Elizabeth May optimistic Greens can win first seat

Can the next guy who takes a run at her office make sure she's inside first ?

Greens getting a seat? When pigs fly. Everyone knows it's a two party system. Tories vs Grits is the norm. Not enough people sympathize with the NDP because Layton couldn't lead Kindergarteners in a circle without getting lost, and is too willing to team up with the Bloc. Duceppe....well.....he's on borrowed time. Separatism is a moot point now. Forty years ago, maybe. Today, not relevent.

-J.

I don't think Layton's leadership is the biggest problem with the NDP. I think their outmoded naive socialist ideals are the problem. I thonk most Canadians have a fair amount of "their heart's in the right place" kind of respect for the NDP, but are aware that an NDP gov't would be an economic disaster.

That's why I actually think the greens may sneak in somewhere. They're a protest vote, and when the two main parties start to resemble each other too much, protest votes stand a chance.

I'm sure they will win the odd seat. The Tories will scrape a minority again, the Libs will lose ground again.

Same old same old.

What we need is a charismatic leader that will really capture the Canadian electorates imagination. I can't see that happening with the large gathering of wankers in Ottawa at the moment. We just end up voting in younger versions of the arse-holes they replaced.

Like PET? I'm not sure minority govt isn't the way to go, keep whatever party is in power in check.

Take a hint from a William Deverall novel, Elizabeth.
Run in a Gulf Islands riding and sink every penny the Greens have into winning just that one seat.
Quit pissing around

Like PET? I'm not sure minority govt isn't the way to go, keep whatever party is in power in check.


Nobody is keeping 'people in check'. The wankers we have just aren't getting enough votes.

Didn't May do that last time and lost? She can only carpetbag so many times before people get tired of the Elizabeth-May-Elect-Me-Anywhere circus coming into town. How can anyone believe she is really going to look after the needs of the riding if all she is doing is looking for an way into parliament so she can monopolize parliament's time spouting her dogma?

Don't know where the hell you're from Qball but that 'dogma' sells well on Saltspring Island....
just like Tory dogma sells in Alberta.

2008 Federal Election Results

Saanich and the Gulf Islands
Lunn, Gary CON 27,988 43.4
Penn, Briony LIB 25,367 39.4
Lewis, Andrew GRN 6,732 10.4
West, Julian NDP 3,667 5.7
Leier, Dale P. Libtn 246 0.4
O'Brien, Patricia WBP 195 0.3
Arney, Jeremy CAP 139 0.2
Moreau, Dan CHP 114 0.2


2009 B.C. Provincial Election

Saanich North and the Islands LIB 13,120
NDP 12,875
Refd 0
CP 0
GP 3,220
IND 0
Other 0

The evidence (aka the facts) would suggest otherwise. The Greens dogma sounds good to everyone except people who vote. BTW I lived in Victoria for 4 years and Colwood for 6 years.

Know any other ridings she could start off counting on 6700 votes?
I'm not claiming they would win, just that the strategy I suggested would be about the only way they could win a seat.
Running against Peter Mackay and spreading finances across the country was retarded if they truly want to win a seat.

Their message hasn't changed since 2009. In fact I doubt it's changed since 1989. You think just because the Elizabeth May freak show decides to come to Saltspring that anything is going to change? I was living on the island last election. Andrew Lewis had huge signs along the Trans-Canada near the intersections with McKenzie and Tillicum and all up McKenzie. The Greens dumped a load of cash onto Lewis' campaign because they knew he was the second best bet after May of getting in. The Green candidate in Vic only had small signs, and I don't recall if I saw any signs for the Green guy in Colwood, and the best they Lewis could do was 10%. The situation has changed since 2008. The run up to that election had environment as a major issue. Today environmental issues barely show up on anyone's radar. A shitty global economy and climate change scandals saw to that. Even the old hippies on Saltspring know the tourist economy of their little fiefdom balances on a razor's edge. However the Greens' message hasn't changed, and their message of shit eating optimism as long as everyone is paying $2 per liter for gas doesn't ring with anyone anymore in 2011. I doubt if May found a riding composed entirely of her family whether she could be elected.

Why is that different from anyone else? She doesn't currently represent anyone as far as the House of Commons goes, so she can move around as much as she wants until the party gets seats in Parliament.

It just looks bad when a candidate is flown into a riding to get a seat. So why do they do it? Because there's zero chance of winnining their home-riding, of course. Isn't the politician's reason-d'etre to represent one's hometown? Sorry but if your hometown won't support you in an election then you should choose another career. If she were moving for non-political reasons, that'd be a different beast.