Like it or not, we’re now in an election year, so we beseech those running, regardless of party affiliation: Please make it a clean one.
Sure, it’s tempting to wallow in fear-mongering through the overuse of exaggerated half-truths, ugly photos, simplistic solutions and cynical one-liners.
Sure, the NDP under Adrian Dix was roundly criticized for blowing a lead in the polls in 2013 by not playing dirty enough at election time and flip-flopping on key issues. This time, John Horgan will want to portray a tougher stance, but he and his candidates should stay clear of dirty politicking even if they are tempted to roll in the mud with Premier Christy Clark.
But, please, not this time.
Both parties will be sorely tempted to call each other out on social media and take personal shots if it means getting or keeping the reins of power.
Some party faithful may want to bend the rules or even break them to ensure their candidate wins.
But, please, don’t do it.
We’ve seen it all before here and down south, and we are tired of political points being scored by over-dramatizing successes. B.C. Liberals you can’t take credit for a good economy when you don’t accept the blame where things have gone badly. And we don’t need endless press releases and government ads to remind us how our money is spent, either.
This should be the election where reasonable, costed proposals are put forward, not endless fault-finding (NDP and Greens, we’re looking at you). No government is perfect.
Give voters the benefit of the doubt. While your core supporters will vote for you anyway, you risk turning off the rest, especially young people, if you insist on lowering the bar on political discourse.
Call us wary, disappointed, exhausted after what went on in the U.S. election. But after the global troubles of 2016, we want to see a brighter 2017.
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