Here in Alberta, it's election time. Last time we had a Provincial election, 60% of voters stayed home. Perhaps that's because the same party (Conservative) has been in power for forty years. That's right, effectively a one party non-democracy.
Howe ever, the Conservatives have done some stupid things recently, the most dramatic of which is letting people find out that one Parliamentary Committee, which hasn't met since 2008, pays each member $1000 per month, just for being on the committee. Do the math: $36000+ each. The Chair, our MLA, is paid $1500 a month - that's $54000+ !
There is a new party on the map here, the Wildrose Alliance (the wild rose is the provincial flower), an even further right wing party than the Conservatives. Other parties, more to the left, are Liberal, New Democrat, and The Alberta Party. All are peripheral in Alberta.
The pundits tell us that the Cons and the Wildrose party are currently neck-and-neck in the polls. The Conservatives new leader, the first female Premier in Alberta, seems a good head, and a sort of "Red Tory" if such a thing exists. The southern rural vote will lean heavily toward the Wildrose, we are told.
The two leaders, Alison Redford and Danielle Smith, are both highly intelligent and very well spoken. It sounded like it would be a really good campaign, with policy and philosophical differences getting aired pretty freely. In the opening shot of her campaign, the Premier stated that her party desired change and growth for Alberta, a move away from the same old way of doing things. (Sounded strange from a party that's been in power for four decades!)
Then the tone plunged…a deep plunge. Smith's response to this ststement was "The Premier doesn't like Albertans! She wants us to become someone else…she wants to change us! I like us just the way we are!" Public response was strongly negative to the "negative quote" strategy that appeared to unfolding from the Wildrose people. People phoned in to radio shows saying, "hair pulling has no part in an election"…"Smith blew that one! It's playground stuff." And so forth.
I guess I'm naive. I actualy thought that with two intelligent women running the main contenders, we might actually have a civilized, thoughtful and intelligent campaign. Apparently, 'a politician is a politician is a politician', ad nauseum. I'm waiting, as are many thousands of others, to see how the Premier and the Conservative Party respond to this stuff. But I'm not holding my breath! As Grandma Black used to say, back in the day, "More anon…"
Howe ever, the Conservatives have done some stupid things recently, the most dramatic of which is letting people find out that one Parliamentary Committee, which hasn't met since 2008, pays each member $1000 per month, just for being on the committee. Do the math: $36000+ each. The Chair, our MLA, is paid $1500 a month - that's $54000+ !
There is a new party on the map here, the Wildrose Alliance (the wild rose is the provincial flower), an even further right wing party than the Conservatives. Other parties, more to the left, are Liberal, New Democrat, and The Alberta Party. All are peripheral in Alberta.
The pundits tell us that the Cons and the Wildrose party are currently neck-and-neck in the polls. The Conservatives new leader, the first female Premier in Alberta, seems a good head, and a sort of "Red Tory" if such a thing exists. The southern rural vote will lean heavily toward the Wildrose, we are told.
The two leaders, Alison Redford and Danielle Smith, are both highly intelligent and very well spoken. It sounded like it would be a really good campaign, with policy and philosophical differences getting aired pretty freely. In the opening shot of her campaign, the Premier stated that her party desired change and growth for Alberta, a move away from the same old way of doing things. (Sounded strange from a party that's been in power for four decades!)
Then the tone plunged…a deep plunge. Smith's response to this ststement was "The Premier doesn't like Albertans! She wants us to become someone else…she wants to change us! I like us just the way we are!" Public response was strongly negative to the "negative quote" strategy that appeared to unfolding from the Wildrose people. People phoned in to radio shows saying, "hair pulling has no part in an election"…"Smith blew that one! It's playground stuff." And so forth.
I guess I'm naive. I actualy thought that with two intelligent women running the main contenders, we might actually have a civilized, thoughtful and intelligent campaign. Apparently, 'a politician is a politician is a politician', ad nauseum. I'm waiting, as are many thousands of others, to see how the Premier and the Conservative Party respond to this stuff. But I'm not holding my breath! As Grandma Black used to say, back in the day, "More anon…"
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