to run for the seat who know soemthing of local issues and voter dispostions. NDP Premier Gary Doer stepped in, said no to all that and these two upstarts with the notion that Blaikie who sat in the Opposition federally could sit with an actual government in power provincially to round out his service to the public. He annointed his long time friend and NDPer Bill Blaikie who happens to live in the Transcona riding to run in the Elwood seat and that was that. That annointment word was enough to take the wind out of the sails and throw in the towels of the 2 Elmwood resident candidates giving Bill Blaikie the nomination by acclamation. The two former candidates were very subdued but their shirt collars hid any indications of being forcibly choked to get their withdrawls! The NDP won the byelection anyway. Its previous NDP MLA went federal, parachuted into the Transcona riding Blaikie used to occupy for the NDP. Talking about interchangeability!
So the story goes even the NDP believes and uses "Parachuted In Candidates" when it suits them. It is a disease of our entire political system be it federal or provincial showing the sorry state it is in. Political parties however do not look at it any other way than for them and if it works then it is just fine?