[Diogenes]

Yup ya got me Wayne.
I goofed up, My apologies!

Ya see Mien Herr, unlike you I am able to accept responsibility for my errors of judgement.


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"There is no reason good can't triumph over evil, if only angels will get organized along the lines of the mafia."
Kurt Vonnegut

[lis2005]

WELL... I just got back from voting...

I live in Okotoks, Alberta and just got back from the Centential Centre!! I am looking at my ballot.. and low and behold.. I see a name that sounds familiar... but I couldn't quite place the name, and certainly not the party name - as I had never heard of it before!!

It was you Catherine Whelan Costen !!... you were running in my riding!! But here's the problem...

-- I never once had you come to my door to introduce yourself

-- I never once got any of your party's literature explaining your party's policies

-- I never even knew you existed until I saw you on the ballot!!

It's a shame too... because I had to seek you out by looking you up on vivelecanada. That's poor campaining as far as I am concerned.

It's also a shame because I am sure that a number of people at the polling stations today were wanting another option in this election.. but why move into the apartment when the landlord is never there???

PS - if the CAP is looking for new management... look me up!! I am sure I could do a better job promoting the CAP in the next election... kidding.

[Dr Caleb]

Don't take this the wrong way, but Vive has had something on the front page almost every day about CAP and/or by Catherine since the election was called 8 weeks ago. . . where have you been?


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"If you must kill a man, it costs you nothing to be polite about it." Winston Churchill

[lis2005]

Well I am glad that Vive has had something on the CAP since the election was called 8 weeks ago.. am I to assume then that everyone has computers, and furthermore -- every person with a computer visits Vive?

Probably not. Although it is nice to see a politician actively posting articles on Vive, perhaps the candidate should have been out trying to get VOTES rather than sitting on the computer all day...

IMO anyway.

Heck - I know more about the Marxist-Leninist party.. why? Because they were on TV!! I saw them at a debate... I've also seen their literature. However not one CAP brochure arrived in my mailbox, so what exactly was the point in running in my riding if they don't even tell their own ppl what they are about?

(and of course I don't take it the wrong way... no offense here either when I say that the ppl in my community don't go particularily base their vote by what they read on Vive... like I said.. you don't move into the apartment when the landlord is never there)

[lis2005]

Sorry... I have to add to my comment.

If the CAP is so strongly against Conservative and Liberal views -- a good way to convince ppl of this would be to do a door to door campain -- the CAP candidate in my riding did nothing of the sort.

That's the simple point I make in my comment regarding the CAP. I am no psychic here -- however Ted Menzies is probably getting the seat in my riding.. because he is active in getting the word out in the community -- NOT just the online community.

[Dr Caleb]

". am I to assume then that everyone has computers, and furthermore -- every person with a computer visits Vive?"

Well, in a perfect world . . .

"Probably not. Although it is nice to see a politician actively posting articles on Vive, perhaps the candidate should have been out trying to get VOTES rather than sitting on the computer all day..."

Spoken like a true couch potatoe. Speaking of which, I notice most of Catherine's articles and comments posted after midnight. I guess she should still be knocking on people's doors then, eh?

Because Catherine didn't come to your door, doesn't mean she wasn't going door to door. I think the entirety of her campaign budget was for all the shoes that she wore out.

That's the problem with a low budget, rural campaign. Lack of resources to hit large areas of low population.

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"If you must kill a man, it costs you nothing to be polite about it." Winston Churchill

[lis2005]

Couch potatoe... how did you know??!! lol. Actually.. you can just call me the "armchair politician".. !!

Nope - in a perfect world everyone would have access to a computer to see Catherine's views on Vive.. and this is a great forum.. wish more ppl did visit.

Unfortunately -- the single parent of two living in co-op housing would only know of her options if she received a brochure, or saw a sign on the side of the road.. hmmm.

Well - I've seen parties and specifically politicians make a name for themselves without a lot of funding.

The Communist Party of Canada sent me a brochure back when I lived in Edmonton - granted it was on cheap paper and clearly the budget for their campaign was not a lot of money... I still kept them in the back of my mind when I re-elected the Liberals (yah yah yah... don't bug me about it.. it was a dark time for me!!)

I have to ask you Dr. Caleb... do you live in the Macleod riding?? How do you know whether she pounded the pavement in her riding?

Okotoks and the Macleod riding in general may have a low population -- 97,580 people -- nope - that's no Calgary.. or Toronto... but still... to have a seat in this riding would be very influential.

Consider the population of Okotoks for example -- it's only over 11,000 people - and growing! However - what a lot ppl don't realize is that Okotoks is a sleeper town for Calgary -- a lot of influential ppl within the Oil and Gas industry call this town home.

I understand that you are defending a long-time member of this forum... I don't knock you for that Dr. Caleb... really I don't... but I didn't even see one sign on the side of the road for the CAP.. and that's just sad!!

Not one sign, not one brochure - and although I am just one resident of this town and she may have visited the neighbors on either side of me... not one visit either.

I hope I see more of her in the next election -- otherwise it would just be a waste of her time to run again... sorry... that's just my opinion.

[Dr Caleb]

". wish more ppl did visit."

I agree, hence the 'in a perfect world'...

"Well - I've seen parties and specifically politicians make a name for themselves without a lot of funding."

Hmmm. Marc Boris St-Maurice, Gordon Stamp, Derek Zeisman, David Oliver all come to mind, but not in a good sense.

"I have to ask you Dr. Caleb... do you live in the Macleod riding?? "

Dr Caleb normally doesn't reveal such details, but no. I don't.

"How do you know whether she pounded the pavement in her riding?"

I've 'known' her for years. We converse in other mediums.

You'll notice this story was posted at 1:10am as well.

"97,580 people -- nope - that's no Calgary.. or Toronto"

Nope. In Toronto or Calgary, the 100,000 people divider for a 'riding' could be had in a couple blocks. Much better for door knocking. When houses in some parts of McLeoud are miles apart . . .that presents problems for meeting everyone.

"Not one sign, not one brochure - "

Well, I can't comment on that, but I didn't get one from any candidate in my riding. But I don't rely on them anyway. They don't have to be 'given' my vote because I might recognize a name on a ballot from some paper I got in the mail. I am pro-active. I go out and find the candidates in my riding, and decide who deserves my vote.

"I hope I see more of her in the next election -- otherwise it would just be a waste of her time to run again."

This is actually the second election she's been a candidate in. Both Catherine, and Susan, Vive's founder, ran as NDP candidates in 2004. Susan is running the the largely rural riding of Peace River.

And don't for a second believe because a candidate didn't win that they wasted their time. The election isn't over for at least 6 hours yet!!

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"If you must kill a man, it costs you nothing to be polite about it." Winston Churchill

[lis2005]

I am aware of her campaign in Highwood as an NDP.

When you belong to one of the three largest parties in Canada ppl tend to know your viewpoints on things, and don't necessarily have to visit Vive to read them!!

hmmm... okay then Dr. Caleb... if you don't live in the riding, then... ahem. how would you know what she's done in her riding?

Listen - this isn't cut and dry like it would be if she belonged to Liberal, Conservative or NDP... ppl in general are more familiar with those three parties, and newer parties have an extremely hard time getting themselves known..

When I looked at the ballot today - I wasn't about to vote for someone I knew nothing about, and I can guarantee that there are a lot of other people in Okotoks saying the same thing right now.

I am a firm believer that candidates need to get more active in getting the word out... growing up in a family that was quite active in politics on all three levels I know how hard it can be to be the little guy in a big pond -- I've seen it in my family.

If the politician in my family were running in the Macleod riding, I'd at least see a sign on the side of the road... I didn't seek Catherine Whelan Costen out because she didn't make herself known -- except for of course -- the fact that she put her name on the ballot.

We'll see in six hours.. considering this area was pretty big into the Reform Party, and now Conservatives -- we'll see.

[lis2005]

ou ou ou... one more thing...

your comment:

"You'll notice this story was posted at 1:10am as well."

Her post was made on:

Friday, January 20 2006 @ 01:10 PM MST

1:10 PM not AM...

she posted it in the afternoon...

[Dr Caleb]

"hmmm... okay then Dr. Caleb... if you don't live in the riding, then... ahem. how would you know what she's done in her riding?"

Well, like I said above, I 'know' her. I've never actually met her face to face like I have many on Vive, but we chat via IRC or email.

"When I looked at the ballot today - I wasn't about to vote for someone I knew nothing about,"

I stopped doing that years ago. I got sick of voting the party line back in the Mulrooney years. I'm more pro-active now.

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"If you must kill a man, it costs you nothing to be polite about it." Winston Churchill

[Dr Caleb]

Sure enough. But I see it as "06-01-20 01:10", hence the confusion.

---
"If you must kill a man, it costs you nothing to be polite about it." Winston Churchill

[whelan costen]

Well lots of talk about Macleod riding, so here's the scoop, one campaign worker, and me. How many doors do you think I could reach? This is where the electorate come into play, and the mindset is set, or has been by the big guys, they are selling, I was not. You live in Okotoks, where signs are historically removed by the Town, signs cost money, where do you think a small party with no government funding gets the money for signs and advertising. There are many newspapers is Macleod Riding, and I had advertising in everyone I know of, on a very limited budget, I had radio ads on 1140 and the Eagle FM again on a very limited budget. I attended the student debate at Foothills Composite School, the evening debate at Okotoks Centenial Centre where you voted. I did radio interviews, newspaper interviews steady, so I believe I did my part to make you an offer.

So if you didn't know I was in your riding, you didn't do the research into your options. This is something not just for you but for all Canadians who want to be involved in the democratic process, I attended about 6 debates from one end of the riding to the other, and true I could not possibly reach every person, but it wasn't for lack of trying to offer something different.

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If I stand for my country today...will my country be here to stand for me tomorrow?

[lis2005]

Okay.. I am just going to say this and then leave it alone until tomorrow.

The CAP needs to do some homework here.. IMO... and here's why:

On a Provincial Level -- the people of this Province have been very Pro-Conservative... the same can be said for their views on a Federal Level... but look at this:

Catherine Whelan Costen didn't even make herself known as an NDP candidate in my immediate area during the 2004 Provincial Election. I saw no signs as an NDP candidate (that I recall) - anywhere in Okotoks... here are some results for the area I live in...

49.1% of the ppl in my area turned out to vote in the 2004 Provincial election. In my area, out of the 112 people who voted: 28 votes went to the Liberals, 69 went to the Conservatives... guess how many went to the NDP??...

zero. none.

I had Sheelagh Matthews come to my door from the Green Party.. I am aware of who she was because she made it a point of making sure I knew who she was.. aside from the NDP the Alberta Green Party is one of the only other left of centre parties aside from the NDP in that election... she even got more votes than Catherine Whelan Costen - she got five votes... because... drum roll please... she campaigned! Aside from the debates -- the residents of Okotoks have not heard from Catherine Whelan Costen... plain and simple.

Now -- those were five votes that I could have gotten instead if I actually campaigned in my area... also -- my area tends to get more Liberal votes .. granted - not as many as the conservatives -- but I sure would have made a better dent in this race by getting those Liberal votes... combined with those Green Party votes -- and it would have been a close race.

Multiply that one little area in Okotoks by many more and you could very well be a candidate who has a chance in the election.

I can make a safe assumption that the same ppl who are voting Green Party and Liberal will do the same in the Federal election... although - the Liberal voters might have been looking for something different... enter CAP.. too bad that didn't happen.

Sorry Catherine -- no offense -- but you need to start looking at the numbers within your riding, and start knocking on more doors!! PM me and I'd be happy to send the PDF file with the results... Better luck next time.

(I know that is premature.. but Ted Menzies is just that much more active in the political process than this candidate...)

[lis2005]

hmmm...

Perhaps in Okotoks they remove the sign along the highways, and in neighborhoods... but there was nothing wrong with say.. for example -- going along Robinson Drive and seeing if ppl would be interested in having a sign put up on their lawn.. I drive by in my vehicle and think... "hmmm... Catherine Whelan Costen... who's that?" and considering half of the ppl in this town aren't always reading the Western Wheel, or listening to the Eagle, or attending the debates (because most ppl in this town are working in Calgary, and are gone 10 or more hours in a day) -- it's not a bad idea to ask to stake up a sign on a lawn or two. I am sure that if you came to my door (with a serious protest from my husband) I would have let you.. and I have a lot of ppl driving by my house on the way home from work.

Sorry -- but my Grandfather ran as a candidate for the Communist Party of Alberta in a riding that was extremely conservative at the time.. and he knocked on doors until he darn near collapsed.

He got enough votes in his riding to really put a big scare into ppl... this was in the 80's - during the cold war. That was in a rural area where media was a little hard to come by -- ppl were very spread out.

My neighbor just got back from voting as well.. and she said that she was still undecided right up until the end.. she also said that she fears that she wasted her vote by voting the incumbent back in.. so I said to her (just out of curiosity) "why didn't you vote CAP?" and she said "WHO?"

It speaks volumes.. sorry if you are offended Catherine - it isn't my intention to offend.

thanks.