The final chapter of the Progressive downfall in Alberta was precipitated by this very idea of uniting the right. Prentice, Smith and Preston Manning himself helped engineer the scheme to destroy the opposition Wildrose Party so that responsible voters had no where else to turn.
They even appeared to have succeeded at one point. I myself had left Wildrose for dead, at least mentally for a month or so. I never took Prentice up on his limited time free membership for Wildrose members.
But then Progressives were progressive, raising taxes and lording their perceived invulnerability over us. I couldn't stand it. I tried the Progressive brand on for size and it sucked. There was no way I'd vote for taxes. Strategic vote splitting and all that be damned. I will never make that mistake again.
So here we are and Ken Boessenkool is trying to unit the right again. I agree that vote splitting is a real challenge. And while Progressives were keen to underhandedly wipe out the Wildrose outright for the purpose of unity, I don't see why they won't accept the same logic now and retire the PC franchise.
I don't mean a merger with the Wildrose. I mean pack it in. Close it down. Spare us the needless years of NDP "darkness" that we saw when Reform and PC fought federally. Are the Ken Boessenkools of the world willing to accept that? Surrender or nothing. Those are the terms.
If nothing else the last 6 months have proved that is Wildrose is incredibly resilient. If losing the party leader and 8 more MLA's, then facing a snap election and increasing their seat count doesn't show fortitude then what will? I doubt they'll face an existential threat like that again. Wildrose is a hardened player now.
I don't even care about the vote split all that much. If the NDP lasts for 8 or 12 years, it just means that many more people are going to learn the hard way. I wonder how many people would have voted for the Progs if they knew what kind of a blowout it would be? Perhaps they were holding out hope for a coalition? In fact, there is reason to believe that the Wildrose turnout was suppressed quite a bit with everything that went on in the last year.
Wildrose doesn't need to take the 9 remaining PC's either. Derek Fildebrant said that the party is open to conservatives but not opportunists. PC cronies, elected or otherwise need not apply.
Bitterness and resentment however don't belong in a good party. I would recommend accepting refugee MLAs with some tight conditions. They must publicly denounce the PC Party for starters. They should sit as an independent MLA for a year perhaps. And finally their recognition and acceptance into Wildrose be approved by a vote at the AGM. They would not technically be "floor crossing" in this scenario.
In any case it's looking like it's going to be war.
Showing posts with label Wildrose 9. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wildrose 9. Show all posts
Saturday, May 9, 2015
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
I'm still with Danielle Smith and the Wildrose Faction
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!
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!
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