Alberta's Incompetent Government

[Shyla416]

I read all the way through this forum from beginning to end. I have been following a lot of political stuff inpreparation for the election because I want to make an informed decision. And there are a few things I am curious about....the first one being : Kimmie....why does Ted Morton make you want to puke if he becomes Premeir....you made the statement, but without justifying it, is a relatively useless post.

I have also become curious if you people have picked some of your opinions out of thin air. A one party province we will never be, simply because people like you and I question what the government is doing. While we are decidedly a PC province, you also have to look within the party and you will realize that there are some liberalist attitudes within the party.

And what about the whole idea of everyone being given the choice of becoming a member of the PC party.....kudos to them. Just because it has to be an internal election, doesnt mean that only people who are truly conservative should have a say. I have never belonged to a Provincial Political Party until this year. But I sure want to have a say in who is taking over the futures of every Albertan, including me. So we end up with a few liberalistic folks in the party for the year....does that mean they are going to change the party's views on everything. Probably not. But it makes the whole process a lot more representative of what the people of Alberta want. Besides, there are PC members who have been members for years who have liberalistic ideas. Do we throw them out of the party? Hasnt happened yet. (Note: I am glad I became a member and will remain a member.)

Finally, I ask you this...for you who complain about the party itself - do you think the party needs fixing or just get rid of the party. One of the issues of one of the contenders is that he believes the party needs to get back on track. He believes that to continue to be politically effective the party needs to start cleaning house and fixing its policies, bylaws and work towards creating a more effective, reliable party. He believes that we cannot fix any of the problems the government has - especially in our eyes - without making changes from the bottom up, without making the party accountable. Do any of you know who that is?

I do. In fact, I have met him personally on many occasions and when I talk to him I feel like he can and will make a difference. I feel like I am talking to one of us. Someone who is actually concerned with our futures, and with what we want from our government. Of the others that I have talked to, most often I come away with the feeling of....did he even answer my question?, did he listen to what I have to say?, does he care? or is it all about him getting power no matter what it takes. Had I not actually met with these people, I wouldnt know who I was supporting. I wouldnt know how to choose. And I probably wouldnt care much about politics.

Instead of browbeating the party, look at what the candidates want to do. Who will work for a better Alberta, and who will just work. Who wants to fix the problems, and who wants to sweep it under the carpet and just move forward.

I wont say who I am supporting.

I do want to say thanks to you all, because reading these forums has opened my eyes to more of the problems that need to be looked at. Perhaps I will pass this on to the campaign office so they see what we regular people think. I have done that in the past, and have been happy with my guy's response to it.

One more point....I am just a nobody with no money, and my candidate of choice is quite happy to have candid conversations about this kind of stuff with me simply because I want to. Will yours?

Just my opinion.

Shyla

[Jerry J. Fortin]

I don't have a candidate to support because I am not now, nor will I ever be involved with the Progressive Conservative Party of Alberta. In fact I couldn't care less who that partisan faction elected to lead their party. That party has had its day period. Its time for a change.

I am still a little ticked off that the government has squandered every budget surplus in every year without any form of debate in the Alberta Legislature. We are talking about literally billions of tax dollars being spent without anybody but the government being able to get a word in edgewise about it. That action is decidedly counter productive to the democratic process. It indicates the true lines of thinking that the government utilizes on a daily basis. This practice reveals much about how this party and this government operate, and that is without any public oversight.

The Klein government did not decide to tackle the public debt on its own. The entire concept was part of the provincial Liberal platform during a general election and yet the Tories lay claim to both the concept and the final achievement. The Heritage Trust Fund was originally designed by the Social Credit Party of Alberta, yet the Tories lay claim to that as well. That partisan faction has made many claims to fame, but that does not make those claims true.

Alberta needs political leadership with a vision for public benefit. The Tories have a vision of corporate benefit and that does not advance the causes of the public by any stretch of the imagination.

[geoffrey]

I'll address some points.

I have also become curious if you people have picked some of your opinions out of thin air. A one party province we will never be, simply because people like you and I question what the government is doing. While we are decidedly a PC province, you also have to look within the party and you will realize that there are some liberalist attitudes within the party.

Like who? Personally, I support Oberg in this one. What about you? Who is liberal in your mind? Are we talking about Bill Clinton free-trade economic liberal, or talking Liberal do everything for everyone so they never have to work liberal?

And what about the whole idea of everyone being given the choice of becoming a member of the PC party.....kudos to them. Just because it has to be an internal election, doesnt mean that only people who are truly conservative should have a say. I have never belonged to a Provincial Political Party until this year. But I sure want to have a say in who is taking over the futures of every Albertan, including me. So we end up with a few liberalistic folks in the party for the year....does that mean they are going to change the party's views on everything. Probably not. But it makes the whole process a lot more representative of what the people of Alberta want. Besides, there are PC members who have been members for years who have liberalistic ideas. Do we throw them out of the party? Hasnt happened yet. (Note: I am glad I became a member and will remain a member.)

Good to hear you became a member, hopefully you'll find the party is alot more progressive in some areas then an outsider would believe. None the less, I like your viewpoint that bringing in some divergent viewpoints will be helpful for the party. The last thing we need is a one-mind, one-track party... then we get the former federal Liberals. I would definitely enjoy some debate in the PC party, as there hasn't been in along time.

I too recently became a member of the PCs despite being a Federal PC and CPC member for quite some time. I never had interest in Alberta political process because it was all so useless with King Ralph. Now that there are viable alternatives, I'd like to have a say. $5 isn't a bad price either haha.

Finally, I ask you this...for you who complain about the party itself - do you think the party needs fixing or just get rid of the party. One of the issues of one of the contenders is that he believes the party needs to get back on track. He believes that to continue to be politically effective the party needs to start cleaning house and fixing its policies, bylaws and work towards creating a more effective, reliable party. He believes that we cannot fix any of the problems the government has - especially in our eyes - without making changes from the bottom up, without making the party accountable. Do any of you know who that is?

Who's this? I'm actually interested in knowing. All of them seem old boys club to me. The ones that aren't are rather radical, maybe even dangerously so. Remember Morton signed the firewall letter, and while I support the intentions of that letter, I don't know if most Albertans do.

I do. In fact, I have met him personally on many occasions and when I talk to him I feel like he can and will make a difference. I feel like I am talking to one of us. Someone who is actually concerned with our futures, and with what we want from our government. Of the others that I have talked to, most often I come away with the feeling of....did he even answer my question?, did he listen to what I have to say?, does he care? or is it all about him getting power no matter what it takes. Had I not actually met with these people, I wouldnt know who I was supporting. I wouldnt know how to choose. And I probably wouldnt care much about politics.

I felt the same about Harper until I met him post-merger.

Instead of browbeating the party, look at what the candidates want to do. Who will work for a better Alberta, and who will just work. Who wants to fix the problems, and who wants to sweep it under the carpet and just move forward.

I'm assuming your not a Dinning supporter from that remark.

I do want to say thanks to you all, because reading these forums has opened my eyes to more of the problems that need to be looked at. Perhaps I will pass this on to the campaign office so they see what we regular people think. I have done that in the past, and have been happy with my guy's response to it.

One more point....I am just a nobody with no money, and my candidate of choice is quite happy to have candid conversations about this kind of stuff with me simply because I want to. Will yours?

Just my opinion.

Shyla

Good to hear it. I'd be really interested in knowing why you support the candidate of your choice though, and more importantly who that candidate is. I'm still undecided, though strongly leaning towards Oberg. My vote is still up for grabs.

[kimmy]

I read all the way through this forum from beginning to end. I have been following a lot of political stuff inpreparation for the election because I want to make an informed decision.

It sounds to me as though you've already made your decision.

And there are a few things I am curious about....the first one being : Kimmie....why does Ted Morton make you want to puke if he becomes Premeir....you made the statement, but without justifying it, is a relatively useless post.

The idea of Ted Morton being Premier makes me want to puke because he represents the ugly side of conservatism-- flat earth policies combined with stone-age social views. Ted Morton is the new standard-bearer for the Byfield clan and other bible-belt neanderthals who've plagued politics in this province for far too long. He doesn't belong in the Progressive Conservatives, he should be in the Alberta Alliance or start up a provincial branch of Christian Heritage. His effort to "unite the right" in Alberta by bringing the "Alberta Alliance" cretins back into the fold is telling, as is Ted Byfield's unabashed cheerleading, as is the fact that the "Alberta Alliance" leadership is urging its members to buy PC memberships to support Morton's campaign.

No way on earth will I stand up to be counted amongst those creeps.

-k

[Jerry J. Fortin]

I would vote Socred before I vote PC. There is no independent candidate or wanna be candidate in my corner of the province, so I will likely have to make an anti-government protest vote. It will probably be an NDP vote, but it may become a Green vote. Anybody but the PC please..........