Why I won't vote for the "new Premier."

I learned my lesson.

In 2011, I was duped.  I obtained (they were free) a membership in the Liberal Party of Alberta.  I voted for who I thought would be a great leader.

But all the other free members voted for Raj.

It took me too long to figure out what I'd done wrong.  I even purchased a membership in the PC party.  I voted for who I thought would be a great leader, not once, but twice.  It was at that point I finally figured it out.

51% of the PC members, including the temporary ones, voted for Alison on the third ballot.

This is why I refuse to get involved in this "elected Premier" campaign.  I have no business voting for the leader of a party I don't believe in.

That would be like me voting for the Prime Minister of Australia.  Tony Abbott would not be happy, and neither would the rest of his Liberal Party.

Yet the PCs seem quite happy to hand their entire future over to people who have no vested interest in their policies or beliefs, not once (as with Alison's election), but twice (with either Jim, Tom or Ric as their carrots for the disinterested masses).

Is it because they have no policies or beliefs, and therefore don't care who steps in?

They sell (unless you run into Jim) memberships with the promise that the new members get to pick the next Premier, and that it's their civic duty to do so.  What a great lie!  And it's an amazing fundraiser for the PCs - $10 times even 1000 new members equals a tour bus for the first week of a provincial election.

It is not your civic duty to vote for the leader of a party you don't believe in.  It's your civic duty to vote in a general election for the person you want to represent you.  That's what I did in 2012.

Granted, I still didn't get who I wanted, but the Alberta Party is making great strides to change that, and I believe they will even do it in the next by-election.

Certainly, I have no interest in funding even an air freshener in the next PC campaign bus.  Febreeze won't be able to cover up their issues.  They will not see a single red cent from me.

So if you don't hold a PC membership, don't worry about your civic duty.  If you voted in the 2012 general election, you still retain your right to complain.

But if you happen to hold one of the PC memberships, think long and hard about the value of your vote, especially if you're a "soft" PC, or not even a PC supporter at all.  Keep in mind that we do this all over again in as few as 16 months, but that time you actually get to vote for a party you believe in.

Then do what you believe in.  It will tell me a lot about you.

Me, I believe in voting for someone who will represent me.  The PCs stopped doing that a long time ago.