Alberta Politics & Government Thread 3.0

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

You don't think NDP voters vote for financial interests? Higher minimum wage, better paying jobs, more social programs, more rebates, restructuring from oil to green etc... Again, restructuring helps some and hurts others, the left votes for their advantage too.

or is that simply fairness due to past injustices?

No, I'm saying this election isn't about that at all. It's about keeping an insane person from ruining our province and all we hold dear. In a typical election? Fill your boots, if that's all that really matters to you. But this one? You have greater responsibilities than your paycheck going up a few bucks. And there is zero guarantee a UCP government would help you, anyway. Hell, it's probably more likely they outsource whatever you do to a private company, and you can re-apply for you job to them, with lower pay, worse working conditions and fewer benefits. Sound good?

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

No, I'm saying this election isn't about that at all. It's about keeping an insane person from ruining our province and all we hold dear. In a typical election? Fill your boots, if that's all that really matters to you. But this one? You have greater responsibilities than your paycheck going up a few bucks. And there is zero guarantee a UCP government would help you, anyway. Hell, it's probably more likely they outsource whatever you do to a private company, and you can re-apply for you job to them, with lower pay, worse working conditions and fewer benefits. Sound good?

You give Smith way too much credit. She's not that smart, saavy, talented or powerful. She's simply one person that could be chucked out of the party just like Kenney was.

[topfiverecords]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

You don't think NDP voters vote for financial interests? Higher minimum wage, better paying jobs, more social programs, more rebates, restructuring from oil to green etc... Again, restructuring helps some and hurts others, the left votes for their advantage too.

or is that simply fairness due to past injustices?

...

Higher minimum wage for others, better paying jobs for others, more social programs for others, more rebates for others, restructuring from oil to green for others etc for others

[Dion]

Originally Posted by GordonBlue

I honestly think a lot of it is gullible old people scared of change and things they don't understand.

I'm 64 years old and Danielle Smith can go #### herself!

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

You give Smith way too much credit. She's not that smart, saavy, talented or powerful. She's simply one person that could be chucked out of the party just like Kenney was.

Did you really just brush off the threat of Smith winning the election?


The only way she will be chucked out of a party controlled by TBA is to piss them off, and that will only happen if she governs like a rational human. And the replacement will be worse.


Have you put any amount of rational thought into this?

[Dion]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

You give Smith way too much credit. She's not that smart, saavy, talented or powerful. She's simply one person that could be chucked out of the party just like Kenney was.

She has a lot of people behind the scenes pulling her strings and telling her what to do.

[Torture]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

You give Smith way too much credit. She's not that smart, saavy, talented or powerful. She's simply one person that could be chucked out of the party just like Kenney was.

And replaced by somebody just as crazy since Take Back Alberta controls the party.

[AFireInside]

Originally Posted by Dion

She has a lot of people behind the scenes pulling her strings and telling her what to do.

You really have to stop giving her credit. I get that you met her, and she seemed like a nice, decent person, but she isn't.

Were they behind the scenes on her radio show telling her what to say? What about when she said if you get cancer it's basically your fault? Did they help her write that paper 10 years ago about how smoking is beneficial? Comparing vaccinated people to followers of Hitler? The list goes on.

If she's got people behind the scenes telling her what to do, and she's ignoring that they are awful things to do and say, then that makes her just as awful as the people behind the scenes. If she's unaware of how harmful these things are, then she's an idiot. There's no away around it.

[Torture]

https://twitter.com/user/status/1655993179202813952
Jeeeeez

[Ozy_Flame]

Every day that someone like Danielle Smith holds the Premier's chair is another day that emboldens the fringe elements to think their views are legitimate to worthy of the Legislature. And that includes TBA being the puppet masters behind the scenes.

To downplay Smith's role is to legitimize and mainstream her fringe ideology.

[Harry Lime]

Jesus, when I hit 64 I'm planning on that not being old age.

I also think that you need to look no farther than lab work to figure out what another four years of UCP would look like. It used to be that I could walk into a lab for blood work in the middle of the day, and be out of there in 15 minutes. Literally done on my lunchhour. Now, there is a three hour wait time (if you're lucky) and the bureaucracy is an absolute #### show. It's less efficient, more expensive, the money goes to a private firm without reinvestment in the community, and causes a wave of problems all the way down the line for medical diagnosis and treatment. On top of that, the cost will only go up and service down, once unfettered capitalism becomes entrenched in blood services.

That's the UCP at their best. At their worst the money just goes away, or we fully adopt an American model of something, like the 0-6 curriculum being foisted on all of your kids this year. Zero benefit to the electorate.

[Izzle]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

You give Smith way too much credit. She's not that smart, saavy, talented or powerful. She's simply one person that could be chucked out of the party just like Kenney was.

You're so close! You could complete the thought by asking, who will do the chucking and who gets to replace her. By your progression, Kenney was chucked out and replaced by someone further right wing. Now if Danielle gets chucked out, you cannot honestly think they'll replace her with someone more moderate.

And that there, that's the crux of it.

[Torture]

Ah yes, the pandemic was difficult, who among us didn't compare the entire population to Nazis because of that difficulty?

https://twitter.com/user/status/1656009939502997509

[MarchHare]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

You don't think NDP voters vote for financial interests? Higher minimum wage, better paying jobs, more social programs, more rebates, restructuring from oil to green etc... Again, restructuring helps some and hurts others, the left votes for their advantage too.

I earn significantly more than the minimum wage, I don't work in the green energy industry, I don't receive any hand-outs from the provincial government, and I personally use relatively few government services (I'm still relatively young and in decent health, and I have no children in the education system). None of the examples you provided will be of any direct financial benefit to me...

...and yet I'm still voting for the NDP because I'm able to see the big picture and realize that I'm voting for the best leaders for Alberta as a whole, not the best party for my own personal selfish benefit.

[Torture]

https://twitter.com/user/status/1655980559078932480
"I don't tolerate or accept that that's an appropriate way to describe anybody"

You got that right past Danielle Smith, we shouldn't tolerate it.

[Fuzz]

Hold on now. Let's not right off the word fascist, Danielle. We might need that word to describe you at some point.

[Ferarri]

Co-worker told me the latest polls have UCP with a 7 point lead. Is that correct? Seems a bit high to me and really hope that's not the case.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by Harry Lime

Jesus, when I hit 64 I'm planning on that not being old age.

I'm not old, just aged to perfection, thank you very much

I also think that you need to look no farther than lab work to figure out what another four years of UCP would look like. It used to be that I could walk into a lab for blood work in the middle of the day, and be out of there in 15 minutes. Literally done on my lunchhour. Now, there is a three hour wait time (if you're lucky) and the bureaucracy is an absolute #### show. It's less efficient, more expensive, the money goes to a private firm without reinvestment in the community, and causes a wave of problems all the way down the line for medical diagnosis and treatment. On top of that, the cost will only go up and service down, once unfettered capitalism becomes entrenched in blood services.

Agreed, It's no fun when your doctor asks you to get some blood work done and you can't make an appointment. I told him that when he wanted blood work for my physical.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by Ferarri

Co-worker told me the latest polls have UCP with a 7 point lead. Is that correct? Seems a bit high to me and really hope that's not the case.

Latest Mainstreet poll. Reminder they missed the boat in the municipal election 5 or so years ago(take it elsewhere, GGG!). I think that was maybe decided voters, too.

[AFireInside]

Originally Posted by Ferarri

Co-worker told me the latest polls have UCP with a 7 point lead. Is that correct? Seems a bit high to me and really hope that's not the case.

I think that's going to be the case unfortunately. Way too many people I've spoken to are justifying a choice for Smith even though they don't agree with most of the things she says. It's embarrassing, particularly because they don't follow any of the issues whatsoever. It's always just things like "but oil & gas", or "too woke" (not that phrase specifically but concern over issues they think are woke, which is just nonsense anyway.

It could be that I'm from Northern Alberta so I know a lot of people who lean UCP no matter what, but it doesn't feel like an NDP win to me. I hope I'm wrong.