2 Wildrose MLAs to cross to PCs

[Slava]

Rumour has it that Kerry Towle and Ian Donovan are crossing the floor to the PCs today. Interesting.

Let me say that they should face a byelection and that floor crossing to anything aside from independent should force one. Nonetheless, the Wildrose must be sinking faster than it appears to the public.

[Bigtime]

Ruh roh.

[Ducay]

Originally Posted by Slava

Rumour has it that Kerry Towle and Ian Donovan are crossing the floor to the PCs today. Interesting.

Let me say that they should face a byelection and that floor crossing to anything aside from independent should force one. Nonetheless, the Wildrose must be sinking faster than it appears to the public.

I think keeping Danielle Smith in charge was their kiss of death.

Edit: And funny enough, this will likely precipitate discussions of replacing her anyways.

[Bigtime]

Don Braid tweeting now that he has it confirmed they are crossing the floor.

[Slava]

Towle is surprising to me. She was easily one of the most recognizable MLAs in general, and from the Wildrose. The other guy I don't know anything about, but Towle was always in the media about Seniors issues and that is a big gain for the PC's. Just makes you wonder how many more are in the wings?

Crazy to think that Prentice would consolidate power that fast.

[Bunk]

I think Smith quits soon.

If there was ever a time for other opposition folks to get their act together it's now. Take the we are the logical government in waiting mantle.

[Bigtime]

Prentice is an Alberta based Palpatine.

[Jacks]

Meh, I don't care anymore. The PC's have been in power my entire lifetime and I'm sure they will be in power when I die.

[c.t.ner]

Wow. Seriously what is going on here.

It's been less than a month and it looked like the Wildrose were on the verge of increasing their count by at least one MLA (Calgary-West) and now they down 3 MLAs... An incredible turnaround and implosion.

[burn_this_city]

Those two that crossed will be cast into the lake of fire.

[Aarongavey]

Makes sense, I think it is written in the Alberta constitution that only the PC's can be in power. Good run for the Wildrose but they will go the way of a less successful version of the Decore Liberals, close one election and never to be heard from again.

Long live the PC reign. Not sure where all the normal Wildrose suspects are in this thread.

[Slava]

Its strange, but Smith is done I would say. She probably regrets not running against Prentice for the leadership though, because she might have had a chance at that point. Now if she stays on it looks like she is just prolonging the obvious. The Wildrose won't likely win in 2016, so she will resign at that point anyway.

There are some weird situations here going forward though. Say you're Rob Anderson or Heather Forsyth...how do you go back to the PC's now? Have the bridges been burned? Or maybe an MLA for the Wildrose who has already won the nomination for the next election...crossing the floor seems like it would be a disaster in some sense now?

I mean maybe everything is cool in the party still, but it seems like it is the beginning of the end here.

[Ducay]

At what point do the left leaning parties wise up and merge to try and pull the left vote and become the opposition?

PCs occupy such a large swath of the spectrum, you'd think they'd (lefties) try and capitalize on it.

#anyonebutWRP

[InglewoodFan]

On a somewhat related topic, did Donna Kennedy-Glans officially end up back with the PCs? The AB Leg website still has her as an independent on her bio.

[DoubleK]

Originally Posted by Slava

. Say you're Rob Anderson ...how do you go back to the PC's now? Have the bridges been burned?

Zero chance the PC's allow him to come back.

[corporatejay]

Social conservatism is dead. D.E.A.D.

There is zero place for that type of discourse in politics anymore and the mere sniff of it has people running away.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by Slava

Its strange, but Smith is done I would say. She probably regrets not running against Prentice for the leadership though, because she might have had a chance at that point. Now if she stays on it looks like she is just prolonging the obvious. The Wildrose won't likely win in 2016, so she will resign at that point anyway.

There are some weird situations here going forward though. Say you're Rob Anderson or Heather Forsyth...how do you go back to the PC's now? Have the bridges been burned? Or maybe an MLA for the Wildrose who has already won the nomination for the next election...crossing the floor seems like it would be a disaster in some sense now?

I mean maybe everything is cool in the party still, but it seems like it is the beginning of the end here.

Heather Forsyth is quitting politics for personal reasons

The 64-year-old Calgary-Fish Creek MLA said the decision was made for “personal reasons.”

“At this time I’m doing one day at a time, so I will see how things go over the next few weeks,” Forsyth said at the Wildrose annual general meeting.

Forsyth has been dealing with hearing issues and now travels with a service dog that can alert her to different sounds.

http://globalnews.ca/news/1672898/wi...sonal-reasons/

[undercoverbrother]

Towle's office is located next to my barber in Sylvan.


Cool Story.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by Ducay

At what point do the left leaning parties wise up and merge to try and pull the left vote and become the opposition?

Given the NDP and Liberals are as different from each other as either is the PCs or Wildrose, what you end up with would not represent anything anyone on either side wants now.

And yes, at this point, Smith probably needs to give way to someone else.

[Dion]

"I made my decision yesterday and it's incredibly difficult," a visibly emotional Towle said at a noon news conference with Prentice and Donovan. "I consider most of my caucus mates my friends, but I felt that I had done all that I could in the role that I was in."

Towle said that she made her decision after talking to her constituents. She said that fractures in the party on the direction of the party leadership, which she supported, played a part.

"I just felt that some of the decisions that were being made were taking our party in a way that was not in line with what my constituents elected me to do ... I didn't think I could do anything to fix that path."

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmont...ries-1.2847378