#Abvote
I normally wouldn't pay all that much attention to Alberta politics. In turn, I'm pretty sure that most Albertans would likely ignore the rants of a lotus-lander pointing a finger eastward from the tidal high water mark of the Pacific.
All that changes when the good people of British Columbia are faced with the prospect of Alberta becoming a neighbour governed by a political mash-up which gives the US Republican Tea-Baggers the slightest tinge of sanity.
I don't think Danielle Smith is an Alberta-variant of Sarah Palin.
Palin is an incoherent, randomly-educated moron. Smith is hardly that.
What Smith isn't, however, is a realistic leader.
While she declares that, if she leads a government, she would not legislate on "contentious social issues", she has yet to provide one shred of evidence that makes that proclamation believable. In fact, her public statements suggest that she is at odds with the charted course of her own party.
Defending the positions of the likes of Allan Hunsperger and Ron Leech is simply another way of endorsing their behaviour. And she attracts support from some of the most repugnant elements of Alberta's social fabric.
A realistic leader intent on being able to provide good government is aware of the extremist elements in her presence and either reins them in or boots them out. She hasn't even come close to doing that. Instead she portrays them as victims of attacks by her political opposition, ignoring the fact that they make public statements which are attacks on others.
While we're at it, be reminded that Hunsperger is a high-order authoritarian who has no intention of engaging in persuasive governance. He is simply another unaccountable asshole intent on controlling the lives of others with the hammer of the state.
Danielle Smith can deny global warming and deny that she will legislate away freedoms. She cannot deny, however, that Hunsperger is the real face of her political party.
He gained that position because Danielle Smith is no leader.
Update: Danielle Smith is "taking personally" accusations of racism and bigotry aimed at her and her party. Good. Because that's exactly what they are.
A tail dragging romp through the swamps of the world
11 comments:
The Wild Rose has a leader, it's just not the photogenic Smith. It's the less photogenic folk behind the scenes - The Calgary school of US inspired zealots.
Harper isn't a leader and it's the same bunch of zealots that put him where he is and ensured that their acolytes or doughy pasty yes men were the team.
I'm concerned by the way this is going and I'll have the same bunch of nasties running not only the country but the province I live in.
I'm not sure that people in the two ridings here are prepared to support two inexperienced municipal leaders running under the PC banner.
But they're willing to support an inexperienced school board member who was fired?
That's what's leading Wild Rose Alliance.
Apparently.
Kinda leaves your mind numb, doesn't it?
Should be interesting to see how this shakes out.
The one thing I've found disappointing is how quickly the media and people in genera have been so quick to dismiss the views of the NDP. While my riding was Liberal at one point, the NDP is really the only left-of-centre option. And while I'm not sure I'd necessarily vote for them it's sad they are dismissed out of hand by so many here without even listening to what they have to say. A PC or WRP minority with the NDP holding the balance of power would be an interesting (if rather unlikely) scenario for sure.
Interesting point WWU--
However, as the Staussians that harebell was referring to at the top of the thread finish dropping the middle out of everything (including any real tories even slightly tinged with pink), everywhere, you will likely see the Dippers rise, even in Alberta, as the only alternative.
Then ask yourself the following....
Why would they want it that way?
(and make no mistake, the long game of what they are currently up to here in B.C., supporting both the Libs and the Cons simultaneously, is exactly the same scenario)
.
I think Ms Smith is like Sarah Palin in that she is an 'attractive' woman and she's being used as a stalking horse for the reactionary old white men seeking to mislead voters into thinking this is a kinder, gentler version of 'new' thinking about conservative viewpoints. She isn't giving off the Iron Lady vibe of Margaret Thatcher, although I wouldn't be surprised if her backers are hoping for some of that appeal.
As it stands, she appears quite willing to appear progressive 'enough' to lure voters believing what is said at campaign is what ends up in legislature and at the same time, providing virtuous motherly defense of the patriarchs quivering with eagerness to return Alberta to being ruled by fundamentalist religious zealots.
Look at the bright side, in Alberta politics, any party that has cheesed off the electorate enough gets voted out and hasn't been re-elected since....Liberals, United Farmers etc.....and soon we can add PC to the list.
Dave, off topic but I wanted your thoughts on something. The Victoria Times Colonist has an item today about the closing of the Acoustic Data Analysis Centre (Pacific) and its transfer to Halifax.
As far as I can tell the U-boat threat ended in 1945 and the Hunt for Red October was a movie. Yet we're told the big threat today is Asia where both China and India are floating blue water navies.
Why, then, are we not building up our Pacific operations? Why no fighter/interceptors at Comox? When a Korean bound flight over the Charlottes had to be diverted to Comox due to a bomb threat, US fighters were scrambled from Oregon to escort the jetliner to a Canadian military base. WTF?
Harper has gutted our environmental assessment system to facilitate the Northern Gateway pipeline, he's shredded our fisheries protections, he's moved our emergency oil spill team half way across the country and left our entire Western airspace undefended while shifting our Pacific underwater naval intelligence command to the Atlantic.
What in hell is going on?
MoS, up to 1995 ADAC was always located on the Atlantic coast. It didn't matter all that much because our Pacific passive acoustic capability was rather limited.
Then we got new gear. One of the issues was to have a means of rapid liaison with the acoustic intelligence stations in the US, particularly San Diego and Pearl Harbor. Having an ADAC in Esquimalt boosted our ability to exchange rapidly evaluated data.
We'll still have that, since technology allows the data to be sent to a single location and burp it out analyzed with no noticeable delay, but we have definitely lost the fusion that existed in the Maritime Operations Centre on the west coast.
It will prove to be a very costly idea. However, it's the fault of the last budget and the body blow the RCN took as a result.
Not good. Not good at all.
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