You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. Or can you? Depends. Are you a politician? Because apparently politicians feel vinegar is the only way to go.
Take the Wildrose Alliance party – before our new Premier was sworn in, and the day after she buried her mother, they came out swinging with attack ads questioning how she was running the province.
During last year’s municipal election in Strathcona County, Linda Osinchuk called the provincial government liars over their handling of the Sherwood Park hospital
“that’s just the way the game is played” is what I am told by many politicians. They claim it gets media coverage and wins them votes. I’m suggesting that maybe it’s the way to win the battle, but ultimately lose the war.
Don’t think I am suggesting that governments should be left to run unchecked, with no one questioning their moves. However, legitimate questions, intelligent feedback or even constructive criticism are rare these days.
When two politicians, whether they are municipal or provincial, engage in dirty politics, throwing accusations back and forth, there is only one loser. The taxpayer.
There are two ways the taxpayer loses. The first is financially. How much of our elected officials time is spent doing damage control? How much time do their communication teams spend reacting to this nonsense? We are paying each and every one of them for every moment they spend. I suspect our money could be put to much more productive use.
The second way the taxpayer loses is that democracy is threatened. Yes, you heard me right. Democracy is threatened when the populace becomes so weary, so cynical and so fed up with the constant attacking that goes on in the public forum, that they turn it off and tune out.
I have talked to so many people that are fed up and disillusioned because getting to the truth and making a voting decision is so difficult. It becomes a matter of who you think is the most trustworthy based on the media reports of he said/she said/they said. This results in comments like “What does it matter, they are all alike”.
If half as much energy went in to running the Government and the County as is spent trying to discredit others, I suspect we would have a whole lot fewer social problems. It is time to put the kids in separate corners and insist they stay there until they can play together nicely.
Lets face it, if politicians do in fact have the best interests of their constituents as a top priority, how about some collaboration? How about some constructive suggestions? How about an opposition party that just once acknowledges when something good happens?
Every time a politician takes a potshot, somewhere in Alberta is another voter has one more excuse not to get involved.
