Alberta Politics & Government Thread 3.0

[Macman]

You can never give up by saying they’re all bad and I can’t vote for anyone because that would be the end of democracy to an extent. As bad as you may think politicians are, they’ve gone through the process and aren’t really doing anything wrong or illegal, that’s why we get to vote. You have to go with what’s currently there because that’s our system.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

The unintellectual and entirely lazy “oh gosh I just can’t vote for anyone!” stuff is pretty funny, too.

Though it mostly seems to be conservatives who end up voting conservative anyway and just like playing pretend centrist to wash their hands of the bad stuff.

Originally Posted by TorqueDog

Beat me to it. My f--king sides, reading about 'partisans' and 'my team', the irony is delicious. Give me a break.

It might seem that way, but I’ve voted Liberal, PC and most recently Alberta Party There are some of us who aren’t enamoured with the NDP and would never vote for the UCP. At this point, once you get past that, there’s not a lot of choice. I don’t think that’s a copout at all.

[MarchHare]

Originally Posted by Slava

There are some of us who aren’t enamoured with the NDP and would never vote for the UCP. At this point, once you get past that, there’s not a lot of choice. I don’t think that’s a copout at all.

I'm not enamoured with the NDP either, but you better believe I'm holding my nose and voting for them if for no other reason than the UCP has been dreadful under Jason Kenney and yet is somehow poised to get even worse under Danielle Smith.

In the absence of any good options that you strongly support, voting for the party you perceive as the lesser evil is absolutely the right thing to do.

[Roughneck]

Originally Posted by Slava

Forget the left/right characterization for a second and just look at the policies and ideals. Where do you think they have some common ground? You can't use platitudes like "making Alberta a better place" or whatever. Seriously, they're pretty far-removed from each other.

They’re far removed on some things, like corporate tax policy. But they’re really close on other things, like personal income tax policy.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

People who support her think she represents their voice that is being drowned out. One example would be people against crushing vaccine mandates. They don't want to be forced vaccines and feel no one stands up for them. There are conservatives who didn't think Kenney did enough. Climate change would be another. People in O&G feel like no matter how clean they make the process of extracting oil, they are vilified unfairly.

This is her quote ""We will not be told what we must put in our bodies in order that we may work or travel. We will not have our resources landlocked or our energy phased out of existence by virtue-signalling prime ministers."

Ok, so what, you appeal to the 5% of the population that is so selfish they can't contribute to the wellbeing of their fellow Albertans and reduce stress on the healthcare system? Like, there are people who believe the earth is flat, too, but I don't want my premier catering to them, either.


And then she slams virtue signaling without realizing the irony that that is all she does? What a moron.

[belsarius]

Originally Posted by MarchHare

I'm not enamoured with the NDP either, but you better believe I'm holding my nose and voting for them if for no other reason than the UCP has been dreadful under Jason Kenney and yet is somehow poised to get even worse under Danielle Smith.

In the absence of any good options that you strongly support, voting for the party you perceive as the lesser evil is absolutely the right thing to do.

In a FPTP system, this is the way.

[iggy_oi]

Originally Posted by Slava

I’m with CC on this and I find it amusing when the partisans roll out the “please like my team” tactic.

That’s cute Slava. Gold star.

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by White Out 403

BuT ThE RoYaLtY ReViEw
is seriously "but her emails"

Just as dumb maybe dumber

Also didn’t Stelmach attempt a review as well? Nobody is waxing angstful about the PCs because of it.

[Inglewood Jack]

Originally Posted by MarchHare

In the absence of any good options that you strongly support, voting for the party you perceive as the lesser evil is absolutely the right thing to do.

I'm already tired of the whole voting against evil thing rather than voting for good after having done it at the federal and municipal levels in quick succession. but that's just how all politics seem to be right now and I don't see that changing anytime soon. it's like being forced to watch only Oilers games, so you really only have one choice even if the opposition is bleh at best.

[belsarius]

Originally Posted by Wormius

Also didn’t Stelmach attempt a review as well? Nobody is waxing angstful about the PCs because of it.

But the economy was booming when Stelmach tried, so it was bad timing. Notley tried during a downturn, so it was bad timing.

[Macman]

Originally Posted by TorqueDog

Beat me to it. My f--king sides, reading about 'partisans' and 'my team', the irony is delicious. Give me a break.

Did CC actually say that though, he’s not wrong when he says the current group isn’t that great. There’s usually still a good local candidate one can vote for. Maybe we shouldn’t put words and make up stuff that another poster didn’t actually say.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Ok, so what, you appeal to the 5% of the population that is so selfish they can't contribute to the wellbeing of their fellow Albertans and reduce stress on the healthcare system? Like, there are people who believe the earth is flat, too, but I don't want my premier catering to them, either.


And then she slams virtue signaling without realizing the irony that that is all she does? What a moron.

These positions are obviously not as marginalized (5%) as you think. Unless you think Smith was simply the best fundraiser/membership seller.

These issues will be up for debate in the next election.

[chedder]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

These positions are obviously not as marginalized (5%) as you think. Unless you think Smith was simply the best fundraiser/membership seller.



These issues will be up for debate in the next election.

I'd be shocked if it's more than 10% of the population, skewing heavily to rural. On that note, I'd love to know how many pc party members that voted are rural vs urban.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

These positions are obviously not as marginalized (5%) as you think. Unless you think Smith was simply the best fundraiser/membership seller.

These issues will be up for debate in the next election.

Yes, they are marginal. 90% + have received at least one dose, and not all of those who haven't been vaccinated share the view you described. It's the very fact that those are her positions, and those people signed up for memberships to have her represent that view. It's a tiny fraction of Alberta. I bet if you polled the people who voted for her, well over 30% would be unvacinated. Her supporters do not represent the typical Albertan, they are outliers. Which is why the whole process is a farce. If she is going to campaign in a general on those points, she is going to get destroyed.

Just the fact that she shares these views is pretty reprehensible. Imagine what AHS would look like if all Albertans followed her crockery? No one vaccinated, hospitals crippled, healthcare workers all quit. Ivermectin sales throguh the roof, no hydroxychloroquine available for those who actually need it. What a wonderful society she represents. But hey, at least everyone had the freedom to choose to screw over the rest of us! I've said it before, Libertarinaism is incompatible with functioning society, and she is a dyed in the wool, self admitted libertarian.

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by Macman

Did CC actually say that though, he’s not wrong when he says the current group isn’t that great. There’s usually still a good local candidate one can vote for. Maybe we shouldn’t put words and make up stuff that another poster didn’t actually say.

Slava did, which is whose post I was referring to PepsiFree beating me to replying to. That was literally what my post was talking about.

I'm going to ignore your last sentence since I'm nice and we can just attribute it to ignorance and not malice.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by Slava

It might seem that way, but I’ve voted Liberal, PC and most recently Alberta Party There are some of us who aren’t enamoured with the NDP and would never vote for the UCP. At this point, once you get past that, there’s not a lot of choice. I don’t think that’s a copout at all.

So vote Liberal or Alberta Party, or Freedom, or Wildrose, or whoever. There’s choice. Of course pretending there isn’t is a cop out. It’s not particularly difficult to look at all the choices and figure which ones I’d be fine with governing and which ones I wouldn’t. Guess how I’m gonna vote? For the best of the group. I’m not sitting on my hands because none of them are perfect.

It’s not even “oh you gotta vote NDP because the UCP is dangerous!!” no, I don’t care who you vote for, but this goldilocks fantasy people have about politics is bordering on some new age centrist cliché. You’re not “enamoured” with a particular party? My god, better not vote at all then!

Even the whole “partisans are telling me to like their team!” thing… man, anyone who thinks like that needs to get over themselves. It might be the case that people have just thought about things differently than you have, or maybe even just a little more than you have, and they’ve come to a conclusion you didn’t. It doesn’t make them partisan. And people trying to sell you on a party doesn’t make them partisan, it just means they actually give a #### enough to try, and not so little that they just whine about not wanting to vote at all. Sometimes yeah, they are partisan, but what are you? Nothing? Sounds meaningful.

[Ozy_Flame]

If you can't decide between any of the parties, then maybe look closer at the candidates in your riding and choose based on that. It would be a great accomplishment if people took their party blinders off and actually looked at the individual and their capacity to govern.

Pretend like it's a municipal election.

[Dion]

Rachel Notley will have her hands full with Danielle Smith

Smith hammered on the differences between her approach and that of Notley’s NDP.

“Canada and Alberta are in the midst of an inflation and affordability crises that has been primarily caused by the fiscally destructive policies of the NDP coalition with the Liberals in Ottawa. When you flood the money supply with hundreds of billions in new spending and pursue policies that spike the price of energy and transportation, the result is crippling inflation that’s hurting a sizeable majority of Albertans.”

If the Trudeau-Singh partnership in Ottawa continues to drop in popularity, Smith will surely hammer away and group in the Alberta NDP with every thrashing.

She said in her speech that she found it callous that the NDP-Liberal coalition has now voted to triple the carbon tax, with Notley so far refusing to push Singh to reverse NDP support on this policy.

“There is no excuse for any party leader seeking to be premier of Alberta to sacrifice the welfare of Albertans for the sake of toeing the line of her federal party … She is not putting Albertans first and that’s the difference between us. I will always, always put Albertans first, no apologies.”

This is a troubling narrative for Notley’s NDP.

https://edmontonjournal.com/news/pol...danielle-smith

[Fuzz]

^
Warning, David Staples like typing detected.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

lol. That article is trash. I had no idea Staples was a shill for the UCP to the same level he is for the Oilers. That is literally conservative propaganda.