PC Leadership Race

[lohner]

With Ed Stelmach resigning from cabinet the race is officially on, whether or not anyone thinks it is.

My bet is that the leaders of the pack are Dinning and Ed.

So it will be the farmboy from Lamont vs big business. I think Oberg will stay in the race as will Ted Morton but Hancock won't resign from cabinet to run.

One has to wonder exactly how Stelmach's resigning from cabinet will affect the leadership review at the convention next weekend.

I would think that Stelmach would be the choice of the old line PC's.

I think that the party guru's have had lots to say in the past week or so to the Premier and of course Ed has been given some good sound advice on political maneuvering !!!

[cowman]

Actually Emerald I think Dinning would be the darling of the old guard PC boys?
You must remember the "old guard" are not particularily all that Conservative? Being charitable you might call them red Tories? Lougheed and company had no problem with being big government and buying every company in site for the public interest? Why they could make a Saskatchewan NDP government blush!
Jim Dinning was credited with being the brains behind the Klein revolution but is that true? If so he sure never did any of the dirty work...that was left up to Ralph and Steve West!
I will say right here, whoever we get he will never be a Ralph Klein! Now I might not agree with a lot of things Ralph did but you just had to love the guy? He shot from the hip and stuck his foot in his mouth half the time but he sure went over well with the rednecks! I consider Ralph a true Albertan!
I guess I could live with Dinning, Stelmach, or Morton as long as we didn't get Oberg in there! Oberg reminds me of one of those liberal/NDP in tory clothing type of person? Tax and spend and piss our money away to the so called "educated elite"?
I have this argument all the time with my "signifigant other" when she likes to imply that the "elite" know what is best for the people of Alberta? I tell her well that is just fine but they aren't the ones generating the wealth of this province. They aren't the ones putting in the 12 hour shift on the drilling rig, they aren't the ones who pioneered this country when it was a hell hole, they weren't the ones who fought the droughts, blizzards, railroads, the Great depression, and bled their guts out in Italy, Holland and Germany! I told her go out in the graveyards of this province and you'll see the graves of all the lowly peasants who built this place, and then tell me some egghead should decide who gets the money! Oh we have some interesting conversations!

[cowman]

cowman, Dinning is also the individual who told the government that deregulation could NOT fail, and I doubt that is the fair haired boy of the old line MLA's !!!

My bet is that Eddie is their man and he is getting a lot of advice from some of the same people that have advised 'others' in the top echelon under the dome !!

Personally, I like Ed, he's as honest as the day is long. He isn't flashy and has never made a habit of drawing attention to himself, unlike Oberg.

I don't think Oberg has a snowballs chance because he ticked off far too many people when he was Education Minister.

I just hope the leadership race doesn't pit rural against urban and north against south. We don't need that, and I agree no matter who gets the nod they won't have the popularity that Ralph had. I don't think he has it anymore, I think that people still like Ralph but think its time he bowed out instead of saying his 'long goodbye'.

[cowman]

Now you might be right, after all the eastern media(posing as the Alberta media) tells us everyday that Ralph should go? But I wonder?
If Ralph Klein decided tommorrow that he would stay another term what would the people think? Not the media and not the back room hacks...but the people of Alberta? If they had a referendum...what would happen?
Now I personally suspect Ralph would get an overwhelming endorsement! We should never forget Ralph Klein took the bull by the horns and fought the beurocrats and the "big government boys" to a standstill? And even though the Elingzas of this world have gained all their bloated big government back...Ralph will go down in history as the guy who brought some sanity back to government? He is and will become an Alberta icon?

[cowman]

There is FAR MORE govenment today cowman, and the only reason we aren't noticing it and hearing a huge outcry from the public is because our coffers are bulging with resource revenue.

If you take AAFRD for example, they have staff tripping over each other, and are creating make work projects to keep them occupied!!! Is it putting more dollars in the pockets of agriculture producers ????? I doubt it !!

[JD4ME]

I've had the chance to spend around an hour over supper with both Oberg and Dinning at different times. And have spent more time at other points at the same functions they they also were attending. I haven't met Stelmach or any of the other would be's.
Usually I feel I'm a good judge of character and would take Dinning at a heartbeat over Oberg. They are both super intelligent and driven but Oberg really came across as arrogant and rude in many of the comments he made and the attitudes he had in the time I have spent around him.
Dinning was personable and appeared truly to be engaged by the conversation we got into over a number of topics over our meals. He may just be a dang good politician but I cetainly think more of him.

[JD4ME]

WELL, after the caucus meeting and decision last night I think Oberg is yesterday's news as far as the leadership goes and possibly as far as his political career goes.

Who says that Klein didn't have a PLAN when he directed that cabinet ministers resign by June 1 if they were after the leadership, and who thinks that ED didn't have a plan as well. Ed's plan was to make the other contenders show their colors and Oberg showed his !!!

Ed is a very down to earth, open, honest individual but he is also a politician.
Its a Dinning/Stelmach race regardless of whoever else decides to jump into the ring.

My bet is that a large number of the PC caucus is solidly behind Stemlach because he will continue in the same direction as Klein, if he gets the nod.
The key individual to watch in my opinion is Ted Morton. He will be the kingmaker !!!

[wilagro]

emrald1: After yesterday's caucus meeting, Oberg looked somewhat like a young cockeral caught in a spring downdraft with his rumpled feathers and all. You could be right about Ed Stelmach. I don't want Dinning...his business interests have benefitted way, way too much from Ralph's government initiatives and policies.

cowman: No to more Ralph...enough is enough.

[wilagro]

wilagro, I doubt that Dinning is Ralph's choice. I personally doubt if Ralph will stay out of the leadership race, although his people did keep him under wraps for most of the Federal election !!!

The situation with Oberg has things in a real mess going into the PC Convention. I am sure it will be anything but a boring one. Oberg's supporters may converge en masse or maybe they will decide to stay out of the glare of the media.

Oberg is holding a press conference at 2:00 today.

I think that our province is looking more foolish by the day to the rest of the country. We are the richest province but seem to have nothing but controversy in government of late, and even during the budget speech there were references made to how much we are envied.

I just wish government would do their job, and stop rubbing the rest of the country's nose in Albertas resource wealth.