Or, at least send them a strong message that they better get their act in gear, or they will ALL be kicked out. You know, like we do here in Alberta. For those of you who don't know, our current government, the Conservatives, have been recklessly spending money to the point where the richest province in Canada suddenly has a deficit. While not technically a deficit -- we use money we laid away for a 'rainy day' to pay for it -- the fact is that spending has been running out of control for the last few years. And the result? Last night a riding that has voted Conservative for the past 40 years voted for the Wildrose Alliance, a party whose platform is based around fiscal responsibility and being socially moderate. At least we're all hoping so with the latter as it all depends on who is elected leader. As for the Liberals? Well, fuck 'em. Despite very low support for the Conservatives, the Liberals gained 1% more votes than they had last time around when the Conservatives won the riding. We get the government we deserve, right? http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/Alliance victory huge implications/1995029/story.html http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/B...es Alberta Tories Liberals/1995031/story.html As someone who has been involved with the WRA here in my community, excuse me while I go masturbate over the idea of living in a province that gives a damn about fiscal responsibility.
Ok its my understanding that Canada's conservatives are to the left of ours and are closer to our liberal democrats. So where does the WRA fit in here? Are they going to be more libertarian? Could this be something that the US copies in '10 or '12?
Well, the Federal Conservatives are more like your liberal Democrats, but the provincial conservatives here in Alberta are more like your Republicans on the social front, and lately like that too on the spending front. The WRA we're hoping will be a definite libertarian party. It all depends on who we elect as our leader.
Ahem but the X Factor in provincial politics? Please do excuse me if I missed something here, but are they trying to label this as something new, when in fact it is simply democracy at work?
Well you have to realize that Alberta has been voting conservative for a long time now. That a party would emerge and suddenly challenge that reign is a big deal around here. The Liberals have tried for years to gain a second voice and haven't be able too. Now, only a few years after forming, the WRA has taken a riding that has voted conservative for 40 years. Technically, it is democracy at work, and the way things should happen given the circumstances, but Alberta has been more like a democratic dictatorship for a long time. Not that we all minded though, considering how good of a job the government did for the longest time. Wasn't perfect, but wasn't bad either.
Feh. It's a byelection. It's meaningless. The same thing happened when there was a byelection to fill Ralph Kleins old seat. The Conservatives lost it during the byelection, then took it back during the next real election. Don't get my wrong, I think the revolution is about a decade overdue... but this isn't it.
Apparently you missed what I said, as usual. This was a seat that the Conservatives have held for 40 years. And despite massive outrage at the current current, the Liberals weren't able to gain any votes from last time around. The WRA on the other hand, a leaderless party, was able to take almost all of the votes away from the conservatives. It is a big deal. Might not say that everyone in the whole province is going to vote WRA next time around, but it does send the Conservatives a very strong message that they need to clean their act up. By downplaying it you remind me of the rest of the dumbass Liberals in this province that are bitter are about the fact that their party is fucking pathetic. And will continue to be fucking pathetic. There is a reason the high profile supporters of the Liberal Party of Alberta are staying at their comfortable jobs downtown instead of joining the ranks and running for office. On the other hand, a few years after forming, the WRA has won a seat the Liberals couldn't. Nobody is calling it a revolution either. The point is that spending is out of control here in Alberta, and the people aren't happy. Like I said, nice to live in a province that gives a damn about government responsibility.
So, leadership debate last night. That coming from someone who isn't even a supporter of the party. Excuse me while I go masturbate again.
What the chance of this party sort of sneaking over the border, to the south, kind of a little bit, just for a while? Libertarian and fiscally conservative (which is actually pretty redundant; it seems to me that true libertarianism necessarily involves being fiscally conservative, in the old sense of the word at least) is just what America needs.
The chance is probably very, very small. The problem I think the US has is too many voters who have become ingrained with the two-party system. Its as if they have become brain-washed to believe that there is no other option besides Democrats or Republicans. Alberta is by definition a very conservative province. For a while, everyone thought that meant socially too, and it was, while the voice of the majority came from rural areas. But now, with Calgary, Edmonton, Red Deer, Lethbridge and Fort McMurray growing like they have been, the voice of the majority is starting to come from the urban population. And they tend to be more moderate socially, but still believe in the same idea of fiscal responsibility that most Albertans do. Now, even despite 30 some years of overwhelming Progressive Conservative support, due to reckless spending habits and shit poor leadership and decision making when it came to tweaking our royalty structure when it came to revenues from the oil/gas resources we possess, over 40% of the province is pissed off with our current 'conservative' government. They still believe in the SAME principles of being fiscally responsible and socially moderate though, which is why the Wildrose Alliance Party is seeing such a surge in popularity. The Liberal Party on the other hand, a party that threw out a leader that could have provided an effective voice -- Kevin Taft -- and elected an arrogant dumbshit in David Swan, has absolutely NO chance of EVER ruling this province. Why? Because just the New Democratic Party(socialist morons).....and the current government, they don't believe in being fiscally responsible. There are tons of Liberal leaning people that have high profile jobs in downtown Edmonton and Calgary that are leaning towards the WRA simply because they ARE fiscally responsible. I just hope that Danielle Smith wins. I have been following her for years while she wrote editorials in the Calgary Herald(way back in high school)....and I loved her then. Now, I have met her, listened to her speak and even debated certain social/economic issues with her. She is as libertarian as they come. The only flaw that she would have in regards to most of the libertarians on here would be her support of universal health care. I have asked her about this, and she said in a country of 30 million people, there are ways to make it work. That, and she has to abide by the Canada Health Act. But she does agree with changing certain ways health care is provided. Like having more private walk-in clinics that take away the burden so many people place on a public system that should be dealing with more serious cases. She is a very smart person, and I haven't been this thrilled about a politician for a long, long time. Far as I'm concerned, she blows any politician, on the provincial or federal level completely out of the water. Oh, and for the record, she is pro-choice, and pro gay marriage. Its hard to find any specific information about that on the internet in regards to her stance. I asked her about this and she said it doesn't matter what her views on gay marriage or abortion are. The Alberta Government can't change Federal Government law anyways. But she did say that she is pro-choice and pro gay marriage. Now excuse me while I go masturbate again. Y'all might be wondering why the hell I'm so excited about this. Well, in short....because up here in Canada, the provinces still have some power. And having a good provincial government is very important.
Doesn't matter. Paul Hinman won a seat under the Alliance banner back in 2004 and lost it in 2008. Call me when it's more than one seat. Yeah, because the Alberta Liberals are fuckups, and because the Liberal brand is poison in Alberta. The WRA is in the middle of a leadership race that's garnering plenty of attention. Nah, not really. That's what people were saying before the 2008 election, and we all remember how that worked out. I'm not a Liberal provincially, ya tard. I'm not a Liberal federally, either. Ya tard. Because the Liberal brand is poison in Alberta? Under a different name, they might have a shot. If they merged with the NDP, they might have a shot. Right now, they're fucked. Let's see if they keep it in the next election.
