Unlike many other grassroots, I pay attention to what is happening within the party. I have been active in the Canadian Alliance at the riding level and I was part of a (winning) campaign team in the last federal election.

While national media attention is focusing on the Alliance’s leadership race, a contest of at least equal importance to the future of the Canadian Alliance is being ignored. The upcoming election of the Canadian Alliance National Council is as critical to the health of the CA as is the leadership race, yet as a generic grassroot I have very little information on which to base such a momentous decision.

Why don’t I know you?

Off the top of my head I can name maybe five National Councillors, have an idea of the politics of a couple of those five, I can name only one of my Alberta representatives to the Council, and I can make a guess at the name a second Alberta councillor. A full 90% of what I know about the National Council I learned within the past few months reading at Free Dominion. And I would be willing to bet a dozen Tim Horton’s Venetian cream donuts that I currently know much more about the National Council than 90% of the grassroots membership.

Why don’t we know you?

The argument could be made that I simply do not pay enoughattention and if I looked hard enough I could learn all I need to know about the National Council to make a wise and informed decision on who I should vote for in the upcoming NC election. But I shouldn’t have to.

The real reason I, and I believe others, are so ill-informed about the members of the National Council is no one has been putting that information in front of me and somebody should be. For someone who pays attention, I cannot articulate in a couple of sentences (or paragraphs, or hundreds of words) exactly what the National Council is and why it is important. I generally have no trouble describing what I see but I find it impossible to generate enthusiasm for the National Council elections when I can’t even properly explain what the National Council does for the CA and why it is so essential. Again, these inabilities could be ascribed to failings on my part, but how can any grassroots member hope to exercise his responsibilities with such a dearth of information relevant to the choices he is being asked to make?

Which brings us to “The List” and why it has become so important.

In September, 2001 the National Council voted on a motion to terminate the party membership of the DoRCs. Individual councillors voted as follows:

In support of motion:

D'Arcy Barker
Michael Burns
John Capobianco
Bob Dechert
Rod Farell
Don Irwin
Doug Kemp
Jason Kenney
Eric Lanthier
Stockwell Day
Mark Magner
Sam Magnus
Bill McGill
Leonard Poetschke
Shawn Rattai
George Richardson
Eric Schenstead
Denis Simard
Albert Stairs
Gee Tsang
Harold Wilson

Against the motion:

Robert Beard
Nancy Branscombe
Brad Cathers
Douglas Grimson
Ken Kalopsis
Rod Love
Don Morgan
David Salmon
Natalie Stirling
Peter White
Betty Unger

Motion passed

This list contains more information on the Canadian Alliance National Council than I have ever seen assembled in one place.

Think about that.

This list is really all I have to work with in determining who I should vote for or against in the upcoming National Councilor election. Fairly or unfairly, the entire tenure of each individual National Council member has been reduced to the position he took on one vote. And it gets worse.

This list was twice published inaccurately at Free Dominion. We finally have a corrected copy posted on Peter Shuley’s thread. On top of that, there may be members who are completely misrepresented by the position they took on this one vote.

But in the absence of additional information, on what else can the grassroots base their National Council votes?

We have a list. But we still don’t know you.