Paul Hinman has won the Calgary-Glenmore by-election.
Discuss.
66 Replies to “Wild Rose Country?”
My former riding. For those who don’t know Calgary very well, this is also in the federal riding of Calgary Southwest. One would be hard-pressed to find a more conservative riding in Canada. (Okay, maybe Calgary Southeast for sheer voter turnout)
I called this one – my friends thought I was nuts. I just hope this carries over into the next AB general election. Perhaps we could have a Brad Wall-like leader and a Sask Party-type gov’t.
-sigh-
If only…
Congratulations to the WRA. Electing a MLA in an urban riding.
Deficit deficit deficit.
I think most Canadians thought we had expunged that evil from our soul. And it comes back under the guise of Conservatives.
Derek
I have voted WRA for the last 2 elections because they are the only conservative party in Alberta.
I would like to see a WRA majority in the next election.
Excellent. The Stelmach show hasn’t done a thing. Would an Alberta Liberal administration be doing anything different from Ed? Although this by-election sends an obvious message, Ed is too dumb to understand it. Time to move on over to the WRA.
I grew up in this riding and Ed Stelmach is so far from the Peter Lougheed tradition that this win should raise a huge red flag for Alberta conservatives.
63% of the electorate voted for someone else.
Its been a long run. Time to bench this Party of lame Conservatives gone to stale liberal. Way past their due date.
A new generation of Albertans, with a new party for their times.
I said Eddy was the Harry Strom of his Generation when he first got in. Here’s hoping he is. He’s doing to us in Alberta, what Obama is doing to America. My slogan would be for this coming election: Where’s the Money Ed?” Gas over 90 cents yet a 7 billion or 9 debt. Don’t make any sense.
Time this government was flayed of its excess blubber. As I like to call them the “No nothing gang.” Ted Morton had a chance at reform to this elitist clique. They decided otherwise. Now comes a political judgment day in a few years.
Folks its not only Conservatives who are sick of these sycophant socialists. Albertans are fed up with them all period.
JMO
The more the provincial Tories try to woo the lieberal vote the more the conservative voters will move to a party that is conservative and not just in name.
Joe Who tried to put more progressive in the PC party and looked what happened.
Albertans are known for “Throwing out the bums” after supporting a party for decades and never looking back …
The WRA only needs to attract a couple of high profile conservatives like Ted Morton and so many people (like me) who have voted for the PC party due to lack of choice will abandon the conservative in name only Progressive Conservative party.
Dear Alberta:
Don’t promote the third party option. Ross Perot resulted in Bill Clinton. A third party hands the liberals the power without a fight. Reform the PC party from within.
Right On
This is good news.
Special Ed has been a total disaster – Vegreville’s Dion, but with the keys to the cupboards (now bare).
I hope that this is a shot across the bow for the Conservatives both provincially and federally that you can’t take conservative voters for granted. Piss us off often enough and you are gone.
Right On, you seem to be a little history challenged. Where do you think that the current Conservative (CINO?) government came from?
Don’t promote the third party option. Ross Perot resulted in Bill Clinton. A third party hands the liberals the power without a fight. Reform the PC party from within.
You clearly do not understand how a large section of Albertans think. The attempt at reforming the PCs has been tried. Many Albertans were quite concerned when Ralph got the leadership. His Liberal leanings were well known and, following immediately after Don Getty, it seemed as though Alberta would have the same style of government as other provinces. Ralph was a fiscal surprise and was quite popular during his first term.
During the last leadership convention, it was rather apparent that the more conservative candidate, Ted Morton, was loathsome to some in the PC party. This seems to be the way liberals operate. They are not content to have their candidates only in the Liberal Party; they seem to want them controlling the PC Party as well. Stelmach had an option: after winning the Leadership and the subsequent election he could have respected the conservatives in the province by giving Morton important responsibilities. He chose to not do that. Although I respect that Mr. Stelmach seems to be an honest man, his policies are not the variety that are attractive to those who normally support a conservative party. In short, the Stelmach PCs seem to be making the same mistake that the Mulroney PCs made 25 years ago.
The Reform Party came into being because western Conservatives really did not have a party to represent their interests. The Federal PCs knew this, but kept responding, “Where else can they go?”. Manning was uncertain just where the movement would go at first. He often wondered – “If we can only make the Conservatives conservatives….” – whether Reform would last and pushed for the 10 year sunset clause in case the PCs actually lived up to the Conservative part of their name. As more and more conservatives felt unwelcome in the party and moved to the new party, the remaining progressives/liberals seemed determined to detroy the party rather than make it conservative. The similarities between the Stelmach PCs and the Mulroney PCs 25 years ago should be obvious to anyone. That the Wild Rose part of the Wild Rose Alliance party was driven by old Reform party members should also not be lost on an aware observer. As a Reform Party member from shortly after it was founded, I have been watching the WRA party with anticipation.
Notwithstanding my own anticipation, I was pleased with the idea of the WRA losing the last election. Although I was generally pleased with the policies of the party, I felt they did not know how to run the election. I live stateside now and from here it appeared as though the WRA was only partly running on their platform. One of their main messages in the last election was a reminder of how Albertans had voted in the past. It was almost as if they were saying “we only need to get the policy kind of close, we do not need to prove our leader to the voters, and the voters will be controlled by some sort of destiny to throw out a party that has ruled for the last 37 years”. It is the “controlled by some sort of destiny” part that displeased me. I do not know how many others felt the same way but it certainly is the one of the worst ways to appeal to people who are by nature known for their independent way of thinking. Although the cycle of 35-40 years is accurate history, I think Albertans want to feel as though their vote is courted by the WRA and not as though they are somehow required to follow the pattern set by their parent, grandparents, and great-grandparents.
Hopefully, this very unwelcome way of presenting an accurate history will be eliminated from the message of the WRA in the next election.
dear right on , Stelmach was the third option , and the Alberta conservativs had no need to woo the liberal vote . Busloads of them signing up to be conservatives at the last minute elected Stelmach .
Wow! 63 per cent voted for someone else… This is great Liberal thinking! Only 40 percent of the electorate showed up to vote in the first place… That’s the real tragedy.
Perhaps we should consult Bob Rae… This could just be one of those situations where the electorate voted a NON SUSTAINABLE person in and we should have another election until they get it the way it should be…
Wake up… those who cared to vote made their wishes known
And of course the CBC editors come through again.
Gotta love the picture they chose for Hinman. About the only things missing are the P-shopped horns and fangs.
The “anything but Calgary” theme the Stelmach government came to power on obviously isn’t working out well in Southern Alberta.
The next shoe to drop will be the election of Danielle smith as wra party leader. Think stephen Harper with heels looks and charisma.
Then probably with in a couple of months a few PC mlas will cross the floor (and I’m not thinking of Morton although he likely will).
Stelmach is dead man walking.
What is the message this sends to the Melmac PC cabal? multiple choice answer:
A) It means they better clone Ralph Klein.
B) It means Diane Colley-Urquhart can’t hide her Marxist pedigree under a PC banner
C) It means Red Ed Melmac can’t hide socialist tax and spend deficit economics under a PC banner.
D) It means Ted Morton is poised for the job he should have had in the last PC leadership vote.
E) It means red Ed Melmac is so loathed by the faithful PC voter base he stands to lose lose 20+ seats in the next election
F) All the above
Posted several months ago at The Shotgun Blog With Ron Stevens stepping down as Deputy Premier and MLA for Calgary Glenmore, Danielle should run for the PC’s. It is the safest, most sure fire way of becoming an MLA and really making things happen. The Wildrose Alliance Party was wiped out in Calgary Glenmore in 2008 and if she does become the Leader of the Wildrose Alliance she will have to run in Glenmore and will lose badly. Her reign as leader will be short lived as the Liberals will beat her in vote count unless she is the PC candidate.
The smart thing to do is to run for the PC’s, get in the legislature and work on making things better.
Posted by: JD Galt | 2009-05-16 12:38:50 AM
These commenters simply do not understnad how Albertans think.
Ed Stelmach is the best Premier in Saskatchewan’s history. We owe Ed a great deal as he is chasing the wealth creators to us here in Sask in droves so don’t please don’t change now we just getting the ball rolling. 🙂
Gen. Lee Wright: “One would be hard-pressed to find a more conservative riding in Canada.”
I’m going to disagree with you on this. This isn’t a “conservative” riding. It’s extremely “Red”Tory. Back when the SoCreds were government this riding was always PC. I personally see a lot of Tories-by-convenience in the riding.
I agree with Claude. Ed was the best thing to ever happen to Saskatchewan. Plus, Brad Wall formed the government – now we’re rollin’ and gaining some people back that went over to Ralphville (the land of prosperity).
Claude, that is funny and true. Cranky, you have a point, as I sometimes get that puky feeling when too much “liberal” thinking creeps into the federal Conservatives.
One thing that has not been mentioned and that is, Paul is not a rookie MLA. He was our MLA, in a rural riding and lost the last election by a very few votes.
It’s ultimatum time. Either the PCs lose Red Ed or they lose me.
Special Ed’s crew are Progressives, not Conservatives and not Torys.
They have gone out of their way to make conservative Albertans unwelcome and unrepresented.
The Wild Rose Alliance Party got my household’s vote last time and will again next time.
Red Ed = Harry Strom can’t come soon enough.
Boy do we need something like that in B.C. You think you guys got it bad?? It honestly doesn’t get much worse than what we have to choose from here. Bad or Extremely Bad.
Mystery Meat says “63% of the electorate voted for someone else.”
And 99% voted for someone other than the NDP. And 66% of the electorate voted for someone other than the Liberals.
So what’s your point? Oh…that’s right….you don’t have one.
Gord Tulk said:”The next shoe to drop will be the election of Danielle smith as wra party leader. Think stephen Harper with heels looks and charisma.”
You’re right, Gord, Danielle Smith is the key to all of this. Albertans have been DYING to ditch the Tories, but had nowhere to go. With Smith likely to be elected leader of the WRA, she gives the party total credibility. Has anyone heard her speak? She’s unbelievably compelling, smart and charismatic. This is the most exciting thing to happen to in Alberta politics in a long, long time.
This is great! A new movement may get born in Alberta, uniting the urban regions with common goals instead of the divisive politics of the past.
The most important thing for the WRA is to realize urban and rural conservatives have much in common. If the rurals can give up some of the land planning powers they have bungled under their control for improved tax conditions and protection of their way of life, they will find many allies in the larger municipalities eager to reign in wasteful spending and find ways to attract new business and technological opportunities.
Rural folks know the city life is different, and we need diversity to attract the youth to the possibilities of the future here. Some like the rural lifestyle, WRA can protect this while allowing the urban centres to continue to modernize.
For too long have Alberta’s regions bickered, when they should be pulling together. Morton’s fine work in the Ministry of SRD can continue its legislative changes under the WRA umbrella.
Ditch this fumbler, Chretien-style leader and let’s get Alberta working together again! the rest of Canada benefits from a healthy Alberta economy.
Soccermom-As far as BC, it’s paradise lost. The world’s most beautiful landscapes, and the worst government and municipal leadership possible. It will be a rough Olympic hangover for the economy, and Vancouver’s cost of housing will continue to hinder its younger generation from living there. All the better for the Interior, Island and Alberta locations these bright kids will move to.
Posted by: Oz at September 15, 2009 10:46 AM
Is SDA:Oz the same as the old Shotgun:Speller?
Just a personal question I have been wondering for some time. If not, there is remarkable similarity.
Colley-Urquhart was reputed to have said something to the effect that (her loss) ….and part of it was me. The arrogance of the Red Tories is just never ending. It was as much about her as it was about Premier Ed and his inner sanctum/Red Tory control. Many of the PC apologists are, of course, seeing her loss as “all Premier Ed’s fault”.
Premier Ed must be starting to have nightmares about his leadership review in November. Many other conservatives must surely begin reflecting on just where the Red Tory ideology of the Natural Ruling Party of AB has taken us.
The liberal candidate was a close second. That doesn’t seem to demonstrate the riding as the “most conservative in Canada”. The most conservative riding in Canada is Monte Solberg’s old riding. The conservative candidate has won by a consistent 70%, for as long as I can remember. If the WRA comes up with some decent policies, this riding will be a good indicator.
This riding is also one of the hardest hit by the downturn in oil & gas activity. Calgarians talk about the oilpatch, we live it. Ralph understood Alberta politics, and did a lot of campaigning in small town coffee shops. He undertood that “grassroots” movements required more than just making speeches, it required listening to voters.
Doug: “And of course the CBC editors come through again.
Gotta love the picture they chose for Hinman. About the only things missing are the P-shopped horns and fangs.”
The CBC is so bush league. The reporter at the event last night was from CBC Radio and only had his smart phone (or crack-berry or whatever) to take pictures. I mean really. You’re going to send a reporter out to take cell phone pictures to use on your website? How tough would to give the guy a Sureshot or something equivalent to make your reports look a tad professional?
2 things, one the Alberta PC needs to go the way of the So-Creds, the sooner that better
and I voted for Ted Morton in the last “election” and frankly I wouldn’t do it again. While he’s done some good things in his portfolio’s one thing is an absolute disaster and I can’t support him until he figures out that he’s not living in Montana or Wyoming.
Congratulations to Hinman and the WRA. It certainly makes Alberta politics more interesting now.
The Conservatives are now facing a clear choice. Remove Stelmach at the next leadership review and reinvigorate the true conservative leanings of the party or face following in the footsteps of Strom and Social Credit in the next election.
Start popping the popcorn, it’s going to be fun to watch.
can someone explain to me as i am unaware of the wild rose party sorry i have not done much research on them i have only been in calagry for a few short years and i would like to know there platform in a nutshell of someoen can explain it to me ?
thank you
paul in calgary .
I don’t vote for people with hyphenated last names. I tend to associate that practice with university sociology and english departments, generally a nest of dippers. It’s generally a good indicator of leftish thinking.
WRA Rocks!!!!!
To the bear, the sooner Alberta is like Montana or Wyoming the better off it will be!
I joined the PCs temporarily, just to vote for Morton. The Wildrose Alliance at the time sent a signal that they would fold up, if Morton got elected PC leader.
I expected Stelmach to make Morton (a constitutional expert, with close ties to Harper) the Minister of Inter-Governmental Affairs. Or even deputy premier, seeing as Ted finished second in the leadership race.
Instead, Ed makes Ted the Minister of Sustainable Resource Development. Ted is an outdoorsy kind of guy, but this portfolio clearly underuses his considerable expertise and connections.
That was all an early sign of the future bad decisions to come from Ed.
Alberta PCs have been gradually taken over by liberals buying party memberships. I know two Green Party members who also joined the PCs to have a “say”. I wish we didn’t have to wait three more years to get rid of Special Ed and his crew.
I used to live in Colley hyphens ward. She is a total attention ho. If she is Conservative, Jack Layton is my best friend. I feel if you are running for a seat provincially, you should have to give up your aldermanic duties-pick one. Bronco pulled the same crap when he ran for Cretins Libs.
I too voted for Morton and was surprised he didn’t win, a lot of people I know also voted for him and were of the same opinion. I have some friends that voted for Red Ed are regretting it big time.
Time to bring in the Wildrose party.
“Ed Stelmach is the best Premier in Saskatchewan’s history.”
LOL,…
Congratulations to the WRP. Re: Ted Morton – excellent time for Ted to make his move – let’s see if he does…or does not…then we will know the stuff he is made of. Our best MLA in the Yukon has refused to support our Red Premier and has left his Cabinet post as Min of Energy and Mines to sit as an Independent. Brad Cathers (the Hon MP) lost considerable money and put his career on the line by making an HONORABLE decision. Our Premier Fentie was caught telling falsehoods about a deal to sell Yukon’s Hydro power to ATCO (Direct Energy). Fentie, as a Dipper, had been a sitting Dipper M.P. when the Dippers sold ATCO our then independant Yukon Electric Co that distributed Yukon Electric Hydoo power in Whitehorse – Yukon Energy sold direct to the rest of the Yukon. It was the final straw for Brad Cathers.
Many of Red Ed’s MP’s are much richer and older than Brad. Brad has stated that he will return to the Yukon Party (our version of PC with emphasis on the P because the Yukon Territory is totally dependant on Federal transfers – big federal transfers)oly if Fentie resigns.
So far no other Yukon Party M.P.’s have joined Brad – they will be defeated in the next election – but unlike Alberta, we will end up with Dippers/liebrals because the Territory has almost no free enterprise; ‘gument people usually vote for themselves. And the Yukon will be demanding LOTS of $$ for their ‘people’ in gument jobs – and their “special Interest’ groups – to get their votes.
All producing provinces should be squawking about big $$ transfers to the Yukon because the Yukon has only 30,000 people and the Feds send us billions. The Yukon is very rich in resources and was NEVER broke until the silly people here elected a crew of Dippers (of which our present ‘conservative’ Premier Fentie was a sitting member) and they shut down all mining and free enterprise. Fentie is very close to Larry Bagnel, the sitting Liebral M.P.
Time is running out for the Yukon Party M.P.s to make their move and save the Yukon from the Dippers/Liebranos….we are waiting, not patiently. Alberta P.C. M.P.s – take note.
“Red Fentie” jumped from the Dippers to the Yukon Party in a ‘coup’ a few years ago – the Conservative Party was down to a 30 or 40 members and Fentie brought in 50 or 60 supporters; they paid for a membership and outvoted the incumbent, Mr. Peter Jenkins. A similar thing happened in Alta, in a different way but with the same result. Red Tories are a creepy, sneaky outfit!
NB – that is 50 – 60 individuals changed the destination of billions of your $$. I voted for Mr. Jenkins who would have enabled the Yukon to be self sufficient.
Fentie threw M. Jenkins under the bus two years into his mandate.
It is a by election. When and how else can the electorate safely express dissatisfaction with the current government?
alberta clipper…
oh i dunno…i bet on a jockey once named basil fetlock-withers….he paid 20-12-10 dollars….
i’ll never forget basil….he was a little guy but memorable….
>>i bet on a jockey once named basil fetlock-withers
OK, but what was the horse’s name? Or was the jockey running the hundred metre on his own steam? 🙂
My former riding. For those who don’t know Calgary very well, this is also in the federal riding of Calgary Southwest. One would be hard-pressed to find a more conservative riding in Canada. (Okay, maybe Calgary Southeast for sheer voter turnout)
I called this one – my friends thought I was nuts. I just hope this carries over into the next AB general election. Perhaps we could have a Brad Wall-like leader and a Sask Party-type gov’t.
-sigh-
If only…
Congratulations to the WRA. Electing a MLA in an urban riding.
Deficit deficit deficit.
I think most Canadians thought we had expunged that evil from our soul. And it comes back under the guise of Conservatives.
Derek
I have voted WRA for the last 2 elections because they are the only conservative party in Alberta.
I would like to see a WRA majority in the next election.
Excellent. The Stelmach show hasn’t done a thing. Would an Alberta Liberal administration be doing anything different from Ed? Although this by-election sends an obvious message, Ed is too dumb to understand it. Time to move on over to the WRA.
Related?
Oilsands emit more than entire countries: report
I grew up in this riding and Ed Stelmach is so far from the Peter Lougheed tradition that this win should raise a huge red flag for Alberta conservatives.
63% of the electorate voted for someone else.
Its been a long run. Time to bench this Party of lame Conservatives gone to stale liberal. Way past their due date.
A new generation of Albertans, with a new party for their times.
I said Eddy was the Harry Strom of his Generation when he first got in. Here’s hoping he is. He’s doing to us in Alberta, what Obama is doing to America. My slogan would be for this coming election: Where’s the Money Ed?” Gas over 90 cents yet a 7 billion or 9 debt. Don’t make any sense.
Time this government was flayed of its excess blubber. As I like to call them the “No nothing gang.” Ted Morton had a chance at reform to this elitist clique. They decided otherwise. Now comes a political judgment day in a few years.
Folks its not only Conservatives who are sick of these sycophant socialists. Albertans are fed up with them all period.
JMO
The more the provincial Tories try to woo the lieberal vote the more the conservative voters will move to a party that is conservative and not just in name.
Joe Who tried to put more progressive in the PC party and looked what happened.
Albertans are known for “Throwing out the bums” after supporting a party for decades and never looking back …
The WRA only needs to attract a couple of high profile conservatives like Ted Morton and so many people (like me) who have voted for the PC party due to lack of choice will abandon the conservative in name only Progressive Conservative party.
Dear Alberta:
Don’t promote the third party option. Ross Perot resulted in Bill Clinton. A third party hands the liberals the power without a fight. Reform the PC party from within.
Right On
This is good news.
Special Ed has been a total disaster – Vegreville’s Dion, but with the keys to the cupboards (now bare).
I hope that this is a shot across the bow for the Conservatives both provincially and federally that you can’t take conservative voters for granted. Piss us off often enough and you are gone.
Right On, you seem to be a little history challenged. Where do you think that the current Conservative (CINO?) government came from?
Don’t promote the third party option. Ross Perot resulted in Bill Clinton. A third party hands the liberals the power without a fight. Reform the PC party from within.
You clearly do not understand how a large section of Albertans think. The attempt at reforming the PCs has been tried. Many Albertans were quite concerned when Ralph got the leadership. His Liberal leanings were well known and, following immediately after Don Getty, it seemed as though Alberta would have the same style of government as other provinces. Ralph was a fiscal surprise and was quite popular during his first term.
During the last leadership convention, it was rather apparent that the more conservative candidate, Ted Morton, was loathsome to some in the PC party. This seems to be the way liberals operate. They are not content to have their candidates only in the Liberal Party; they seem to want them controlling the PC Party as well. Stelmach had an option: after winning the Leadership and the subsequent election he could have respected the conservatives in the province by giving Morton important responsibilities. He chose to not do that. Although I respect that Mr. Stelmach seems to be an honest man, his policies are not the variety that are attractive to those who normally support a conservative party. In short, the Stelmach PCs seem to be making the same mistake that the Mulroney PCs made 25 years ago.
The Reform Party came into being because western Conservatives really did not have a party to represent their interests. The Federal PCs knew this, but kept responding, “Where else can they go?”. Manning was uncertain just where the movement would go at first. He often wondered – “If we can only make the Conservatives conservatives….” – whether Reform would last and pushed for the 10 year sunset clause in case the PCs actually lived up to the Conservative part of their name. As more and more conservatives felt unwelcome in the party and moved to the new party, the remaining progressives/liberals seemed determined to detroy the party rather than make it conservative. The similarities between the Stelmach PCs and the Mulroney PCs 25 years ago should be obvious to anyone. That the Wild Rose part of the Wild Rose Alliance party was driven by old Reform party members should also not be lost on an aware observer. As a Reform Party member from shortly after it was founded, I have been watching the WRA party with anticipation.
Notwithstanding my own anticipation, I was pleased with the idea of the WRA losing the last election. Although I was generally pleased with the policies of the party, I felt they did not know how to run the election. I live stateside now and from here it appeared as though the WRA was only partly running on their platform. One of their main messages in the last election was a reminder of how Albertans had voted in the past. It was almost as if they were saying “we only need to get the policy kind of close, we do not need to prove our leader to the voters, and the voters will be controlled by some sort of destiny to throw out a party that has ruled for the last 37 years”. It is the “controlled by some sort of destiny” part that displeased me. I do not know how many others felt the same way but it certainly is the one of the worst ways to appeal to people who are by nature known for their independent way of thinking. Although the cycle of 35-40 years is accurate history, I think Albertans want to feel as though their vote is courted by the WRA and not as though they are somehow required to follow the pattern set by their parent, grandparents, and great-grandparents.
Hopefully, this very unwelcome way of presenting an accurate history will be eliminated from the message of the WRA in the next election.
dear right on , Stelmach was the third option , and the Alberta conservativs had no need to woo the liberal vote . Busloads of them signing up to be conservatives at the last minute elected Stelmach .
Wow! 63 per cent voted for someone else… This is great Liberal thinking! Only 40 percent of the electorate showed up to vote in the first place… That’s the real tragedy.
Perhaps we should consult Bob Rae… This could just be one of those situations where the electorate voted a NON SUSTAINABLE person in and we should have another election until they get it the way it should be…
Wake up… those who cared to vote made their wishes known
And of course the CBC editors come through again.
Gotta love the picture they chose for Hinman. About the only things missing are the P-shopped horns and fangs.
The “anything but Calgary” theme the Stelmach government came to power on obviously isn’t working out well in Southern Alberta.
The next shoe to drop will be the election of Danielle smith as wra party leader. Think stephen Harper with heels looks and charisma.
Then probably with in a couple of months a few PC mlas will cross the floor (and I’m not thinking of Morton although he likely will).
Stelmach is dead man walking.
What is the message this sends to the Melmac PC cabal? multiple choice answer:
A) It means they better clone Ralph Klein.
B) It means Diane Colley-Urquhart can’t hide her Marxist pedigree under a PC banner
C) It means Red Ed Melmac can’t hide socialist tax and spend deficit economics under a PC banner.
D) It means Ted Morton is poised for the job he should have had in the last PC leadership vote.
E) It means red Ed Melmac is so loathed by the faithful PC voter base he stands to lose lose 20+ seats in the next election
F) All the above
Posted several months ago at The Shotgun Blog
With Ron Stevens stepping down as Deputy Premier and MLA for Calgary Glenmore, Danielle should run for the PC’s. It is the safest, most sure fire way of becoming an MLA and really making things happen. The Wildrose Alliance Party was wiped out in Calgary Glenmore in 2008 and if she does become the Leader of the Wildrose Alliance she will have to run in Glenmore and will lose badly. Her reign as leader will be short lived as the Liberals will beat her in vote count unless she is the PC candidate.
The smart thing to do is to run for the PC’s, get in the legislature and work on making things better.
Posted by: JD Galt | 2009-05-16 12:38:50 AM
These commenters simply do not understnad how Albertans think.
Ed Stelmach is the best Premier in Saskatchewan’s history. We owe Ed a great deal as he is chasing the wealth creators to us here in Sask in droves so don’t please don’t change now we just getting the ball rolling. 🙂
Gen. Lee Wright: “One would be hard-pressed to find a more conservative riding in Canada.”
I’m going to disagree with you on this. This isn’t a “conservative” riding. It’s extremely “Red”Tory. Back when the SoCreds were government this riding was always PC. I personally see a lot of Tories-by-convenience in the riding.
I agree with Claude. Ed was the best thing to ever happen to Saskatchewan. Plus, Brad Wall formed the government – now we’re rollin’ and gaining some people back that went over to Ralphville (the land of prosperity).
Claude, that is funny and true. Cranky, you have a point, as I sometimes get that puky feeling when too much “liberal” thinking creeps into the federal Conservatives.
One thing that has not been mentioned and that is, Paul is not a rookie MLA. He was our MLA, in a rural riding and lost the last election by a very few votes.
It’s ultimatum time. Either the PCs lose Red Ed or they lose me.
Special Ed’s crew are Progressives, not Conservatives and not Torys.
They have gone out of their way to make conservative Albertans unwelcome and unrepresented.
The Wild Rose Alliance Party got my household’s vote last time and will again next time.
Red Ed = Harry Strom can’t come soon enough.
Boy do we need something like that in B.C. You think you guys got it bad?? It honestly doesn’t get much worse than what we have to choose from here. Bad or Extremely Bad.
Mystery Meat says “63% of the electorate voted for someone else.”
And 99% voted for someone other than the NDP. And 66% of the electorate voted for someone other than the Liberals.
So what’s your point? Oh…that’s right….you don’t have one.
Gord Tulk said:”The next shoe to drop will be the election of Danielle smith as wra party leader. Think stephen Harper with heels looks and charisma.”
You’re right, Gord, Danielle Smith is the key to all of this. Albertans have been DYING to ditch the Tories, but had nowhere to go. With Smith likely to be elected leader of the WRA, she gives the party total credibility. Has anyone heard her speak? She’s unbelievably compelling, smart and charismatic. This is the most exciting thing to happen to in Alberta politics in a long, long time.
This is great! A new movement may get born in Alberta, uniting the urban regions with common goals instead of the divisive politics of the past.
The most important thing for the WRA is to realize urban and rural conservatives have much in common. If the rurals can give up some of the land planning powers they have bungled under their control for improved tax conditions and protection of their way of life, they will find many allies in the larger municipalities eager to reign in wasteful spending and find ways to attract new business and technological opportunities.
Rural folks know the city life is different, and we need diversity to attract the youth to the possibilities of the future here. Some like the rural lifestyle, WRA can protect this while allowing the urban centres to continue to modernize.
For too long have Alberta’s regions bickered, when they should be pulling together. Morton’s fine work in the Ministry of SRD can continue its legislative changes under the WRA umbrella.
Ditch this fumbler, Chretien-style leader and let’s get Alberta working together again! the rest of Canada benefits from a healthy Alberta economy.
Soccermom-As far as BC, it’s paradise lost. The world’s most beautiful landscapes, and the worst government and municipal leadership possible. It will be a rough Olympic hangover for the economy, and Vancouver’s cost of housing will continue to hinder its younger generation from living there. All the better for the Interior, Island and Alberta locations these bright kids will move to.
Posted by: Oz at September 15, 2009 10:46 AM
Is SDA:Oz the same as the old Shotgun:Speller?
Just a personal question I have been wondering for some time. If not, there is remarkable similarity.
Colley-Urquhart was reputed to have said something to the effect that (her loss) ….and part of it was me. The arrogance of the Red Tories is just never ending. It was as much about her as it was about Premier Ed and his inner sanctum/Red Tory control. Many of the PC apologists are, of course, seeing her loss as “all Premier Ed’s fault”.
Premier Ed must be starting to have nightmares about his leadership review in November. Many other conservatives must surely begin reflecting on just where the Red Tory ideology of the Natural Ruling Party of AB has taken us.
The liberal candidate was a close second. That doesn’t seem to demonstrate the riding as the “most conservative in Canada”. The most conservative riding in Canada is Monte Solberg’s old riding. The conservative candidate has won by a consistent 70%, for as long as I can remember. If the WRA comes up with some decent policies, this riding will be a good indicator.
This riding is also one of the hardest hit by the downturn in oil & gas activity. Calgarians talk about the oilpatch, we live it. Ralph understood Alberta politics, and did a lot of campaigning in small town coffee shops. He undertood that “grassroots” movements required more than just making speeches, it required listening to voters.
Doug: “And of course the CBC editors come through again.
Gotta love the picture they chose for Hinman. About the only things missing are the P-shopped horns and fangs.”
The CBC is so bush league. The reporter at the event last night was from CBC Radio and only had his smart phone (or crack-berry or whatever) to take pictures. I mean really. You’re going to send a reporter out to take cell phone pictures to use on your website? How tough would to give the guy a Sureshot or something equivalent to make your reports look a tad professional?
2 things, one the Alberta PC needs to go the way of the So-Creds, the sooner that better
and I voted for Ted Morton in the last “election” and frankly I wouldn’t do it again. While he’s done some good things in his portfolio’s one thing is an absolute disaster and I can’t support him until he figures out that he’s not living in Montana or Wyoming.
Congratulations to Hinman and the WRA. It certainly makes Alberta politics more interesting now.
The Conservatives are now facing a clear choice. Remove Stelmach at the next leadership review and reinvigorate the true conservative leanings of the party or face following in the footsteps of Strom and Social Credit in the next election.
Start popping the popcorn, it’s going to be fun to watch.
can someone explain to me as i am unaware of the wild rose party sorry i have not done much research on them i have only been in calagry for a few short years and i would like to know there platform in a nutshell of someoen can explain it to me ?
thank you
paul in calgary .
I don’t vote for people with hyphenated last names. I tend to associate that practice with university sociology and english departments, generally a nest of dippers. It’s generally a good indicator of leftish thinking.
WRA Rocks!!!!!
To the bear, the sooner Alberta is like Montana or Wyoming the better off it will be!
I joined the PCs temporarily, just to vote for Morton. The Wildrose Alliance at the time sent a signal that they would fold up, if Morton got elected PC leader.
I expected Stelmach to make Morton (a constitutional expert, with close ties to Harper) the Minister of Inter-Governmental Affairs. Or even deputy premier, seeing as Ted finished second in the leadership race.
Instead, Ed makes Ted the Minister of Sustainable Resource Development. Ted is an outdoorsy kind of guy, but this portfolio clearly underuses his considerable expertise and connections.
That was all an early sign of the future bad decisions to come from Ed.
Alberta PCs have been gradually taken over by liberals buying party memberships. I know two Green Party members who also joined the PCs to have a “say”. I wish we didn’t have to wait three more years to get rid of Special Ed and his crew.
I used to live in Colley hyphens ward. She is a total attention ho. If she is Conservative, Jack Layton is my best friend. I feel if you are running for a seat provincially, you should have to give up your aldermanic duties-pick one. Bronco pulled the same crap when he ran for Cretins Libs.
I too voted for Morton and was surprised he didn’t win, a lot of people I know also voted for him and were of the same opinion. I have some friends that voted for Red Ed are regretting it big time.
Time to bring in the Wildrose party.
“Ed Stelmach is the best Premier in Saskatchewan’s history.”
LOL,…
Congratulations to the WRP. Re: Ted Morton – excellent time for Ted to make his move – let’s see if he does…or does not…then we will know the stuff he is made of. Our best MLA in the Yukon has refused to support our Red Premier and has left his Cabinet post as Min of Energy and Mines to sit as an Independent. Brad Cathers (the Hon MP) lost considerable money and put his career on the line by making an HONORABLE decision. Our Premier Fentie was caught telling falsehoods about a deal to sell Yukon’s Hydro power to ATCO (Direct Energy). Fentie, as a Dipper, had been a sitting Dipper M.P. when the Dippers sold ATCO our then independant Yukon Electric Co that distributed Yukon Electric Hydoo power in Whitehorse – Yukon Energy sold direct to the rest of the Yukon. It was the final straw for Brad Cathers.
Many of Red Ed’s MP’s are much richer and older than Brad. Brad has stated that he will return to the Yukon Party (our version of PC with emphasis on the P because the Yukon Territory is totally dependant on Federal transfers – big federal transfers)oly if Fentie resigns.
So far no other Yukon Party M.P.’s have joined Brad – they will be defeated in the next election – but unlike Alberta, we will end up with Dippers/liebrals because the Territory has almost no free enterprise; ‘gument people usually vote for themselves. And the Yukon will be demanding LOTS of $$ for their ‘people’ in gument jobs – and their “special Interest’ groups – to get their votes.
All producing provinces should be squawking about big $$ transfers to the Yukon because the Yukon has only 30,000 people and the Feds send us billions. The Yukon is very rich in resources and was NEVER broke until the silly people here elected a crew of Dippers (of which our present ‘conservative’ Premier Fentie was a sitting member) and they shut down all mining and free enterprise. Fentie is very close to Larry Bagnel, the sitting Liebral M.P.
Time is running out for the Yukon Party M.P.s to make their move and save the Yukon from the Dippers/Liebranos….we are waiting, not patiently. Alberta P.C. M.P.s – take note.
“Red Fentie” jumped from the Dippers to the Yukon Party in a ‘coup’ a few years ago – the Conservative Party was down to a 30 or 40 members and Fentie brought in 50 or 60 supporters; they paid for a membership and outvoted the incumbent, Mr. Peter Jenkins. A similar thing happened in Alta, in a different way but with the same result. Red Tories are a creepy, sneaky outfit!
NB – that is 50 – 60 individuals changed the destination of billions of your $$. I voted for Mr. Jenkins who would have enabled the Yukon to be self sufficient.
Fentie threw M. Jenkins under the bus two years into his mandate.
It is a by election. When and how else can the electorate safely express dissatisfaction with the current government?
alberta clipper…
oh i dunno…i bet on a jockey once named basil fetlock-withers….he paid 20-12-10 dollars….
i’ll never forget basil….he was a little guy but memorable….
>>i bet on a jockey once named basil fetlock-withers
OK, but what was the horse’s name? Or was the jockey running the hundred metre on his own steam? 🙂