2 Wildrose MLAs to cross to PCs

[killer_carlson]

Originally Posted by Dion

I wasn't. People tend to vote for the devil they know as opposed to the devil they don't know. Add to that, Smith failed to deal with the radicals that which ultimatley brought her party a defeat at the polls.

you mean like the one who questioned climate change?

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manito...tled-1.1147604

[Dion]

Mack D. Male‏@mastermaq30 mins30 minutes ago
Who knew these two had so much in common! #ableg



Don Braid‏@DonBraid3 hrs3 hours ago

The most brilliant tweet yet. RT @brianlabelle Don't PC's & WRP have to go to court to form alliance? Or is it just gay teenagers? #ABLeg

James Wood‏@JamesWoodHerald45 mins45 minutes ago
Our editorial board with Danielle Smith for tomorrow just got cancelled. Too bad. Would have had a lot to talk about #ableg

[Ducay]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

Well they'll be no checks and balances with the Conservatives once this happens. They will basically be able to do whatever they want. Release any kind of budget and there's nothing that can be done to counter them.

We've seen in the past how that kind of ultimate power corrupts.

It will be interesting to see what happens from a political point of view, but without a capable opposition, its frightening as hell.

A lot of people are being stabbed in the back by this merger.

Yes, because having 14 more seats when you already have 63 really makes one-iota of difference when you've already got an absolute majority.

If anything, there is more "opposition" from within now that might affect change that will actually happen within the PCs, as opposed to just WRP's making noise with no impact.

[Dion]

Cory Morgan, a founding member of the Wildrose Party, has heard that house leader Anderson, a former Tory who crossed to the Wildrose in 2010, brought the idea to caucus.

Morgan is angry that the party membership hasn't been consulted.

"We're all in wait-and-see mode," he said. "We as members are still obviously being kept in the dark on something this critical. We haven't been consulted. As a member and supporter, I'm furious and hurt."

As for Prentice, Morgan called him a "gifted, Machiavellian political strategist."

"He's found every way to undercut the party and the opposition and he's done a very masterful job in slicing it up," he said.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmont...ives-1.2874525

[nik-]

haha, blaming Prentice. The WRP was a one note party with no plan. People seeing that and refusing to buy into their schtick was what brought them down, not "machiavellian political strategy"

[Jacks]

If Prentice really wanted to screw them over he'd cancel any deal now that it has been exposed and leave them twisting in the wind. Then he could call a spring election and win 80 seats. All of these turncoat WR MLA's have lost any credibility they had and would get slaughtered.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by cal_guy

I'm going to say natural gas prices were more of a factor than the PC's fiscal discipline especially after the 90s.

Yup. Redford's spending problem sure came home to roost when the price of oil tanked too.

[nik-]

Originally Posted by Jacks

If Prentice really wanted to screw them over he'd cancel any deal now that it has been exposed and leave them twisting in the wind. Then he could call a spring election and win 80 seats. All of these turncoat WR MLA's have lost any credibility they had and would get slaughtered.

I wish he would. At minimum if I was him, there'd be no spot for Smith. If he wanted to they really would be destroyed and he wouldn't have to have them in his caucus.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by nik-

I wish he would. At minimum if I was him, there'd be no spot for Smith. If he wanted to they really would be destroyed and he wouldn't have to have them in his caucus.

If all this turns out to be true, Smith would lose the next election in the Highwood region anyway. Nobody here likes a turncoat.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by Jacks

If Prentice really wanted to screw them over he'd cancel any deal now that it has been exposed and leave them twisting in the wind. Then he could call a spring election and win 80 seats. All of these turncoat WR MLA's have lost any credibility they had and would get slaughtered.

Or he could absorb the party and govern for another 18 months with 70 seats at no cost.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by Dion

If all this turns out to be true, Smith would lose the next election in the Highwood region anyway. Nobody here likes a turncoat.

That would be an interesting one, actually. I'm not sure High River has ever elected a non Conservative (SoCred, UFA, etc...) candidate. It would be interesting to see if the voters there would actually go Liberal to spite Smith under the PC banner.

[Jacks]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

Or he could absorb the party and govern for another 18 months with 70 seats at no cost.

We're talking about politicians here, given a reasonable excuse they never turn down a chance to get a fresh 4 year majority, especially with increased seats.

[Ducay]

Originally Posted by Dion

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmont...ives-1.2874525

Cory Morgan, a founding member of the Wildrose Party, [...]

Morgan is angry that the party membership hasn't been consulted. As a member and supporter, I'm furious and hurt."

Anything that riles up the Morgans and staunch WRP'ers makes me smile.

Floor crossings from PC to WRP are fine, but all these WRP to PC ones are some type of travesty of democracy. Love the double standards.

[edslunch]

Originally Posted by crazy_eoj

Odd comment in this thread.



As the PC party moved leftwards on the political spectrum, or became a more centrist party, under Stelmach and then moreso under Redford they became much less fiscally responsible.



Under Ralph Klein they undoubtedly were more fiscally conservative and payed down our entire debt.




It's this shift that led to the creation of the Wildrose party in the first place.

You can't use the terms fiscally responsible and fiscally conservative interchangeably. Klein balanced the budget but left a huge infrastructure deficit - not what I'd call responsible. (Not that I'm calling Stelmach or Redford responsible either)

[Dion]

Originally Posted by Ducay

Anything that riles up the Morgans and staunch WRP'ers makes me smile.

Floor crossings from PC to WRP are fine, but all these WRP to PC ones are some type of travesty of democracy. Love the double standards.

Blah blah blah..... If I had a looney for everytime you mentioned the Morgans i'd be rich

[Dion]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

That would be an interesting one, actually. I'm not sure High River has ever elected a non Conservative (SoCred, UFA, etc...) candidate. It would be interesting to see if the voters there would actually go Liberal to spite Smith under the PC banner.

Smith would have a hard time coming across as someone you could trust. Myself, i'd vote Liberal to spite her.

[shermanator]

Brian LaBelle ‏@brianlabelle 4h4 hours ago
Don't the PC's and WRP have to go to court to form an alliance? Or is it just gay teenagers in Alberta that have to? #ABLeg

[Flash Walken]

Remarkable.

right wing political party rocked to it's core in part because of it's conservative values (re: gay/straight alliance aka lake of fire).

Self analysis: We were sabotaged by a more liberal political party!

Supporter analysis: This must mean the liberal saboteurs are moving more conservative.

[Reggie Dunlop]

Could be a few more Independents sitting in the legislature by next session from what I'm hearing privately.

[Regular_John]

Unbelievable. Between this and the Gay Straight Alliance gong show I'm completely disenfranchised with this government.