Why I am not Rejoining the New Democratic Party (NDP)

I decided to put more thought into rejoining the party to be able to vote for the new federal leader after receiving an invitation to join from the Avi Lewis campaign and noticing him following me on mastodon.

Back in my university days, and for quite a few years after that, I was very active in the Ontario NDP (which at that time included federal party membership), actively working on campaigns, both provincial and federal, serving on constituency association executives in both Sudbury and Kanata, and attending provincial council meetings and conventions. As well I was an Ontario Waffle supporter and Left Caucus member.

I left the party partly due to disillusionment, due to it’s move away from social democratic ideology towards left wing populism, and partly in order to be freer as a blogger to criticize the party without feeling disloyal.

I have consistently voted NDP both provincially and federally except for two occasions. Once I voted CPC(M-L) as a protest vote after Stephen Lewis tried to force the Waffle out of the Ontario NDP. The other was a strategic vote against the Mike Harris government, when I voted for Marianne Wilkinson, who I had supported municipally in Kanata and who had left the Ontario Conservatives to run as a Liberal due to Mike Harris’s policies, and who might have actually had a chance to defeat the Conservative candidate.

However I have no desire to become active in party politics at this time and I have always felt leaders should be chosen by party activists (even if they are only active during election campaigns) and I have been quite critical of the recent practice of political parties using leadership campaigns as recruiting tools.

Back in my day, when I was politically active, political parties were run by party activists, the ones who attended meetings, canvassed during elections, called voters and put up signs. These were the people that voted for the parties policies, chose the candidates and elected the leaders.

Nowadays political parties have decided that it is expedient to use nomination meetings and leadership votes as a way to recruit new members. Whoever can recruit the most new members tends to win nomination votes and leadership candidates that can sign up the most new members tend to win leadership contests. It is no longer long term members choosing party candidates and leaders but new members that tend to make the difference when it comes to these decisions. And during election campaigns the policy is not taken from the party policy book but dictated by the leader.

(Source: THE FIFTH COLUMN: On Democracy)

So, despite the temptation, I have decided to remain an independent voter and commentator.