More than a day later, I have mixed feelings about the election results, but I'm mostly pleased. The NDP ran a spectacular campaign, Jack Layton was at his finest, and some great people got elected.
Vancouver was a fun place to be a New Democrat on election night (I have video evidence to prove this assertion). But I'll be honest and say that I was hoping for a better result in BC. We had a rough ride out here, though. The NDP has been a primary target of negative campaigning from both the Liberals and the Conservatives. As lame as the "Ottawa NDP" ads were (there were a ton- radio and TV), and as reprehensible as the smear campaign from the scumbags over at Liberal Team BC was, negative campaigning works.
However, What really hurt us in BC was the Liberal vote collapsing all over the place. People were voting Conservative in protest of Dion and his carbon tax. We lost every close race we were in to Conservatives. I bet all those progressives who listened to Bob Rae and Ujjal Dosanjh and voted Liberal to stop Harper in say, Surrey North, are feeling kinda misled at this point.
None of this shakes this winning feeling I have though. We have some talented new MPs (shout out to my homeboy Don Davies), we made historic gains in Newfoundland and Quebec, and I think the party is in a better place than we were before the election.
What I mean to say is that things feel different now. We may not have increased our standing (FPTP strikes again), but we are a changed party. Jack Layton told us all that he was running for Prime Minister. Amid jibes from cynical pundits, he continued to run for Prime Minister. Right until election day Jack let us know that he is in it to win. Many thought that this was a ploy to look like the Leader of the Opposition but I don't agree. I believe that he is serious. So do thousands of New Democrats across the country. I think that was the point.
I really believe that Jack Layton can lead the New Democrats to victory. Not just Stornoway victory, but 24 Sussex victory. Before you start thinking that I'm just a few kitchen table references away from drinking the kool aid, I'll admit that it's not going to be simple (who knows where the Liberal party is going at this point) and that it may not even happen for a few elections. But that is the goal now. And we all know it.
7 hours ago
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Generally, the NDP did well. I was really disappointed, though, by Peggy Nash being defeated. She was good people, and she worked so hard for the people of Parkdale-High Park. Before I moved away for school, that was my riding, and I went door knocking with Peggy. It's sad that she won't be in Parliament any more, but I hope she will run for the leadership of the Ontario NDP.
Other than that, the election was great. Particularly breaching fortress Alberta, and watching Jack Harris crush the Liberals and Conservatives.
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