Alberta NDP to target Calgary ridings.

Alberta NDP Strategists to target Calgary ridings.

Why?

According to today's Calgary Herald, the Alberta New Democrats are having a bit of a think about how to orchestrate a breakthrough in Calgary. Apparently, they've decided that people in Calgary don't join or vote for the NDP because nobody asked them to.

It's all the fault of the young people, explains one of their supporters. And the old people as well. The young don't vote, and the old won't change their vote, so the NDP needs to try and get the young involved more so that they will go and vote NDP. As for the established voters, it seems that they're not that interested in them because they are Conservatives.

With a strategy like that in place, Ed Stelmach should feel confident about going on a year-long holiday to Hawaii.

What the NDP don't seem to be able to grasp is that they don't offer an attractive alternative to the Conservative government. Even the Liberals are seen as being a bit left-wing for the average Albertan voter, so voting for the NDP ranks alongside a vote for Joe Stalin on the Alberta political spectrum.

The NDP would do a lot better at the municipal level, where Calgarians often vote for liberal aldermen. Of course, they can't be liberal aldermen because they're meant to be politically neutral, but as the NDP supporter mentioned earlier pointed out, leopards rarely change their political spots. Even the NDP have had an alderman elected in Calgary, Bob Hawkesworth won the provincial election for the NDP in 1989, and he still sits on the City Council today.

The NDP are trying to do too much, too soon. They had two faltering steps in 1989, and have been trying to enter the Calgary Political Marathon ever since. More baby steps Brian, that's the key.