May 2015 Provincial Election Thread v2

[Fuzz]

Interesting take by lefty blogger David Climenhaga
http://albertapolitics.ca/2016/02/ez...ging-his-tune/

I have been consistently treated with respect by both the NDP and the Tories before them, but I do not have the same access as Gallery members or mainstream media journalists.

So, for example, like Ms. Gunn Reid, I was also on what Mr. Gunter termed the “no-go list” for the news conference with Ms. Notley and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The policy, I understand, came from the Prime Minister’s Office. Unlike The Rebel’s reporter, I chose not to whine about it.


So does this mean I think the NDP is playing this the way they should, or the only way they could? I’m afraid not. They walked right into a fight with a skilled agitator determined to make monkeys of them, and they should have known better.
As Liberal commentator Warren Kinsella, also no admirer of Mr. Levant, said on his blog yesterday: “Ezra lives for this stuff. In a battle with bureaucrats, he always wins.”
I don’t know who advised the government to get in this unwinnable fight, but it was bad advice. If it had been me making the call, I would have welcomed The Rebel, and waited for its representatives to misbehave sufficiently to be tossed with cause. This wouldn’t have taken long, if you ask me.

NOTE: some parts trimmed from quote for brevity.

[Frequitude]

I'm still astounded she's decided to pick this fight. Not with Ezra per se, but with the institution that is media and their freedom. They're a tight bunch. Just look at the response to a freakin' Sean Penn article. Why would you ever fight that as a politician. The only thing that I can think of is that she's too dumb to realize the connection and thinks its purely a fight with The Rebel (which on its own is also a dumb fight to pick).

[2Stonedbirds]

Ugh. The only person who could possibly be more grating than Ezra is Warren Kinsella.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

The "right wing" is fully capable of focusing on Notley's multiple failings at the same time, Killer.


Incidentally, and rather obviously given the NDP are sitting third in the polls, a united right would utterly crush the NDP if an election were held today.

I wouldn't be surprised if the NDP approval rate plummets below 20 points by the time the summer is over, everyone that I talk to has zero trust in this government and views them as incompetent isolated boobs.

Notley has been brutally poor as the premiere and Notley fatigue is starting to really set in. She had her protest vote and she's done little about it but expose how bad the NDP party is organized and run.

[killer_carlson]

Approval ratings wont drop that low until someone on the right puts together any sort of credible alternative in Edmonton.

[Resolute 14]

Oh, sure it can. Stelmach got as low as 14% at a time when there was no effective opposition at all. Personal popularity of a party leader doesn't necessarily correlate to support of that party.

Also, Maclean's offers a good take on the Ezra Levant issue. Particularly on how Notley brilliantly turned Levant into a martyr.

Of interest...

The “no webbies” defence by Oates was even more unseemly in the age of not only Vice, Buzzfeed and Huffington Post, but also Green Energy Futures. You haven’t heard of Green Energy Futures either? It’s a web production of environmental think-tank Pembina Institute, co-sponsored by oil companies Shell and Suncor, to share multi-media stories abut the “clean energy revolution that’s already under way.” A freelancer for Green Energy Futures joined the embargoed media briefing in November for the Alberta climate change panel and response plan. The term “reporter” doesn’t show up on its About Us page, either.

It is both interesting and unsurprising to note that Notley allowed a non-media outlet that happens to be affiliated with the anti-Alberta Pembina Institute into a media lock-up.

[Resolute 14]

Aaaaand Notley (wisely) caves. Says she will ask a former bureau chief of the Canadian Press to help develop proper standards, and in the meantime, nobody will be banned from future events.

https://twitter.com/JodieSinnema/sta...98743853006849

Edit: Calgary Herald story: http://www.calgaryherald.com/News/11725261/story.html

[Fuzz]

Yup, ALWAYS have a third party handle issues like this. She's learning! At least she didn't dig her heals in, which is something Redford would have done.

[CaptainCrunch]

This government reminds me of the Simpsons, they had one episode where Homer was at work at his console and everyone is crowded in his office behind him waiting quietly and Lenny whispers

"Just wait he's about to do something stupid"

[peter12]

Another third-party consultant who will probably bill the province for a six-figure fee, all to just probably just confirm the status quo.

[Resolute 14]

Well, in this case, it has been well demonstrated that the NDP lacks competent internal resources. Going third party became a must.

[PsYcNeT]

Originally Posted by peter12

Another third-party consultant who will probably bill the province for a six-figure fee, all to just probably just confirm the status quo.

Job creators.

[chemgear]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

Aaaaand Notley (wisely) caves. Says she will ask a former bureau chief of the Canadian Press to help develop proper standards, and in the meantime, nobody will be banned from future events.

https://twitter.com/JodieSinnema/sta...98743853006849

Edit: Calgary Herald story: http://www.calgaryherald.com/News/11725261/story.html

Frack, I hate politics. I hate politicians (all of them). But I have never been so damn incensed in my life to see a Canadian/Albertan government try to pull stupid #### like this. It's ####ing basic freedom of the press regardless of whether you don't like them or not.

Clearly the NDP also don't understand the things you can't do this in a democracy. What kind of public statement is this?

“We’ve heard a lot of feedback from Albertans and media over the course of the last two days and it’s clear we made a mistake,” the premier’s office said in a statement Wednesday.

You think it was a MISTAKE JUST because you've gotten some feedback? How fracking insanely stupid are you? What's next? Are you going to round up and jail some "enemies of the state" next week? Wait for some feedback and say "Oh snap, I didn't realize we couldn't do this . . . ummm keep those people stay in jail while we pay some outside experts to conduct a review of this policy. We'll get back to you in a few weeks."

What Russian Communist Utopia are these people living in?

Originally Posted by peter12

Another third-party consultant who will probably bill the province for a six-figure fee, all to just probably just confirm the status quo.

Ridiculous as well. With the crazy deficit and upcoming budget, you need to pay an "expert" to tell you not to do illegal scummy ####? ####ing seriously?

[Resolute 14]

In fairness, Chemgear, it is rare for any government to actually admit to a mistake. Especially Notley, who previously liked to claim it was just a "miscommunication".

The initial action was stupid and almost certainly unconstitutional. Admitting that it was an error was a good thing.

[chemgear]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

In fairness, Chemgear, it is rare for any government to actually admit to a mistake. Especially Notley, who previously liked to claim it was just a "miscommunication".

The initial action was stupid and almost certainly unconstitutional. Admitting that it was an error was a good thing.

You're probably right. And I'm likely not seeing things very clearly either given how much this enraged me. I love this country too much to see and ignore crap like this from our elected representatives.

[chemgear]

Huh, didn't realize that Alberta tried to pass that crazy bat#### law back in 1937.

http://calgaryherald.com/news/politi...ant-government

The New Democrats have achieved the seemingly impossible — they united most of the regular news media behind Ezra Levant. They hoisted Canada’s provocateur-in-chief from the right-wing ramparts to instant national fame.

So, here we are in the mainstream media, which Levant contemptuously calls The Media Party, suddenly defending him despite a fairly widespread opinion among journalists that The Rebel is a propaganda sheet at best.

We do it because there’s a constitutional guarantee of “freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication.”

And OK, we also do it, to be honest, because any one of us might be next.

If a government successfully banishes one set of opinions from its dusty hallways, any random reporter or commentator might be expelled, until the government whittles the audience down to a cheering row of correspondents from union newsletters.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

In fairness, Chemgear, it is rare for any government to actually admit to a mistake. Especially Notley, who previously liked to claim it was just a "miscommunication".

The initial action was stupid and almost certainly unconstitutional. Admitting that it was an error was a good thing.

I agree with this, with the caveat that absent the uproar they probably would never have shifted course. So it's less a reaction to their doing something unconscionable than it is a public opinion thing. What happens if public opinion shifts towards "it's perfectly acceptable to suppress views or de-platform people whose opinions we find distasteful"? It could happen. That sentiment is starting to become evident among a lot of young people. That's giving me a bit of pause.

Obviously the right thing to do to admit the mistake, but the whole episode remains concerning.

[Resolute 14]

Yeah, the larger "your speech silences my speech" and "it's only censorship if my views are suppressed" mentality is trying to make a comeback, so it is nice to see in this case that people stood up for what's right, even if it meant standing behind a guy even many right wingers find repugnant. As a public, we enjoy only the rights we fight for.

[Handsome B. Wonderful]

Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague

What happens if public opinion shifts towards "it's perfectly acceptable to suppress views or de-platform people whose opinions we find distasteful"? It could happen. That sentiment is starting to become evident among a lot of young people. That's giving me a bit of pause.

You're posting on a forum that is full of these kinds of people. It's certainly given me a pause.

[Resolute 14]

Notley is all over the news today.

Selling access to the premier again: http://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/alber...iser-1.2788607

The NDP routinely criticized the PCs for this. But we already knew Notley is a hypocrite.

Flying out to Toronto to help fundraise for the Ontario wing of the party, at $10,000 a plate! http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmont...nner-1.3460485

Jason Nixon asks a valid, though extremely worded question about what Notley's priorities are. So far, it seems this government is more interested in promoting the NDP elsewhere in Canada than it is promoting Alberta. That is deeply troubling.

She's also playing games with the Calgary-Greenway by-election, calling it after her party got its candidate ready, but before the other parties did. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgar...ming-1.3460553

I'm not terribly concerned about this one, except for the amusing fact that the Premier who has spent her entire tenure blaming the PCs to deflect challenges of her competence is now using those same PCs to defend herself.