UCP Leadership Election

[GirlySports]

Can we have a poll? This is interesting. I voted just for Schweitzer and only him.

[Amethyst]

It's very unlikely I would ever vote for the UCP, but the only way I would consider it would be with Schweitzer. Can't stand Jason Kenney at all.

Brian Jean doesn't seem as bad, but he is a terrible speaker and he keeps saying people should vote for him because he was born and raised in Alberta. As someone who wasn't, that makes me feel like he's calling me a second class citizen every time he does it. Maybe it's a selling point for his supporters, but there are a lot of voters out there who aren't born and raised Albertans.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by killer_carlson

I think Kenney will govern the way Harper did, with social issues being parked.

I am hoping Kenney wins.

Harper didn't park social issues. That's pure revisionist history. He just largely went about attacking them under the radar.

[lambeburger]

Originally Posted by rubecube

Harper didn't park social issues. That's pure revisionist history. He just largely went about attacking them under the radar.

Ah, the old hidden agenda allegation. Takes me back.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by lambeburger

Ah, the old hidden agenda allegation. Takes me back.

Who said anything about a hidden agenda? I mean the blatant examples I can think of off the top of my head are:

- "Barbaric cultural practices" and the whole niqab debate
- Killing the court challenges fund
- Taking away charity status from certain non-profits that he disagreed with politically
- Marijuana prohibition
- War on safe-injection sites
- "Tough on crime" agenda (minimum sentencing, etc.)
- Ban on masks and face-covering at public protests

I'm sure there are other examples that I'm missing here but those are all social issues that definitely weren't "parked" during his tenure.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by rubecube

Who said anything about a hidden agenda? I mean the blatant examples I can think of off the top of my head are:

- "Barbaric cultural practices" and the whole niqab debate
- Killing the court challenges fund
- Taking away charity status from certain non-profits that he disagreed with politically
- Marijuana prohibition
- War on safe-injection sites
- "Tough on crime" agenda (minimum sentencing, etc.)
- Ban on masks and face-covering at public protests

I'm sure there are other examples that I'm missing here but those are all social issues that definitely weren't "parked" during his tenure.

Office of "Religious Freedom" as long as it is one of the religious he agreed with.

[MarchHare]

Originally Posted by rubecube

Who said anything about a hidden agenda? I mean the blatant examples I can think of off the top of my head are:

- "Barbaric cultural practices" and the whole niqab debate
- Killing the court challenges fund
- Taking away charity status from certain non-profits that he disagreed with politically
- Marijuana prohibition
- War on safe-injection sites
- "Tough on crime" agenda (minimum sentencing, etc.)
- Ban on masks and face-covering at public protests

I'm sure there are other examples that I'm missing here but those are all social issues that definitely weren't "parked" during his tenure.

In his first year as PM, Harper tried to undo gay marriage that had recently been legalized by the previous Martin government. The government motion failed due to the Liberals, NDP, Bloc, and a small number of red Tories (notably Jim Prentice and Peter MacKay) voting against it.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by MarchHare

In his first year as PM, Harper tried to undo gay marriage that had recently been legalized by the previous Martin government. The government motion failed due to the Liberals, NDP, Bloc, and a small number of red Tories (notably Jim Prentice and Peter MacKay) voting against it.

Yeah, like I get it if the social issues aren't as important to some people as they are to me, but let's not sugarcoat who Kenney and Harper are on these issues.

EDIT: That said, the Liberals were their own worst enemy in this regard by running the ridiculous "secret agenda" campaign. It basically set the bar so low for Harper that there was no way he could look as bad as they made him out to be.

[Iowa_Flames_Fan]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

Can we have a poll? This is interesting. I voted just for Schweitzer and only him.

I'm reluctant, only because the last time I did a poll (for the municipal election) a bunch of people took that as an opportunity to take pot shots at the board membership as a whole based on how different the results were from the (as it turns out, pretty flawed) Mainstrert polls.

The thing is, a poll posted in a thread like this is not scientific, or indicative of... really anything. It doesn't even tell you how most board members lean, because it only records the responses of people who a) see the poll, and b) care enough to respond. That is not a random sample, even within the larger (and also decidedly not random) subset of "calgarypuck posters."

As long as people appreciate it's "for entertainment purposes only" and aren't going to try to make some sort of political point out of it I'm happy to add a poll.

[octothorp]

Personally, I find the polls on here interesting for seeing how the board skews in relation to the larger public; I certainly wouldn't trust it for predictive purposes.

This one is difficult because the number of people on this board who will actually vote would be a smaller subset than most, and you wouldn't want the poll swung by those of us who aren't voting but would choose the most liberal option if we were. I think you need to either explicitly state that the poll is only for people voting, or else have a 'not voting' option.

[Knut]

Originally Posted by Iowa_Flames_Fan

I'm reluctant, only because the last time I did a poll (for the municipal election) a bunch of people took that as an opportunity to take pot shots at the board membership as a whole based on how different the results were from the (as it turns out, pretty flawed) Mainstrert polls.

The thing is, a poll posted in a thread like this is not scientific, or indicative of... really anything. It doesn't even tell you how most board members lean, because it only records the responses of people who a) see the poll, and b) care enough to respond. That is not a random sample, even within the larger (and also decidedly not random) subset of "calgarypuck posters."

As long as people appreciate it's "for entertainment purposes only" and aren't going to try to make some sort of political point out of it I'm happy to add a poll.

Can always make it an anonymous poll.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by octothorp

Personally, I find the polls on here interesting for seeing how the board skews in relation to the larger public; I certainly wouldn't trust it for predictive purposes.

This one is difficult because the number of people on this board who will actually vote would be a smaller subset than most, and you wouldn't want the poll swung by those of us who aren't voting but would choose the most liberal option if we were. I think you need to either explicitly state that the poll is only for people voting, or else have a 'not voting' option.

I'd do 6 options

UCP member voted x
Non-UCP member prefer x

I'd be interested in the difference as Schweitzer probably runs away with the second

[calgarygeologist]

Apparently Kenney has ~80% of the vote. I'm not really crazy about that result. I'm not sure I can get behind a UCP led by Kenney.

[CampbellsTransgressions]

In that case it is time for the Liberals and Alberta Party to merge.

[killer_carlson]

Well if that is the case, wow.

I expect Kenney to win, but not near by that margin.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by CampbellsTransgressions

In that case it is time for the Liberals and Alberta Party to merge.

It's been time for that for about a decade already. At least until now, they're content to blow each other's brains out in a desperate race for 3/4th. Pathetic really.

[Amethyst]

Originally Posted by calgarygeologist

Apparently Kenney has ~80% of the vote. I'm not really crazy about that result. I'm not sure I can get behind a UCP led by Kenney.

Ugh! Not a UCP supporter, but of the three options, that is the worst. Didn't know much about Schweitzer but from what I heard he was okay and well spoken in the one interview I saw. Didn't like Jean's policies or his comments about being a "real Albertan" but he seemed like a decent guy who I just disagreed with.

Jason Kenney has horrible ideas and comes across as creepy.

[Bootsy]

Kenney it is , the results:
Jason Kenney - 61.1%
Brian Jean - 31.5%
Doug Schweitzer - 7.3%

[the_only_turek_fan]

This is the best political news in a long time. I fully expect a massive UCP majority in 2019.

[browna]

Posted this before, and a couple years old, but an in-depth, long form look at Kenney.

https://thewalrus.ca/true-blue/

Will be interesting to see how the next days and weeks play out. He’s gotten a strong mandate from his party and has a lot of experience at the federal level and his time with the taxpayer federation to draw from, not all of which even applies at the provincial level, when campaigning.