Alberta Wildrose Merger With PC Party

[Big Guy]

According to CTV, the Alberta Wildrose Party and the governing PC's are negotiating a merger.

A Good idea?

A bad idea?

Nobody cares?

[Accountability Now]

According to CTV, the Alberta Wildrose Party and the governing PC's are negotiating a merger.

A Good idea?

A bad idea?

Nobody cares?

I would probably go more with the nobody cares side as they were both Conservative parties who not so long ago were a part of the same party. The Wildrose essentially left as a result of Stelmach getting in and subsequently Redford to follow. Now that Prentice is in office they can all return to being one big happy family.

[jacee]

Wildrose was a band of religious extremists who learned that they could never achieve power with such views, and soon they'll be gone. Bye bye.

[Keepitsimple]

Wildrose was a band of religious extremists who learned that they could never achieve power with such views, and soon they'll be gone. Bye bye.

You have a very intolerent view towards that large segment of Alberta's population who voted for Wild Rose. What's your definition of a "religious extremist"?

Edited December 16, 2014 by Keepitsimple

[jacee]

You have a very intolerent view towards that large segment of Alberta's population who voted for Wild Rose. What's your definition of a "religious extremist"?

Perhaps 'fringe' would be a better characterization, incapable of gaining broad popular support for, eg, homophobic views.

.

[overthere]

Part of WildRose was/is organized church groups who were socially conservative and did not like the inclusive, centrist approach of the PCs .

Socially conservative voters are a part of every provinces electorate, but I guess it serves some agendas here to pretend they are some kind of Christian jihad.

There won't be a merger, because it is not in the interests of the PCs. They don't want or need the far right in their party, any more than they want or need the far left. As much as it denies the prejudices of the Alberta-haters, Alberta is a place of the center and has been for a long time.

But there will be some defections, or rather more defections and that will likely be today..

[Topaz]

Since Harper and some of the MP's of Alberta supported WildRose, Harper probably told her to merger than get control of the party in the next election. I'm surprise they didn't go with a name change like Wild Conservatives.

[overthere]

Since Harper and some of the MP's of Alberta supported WildRose,

They always identify themselves.

[The_Squid]

Weren't they already one party? I'm not sure why the PCs would tie a line to that sinking ship....

[jacee]

Since Harper and some of the MP's of Alberta supported WildRose, Harper probably told her to merger than get control of the party in the next election. I'm surprise they didn't go with a name change like Wild Conservatives.

.

[overthere]

Jim Prentice was clearly the right choice for the PCs!

[jacee]

Jim Prentice would be the right choice for the federal Conservatives as well.

[overthere]

He is bilingual, but needs better hair to compete at that level.

[Guest]

Has there ever been a case of a party leader crossing the floor before?

[Keepitsimple]

Interesting on several levels. I've always been impressed by Danielle Smith. If the Federal Conservatives don't retain their majority in the next election, there's a possibility that Harper might step down depending on the strength of his minority.....and he would definitely step down if they lose the election. Prentice could more easily throw his hat in the ring if Smith evolves to being widely accepted by the party. I wouldn't count on Harper losing his majority but if he steps down, a leadership race between Prentice, Jason Kenney and others would be very interesting - as will the next year in poilitics.

[overthere]

Interesting on several levels. I've always been impressed by Danielle Smith. If the Federal Conservatives don't retain their majority in the next election, there's a possibility that Harper might step down depending on the strength of his minority.....and he would definitely step down if they lose the election. Prentice could more easily throw his hat in the ring if Smith evolves to being widely accepted by the party. I wouldn't count on Harper losing his majority but if he steps down, a leadership race between Prentice, Jason Kenney and others would be very interesting - as will the next year in poilitics.

I cannot think of a single reason to be impressed by Danielle Smith. Her ideology is based on hate. She turned into the classic political chameleon 5 minutes after throwing away the last election. She kept on that road, which led to the first defections from her party and ultimately her own defection. Perhaps she recognized that Wildrose had both limited appeal, and had peaked in interest /membership in 2012. Unless they moved to the middle, they were doomed. When they tried to move to the middle, they were doomed. They got a horrible slap in the chops at the byelection recently for four vacant seats. They finished third in two ridings where they thought they had a shot at winning, and did not win any of the four..

Prentice has made very few errors, but I do not quite get why he has taken in these Wildrose MLAs.

He does not need the seats now or at the next election in 2016.

All that is left of Wildrose are the hardcore right and the organized, vocal church people, who now have nowhere to go.

[Argus]

Wildrose was a band of religious extremists who learned that they could never achieve power with such views, and soon they'll be gone. Bye bye.

You clearly know precisely nothing about Alberta's politics. Why do you find it necessary to make that lack of knowledge so embarrassingly public?

Edited December 18, 2014 by Argus

[Argus]

You have a very intolerent view towards that large segment of Alberta's population who voted for Wild Rose. What's your definition of a "religious extremist"?

I'm guessing anyone from Alberta.

[Argus]

del

Edited December 18, 2014 by Argus

[Argus]

Wild Rose was largely born because of the lazy incompetence of the Tory party and the lack of electability of the Liberal and NDP. Since Klein left the Alberta Tories have basically been the Alberta Liberal party That''s one of the reasons the Liberals haven't been able to garner much electoral success themselves. Why vote for them when the Tories are already running the place like Liberals? They are or were, much like the federal PC party, which was nothing but the Liberal Party Light. I.e., a party with no conservative policies or philosophy. They are a fiscal incompetents, if not quite as bad as the Ontario Liberals, and socially liberal as well.

Wild Rose was the victim of the same type of smears as the Reform Party. Yes it had some socially conservative people in it which the media delighted in highlighting, but most of the people were simply bedrock conservatives tired of a feeble Tory party and it's big spending, big deficit ways, and most of its efforts went into getting the Tories to reign in their out-of-control spending and to try to balance the budget.

[overthere]

You are aware, of course, that it was opposition from the Wild Rose party which caused the Tories to shelve a recent bill considered homophobic, right?

It has little to do with Wildrose opposition, since clearly they were already a non -factor when Bill 10 was pulled back. And the bill as shelved improved rights of gay students. Where the controversy lay was in how those students who wanted to foem gay-straight alliances within the schools. The Prentice bill let the Catholic boards off the hook somewhat.... Of course while all this was going on, negotiations were underway with Wildrose over their defection to the PCs. Supposedly the agreements between PC and WR will respect the church school boards to not allow gay staright alliances without a court fight.

My hope is that Prentice does the right thing by doublecrossing the former WR MLAs and pass the bill forcing all school boards to treat gay-straight students properly and equally.

[Argus]

My hope is that Prentice does the right thing by doublecrossing the former WR MLAs and pass the bill forcing all school boards to treat gay-straight students properly and equally.

MY hope is that Prentice doublecrosses the Tories who elected him as leader and starts acting like a conservative on budget matters. He can start by not using the falling oil prices to justify another big budget deficit.

[overthere]

Wild Rose was largely born because of the lazy incompetence of the Tory party and the lack of electability of the Liberal and NDP. Since Klein left the Alberta Tories have basically been the Alberta Liberal party That''s one of the reasons the Liberals haven't been able to garner much electoral success themselves. Why vote for them when the Tories are already running the place like Liberals? They are or were, much like the federal PC party, which was nothing but the Liberal Party Light. I.e., a party with no conservative policies or philosophy. They are a fiscal incompetents, if not quite as bad as the Ontario Liberals, and socially liberal as well.

Wild Rose was the victim of the same type of smears as the Reform Party. Yes it had some socially conservative people in it which the media delighted in highlighting, but most of the people were simply bedrock conservatives tired of a feeble Tory party and it's big spending, big deficit ways, and most of its efforts went into getting the Tories to reign in their out-of-control spending and to try to balance the budget.

Klein had drifted very far from his early fiscal conservatism in the 90s by the time he quit.

The main reason the Liberals have slipped from their salad days long ago in the early days was their terrible leadership. For example, the current leader of the Libs is the certifiable idiot Raj Sherman. You'd think the current kerfuffle would give Sherman a big opportunity, but ..... no. There is no way for you or I to assess the fiscal incomtency of the Alberta Libs, since nothing Sherman says or does makes any sense.

Smears? The primary failings of Wildrose: 1) to completely miscalculate the actual beliefs of actual Albertans. No, they are not socially conservative. No, they are not creationists. No, they are not right wing. 2) to create a chimera of a party based on 1 ).

Once the founding members realized that the party was maxed out in support in 2012, and that support was very soft except for a few social/fiscal hardliners- the jig was up for Wildrose. As we clearly saw in the election and byeelections. Alison Redford was a gift to Smith, but Prentice was a Satanic intervention.

And of course, every party everywhere runs hard for the middle, provincially and federally. It is where you find all the votes.

What Wildrose shared with the former Reform Party was that neither was ever going to govern as long as they stayed on the fringe. Reform made the transition, in spades. Wildrose could not and folded the tent..

[left_alberta]

It has little to do with Wildrose opposition, since clearly they were already a non -factor when Bill 10 was pulled back. And the bill as shelved improved rights of gay students. Where the controversy lay was in how those students who wanted to foem gay-straight alliances within the schools. The Prentice bill let the Catholic boards off the hook somewhat.... Of course while all this was going on, negotiations were underway with Wildrose over their defection to the PCs. Supposedly the agreements between PC and WR will respect the church school boards to not allow gay staright alliances without a court fight.

My hope is that Prentice does the right thing by doublecrossing the former WR MLAs and pass the bill forcing all school boards to treat gay-straight students properly and equally.

When Prentice introduced Bill 10, gutting the Liberal bill that protected GSAs, there were two Wildrosers voting against it(including Smith, who made a speech defending the clubs), and one Tory. That's right. More Wildrosers that Tories.

Mind you, it might be a different story if WIldrose had a majority, and Smith called a free vote. She may very well vote for GSAs herself, while most of her caucus goes the other way.

[left_alberta]

I'm guessing anyone from Alberta.

The funny thing about that is, Alberta has the second-highest percentage of people who list "No religion" on the census. I think BC is the first.