A Liberal by any other name…

I noticed during my ritual morning perusal of Alberta dailies on the web that the provincial Liberal Party has come to the shocking conclusion that they lack popularity amongst voters in the province.

Sparked by the imminent defection of present Liberal leader Ken Nicol to the Paul Martin team, the few who still vote Liberal in the province and admit it have been throwing around ideas about how to salvage the party from the province’s political scrap heap. Suggesting that it is mere optics that are the problem, some have suggested that a name change will be the remedy that will deliver the Liberals to the promised land.

….Mairi Matheson, who has carried the Liberal banner in three provincial elections in Calgary, figures her party’s problems lie at least partly in the name.

For too long, the provincial Liberals have been tied to the unpopular policies of their federal namesakes, with whom they have had no formal connection for many years.

A change of name to, say, the Alberta Party might remind voters the provincial Liberals had nothing to do with things like the National Energy Program, Matheson said.

“We’re carrying the historical actions of another party that we didn’t create,” she said…

That’s it! Just change the name! Hallelujiah!

Ok, now let’s think about this for a second. You don’t suppose the party’s inability to attract any kind of credibility outside of Edmonton and East Lethbridge (a.k.a. Edmonton South) wouldn’t have something to do with the fact that, more often than not, provincial Liberal candidates are in fact federal Liberal supporters. Despite protestations to the contrary, scratch a provincial Liberal, and you’ll find someone who supports the federal Liberal party.

Provincial Liberals will tell you that they broke ranks with the federal party in 1977, and they are totally independent of that savage lot. I guess the question at this juncture is: If provincial Liberals aren’t truly federal Liberals, then how come former provincial leaders like Nick Taylor and Ken Nicol and Liberal MLA’s like Debbie Carlson are quite happy to cozy up to the federal Liberals whenever it is convenient? You don’t see them falling over themselves to sign up for the Conservative Party of Canada!

The truth is, we’ve heard this all before from the Alberta Liberals. During the dryspell of the early 80’s, when calling someone a “Liberal” trumped any other four-letter word floating around the province, there was talk of ridding the party of that poisonous Liberal monicker. However, prominent Liberals of the time decided against it, and in 1993, their faith was almost justfied as the incredible self-destructing PC Party barely squeaked past the Liberals with 44.49% of the popular vote, compared to the Liberal’s 39.73%. The problem of course was that this was enough for a PC majority government, and under Klein, they haven’t looked back…yet.

Unfortunately for the Liberals, Albertans have long memories, and aren’t about to fooled in to thinking that the new and improved Happy Memories Party, or We Love Alberta Party isn’t just the Liberal wolf masquerading in conservative clothing. Here’s an idea: Why can’t the Liberals just be open and honest with the voters of Alberta? If they’re going to rename themselves, why not the Communist Party of Alberta (oops, already taken), the Labour Party, or the Closet Pinko Party, or something that is truly accurate and representative of the bulk of their support?

As far as a new name for the party goes, someone should inform Ms./ Mrs. Matheson that the “Alberta Party” name is already taken. Sorry! Oh sure, the Alberta Party is the next thing to dormant, and I’m pretty sure they’ve never contested one election under that name. However, by keeping this name away from the Liberals, they’re probably performing a greater service to the people of Alberta than they ever would if they were elected.

Besides, renaming the Liberal Party the Alberta Party would be a misnomer and a tragedy. Aside from the ND’s, I cannot think of another political party that is less worthy of passing themselves off as representative of the thoughts and opinions of average Albertans as the Liberal Party of Alberta.

Originally posted on 2004-01-25 23:10:49