Should NDP & The Greens Merge?

[bigdude]

It has been researched that 2 out of 3 Green votes are from left-of centre voters.

Under the circumstances should the New Democrats merge with the Greens?

[cybercoma]

It has been researched that 2 out of 3 Green votes are from  left-of centre voters.

Under the circumstances should the New Democrats merge with the Greens?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Sure...

If they weren't entirely different platforms.

[cdnstiff]

yeah, the Greens are actually right leaning.

[bigdude]

Well you folks have confirmed the one out of three votes that no one wants.

It is the other two out of three votes that are of interest to the New Democrats.

Like another party other without mentioning any names, the major problem for the Greens is leadership - or lack thereof. They dropped 25% of their support in the last BC election.

[Canuck E Stan]

Damn, it's always that leadership thing, more important than the policies for some people.

[Riverwind]

Like another party other without mentioning any names, the major problem for the Greens is leadership - or lack thereof. They dropped 25% of their support in the last BC election.

If you look at how the opinion polls were looking up to the election day you will see that about 5% of the voters shifted at the last moment from the Greens to the NDP. The net result was a much better than expected performance for the NDP. It sounds like strategic voting and it paid off for the Green supporters that made the switch.

Here is a link with some numbers: http://esm.ubc.ca/BC05/index.php

[bigdude]

The only thing that matters is how people actually vote.

The same thing happened during the last election to the NDP.

But in their case they have picked themselves up by their bootstraps, and it now appears that the New Democrats are closing in on the Cons for second place in federal politics.

[Canuck E Stan]

And the Bloc become the official opposition.....again

[bigdude]

That's a bit of a defeatist attitude don't you think?

As I said we can expect quite a few surprises when the votes are all counted after the next federal election.

Imn the meantime I think we should all relax and enjoy the summer!

[bigdude]

Did the Greens Put the BC Liberals Back in Office?

Excellent article about what happens when you split the vote.

I wonder in the federal New Democrats are once again going to be lagging behind their NDP couterparts in BC, exploring merger talks with the Greens. The time is now to get this little project off the ground.

[bigdude]

More impetus for these two parties to get together:

Greenhouse gases growing faster than economy

"We hadn't made any progress at all. We were actually going backwards," said climate expert Gordon McBean, a former chief of Canada's meteorological service who is now a University of Western Ontario professor.

The 2003 figures also mean Canada will probably have to revise its latest Kyoto plan, announced in April at a cost of $10 billion. Greenhouse gas emissions are growing faster than the plan's projections.

In a summary to be posted shortly on the environment department's website, federal officials say that heavier home and office heating to cope with a "colder than average winter" was largely responsible for the increased "intensity" of greenhouse gas emissions in 2003. A colder winter was also cited in the 2002 summary, when emissions nonetheless grew less than the economy.

One climate expert said the 2003 result could mean Ottawa would have to spend even more on purchasing greenhouse gas credits from abroad to hit Canada's Kyoto target of a six per cent reduction from 1990 emission levels.

[cybercoma]

The Kyoto Protocol is absolutely worthless. It's a money hog and those dollars don't even stay in Canada. The United States couldn't have been more correct in thumbing their noses at it.

[bigdude]

Oh yes, George Bush's America. Now there is a shining example for all the world to follow concerning environmental issues, NOT.

[cybercoma]

Oh yes, George Bush's America. Now there is a shining example for all the world to follow concerning environmental issues, NOT. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'm sorry, show me where I said we should do the same things to clean up the environment as the United States?

[Black Dog]

It has been researched that 2 out of 3 Green votes are from left-of centre voters.

Under the circumstances should the New Democrats merge with the Greens?

No.

Just because, on they appear similar on the surface, doesn't mean they are compatiable.

The NDP are moderate social democrats. The Green's are old Progressive Conservatives on a Mother Earth kick. That's not to say I agree with the Dippers on all fronts (I don't care much for Kyoto, but then I'm the first to admit to not knowing the real story for all the propaganda), but my gut tels me the Greens are a front.