Quote:
Originally Posted by Cappy
It's not the government, though. It's the ideology of the majority in this province. It's not the election, its the views that people actually vote for.
Danielle Smith could die tomorrow, but UCP would just appoint some other wingbat to take over and 53% of the province would vote for that person.
It's not one election. It's the changing tides of political discourse in the western world, unfortunately. Some provinces have just done a better job at holding back the tide
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I'm not sure I agree.
Alberta has always been a right-leaning province, firstly due to our rural roots and then largely because our energy sector aligned moreso with conservative values than liberal ones. Only once in half a century has Alberta voted for the non-right wing party and almost immediately there was buyers remorse from many. The ANDP, which in any other province would be seen as centrist or even slightly right-leaning, have the stain of being the 'not conservative option' in Alberta and so will always have an uphill battle. It's similar to how many US states almost always vote blue or red and there are only a handful of states that actually decide presidential elections. I don't think people in Alberta have gotten worse, I just think most voters don't make rational choices but instead go with their 'team'. So, I don't think the wingbats of the UCP necessarily represent most Albertans. I think most Albertans wouldn't classify themselves as libertarian anti-vaxers. They just don't pay close enough attention or they fall prey to the lies and propaganda and bumper-sticker politics of right-wing populism.
The western world has seen some pretty serious swings over to the far-right populism in the past. The US, for most of it's history, was a de facto fascist democracy. Nixon was as bad or worse than DeSantis and possibly even Trump. Canada was not much better until well into the 20th century. Generally, there's been a steady line of progress in the western world towards human rights, social programs and other "left" values, even if occasionally, we take a backward step.
There will always be the Danielle Smith's of the world: career politicians who are stupid enough to believe in a cynical ideology that simply doesn't fit human reality, but are charismatic enough to weasel their way up the ladder. The first line of defense against these people are the moderate conservatives, and usually they are pretty good at weeding out the wingbats, relatively speaking. But the political pendulum is always swinging and the reactionary rats will find a gap to exploit. At that point, it's up to the general populace to check them. But even then, there will be times, less frequently than with moderate conservatives, that the extremists will find their way through to the top of the political pyramid. Danielle Smith and the Take Back Alberta cretins, through perseverance, planning and good fortune found their moment. Fortunately, the Alberta Premier doesn't have exclusive power in this jurisdiction (unless she gets her way with the Police and pensions) and there are federal checks and balances as well as the rule of law. But even so, now we must ensure that we hold this government to account while also encouraging new centrist leaders to step up. Albertans are the same as people everywhere else; we care about others but are also primarily invested in our self-interest. At some point, it will be clear, even to many of those that may now support the libertarian anti-vaxxer in-office*, that she and her ilk are not good for the people of Alberta.
*May not apply to the Yoho's of the world