Alberta Politics & Government Thread 3.0

[MoneyGuy]

Originally Posted by puffnstuff

Voted. And took my previously undecided neighbour with me. He hadnt planned to vote.

Did you tell him he’d be hoofing it home if he voted UCP.

[zamler]

Originally Posted by Iowa_Flames_Fan

I’m not saying you’re wrong, but we are truly in a bleak place as an electorate if our response to the bizarre, unpredictable and frequently unethical behaviour of our current premier is to go “yeah, but I didn’t get a good enough sales job from the OTHER side.”

We have only one way to express our displeasure with Smith. If we don’t, the message to the UCP will be that Albertans are fine with her behaviour and want to see more. She won’t be deterred by a slightly smaller majority—she will treat it as a mandate and the next 4 years are going to look like the last 18 months, only…. Probably worse because she will assume she has the ringing endorsement of voters for her behaviour.

We will face the same choice with the Trudeau Liberals soon (in my view). It’s an existential question: do we, as voters, have the cojones to say “no, enough. We are drawing the line, and you’ve crossed it so you’re fired. Give us a better option in 4 years and we will see.”

Or do we just mark our ballots for our “teams”, not caring what they do or how they govern, and allow ourselves to be doormats for the politicians who are supposed to serve us, not the other way around?

Like I said, you may be right. But it suggests to me that we’ve lost the thread—again—as an electorate. Voting for a party should never only be about ideology or partisan affiliation. Our democracy depends on it also being the way that we express our displeasure when the people in power abuse or misuse that power, or prove themselves to be ungovernable by traditional democratic rules, systems and customs.

Who are you voting for in the next federal election?

[Fuzz]

Sure seems like the biggest issues with UCP voters is they don't really have a good grasp on reality. Every point they make is easily refuted. It's like they prefer to grasp gobs of bull#### over learning reality. Baffling. Ignorance is not a badge to be proud of.

[Iowa_Flames_Fan]

Originally Posted by zamler

Who are you voting for in the next federal election?

That’s a hard question. My vote is kind of up for grabs, though not for the Liberals. I can’t vote Liberal until Trudeau is gone and the party cleans house. Some of the same reasons we have to reject Danielle Smith apply to Trudeau as well. They’re quite similar in my mind.

If the Conservatives were a more moderate option I would consider them but I can’t vote for a party whose leader constantly uses stupid dog whistles like “woke agenda” to signal his support to the fringes of our society.

And (like many people) I’m socially left and fiscally moderate/centrist, so the federal NDP is just… not as comfortable a home for me as the ANDP is.

I’m also in Calgary, so it likely doesn’t much matter how I vote. But I’m definitely pondering what to do when the time comes, and to be totally honest I haven’t decided yet.

[zamler]

Thanks for the honest answer.

[puffnstuff]

Originally Posted by MoneyGuy

Did you tell him he’d be hoofing it home if he voted UCP.

It might have come up. I may have promised to stop for ice cream on the way home if he did the right thing.

[edslunch]

Originally Posted by Iowa_Flames_Fan

I’m not saying you’re wrong, but we are truly in a bleak place as an electorate if our response to the bizarre, unpredictable and frequently unethical behaviour of our current premier is to go “yeah, but I didn’t get a good enough sales job from the OTHER side.”

We have only one way to express our displeasure with Smith. If we don’t, the message to the UCP will be that Albertans are fine with her behaviour and want to see more. She won’t be deterred by a slightly smaller majority—she will treat it as a mandate and the next 4 years are going to look like the last 18 months, only…. Probably worse because she will assume she has the ringing endorsement of voters for her behaviour.

We will face the same choice with the Trudeau Liberals soon (in my view). It’s an existential question: do we, as voters, have the cojones to say “no, enough. We are drawing the line, and you’ve crossed it so you’re fired. Give us a better option in 4 years and we will see.”

Or do we just mark our ballots for our “teams”, not caring what they do or how they govern, and allow ourselves to be doormats for the politicians who are supposed to serve us, not the other way around?

Like I said, you may be right. But it suggests to me that we’ve lost the thread—again—as an electorate. Voting for a party should never only be about ideology or partisan affiliation. Our democracy depends on it also being the way that we express our displeasure when the people in power abuse or misuse that power, or prove themselves to be ungovernable by traditional democratic rules, systems and customs.

I hope someone decides Trudeau has to move on before the next election.

[dieHARDflameZ]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Sure seems like the biggest issues with UCP voters is they don't really have a good grasp on reality. Every point they make is easily refuted. It's like they prefer to grasp gobs of bull#### over learning reality. Baffling. Ignorance is not a badge to be proud of.

That must be true because Fuzz said so. Lol.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by dieHARDflameZ

That must be true because Fuzz said so. Lol.

Uh, ya. That's what the blue check means.

[craigwd]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Sure seems like the biggest issues with UCP voters is they don't really have a good grasp on reality. Every point they make is easily refuted. It's like they prefer to grasp gobs of bull#### over learning reality. Baffling. Ignorance is not a badge to be proud of.

It's more the fact that they are greedy AF.
"So what if 2SLGBTQ+ people are treated poorly? I'm not one and nobody I know is. As long as I get a big tax refund in May".

Notwithstanding all that money just gets eaten up in user fees and other areas.

[mikephoen]

Originally Posted by craigwd

It's more the fact that they are greedy AF.
"So what if 2SLGBTQ+ people are treated poorly? I'm not one and nobody I know is. As long as I get a big tax refund in May".

Notwithstanding all that money just gets eaten up in user fees and other areas.

Also, most of them are too dumb to realize that the provincial government has very little or no control over most of the taxes they pay. Those are mostly set at the federal level. Voting UCP isn't going to save you any tax money, unless you own a corporation in the province that makes more than $500K in profit per year.

[Jimmy Stang]

When can we start expecting to see some results trickling in tonight? Polls close at 8, obviously, but I honestly can’t remember when they start reporting results.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Stang

When can we start expecting to see some results trickling in tonight? Polls close at 8, obviously, but I honestly can’t remember when they start reporting results.

Immediately with the advanced vote first.

[Wormius]

Enough already with the “change their name” and they win. Like, instead of suggesting that, actually work through that in your head.

[Bonded]

Originally Posted by Iowa_Flames_Fan

That’s a hard question. My vote is kind of up for grabs, though not for the Liberals. I can’t vote Liberal until Trudeau is gone and the party cleans house. Some of the same reasons we have to reject Danielle Smith apply to Trudeau as well. They’re quite similar in my mind.

If the Conservatives were a more moderate option I would consider them but I can’t vote for a party whose leader constantly uses stupid dog whistles like “woke agenda” to signal his support to the fringes of our society.

And (like many people) I’m socially left and fiscally moderate/centrist, so the federal NDP is just… not as comfortable a home for me as the ANDP is.

I’m also in Calgary, so it likely doesn’t much matter how I vote. But I’m definitely pondering what to do when the time comes, and to be totally honest I haven’t decided yet.

I dislike Trudeau but I think picking Poilievre will hand it back to the Liberals. He’s not tracking well in Ontario, Quebec, or with women. The conservatives cannot get out of their own way with leadership picks. I just want a red Tory as an actual alternative to vote for.

[Faust]

David Parker, Ezra Levant, and Theo Fleury are all celebrating this morning.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by Faust

David Parker, Ezra Levant, and Theo Fleury are all celebrating this morning.

"The good guys won!"

[GordonBlue]

What do we do with our signs?
does someone pick them up, or do we get rid of them ourselves.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by GordonBlue

What do we do with our signs?
does someone pick them up, or do we get rid of them ourselves.

They will pick them up within a week.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by Faust

David Parker, Ezra Levant, and Theo Fleury are all celebrating this morning.

If that isn't a ####ing alarm bell nothing is