Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
I hope everyone is having a good holiday in spite of the shock of the complete disintegration of the Wildrose Party.
Despite all the bad press and sour grapes I'm in support of the Wildrose Faction of the PC party. All the spitting fury isn't going to change the fact that the Wildrose faction will be all that is left of the Wildrose Party after the next election.
Don't feel bad. The Tea Party isn't an actual party either. Despite being not being a real party the Tea Party as a movement has considerable influence over the Republican Party. This is what I would suggest to the embittered party faithful of the Wildrose.
Until recently I was one of those party faithful. I donated. I blogged. I volunteered. But I didn't stop thinking (which is required for true faith). The events of December were the result of a failed ultimatum. Anyone who isn't blind with rage can see that. The social conservative faction within Wildrose, its Achilles heel, called Danielle Smith's bluff and scuttled merger negotiations. This resulted in the mass defection (did you suppose it was all planned this way?). It wasn't a bluff, and in hindsight it wasn't a good threat either since it looks like the so-cons wanted to be rid of her sort anyway. It's a mess, but liberation from so-cons is growing on me.
I've wondered how it would have gone if fiscal conservatives in Alberta had taken over the Alberta Party instead. The Wildrose was a social conservative party from the outset so it was a natural home for fiscal conservatives and libertarians. We all believe in smaller government and low taxes. If we had gone the other way perhaps elements of the old Alberta Party would be pushing fiscal conservatives to adopt mandatory gay marriage or something equally silly.
Who can say what would have been. We can only affect what will be ahead. If my brother fiscally responsible Albertans insist that their future will resemble the failed plans of the past then they will have only the bitterness and resentment they feel today.
Derek Fildebrandt hopes that extremists won't take control of the shattered remnants of the Wildrose Party. I would say that extremists will only take back control. The Wildrose Party is a broken vessel. It shall not be mended, but ground into dust. Our political system is adversarial by nature. The forces that stopped a clean merger have made their choice. Stay with them for stubbornness sake and face the sad conclusion.
Or...
There is another way. Become a movement. Look at how much influence Preston Manning wields with his Manning Center? The old carbon taxer even had a hand in the failed merger as he has apologized for his part. I think Albertans and Canadians would be well served by another conservative organization that would be independent from and at times contrary to the Manning Center. This would enable both of them to play "good cop, bad cop" and advance the discourse in a way that political parties simply can't. The Heartland Institute is a great example for our movement.
A Wildrose Institute could lend support to the Wildrose Faction within the PC party. There is no reason for the Wildrose Nine to stay at nine. The PC Party, particularly as lead by Jim Prentice, is fertile ground to spread the vision of Wildrose as it was under Danielle Smith. Declare Jim Prentice the tenth Wildroser.
In the new year, the Wildrose Faction should come out to play. It isn't going to be easy. I believe Jim Prentice to be an honourable man and a Harper Conservative. You can trust him, but I wouldn't trust anyone else. There is a chance you'll be given an important post only to be saddled with the blame and cast out as a scapegoat at the next election.
The only way to thread the needle will be to publicly vocalize yourself about anyone and anything that isn't right. Be open and transparent about all of it. I have a pretty good idea of what went down, but most people see it as a breach of trust. Rebuild that trust and reasonable people will understand. Of course you'll need to do so in a way that reflects well on the PC Party and poorly on the wrong-doers. Allison Redford is open season.
Guess who else is open season? -The So-cons you all left in the dust. They hate you more than ever and the media seems to side with them. I'm sure you don't like that. Nobody would like that, so you had better not waste any time acting like you are still under their thumb. Libertarians, LGBTQ, Atheists, Feminists, Muslims, all the people who never got any love and never felt welcome with the hill-billies might find resonance with Danielle Smith's story.
Reach out to them and bring them over. There is no reason they should be against free markets. If it makes the So-cons grind their teeth, all the better. Let them counter with embarrassing stories. I'm sure you have a few to tales to tell yourself. Let it out. The sting of the past month will have faded come election day, but if hatred still burns hot in their hearts most people will understand why you made those choices.
There is one other thing you need to do. Before the next election in Alberta, there is the larger matter federal election. The Wildrose Nine needs to throw themselves into battle against Justin Trudeau. Defenders of Alberta, you Nine have nothing to lose and everything to gain. I'm not sure exactly how you can help at this point but I'm sure you'll know. What's certain is that landing one on Trudeau will make you a Hero. Landing the fatal blow makes you the next Premier.
Best of luck to you and to us all! 2015 will be an exciting, memorable and happy New Year!
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Friday, December 19, 2014
I'm With Danielle Smith
I didn't see that one coming. The Danielle Smith Party merged with the Jim Prentice Party. I've thought it over quite a bit now and I can say without a doubt that I'm a supporter of the Prentice/Smith Party.
The PC Party? WildRose? No I don't really like either of those parties anymore. Allow me to explain.
The Problem
There's a problem with the conservative insurrection in Alberta. It's past due. We had our window and that window is now closed. Not just because of recent developments.
I've found it increasingly awkward to be pro federal Conservative and anti Alberta PC. PC, CPC, and WR all fish from the same pond. I felt it door knocking in Canmore recently. We should not be fighting anymore.
The Federal election is coming this year. Like it or not Jim Prentice is a Harper Conservative. The two brands are inextricably linked. I know this only too well. I volunteered for Jim Prentice when I lived in his Riding. Deepak Obhrai endorsed Jim Prentice and I also volunteered for Deepak and served in his EDA.
There just isn't any room for a conservative civil war in the next year, even if its only in Alberta. We just can't spare the oxygen. Trudeau is the biggest threat we have faced yet. Martin, Dion, Ignatieff were not easy opponents, no matter what people might say in hindsight. All of them are eclipsed by Trudeau. We know it's not rational but the Liberals aren't appealing to reason in the next election. It's an incredibly dangerous time for our country. We can't afford this squabble between friends anymore.
I'm not talking about making up with Allison Redford, but with your neighbors and co-workers who all support Stephen Harper.
WildRose
Oh Wildrose. You had so much potential. The hated Allison Redford conspired with the left and the media to fatally destroy the WildRose brand in the last general election. They exploited Wildrose's greatest weakness, social conservatives, and used them to unfairly smear the party that truly deserved to win.
It would take 10 years to undo that kind of damage. A tough and thankless slog that would be. Enduring the skills of Jim Prentice for a decade with only the hope that the arrogance and entitlement of the post Klein years would blight Alberta once again. No thanks.
I didn't want to face that. In a way I wrapped all of Alberta politics in a package in my mind and marked it "Do not open until 2016". Perhaps the situation would change by then? Yikes did it ever change.
Surprisingly, I think it changed for the better.
I was signed up for WildRose by two cranky geologists. These guys resembled the critics from the Muppets. They were exacting in the their standards and merciless with their criticism. Of course, they got my name wrong on this supporter list they were drawing up. That took years to fix, but I had a lot of patience for the WildRose. I believed in the movement. We had a mission to get Alberta back on track. But I only really started to believe when Danielle Smith was nominated for the Wildrose leadership.
I put up signs. I made calls. You know the tragic story. We'll never recover what Allison Redford and her leftist takeover cost us Albertans. What a colossal waste and squandering of precious booming times!
Then those times changed.
The by-elections showed that people did not blame the PC Party but Allison Redford personally. I wasn't really paying much attention. I did however wince at the WildRose campaign slogan. "Send the PCs a message!" What message will they send if they vote PC? Danielle Smith got the message eventually and here we are.
Progressives
I detest progs and their sugar coated lies. I despise their smug self congratulating entitlement. Justin Trudeau is your typical prog but so is Allison Redford. Redford could not have done what she did alone. There are people inside the PC party as liberal and corrupt as Dalton McGuinty. We are on their side now.
That has to be the worst part about this move to the PC Party. Thomas Lukaszuk said Allison Redford "is Alberta." Doug Horner lied to all our faces about the deficit. Dave Hancock led the plan to remove Alberta's plate slogan to punish the Wildrose. On and On. There was that clown MLA badmouthing our Oil Sands and such. All these goons are still there. All those back office leeches and schemers? Still there.
It's going to be war when Prentice leaves. long may he rule.
Jim Prentice changes a lot of things. He's alleviated all the sore points the PC's have created when the scum bags ran the party. I think the former banker and federal Environment Minister may have the exact skill set that Alberta needs to succeed in these challenging times. I want to help him succeed.
Loyalty
The minute that any of us becomes a liability or an embarrassment to the party we are shown the door. It doesn't matter who it is or how much good was done before. Every party is like this. Everyone should treat their political party like this as well. It's only fair and should work in reverse as well. Don't stick with a party because you're stuck with them. If something better comes along you've got to move. Its democracy. It keeps the parties on their toes. It makes the parties beholden to you and not the other way around.
I'm not going over to the PCs for Prentice even though I think he's pretty good. I would have already jumped. I'm going to the PCs because that's where my leader, Danielle Smith, is going. Shes a smart and brave woman. A lot of people see this as a betrayal but I don't. I'll go where she goes. PC or Alberta Party even.
Danielle Smith is being a leader. She made a bold move. A move that I couldn't even anticipate. I respect that. Smith and the others aren't going to wait quietly in a box until the coast is clear to attack Jim Prentice. We are going to do everything we can, for ourselves, for our parties and for our province and country to defeat Justin Trudeau. -and we are all going to need each other should we fail.
The PC Party? WildRose? No I don't really like either of those parties anymore. Allow me to explain.
The Problem
There's a problem with the conservative insurrection in Alberta. It's past due. We had our window and that window is now closed. Not just because of recent developments.
I've found it increasingly awkward to be pro federal Conservative and anti Alberta PC. PC, CPC, and WR all fish from the same pond. I felt it door knocking in Canmore recently. We should not be fighting anymore.
The Federal election is coming this year. Like it or not Jim Prentice is a Harper Conservative. The two brands are inextricably linked. I know this only too well. I volunteered for Jim Prentice when I lived in his Riding. Deepak Obhrai endorsed Jim Prentice and I also volunteered for Deepak and served in his EDA.
There just isn't any room for a conservative civil war in the next year, even if its only in Alberta. We just can't spare the oxygen. Trudeau is the biggest threat we have faced yet. Martin, Dion, Ignatieff were not easy opponents, no matter what people might say in hindsight. All of them are eclipsed by Trudeau. We know it's not rational but the Liberals aren't appealing to reason in the next election. It's an incredibly dangerous time for our country. We can't afford this squabble between friends anymore.
I'm not talking about making up with Allison Redford, but with your neighbors and co-workers who all support Stephen Harper.
WildRose
Oh Wildrose. You had so much potential. The hated Allison Redford conspired with the left and the media to fatally destroy the WildRose brand in the last general election. They exploited Wildrose's greatest weakness, social conservatives, and used them to unfairly smear the party that truly deserved to win.
It would take 10 years to undo that kind of damage. A tough and thankless slog that would be. Enduring the skills of Jim Prentice for a decade with only the hope that the arrogance and entitlement of the post Klein years would blight Alberta once again. No thanks.
I didn't want to face that. In a way I wrapped all of Alberta politics in a package in my mind and marked it "Do not open until 2016". Perhaps the situation would change by then? Yikes did it ever change.
Surprisingly, I think it changed for the better.
I was signed up for WildRose by two cranky geologists. These guys resembled the critics from the Muppets. They were exacting in the their standards and merciless with their criticism. Of course, they got my name wrong on this supporter list they were drawing up. That took years to fix, but I had a lot of patience for the WildRose. I believed in the movement. We had a mission to get Alberta back on track. But I only really started to believe when Danielle Smith was nominated for the Wildrose leadership.
I put up signs. I made calls. You know the tragic story. We'll never recover what Allison Redford and her leftist takeover cost us Albertans. What a colossal waste and squandering of precious booming times!
Then those times changed.
The by-elections showed that people did not blame the PC Party but Allison Redford personally. I wasn't really paying much attention. I did however wince at the WildRose campaign slogan. "Send the PCs a message!" What message will they send if they vote PC? Danielle Smith got the message eventually and here we are.
Progressives
I detest progs and their sugar coated lies. I despise their smug self congratulating entitlement. Justin Trudeau is your typical prog but so is Allison Redford. Redford could not have done what she did alone. There are people inside the PC party as liberal and corrupt as Dalton McGuinty. We are on their side now.
That has to be the worst part about this move to the PC Party. Thomas Lukaszuk said Allison Redford "is Alberta." Doug Horner lied to all our faces about the deficit. Dave Hancock led the plan to remove Alberta's plate slogan to punish the Wildrose. On and On. There was that clown MLA badmouthing our Oil Sands and such. All these goons are still there. All those back office leeches and schemers? Still there.
It's going to be war when Prentice leaves. long may he rule.
Jim Prentice changes a lot of things. He's alleviated all the sore points the PC's have created when the scum bags ran the party. I think the former banker and federal Environment Minister may have the exact skill set that Alberta needs to succeed in these challenging times. I want to help him succeed.
Loyalty
The minute that any of us becomes a liability or an embarrassment to the party we are shown the door. It doesn't matter who it is or how much good was done before. Every party is like this. Everyone should treat their political party like this as well. It's only fair and should work in reverse as well. Don't stick with a party because you're stuck with them. If something better comes along you've got to move. Its democracy. It keeps the parties on their toes. It makes the parties beholden to you and not the other way around.
I'm not going over to the PCs for Prentice even though I think he's pretty good. I would have already jumped. I'm going to the PCs because that's where my leader, Danielle Smith, is going. Shes a smart and brave woman. A lot of people see this as a betrayal but I don't. I'll go where she goes. PC or Alberta Party even.
Danielle Smith is being a leader. She made a bold move. A move that I couldn't even anticipate. I respect that. Smith and the others aren't going to wait quietly in a box until the coast is clear to attack Jim Prentice. We are going to do everything we can, for ourselves, for our parties and for our province and country to defeat Justin Trudeau. -and we are all going to need each other should we fail.
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