[Flash Walken]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

Given the above post, lets just say Flash is more interested in being a troll right now than in engaging in debate. Though it is cute that he is trying to blame a party that, at the time, was miniscule and marginal for scaring the big, bad Tories. That is some mighty impressive revisionist history.

I'm not interested in your kind of partisan, insult laden debate.

The Wildrose party was founded shortly after the Stelmach government began reviewing the royalty rates. This is not a coincidence.

The Wildrose juggernaut that now threatens to bring down the Tory dynasty was painstakingly constructed over the past five years by disaffected blue Tories, with help from key strategists allied with Stephen Harper’s federal Conservatives.

While the party’s surge in the polls might seem to have come out of nowhere, its backers have been carefully setting the stage for the Wildrose ascendance for more than five years.

The movement began in earnest in 2007, when former premier Ed Stelmach announced an independent review of oil and gas royalties.

http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/04...s-experts-say/

Soon after becoming Premier, Ed Stelmach launched a review of oil and gas royalties in the province. When the final report was released in the Fall of 2007 – called Our Fair Share - Stelmach announced that he would be increasing royalties to acquire an additional $1.4 billion a year. This decision created quite a backlash from the oil and gas sector. This backlash manifested itself in many ways.

First, it led to many Tories staying home in the March 2008 election. This did not seem too important at the time, as the Progressive Conservatives still won an overwhelming majority. Nevertheless, it did provide an indication that something was amiss within the PC ranks.

Second, there were growing numbers of individuals, some of them high-profile, who defected from the Progressive Conservative party to the Wildrose party.

Third, it set the stage for Paul Hinman’s by-election victory in Calgary-Glenmore in Fall of 2009 with his slogan of “Send Ed a Message.”

Fourth, and much more importantly, Wildrose started to receive some heavy donations from individuals and corporations within the oil and gas sector.

http://calgaryherald.com/news/politi...se-of-wildrose

Formed by disaffected wealthy conservatives, a further right political party was established to attack Stelmach and eventually defeat his royalty rate increase. Raising royalties on energy companies during an an energy price boom is economic common sense, but Wildrose ideology (or, political ideology being influenced by money) forced the issue the other way, further contributing to the current economic conditions in the province. Now, of course, that position is politically untenable for PC leadership, especially during a bust period. Wildrose very effectively worsened the economic conditions in the province by scaring the sitting PC government into backing off from raising the royalty rate.

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

I would suggest the very loud rhetoric from the O&G industry about halting production and the impact that would have had on government revenues played a much bigger role.

See above for why these are one and the same.

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

Also, Flash, MacTavish and Lowe are on the same team. So Prentice is Lowe, Mandel is MacTavish.

Prentice is Lowe, MacT is Danielle Smith. They are on the same team, after all.

Originally Posted by Jacks;

So you blame the Wildrose for our fiscal mess? gotcha.

They've certainly contributed by offering even more extremely conservative solutions to problems created by conservative policies. Like I said before, it's akin to digging up to dig yourself out of a hole.