Vote for a Person, Not a Party

By now, you’ve probably heard about Ruth Ellen Brosseau. She’s the NDP MP who was on holiday in Vegas for half the election, and who may have committed fraud with her nomination papers. She doesn’t speak French, and got elected in Berthier-Maskinongé, where 98% of the populace speak only French. She lives a three hour drive away from the riding. It’s pretty shocking she got elected.

How did it happen? The voters aren’t stupid – they’re lazy. They’ve fallen into the sleepy pattern so many voters have fallen into. It’s happening all across Canada.

People use shortcuts to make decisions. It makes life easier. For example, if I want to buy speakers for my stereo system, I have some options:

1. Do some research.

2. Buy the speakers that are the most expensive, and assume they’re the best quality. In other words, take the shortcut.

In this case, the people voted for Brosseau based on what they saw on television and in the newspapers. The people didn’t vote based on what was going on in their own riding. They voted for the party, the brand, the NDP. Little did they realize that their local version of the NDP wasn’t up to snuff.

This election, the media has been discussing how candidate debates are a thing of the past. It’s old school. A waste of time. So much political theatre. Television and social media have replaced all that.

Brosseau serves as a clear example of why local candidates debates are absolutely necessary. If you have no direct contact with your local candidates, you have no idea what you’re voting for. Brosseau was a ghost during the election. No debates. No campaigning. And yet she won by 5,000 votes.

If she had shown up at a local debate, and didn’t speak a word of French, she would have lost. The media in her riding would have spread the word and her election campaign would have died.

People assumed they were well informed. They watched the national debate. They visited the party websites. They studied the issues. Good enough? They voted for an orange ghost.

This is one of the weird side-effects of modern times and modern media. Most people know more about what’s going on in New York than they know about what’s happening in their own neighbourhoods.

I’ve blamed voters and the media. But wait! I have some more blame to throw around. There’s my beloved NDP.

Political parties get money for every vote they receive – even if their candidates don’t win. So parties always make sure to run somebody, anybody, just to get those dollars. In ridings where the NDP assumes they won’t win, they scrape the bottom of the barrel. They get “joke” candidates.

“Does the guy have a pulse?”

“We think so.”

“Let them run.”

Thing is, something happened that no one expected – the Orange Crush across Quebec. Suddenly, “joke” candidates become deadly serious. Brosseau gets elected. And so does a 19 year old university student. And a few other candidates completely ill-suited for office.

Now the NDP has no choice. They have to support these new MPs. Every seat in parliament counts.

“The 19 year old kid can deal with youth issues! And have no fear – the Anglo will take French lessons. These aren’t bugs, they’re features! How refreshing to have real people as MPs, instead of hardened, cynical career politicians. Democracy, don’t question it. The people voted for these candidates!”

Let’s be honest. The people voted for the party, for the NDP. They didn’t know anything about Brosseau. She’s not a feature. She’s a bug.

How can we make sure this sort of thing doesn’t happen again?

Local candidate debates are a necessity. If a candidate doesn’t show their face, they shouldn’t be considered a real choice. As Brosseau has clearly demonstrated to her riding, when she didn’t show up, she had something to hide.

Parties need to run real candidates instead of warm bodies. What if through some fluke, this joker wins? Consider that real possibility.

Voters need to participate locally. Watching the national debate is not good enough. You need to see your candidates in the flesh, get to know them. It’s not enough to vote for the party – you also have to vote for the person.