Conservative Leadership Campaign

[farmers_son]

Has anyone been following the PC leadership campaign? They were in Red Deer last night and it was an eye opener. Gary Mar certainly has a lot of money behind him but he would be a disaster for rural Alberta. It is all about Calgary and Edmonton and how his understanding of the Chinese culture is going to open doors for us in Asia. He made a remark to the effect that the Chinese would be in management in Alberta.

Doug Griffiths really surprised me. A new fresh face with good ideas.

Whoever wins the leadership race will be our next premier, at least for a little while. Do you think any of them can beat Danielle Smith?

[per]

I've gone round and round on this subject. There is no clear front runner for me. Whether any or all of them can beat Danielle, yes. Our parents took a chance 40 years ago on something different. I am not convinced that our generation has enough conviction to do the same. It's going to be interesting.

[ASRG]

I attended the meeting in Red Deer last night and like farmers son I was totally impressed by Doug Griffith. After the meeting I got to talk to him about Bill 24 (Carbon Capture). He understands it was a pretty sleazy deal.
It is unfortunate that this young guy will probably be written off as an also ran and we'll get some scoundrel like Mar or Morton as the next premier!

[smcgrath76]

Doug will likely get run over for having
ideals and goals.
Mar may win as the least worst of the old
guard.
If Morton wins we should all start looking
for places in SK.

[wd40]

Let Mortgon win! That would put an end to the Red Tories and let the real concervative party get back in the drivers seat.

[ASRG]

They say a person should never argue about politics or religion!
I would like to ask though how Ted Morton can go from vigorously defending the Bill 50 power lines at Eckville......and three weeks later come out against Bill 50 saying he was never for it? Did he flip flop after getting booed at Eckville?
Is Ted a Conservative? Does he believe in the rule of law? He wrote Bill 36, the law that probably takes most of your property rights away?

[per]

Ted Morton noted in Red Deer at the Beef Industry Conference in February that Politics is the "Art of Half Truths" and then again in March he was quoted saying the same in the National Post. So I would say given his education being a PhD in Political Science he must know what he is talking about regarding politics. So to extend that thought, can we believe only half of what he says?

[wd40]

That's a sad commentary of where we are at in society. “The art of telling half truths”! That’s an oxymoron.
That’s preposterous, that a politician would admit such. He has absolutely no right to public office if that’s his mode of operation.

There is only either a lie or the truth.

However the REAL scary issue is that society finds that acceptable. That means we all practice “sugar coating the truth”!

TRUTH, has become relative.

[per]

I used to joke that perception is reality and truth was negotiable. You are right however that truth can only be truth. Nothing in between.

[per]

Just for context he was inferring that Keith Wilson was a Picasso. (Art of half truths)

[farmers_son]

A fellow named Gustav Flaubert is quoted as saying "There is no truth only perception".

He is also quoted with "“Nothing is more humiliating than to see idiots succeed in enterprises we have failed at”. The guy had a way with words.

[wd40]

So FS, do you believe who you quoted? That is the question. There's a multiplicity of quotes out there. I've coined a few myself. But to my knowledge no one has repeated any. :-(

Does this dude have an edge on understanding, so he's worth quoting???

[riders2010]

Don't know your provincial politics much and should not enter discussion, but just to say that maybe the guy that admits that some of what politicians say is half true, may be the guy who is at least 50% more honest than all the rest. Sad commentary on our whole political situation. The party machines usually control the individual sooner or later. Have to say all the guys from here going there to work tell me, they do not know what some are complaining about, great province to work in anyways. Except that they noticed really becoming even more foreign control of everything from oil to farming.

[ASRG]

Alberta has been slipping into a state run by the corporations for quite awhile now. The assault on our property rights has escalated to new heights under Ed Stelmach and for the most part the oil & gas industry have benifitted from that assault.
Crooked deals like the Maxim power plant, the Altalink and Atco export power lines, the Northwest Upgrader deal, and the Enhance C02 trunkline, Potato-gate, have left a bad taste and the stink of corruption in the air!
A new premier needs to make some major changes within the party. The "old boys club" needs to go down the road...and that means most of the cabinet needs to be put out to pasture!

[riders2010]

Yes, and I guess those are some things that someone going to work there from here would not really see, as compared to someone living there. I think that not having a strong competitive opposition sometimes makes government out of touch and sometimes heavy handed and yes sometimes even crooked, as they feel untouchable and in some ways they are, if the people give them power without keeping them accountable or asking questions.

Our government here is introducing a whistleblower protection idea, where if gov employees see something being done dishonest wrong etc. they cannot go to the media or opposition to expose these things. Not sure of all the details but our minister says it is for the worker with the complaint protection???? ummm I think this is more for government corruption protection, cannot understand more isn't being made about this issue.