[bootlegga]

Yogi Yogi:

MLA GETS BUMS RUSH

http://www.edmontonsun.com/2012/04/07/c ... aign-trail

5 OR 6 times! I'd have only told him once. Lukaszuk has all the charisma of a used-car salesman.

I agree Lukaszuk isn't that great in person (I met him when I worked at the Legislature), but compared to the Wildrose candidate in this riding (John Oplanich), he's a fricking superstar.

Oplanich ran in the 2010 civic election here and his platform was a joke - either he didn't hire someone to write his ads for him or he didn't listen to the person. His ads talked of grandiose plans and had multiple exclamation marks like this!!!!!!!!!

I'll agree Oplanich is passionate, but he doesn't sound too bright.

To top it all off, he kicked off his campaign with a bribe - a free TV for people who vote for him;

$1:

Wildrose candidate John Oplanich is offering a big-screen television and $25,000 in University of Alberta scholarships to constituents who visit him in this Edmonton-Castle Downs campaign office.

"Come in to learn how you can win a brand new 50-inch 1080p TV valued at $1,000 on election night," Oplanich said in a local newspaper advertisement.

"If elected as a member of the legislative assembly of Alberta I will give away $25,000 of my own money on election night in the form of $1,000 post-secondary scholarships to 25 students in the Edmonton-Castle Downs constituency."

Officials with Elections Alberta are investigating whether the offer is legal, but have not yet been able to reach Oplanich and have not issued a decision.

http://www2.canada.com/story.html?id=6123289

[Gunnair]

hahahahahahahaha. Brutal.

[Yogi]

The bottom line is that for the last several years, the PC's have only been interested in their own personal gain. Time for a change. And the majority agree with my POV!

[bootlegga]

Yogi Yogi:

The bottom line is that for the last several years, the PC's have only been interested in their own personal gain. Time for a change. And the majority agree with my POV!

If you honestly think any politician isn't in it for themselves, you need to seriously give your head a shake.

And really, who cares if the majority of people agree with you? History is littered with examples of majorities naively going down the wrong path (usually only proven wrong in hindsight) - the most recent being the re-election of Dubya and the invasion of Iraq.

[Unsound]

I agree that we need a change. I think the PCs have lost touch and their monopoly on power in the province has attracted too many of the wrong kind of people to the party.

I worry though that too many people will simply vote for whoever they think can beat the PCs and we'll end up with a Wildrose government without anyone ever looking too closely at what they actually stand for.

For me, Wildrose pretty much lost any chance of my vote when they promised Smithbucks. Worst idea since Ralphbucks.

[Yogi]

The PC's aren't up against any other party so much as they are up against their own history!

“In recent years, Albertans have witnessed bullying and intimidation of school boards, municipalities, doctors and hospital staff, massive cabinet pay raises awarded behind closed doors, million-dollar severance payoffs for retiring ministers, health care queue-jumping by insiders, vote-buying and influence-peddling by leadership contenders, extra pay for do-nothing committee jobs, and illegal donations to the PC Party from municipalities, universities, and other public agencies that receive government funding.

[bootlegga]

Unsound Unsound:

I agree that we need a change. I think the PCs have lost touch and their monopoly on power in the province has attracted too many of the wrong kind of people to the party.

I worry though that too many people will simply vote for whoever they think can beat the PCs and we'll end up with a Wildrose government without anyone ever looking too closely at what they actually stand for.

For me, Wildrose pretty much lost any chance of my vote when they promised Smithbucks. Worst idea since Ralphbucks.

I agree the PCs have spotty history over te past decade and a half, but IMHO, Redford has the makings of the best premier since Lougheed. We've finally gotten rid of the those lesser lights who previously led us and now have someone who is intelligent, articulate and understands world affairs. After her, Mason is the next best party leader/politician, but I just can't ever see myself voting NDP.

If the Alberta Party or maybe the Liberals had a chance of forming the government, I'd probably vote for them. Unfortunately, neither of them do and if left unchecked, we're going to wake up with a Wildrose government April 24th, so I'm choosing the devil I know instead of the one I don't.

[Dragon-Dancer]

Yogi Yogi:

The PC's aren't up against any other party so much as they are up against their own history!

“In recent years, Albertans have witnessed bullying and intimidation of school boards, municipalities, doctors and hospital staff, massive cabinet pay raises awarded behind closed doors, million-dollar severance payoffs for retiring ministers, health care queue-jumping by insiders, vote-buying and influence-peddling by leadership contenders, extra pay for do-nothing committee jobs, and illegal donations to the PC Party from municipalities, universities, and other public agencies that receive government funding.

If you really think the Wildrose is anything new then you aren't paying very close attention. They have candidates that defected from the old guard PC party amongst their number include a Klein era cabinet minister.

The PCs are most certainly up against their own history but their history is still alive and well in the Wildrose. It's not the better part of their history either, if such a thing can be said to have existed at all.

[bootlegga]

For those who want, CBC created a Vote Compass for the election here in Alberta - take and it see where you stand;

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/albertavo ... mpass.html

[andyt]

Looks like the Cons are getting desperate:

$1:

Alberta Tories play race card, call Wildrose party of old, white men in election

EDMONTON - Alberta's Progressive Conservatives appear to be actively painting their Wildrose opposition as the party of old, white males.
Tory strategists in recent days have begun warning voters that the Wildrose roster of candidates is dominated by Caucasian males and that if the Wildrose wins power it will sanction policies that cater to them.
The comments come as the Tories try to exploit the Wildrose pledge to allow citizen-initiated referendums.
Critics fear this will open the door to a referendum on de-listing abortion or on proposals to limit or curtail the rights of women or minorities.
Tory strategist Tom Olsen recently told a TV panel that the Wildrose is dominated by older white men keen to implement such a strategy.
And Tory campaign manager Susan Elliott told a newspaper columnist that such referendums are traditionally not targeted at white men but at women, minorities and gays.

[DrCaleb]

andyt andyt:

Looks like the Cons are getting desperate:

$1:

Alberta Tories play race card, call Wildrose party of old, white men in election

You mean, the same strategy that 'uninterested' Curtman likes to use?

[andyt]

Well it's probably true. And if you look at how Thanos vilifies the Wildrose party, old white men is pretty tame in comparison. But it's not something the Cons should be saying, and it could backfire on them. For instance that quote about referendums - just say that they are usually aimed at women, gays and minorities and leave it at that. Leave the white men out of it.

I'm sure that Wildrose attracts the troglodytes, and that they probably have some trogs running for them. But some of those trogs may be women, some may be "minorities" with socially conservative beliefs.

[Curtman]

DrCaleb DrCaleb:

andyt andyt:

Looks like the Cons are getting desperate:

$1:

Alberta Tories play race card, call Wildrose party of old, white men in election

You mean, the same strategy that 'uninterested' Curtman likes to use?

$1:

If a revival of grassroots democratic populism is to be characteristic of the revitalization of Canadian federal politics of the 1990s, especially in Quebec and the West, it is of primary importance that its leaders be well versed in ways and means of preventing populism from developing racist or other extremist overtones.

The grand pubah of populist grassroots warned them. They should have listened.

[DrCaleb]

Curtman Curtman:

$1:

If a revival of grassroots democratic populism is to be characteristic of the revitalization of Canadian federal politics of the 1990s, especially in Quebec and the West, it is of primary importance that its leaders be well versed in ways and means of preventing populism from developing racist or other extremist overtones.

The grand pubah of populist grassroots warned them. They should have listened.

How was the grassroots revival of the 90s in Alberta . . . racist?

[Curtman]

DrCaleb DrCaleb:

Curtman Curtman:

$1:

If a revival of grassroots democratic populism is to be characteristic of the revitalization of Canadian federal politics of the 1990s, especially in Quebec and the West, it is of primary importance that its leaders be well versed in ways and means of preventing populism from developing racist or other extremist overtones.

The grand pubah of populist grassroots warned them. They should have listened.

How was the grassroots revival of the 90s in Alberta . . . racist?

Ask Preston Manning, he said it not me. I didn't even read his book, I'm just aware of the quote. It seems like he's not saying it was racist, just that without considerable restraint a lot of the things an Alberta populist grassroots movement might do or say would sound racist and extremist.