Archive for the ‘Provincial Politics’ Category

Nothing has changed with Alison Redford. There has been no change: just more the same tired Tories.

Raj Sherman has been proved right by an independent report by the Health Quality Council of Alberta. Doctor intimidation, threats against careers, and being tossed outside of the province from blacklisting doctors–the Tory government’s management of our health care system is terrible and will continue to be so. With lengths of time spent in the ER lobby going up, doctors being told not to advocate for their patients by an uncaring system, and constant corruption on a scale that’s unimaginable anywhere else (like people with political connections getting preferential care/treatment), we have more proof than ever that this is the case.

It’s undeniable. It’s there. And it’s the Conservative’s fault.

Media Wrap-up:

• The Health Quality Council of Alberta (HQCA) Report
• Rick Bell: Health care critics vindicated
• CBC: Doctors report being ‘ostracized’ for patient advocacy
• Edmonton Journal: Alberta Tories’ health care fixes called a failure
• Edmonton Journal: Health panel hears ‘disturbing’ tales
• Edmonton CTV: Independent committee calls health quality results ‘disturbing’

Ed Stelmach put in a review and change policies to fix these issues: and nothing was changed. Doctors were still abused, wait times are getting longer, and top-down bureacratic thuggery is ongoing.

And what about that judicial inquiry that Stephen Carter, Premier Redford’s campaign manager turn chief of staff, has said that’ll be continuing on course? He uses weasel words to downplay and escape any negative things happening to his and his premier’s political reputation even though she was at Ed Stelmach’s table when this catastrophe went on. When the legislation is put forward for a review it will be minimized and shepherded to not aim fault at Redford, not at the Progressive Conservatives, and will try to avoid issues entirely. Also, the plan will likely be for the Tories is to wait for the HQCA final report to come out, schedule the inquiry for after that, and then wait for said inquiry to end… after an election. It’s simply the Progressive Conservative way with their style of government. It’s unaccountable.

There is no accountability with this government. It was proved with Don Getty, proved again with Ralph Klein, against reinforced by Ed Stelmach, and, now once more, with Allison Redford. Allison Redford has backtracked on fixed election dates, backtracked on a judicial inquiry not once but twice, has acted against democracy and accountability by at first shutting down the legislature and then having it only run for 2 days, proving her amateurish actions with the Royal Alberta Museum (see Ms. Blakeman’s comments here in this article), and her and her cabinet poo-pooing of the insider maleficence of Tory insiders giving oil field executives insider information on upcoming subsidies coming their way, not going through with the needed lobbyist register changes, and so much, so much more.

It isn’t only unaccountability of program but of clarity of government: this government is running blind from no leadership. Shutting down the legislature for some two days in October and repeated amateur communication issues (like the Morton-Redford mixup over shutting down power line projects) are just some of these issues. This government is running blind with no leadership from the PCs or Alison Redford. As Raj Sherman put it best: “The only thing that is certain is that this government is uncertain.” And without certainty there is no accountability. Alison Redford has in a month flipflopped, changed her mind, openly been in conflict with her cabinet ministers, and reversed course on numerous of her political promises.

A year ago I was asked why I wasn’t a Progressive Conservative. I will write now what I wrote then: It’s about standing by principle. It’s easy for a politically active, intelligent young person to see and take part in a party rife with internal feuds, bloody inparty fighting, dirty tactics against honest folks, being honest, and rabid corrupt games– but there’s a choice to do those things and these Tories have chosen not to. It’s about principle and I want to uphold them. And this government, these Tories, have none. This government needs to be destroyed, their 40 year reign of destruction undone, and a different party put in power who will follow through with principled, accountable, and honest government (here’s their website).

Nothing has changed with Alison Redford. It is the same, if not worse, than with Ed Stelmach. There has been no change: just more the same tired Tories.

So.. I’m not a Liberal now?

Every single time someone takes a potshot at Raj Sherman for his political past it’s an affront to me. He was a federal Liberal first in his political career… as was I. When I was in high school I was an engaged youth helping out in Calgary Centre-North, fought the Liberal cause, and soon started this blog. I was engaged first federally as a Liberal and then came over to the provincial Liberals two years later.

Let me make this clear: if there’s no room for Liberals like Raj Sherman then there’s no room for guys like me.

Every time someone says there’s been a coup or that someone can’t join this party I am personally undermined. I am hurt by this. I feel unwanted by those chattering folks and I feel that I am not valued as a contributor or as a person involved in the party. It’s poisonous and hurts the party.

Never mind its cooling effect on people looking to join a party. It’s hard enough finding people who want to join a party but these folks must, simply must, erect more barriers for good, earnest people from joining the movement.

This makes me angry to no end.

I want an open party that includes as many people as possible from all across Alberta. I am a Liberal and so are many Albertans in this province. We just need to be open enough to ask them to come to us and join us in replacing the Progressive Conservative government in Edmonton.

Like Raj I want to get into government, change Alberta for the better, and show Albertans that there is a better way. Just like Raj I am Liberal, and I am loving it.

Last Saturday Raj Sherman was elected as Alberta Liberal Leader. On Monday he was brought in, officially, to the Alberta Liberal caucus.

A quick media scan:

Curiously, on the Saturday night the reporters surrounding the second and third place contenders pressed for an answer to the question of whether or not they’ll stay on as Liberals after losing. I find this odd on two fronts: firstly, they assumed that the party would blow up if Raj won, and secondly, there seemed to be an expectation for Hugh MacDonald to give them a juicy quote. The party, of course, didn’t blow up, and Hugh MacDonald has stated he has accepted the results (and wants to get down to work).

I think, over the last three weeks, the media has made a strong effort to portray the Liberal leadership race in a way that they find interesting: Particularly as a “Swann” song and a frustrated self-destroying group of misfits. They’re expecting us to fail. Which is odd, because that perspective is so fundamentally separated from reality. While there are challenges, and plenty of them, I don’t think it’s as terrible as Don Braid and others have written about in the media. I think the party would have been fine with MacDonald as leader, if at little scattered in approach at times, and the other candidates would have done amicably. I’m not worried about the party. I’m excited. (What I am worried about is the media and their willingness to belittle the Liberals so. I’ve written about this before.)

The particular struggles I think Raj needs to lead the party through are many. I’m confident though his leadership can get the Liberals back into shape. The party is an extraordinarily diverse group, willing to try new ideas, and then able to push for those ideas with unparalleled vigor. We have partisans that have been active int he party for 70 years and new people walking off the street and onto associations/campaigns every day. This last leadership race brought 28,000 people into the fold to judge who’d be best to lead Alberta, building a strong plank to leap from in the coming months as the Liberals ramp their preparations into high gear for an election either this fall or this spring.

I’m excited.

Why I Voted For Raj

Actually, I didn’t quite vote for Raj. He was my second choice, right after Bruce Payne. But he was my choice, if Payne didn’t win the race. If we went to the second ballot my vote would gone straight to him, like many Payne supporters, likely landing him the leader’s job. And I’m proud of this choice.

He was high up on my list because I am sick of losing. I am sick of losing. I want my agenda, I want the Liberal agenda, in government. I don’t want the Liberals to be only in the cities (and Lethbridge). I don’t want to lose in Calgary North-Hill by 5%. I don’t want to be the party of just the Edmonton-Calgary corridor. Raj is the choice to blow the doors of the party wide open and bring in people into the party and into this growing movement. Raj will bring the party to more people thananything else in the last ten years.

I want to win, I want to lead, and I want to make the province change. I’m angry with the establishment–which is why I fought for the change in leadership rules on the May convention floor to create a force in Albetan politics that challenged the status quo. I am angry with a government that is too incompetent to even listen to the oil patch during their royalty reviews–which is why I’ll never, ever vote or support an unlistening, uncaring, and ancient governing party like the Tories. I am angry with PC MLAs who still use typewriters and still don’t have an email account–who are so disconnected, so behind, and so ‘out of it’, that there needs to be a giant hose plugged into the legislature and have the place cleaned out after 40 years. I am enraged by the Progressive Conservatives; I am enraged by their hubris, their idiocy, and their backwardness.

Raj is part of the solution to getting the Liberals into government. He has those skills in compromise, in inclusion. He took me seriously as a blogger and an activist, even though I’m just a 20 year-old student and just a blogger. At every juncture of his leadership campaign he refused to attack personally the character of others, or to defame them: that takes character.

He also caught onto the system that he was in. He knew that the way to win the leadership wasn’t through a narrow appeal to a subsection of Albertans but to include many into the process. While there were hiccups with organizational capacity, he either intuitively or thought through the leadership process to such an extent that he made the mass appeals that were required of a leader of the province and a leader of the Liberals. And a mass appeal-er is just what we need.

I’m confident with him and his leadership. I’m ready to Raj and roll.

Caucus

One struggle Raj will find is caucus solidarity is an issue that has plagued the party for years. Of particular note isLaurie Blakemen openly playing with the idea of running for the Alberta Party leadership, Dave Taylor storming out, and, more recently, the very vicious attacks done by leadership campaigns against Raj Sherman. At the leadership announcement outgoing leader David Swann noted that whomever won shouldn’t be too consumed with consensus leadership: which I heartily approve. Decisions have to be made and I am, along with a lot of Liberals, quite tired of the caucus nipping and biting each other over petty issues.

MacDonald will have to be reigned in and made to focus for his scandal hunting. He’s perfect for it, and we need his watch dog tenacity, but sometimes he needs to be put back on track. I think with stronger caucus control and a willingness to fight, Raj will be able to turn MacDonald into a more potent and stronger force for fighting for Albertans.

Bill Harvey should be encouraged to run for the party again, but persuaded to not indulge in the heavy handed attack politics that he exhibited in the last days of the leadership campaign. He should be encouraged to keep on his fiscal discipline and debt hawkish ways yet remove portions of his odd and quixotic platform (like a provincial police force or getting involved in federal jurisdictions like child predators). I think the party has plenty of room for fiscal hawks who want value for Albertan pocketbooks–not only because there’s a need for it in Edmonton but it’s a foundation of accountability and liberalism for society to have open, accountable, and forthright governments, which are key for fiscally sound governments. There’s a place for Bill Harvey but there is going to need to be some accommodation.

Bruce Payne is already onside and, as a fresh face with little baggage, is the best man to take a strong leadership role in the party once elected in Calgary-Varsity. He is the breath of fresh air that’ll help push the party and its caucus in newer, bolder directions–and I think Raj is more than able to encourage and empower Bruce to do so.

Blakeman should be encouraged to buckle down in Edmonton and start organizing the entire city to go red next election. Out of all the candidates in the leadership race Blakeman had the most die hard (yet fewest) supporters and, if she could inspire other leaders to take on leadership roles, Edmonton would quickly be turned into Redmonton again. Turn her sights on Edmonton and winning there she’ll make a Liberal government a reality.

Unity

Another challenge for the party is that, as with all leadership campaigns, people are unhappy with a leader that was not on their list of preferred list. This is to be expected. Bitter feelings and anguish are to be expected. There is a challenge for Raj, and a great opportunity, in this period just after the race. With the media focusing on the PC leadership race he can, along with the party, reach out to members that helped the other leadership candidates and tie them together into a new, stronger, and more effective electoral machine.

It was obvious to me that Hugh MacDonald’s team out organized the Raj Sherman team: the former had more volunteers, more ardent supporters that’d phone late into the night, and people who would, as one partisan phrased it, “give their life for him.” The latter made a mass appeal and brought in many new, many old, and many disfranchisement people into the party, but lacked the strong volunteer core that Hugh had. These two have amazing strengths and have a part to play with one another in reorganizing the Alberta Liberal Party. There needs to be the fresh invigoration of the party with new members but there has to be that balance with the members of yesteryear, who again and again, are relied on to be the backbone of the party.

It’s not only unity in the perspective of the party, however, that needs to be addressed. The Alberta Party, or the many people I’ve poached from their ranks to join the party in the last week (I have some of their execs on my slate to run Calgary-Klein) had qualms with how the Liberals had turned themselves into an Edmonton-only club where inclusion was based more on how long you’ve been there than on the quality of their ideas. While completely off base and untrue, it has never been directly confronted as it has been in this race. Raj Sherman showed himself to be the candidate open and willing to take in new blood and be more than just Liberal. With the Alberta Party partisans being peeved by their current leadership in many respects, and how their leadership race was run, I feel many will be finding a new home quite quickly with the Alberta Liberals.

Organizing

A third challenge is that the supporters aren’t quite ‘coherent’ yet in terms of being included in the party proper or being prepared for an election. There are candidates, who haven’t been encouraged to run or been told that, in fact, they should run, on those lists of new supporters and new members. There are constituencies with hundreds of new people but no person to make their voices coherent into a campaign and constituency association.

I’ve done a little bit of this “coherency building.” Last year I helped as interim president for the Calgary East Federal Liberal association, which has been called the “one of the most active of Calgary ridings” by many now. I’ve blogged on party organizing, repeatedly, and even received nationally attention in the Toronto Star for one of my pieces. I’d like to think I know a fair bit about party building, and I think what we need now is more of party building.

This is going to be a challenge, as it is for all opposition parties. We do not have the graft from the Tories or the angry castoffs of the Conservatives in the Wildrose to buffer us. What we do have, though, is the power of being the Official Opposition, a leader with a vision and good political instincts, and a call by many in the party to get’er done, especially by outgoing leader Dr. Swann and elder figures in the party. Also, there are the people who just voted in the recent leadership race: those people will make the teams, the associations, and the backbone of the next election. The organizers of the different campaigns can work together as a bigger team, bringing together the different things they did into a stronger, more effective whole.  I’m optimistic that the Liberals can pull off an organizing feat in the next month and a half, getting new and old Liberals to get back into the party.

The ‘Other’ Leadership Campaign

An inescapable reality is the dynamics of the Progressive Conservative leadership race. What happens there will change the dynamics of Albetan politics. Just as one example, If Mar gets in, Sherman will get the Liberal more support by virtue of the issue of Healthcare coming in the Liberal’s favor. Mar has come out in favor of private delivery and that position is a great foil to that of the Liberals. I’m not sure about the other leadership candidates in the PC race however.

At the end of the day, though, the Liberals have a race to run and win to form government in Alberta. Lets Raj & roll.

Introduce Yourself (Part I)

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Leadership (Part II)

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Issues: (Part III)

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