Alberta Premier Danielle Smith never spoke directly to a Crown Prosecutor when she set out to interfere in the administration of justice on behalf of pandemic public health scofflaws, and nothing else matters.
That’s the United Conservative Party’s story and they’re stickin’ to it.
Yesterday, the party trotted out Deputy Premier Kaycee Madu to make that point in response to reporters’ questions at an otherwise ho-hum news conference about more camping sites campily staged in a camp supply store.
On the face of it, Mr. Madu was a strange choice for this effort, having lost his job as justice minister in February 2022 for – you guessed it! – trying unsuccessfully to interfere with the administration of justice by calling Edmonton’s chief of police about a traffic ticket he’d received.
On the other hand, we’re talking about Alberta and the United Conservative Party, so in a weird way it all makes sense.
Premier Smith has admitted to having spoken with the justice minister and the deputy justice minister to express her unhappiness with the conduct of prosecutors and the progress of their COVID-19 public health prosecutions.
But that’s OK because she didn’t speak directly with a Crown Prosecutor, Mr. Madu insisted at yesterday’s newser as the brouhaha about a leaked recording of the premier telling an anti-vaccine street preacher she was talking “almost weekly” to Justice Department officials about his case entered its second day.
Asked by reporter Julia Wong of the CBC if he still stood behind Ms.Smith in light of the revelation of the recording of the 11-minute conversation, Mr. Madu responded, “One hundred per cent I stand behind the premier.”
“I know the media, like, has always been interested in sensationalizing this particular issue,” he scolded. “I think what you saw happened was a media outlet that is continuing a defamatory act against the premier of Alberta and folks in high office.”
Getting to his key talking point, Mr. Madu continued: “There is nothing in the video, and I have watched all of those videos. I spent some time yesterday watching all of them.
“It’s consistent with the premier’s concern during that time on the radio, during her time as the leadership candidate of our party, her concern about the welfare of Albertans many of whom had serious issues with the way the province handled the pandemic restrictions and lockdowns.
“And so, I think the time has come for us to move past this particular issue.”
“The conversations that took place were limited to the premier having a conversation with her minister of justice, the deputy attorney general, her senior officials in the Department of Justice,” he added a little later, “and that is entirely appropriate.”
Now there’s plenty more of this, but there’s only so much you can stand to read and I can stand to type. This covers his argument, which under the circumstances is weak.
Which is not to say I’m all that enthused about the NDP Opposition’s response to this, either.
In a statement emailed to media yesterday afternoon, NDP Leader Rachel Notley called on Premier Smith to launch a 30-day judge-led investigation of the premier’s obvious interference in the administration of justice.
Say what?
Seriously, the NDP wants to defer judgment on this obviously improper behaviour by the premier of Alberta, likely until after the election, and neutralize what is unquestionably their best line of attack, a generous gift handed to them by the most utterly inept premier in Alberta history?
Ms. Notley was certainly right when she said the leaked recording was unprecedented, black and white “evidence of interference in the judicial system by the premier of Alberta.”
But there’s no excuse for offering to hand Ms. Smith a lifeline in the form an easy-to-stall inquiry that would move the whole scandal onto the back burner.
The NDP needs to start acting like a government-in-waiting that wants to win the election.
For all intents and purposes, we are in the election period now, regardless of whether or not the writ has dropped. The election is supposed to happen in 60 days. This is no time for good-hearted business as usual!
The right course of action for the NDP is to hammer Danielle Smith relentlessly, every hour of every day, for her outrageous behaviour, her serial lying, and her habitual defiance of the idea of the rule of law. We’re unlikely to come across a clearer example of this than her fawning phone “conversation” with Pastor Art Pawlowski.
The phrase “His Majesty’s Loyal Opposition” means the Opposition party is loyal to the Crown, not to the government it opposes!
Fortunately, as Mr. Madu demonstrated yesterday, the UCP is acting like it wants to lose the election too.
So the government, thank goodness, is unlikely to take Ms. Notley up on her suggestion, which might otherwise be a disastrous blow to the prospect of having a sane government in Alberta.
Sorry, Not Torry
Meanwhile, in Southern Alberta, it appears there may be some limits to the level of lunacy the UCP is prepared to tolerate from candidates – at least in Lethbridge where there is already one NDP MLA and the potential to elect another on May 29.
On Wednesday, Lethbridge-West UCP candidate Torry Tanner – running against NDP MLA Shannon Phillips – posted a video on social media that claimed: “We are seeing increasing instances where kids, even those attending kindergarten, are being exposed to pornographic material or, worse yet, having teachers help them change their gender identity, with absolutely no parental consent or knowledge whatsoever.”
“We need to get involved on school boards, on parent councils, so that we can keep those precious little ones safe from this kind of outrageously inappropriate behaviour,” Ms. Tanner, who described herself in campaign material as an educator, says in the video.
The blowback was immediate, and fierce.
“Will you be issuing an apology on behalf of your candidate and party as she’s an official candidate of the @Alberta_UCP,” Alberta Teachers Association President Jason Schilling, a resident of the riding, asked the premier in a tweet.
Instead, by mid-morning yesterday the UCP Twitter account had published a statement from Ms. Tanner resigning her candidacy.
“During the nomination process I made a video that, at its core, spoke to my commitment to protecting children,” she said unapologetically and unrepentantly. “However, it’s clear that my choice of words have distracted not only from the issue I was trying to discuss, but are being used by my political opponents to hurt our chances of winning across the province.
“Accordingly, I have resigned as the candidate for Lethbridge-West.”
Premier Smith said in a statement she’ll be appointing a candidate for the riding soon.
Just another day at the office for Mr. Madu, I guess. However, I suppose his expertise is in calling police chiefs to talk about his traffic fines, not in calling Crown Prosecutors weekly to advocate for supposedly persecuted pastors. So perhaps his experience with interfering with justice is more limited.
I also suspect the pastor in question did not probably have full confidence in Smith’s claims of rigorous advocacy for him, which is likely why the recording was made and later released. Its hard to know when Smith was telling the truth, when she repeatedly said she was calling Crown Prosecutors, or when she later said her misspoke and her words were imprecise. Although what she said initially actually seems fairly clear. Interestingly she didn’t say anything about emailing Crown Prosecutors, so perhaps she was careful enough to refrain from that, or at least any such emails were kept under the control of the government so far and now may have been conveniently deleted or lost.
In any event, it is not good for the UCP and Smith that this problem that they thought had gone away a while ago, has been resurected with this recording of Smith somehow surfacing inconveniently closer to the upcoming election.
Speaking of inconvenient video, its not just Smith embarrassing her party. Not to be outdone, the candidate for Lethbridge West has made quite the effort too. No doubt some in the UCP might now also be wishing they could also quickly replace Smith with an appointed candidate. Unfortunately for them, that would be much harder to do.
So, yes the opposition should take every opportunity it gets to talk more about Smith’s shifting stories. It is still not clear whether she was calling Crown Prosecutors almost weekly or if she never talked to them. She has said both these things at different times and seems unable to convincingly reconcile her contradictory statements.
The UCP are full on crazy, and have a bunch of very wacky perceptions. Their candidates are just a retread of the ones we saw in the Wildrose, which helped to sink that party into oblivion. Pornographic material is against the law in schools, and if teachers are showing it to children, they can face criminal charges, and have their teaching certificate revoked. Danielle Smith and her UCP MLAs are bound to do more gaffes, and the UCP will be obliterated.
Madu– “a media outlet that is continuing a defamatory act against the Premier and folks in high office “….
So Dani and Skippy are going hard on defund the CBC, that much we know. Now was KMadu referring to PP, or was he being literal ,as in a certain office in Calgary, interesting question IMHO..??
Madu–“there is nothing in the video. I have watched all those videos .I spent yesterday watching all of them “…..
so exactly how many videos are there that he spent the day watching “all” of them???
and maybe a moot point by now, but am I the only one who wonders who has whom on speed dial, the Premier talking so freely to someone who’s on house arrest for just one of his transgressions or said person being able to just call up the Premier and being put through without any problems.
Heck, I’ve never been able to get through to the MLAs office…voicemail, use internet etc. Incredibly, it’s still easier by mail or in person, and then it’s just the office staff who pass on a message if they seem it worthy.
Now unlike KM, RA, or TS I’m not a lawyer, so if this isn’t “political interference ” , as per what passes for law in Alberta lately, then surely conflict of interest ,or she should have recused herself because of personal connections being perceived as such…. oh never mind, I think I just answered my own redundant question. Oddly enough, the only d’rump quote not used, “was don’t know him, never met him, well I take pictures with all kinds of people”.plus getting legal advice from K, is well, yeah, what ever.
Daveberta.ca Feb27-2023
Artur Pawlowski —
**Dr Dennis Modry running for UCP in Edmonton …..
‘fund raising event, Dani tips her cap to Modry -So part of when I decided I wanted to run for Premier I knew how important it was to make sure that we addressed the issues of autonomy, Smith said. And I talked to Dr Modry as one of my first steps. I said let’s try this together. ‘
Oh the web she weaves…
Someone should let Trudeau know the SNC Lavalin thing was all a mistake – it is only interference if you pressure the actual prosecutor! He’ll be relieved, as will the scores of Canadians who, it seems now, had incorrectly assumed his behaviour was inappropriate. Thanks Mr. Madu for sorting that all out!
Camp. That could be the theme of the UCP.
Thank you for the hilarious photo of DS with the giant Mundare sausage. I visited that thing almost a decade ago. The paint was faded. It was almost as if the town had given up. All that was missing was Danielle Smith. We can see that one has arrived.
I think we have reached the stage of being able to call Danielle Smith Alberta Bibi. Interference in justice: check. Aspiring to add her own provincial police force, likely answerable to her alone: check. Riots in the streets: not just yet, but hang tight.
Did the citizens of Israel sit back and wait for an inquiry? Heck no! Deferral is concession. The young people marched. They protested. The understand that democracy is at stake, and they want no part of Bibi and his plans. They’re still protesting, knowing that lying liars who lie will go back on their word when nobody’s looking. They’re holding Bibi’s feet to the fire.
“The NDP needs to start acting like a government-in-waiting that wants to win the election.”
Amen!
Torrey Tanner is a sign of the sickness infecting the UCP. Bold, disgusting, Republican lies. No apologies. She meant what she meant. There is a war on Albertans, but Torrey Tanner wasn’t supposed to say out loud what the UCP are thinking. They’ll shed their thin skins of civility after the election, if they win. She is who they really are. Democracy is at stake.
Section 8 (the Klinger clause) of the UCP rule book* says Ms. Smith can only appoint 4 candidates, and she has used up 3 already. Danielle might have been too hasty appointing people to replace Travis Toews and Sonja Savage.
*Thanks again for the background, David.
The UCP just can’t seem to keep the lake of fire types in check.
Roger: They don’t try very hard to keep them in check. DJC
Trying to shut up other people in a “democracy” with freedom of speech doesnt sound too democratic to me.
Good thing there are parties like the UCP who actually care a about such thing and dont pine for authoritarianism toolkit to seem “united”.
How many times do we have to tell you that hate speech is not protected by Canada’s Charter? Canada has “freedom of expression”, which is quite different from tolerance of those who spread untruths and hatred against a certain group. We have “reasonable limits” on freedom of expression. Thank Jim Keegstra for that.
“In January 1984, Keegstra was charged with criminally promoting hatred against an identifiable group according to section 281 (2) — now section 319 (2) — of the Criminal Code of Canada. It stated, in part, ‘Everyone who, by communicating statements, other than in private conversation, wilfully promotes hatred against any identifiable group is guilty of an indictable offence and is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years.'”
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/keegstra-case
It might be an idea for Tanner to consult a lawyer regarding her false statements of gender reassignment in kindergarten. It appears she might have criminally promoted hatred against an identifiable group.
With all due respect Abs, and I’m in no way defending Ms. Tanner because exactly as you say she has said out loud what the UCP may represent yet doesn’t want you to hear, but just what identifiable group has she promoted hatred towards? Kindergarten teachers?
Mickey: Teachers was the way I read that comment. I recall somewhere not so long ago lawyers for lawyers claiming members of the legal profession were an identifiable group. DJC
Well DJC if that’s what the lawyers say then we’ll have to culture cancel Shakespeare for “The first thing we do is, let’s kill all the lawyers.” I know there’s some debate as to whether that was praise or criticism of what may be the second-oldest profession, but let us cancel the Bard anyways…
Mickey: Shakespearean lawyers as an identifiable group: Ye shall know them by their tights. As far as lawyers being the second oldest profession, though, I disagree. They’re the third oldest. Second would be journalism. First someone did it; then someone told on them; THEN someone sued someone else as a result. No? DJC
Hah, hilarious DJC, tip of my hat! Shakespeare guilty as charged! Yeah I agree, you’re probably in the second-oldest profession.
We don’t have universal freedom of speech like they do in the states. Hate speech is illegal in Canada, and I would say a number of these lake of fire types more than flirt with hate speech.
Now what’s interesting is no one kept them from saying what they said, but the UCP dropped them
As a candidate because they recognized that folks are generally unelectable in a Democratic election.
Bird: I doubt the UCP would have dropped Ms. Tanner had she been the candidate in, say, Livingstone-Macleod. What she said was a problem in Lethbridge because that city is more liberal in its outlook than most of the rural communities in Southern Alberta and is big enough to have two seats. DJC
I think you accused the wrong party of authoritarianism, but the UCP has been gaslighting you pretty heavily on that one.
As for Pawlowski and Tanner (and DS) exercising their freedom of speech, there is one upside: as Maya Angelou said, “when someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.”
The sorry pattern of excuse making seems to adhere to a prearranged template that attempts and hints at a form of attempted public absolution, yet the entire presentation(s) is(are) suggestive of the deceptive, ineffectual, and self-absorbed after thoughts of children contemplating further clumsy duplicities.
Therefore, the audience has to decide for itself what type of ‘language game’ is being played, or acted out on the political stage:
(i.) Where for example, “Wittgenstein argued that a word or even a sentence has meaning only as a result of the “rule” of the “game” being played. . . . and he argued that concepts do not need clarity for meaning.”, or (ii.) “A language game (also called a cant, secret language, ludling, or argot) is a system of manipulating spoken words to render them incomprehensible to an untrained listener.” One supposes in this case the ‘language game’ is both being played out and directed at two levels: the ‘in group’, or insiders and the ‘out group’, or outsiders’, strictly adhering to tribal boundaries. When objections or criticisms are made, the excuses follow, like night and day.
So we are informed that, “However, it’s clear that MY CHOICE OF WORDS have distracted not only from the issue I was trying to discuss, but are being used by my political opponents to hurt our chances of winning across the province.”
And of course, “I may have used some imprecise language but my contact with the justice department has always been through the appropriate channels,” she said Saturday.”
https://globalnews.ca/news/9411249/danielle-smith-imprecise-language-covid-violation/
One is somehow supposed to believe that an individual with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and a a Bachelor of Arts in Economics does not understand the rudiments of English language usage.
Gaslighting an entire population takes enormous audacity, which; says as much about the current Premier as it does about the citizenry that are willingly and gleefully being gaslighted.
“[T]he UCP is acting like it wants to lose the election too.” The lacklustre pre-campaign campaign of the NDP is being matched by the foot-in-mouth disease of Danielle Smith, Kaycee Madu and now Torry Tanner.
Honestly, I’ve begun to believe that neither party wants to win! It even makes economic sense. Oil prices are down, and—in true-blue Alberta fashion—the guv’mint of the day doesn’t dare admit it. So we’re setting ourselves up for another catastrophic deficit, another austerity budget, another war on doctors, nurses, teachers and government employees.
See where that leaves things? Whoever wins will catch merry Hell for the inevitable budget cuts. Rachel Notley knows from bitter personal experience that she’ll get blamed for the deficit, even—especially!—though it was caused by UCP over-spending. Danielle Smith may, repeat, underscore, may, be smart enough to see this coming and try to foist it off on Rachel. If Smith doesn’t understand this, her campaign team certainly does.
So we’re left with a dilemma. The smart party apparently doesn’t want the blame for the dumb party’s mistakes this time. The dumb party is barely self-aware enough to maybe avoid getting hammered for their mistakes by clumsy acts of self-harm.
Our future depends on either the NDP winning despite themselves, or the UCP winning and then quickly self-destructing. Oh yay.
I think its kinda funny that the progressives and their media friends think this is a big problem.
Didnt they support Justin Trudeau trying to talk to China about the two Michaels?
Seems to me its a pretty similar situation. A non-democratic government (at best Ottawa is majoritarian seeing as they have bought off the press) thousands of miles away throwing the book at your citizens for political reasons.
Dont you wish Ottawa was a little more strict on actual criminals?
Welcome back, Bret! Been on vacation?
You’re reaching way farther than usual with this one. The two Michaels? Calling the federal government Nothing to do with Smith and the Take Back Alberta Party sucking up to vaccine refusniks. The correct comparison, re Smith’s clumsy attempts to influence the prosecution of court cases, is the SNC-Lavalin scandal—as so many of your fellow RepubliCons have pointed out.
From the Wikipedia entry for https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SNC-Lavalin_affair :
After a six-month-long investigation, Ethics Commissioner Dion issued a report that concluded that Trudeau had contravened Section 9 of the federal Conflict of Interest Act by improperly pressuring Wilson-Raybould. Dion wrote that while Wilson-Raybould was never officially directed to interfere, this influence was “tantamount to political direction”. Dion did not find that any actual political interference in the prosecution occurred; however, he reported he did not have access to all of the evidence. Under the Act, there are no sanctions specified for the violation. After the commissioner’s report was released, the Prime Minister released a statement both taking responsibility for and defending his actions. The opposition leaders have called for further investigations.
There is a critical distinction you and your fellow Cons miss. Trudeau et al were NOT attempting to quash a trial or “pardon” SNC-Lavalin executives. The scandal was that they pressured JWR to reduce the sentencing from criminal conviction to a “deferred prosecution agreement”—in short, a corporate plea bargain.
That’s not what Smith et al have promised the Coutts protesters and their ilk. Smith promised them “pardons”—then discovered she can’t do that. So she was trying to get prosecutors to drop the case against Artur Pawlowski. She discovered that she can’t do that, either. Hence 11 minutes of bitching by Pawlowski and sympathetic noises and promises from Smith.
By the way, Smith herself referred to SNC-Lavalin, and told Pawlowski (paraphrase) she shouldn’t do what Trudeau did. Then she promised to do what Trudeau did. I wonder if Smith listens to herself?
But don’t give up hope! Charles Rusnell in the Tyee reports that Pawlowski “was prosecuted for a charge of criminal mischief and a separate offence under Alberta’s Critical Infrastructure Defence Act.” The CIDA, you remember, is Jason Kenney’s signature “Get your protest signs off my sidewalk!” legislation. It was criticized as unconstitutional because it was so broad, it could be applied anywhere. So if your boy Artur is convicted under CIDA, he can probably appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada on constitutional grounds.
https://thetyee.ca/News/2023/03/30/Damaging-Danielle-Smith-Recording/
Ironic, isn’t it? The law Kenney’s UCP intended to quash tree-hugging pipeline-hating protesters could be brought down by a radical-right street preacher who hates Covid-19 vaccines and the government(s) that tell him what to do.
Mike: You wrote, “I wonder if Smith listens to herself?” She doesn’t. I have been told by people who worked with her in the past that she just says stuff, and often doesn’t know what she’s going to say until she’s saying it. I’ll resist the temptation of amateur psychologizing. But this is an important aspect of her character that means you can never trust anything she says, because she will literally say anything. DJC
Now that if so, is fascinating. As a social worker I was told all communication has a purpose. This would leave open what purpose Smith’s utterances have?
Albertan: As noted, I’m not a psychologist or a psychoanalyst. Without being certain, I wouldn’t be surprised to discover it’s a diagnosable disorder found somewhere in the pages of the DSM. In which case, I suppose you could argue, it doesn’t really have a purpose in the normal sense of that word. It’s just a thing. DJC
Hi Albertan. If all communication truly has a purpose, I fear much of the communication in Oilberduh means “I’m a bullshitter.”
Stephen Outhouse, the UCP’s campaign manager, must have been on spring break vacay when all of this went down.
Mr Outhouse has been credited amongst Conservative circles outside Alberta — people like Kory Tenyecke — with metaphorically stuffing a sock in Daniellezebub’s mouth since he came aboard towards the end of last year, after she established her Premier’s office staff. Said sock stuffing is, in turn, given credit for her recovery in the polls when compared to where she was at during the UCP leadership campaign and right after the vote.
But, now, it seems, she has successfully spit out that sock, and is once again revealing who she really is.
jerrymacgp, you’ve explained why Smith herself has avoided bozo eruptions, at least mostly. Threatening to sue the CBC for using her own recorded words against her will qualify as a major bozo eruption, if she’s dumb or angry enough (if there’s a difference) to actually sue. This also explains why her “ask me anything” media scrums have gone as mythical as the unicorn.
(Alias footnote: it seems there are two Stephen Outhouses. Bing search returns entries for Stephen, an artist and sculptor from Newfoundland. Steve, on the other hand, has a LinkedIn page where he lists his current job as “campaign manager–United Conservative Party of Alberta.”
Thanks DJC, that was my impression of her style; less conversation than diatribe. I suspect she’s one of those people who believe what they’re saying–as long as they’re saying it.
That’s not a requirement for a successful politician as such, but it sure helps if you’re a rabble-rousing populist demagogue.
BTW, calling Ottawa “majoritarian” has nothing to do with buying off the press. Again, from Wikipedia:
“Majoritarianism is a political philosophy or ideology with the agenda asserting that a majority based on a religion, language, social class, or other category of the population, is entitled to a certain degree of primacy in society, and has the right to make decisions that affect the society. This traditional view has come under growing criticism, and liberal democracies have increasingly included constraints on what the parliamentary majority can do, in order to protect citizens’ fundamental rights.
“This should not be confused with the concept of a majoritarian electoral system, which is a simple electoral system that usually gives a majority of seats to the party with a plurality of votes. A parliament elected by this method may be called a majoritarian parliament (e.g., the Parliament of the United Kingdom, or the Parliament of India).”
We can add the Parliament of Canada to Wiki’s list. Calling Ottawa “majoritarian” is a good thing; it’s working as intended. You must mean what’s described in the first paragraph. That’s what Ralph Klein, Stephen Harper, Jason Kenney, the Ford brothers, Scott Moe, Brian Palliser and Christy Clark all tried to do—bulldoze any laws they didn’t like and replace them with populist or authoritarian rules.
The charge has been brought by the Alberta Crown Prosecution service not the federal government. That’s why it’s wrong for the Alberta Premier to attempt to interfere.
Alberta Bibi, it seems, is just as popular right now as Israel Bibi, for the same reasons. They both want to interfere in their justice systems. Their both want to have their own enforcers. One might say they’re both hell-bent on destroying democracy in order to set themselves up as autocrats. The difference is that Albertans are way less aware than Israelis, who have taken to the streets in protest.
The leader of a sovereign nation, Justin Trudeau, negotiates with the Chinese government, the government of another sovereign nation, one of which he is not a citizen and has no political role.
Our provincial Premier tries to put her thumb on the scales of a case under consideration by the provincial prosecutor’s office, which is supposed to be free from political influence.
Compare and contrast. Extra points for an explanation of how the second case doesn’t constitute an abuse of power by our provincial Premier.
The TBA faction may buy this. The dyed in the wool UCP supporters who depend on the Party for their personal financial largesse and income may buy it.
But will the traditional Conservative base buy it? Some of whom the UCP will need for election work and getting out the vote…in Calgary for instance.
Will undecided voters buy it?
Anyone that wants good governance will “buy it”.
Why? Because anyone without blinders on will recognize the witch hunt Ottawa has prosecuted on some of these people and expect their leaders to support due process of the law.
I’m beginning to think you’re one of those word salad bots that people put on Twitter for amusement and mockery of those who actually make word salad statements. Blinders, witches? Yada yada. How many nonsensical word salad terms can you toss and dress up for the comments section today? Caesar, Waldorf, etc.
She promoted a false claim that hydroxychloroquinine cures Covid at a 100% rate and suggested using E.coli-tainted meat for human consumption. She is a reality-denying demagogue, unable to coherently extricate herself from the morass of her own lies. TBA’s public face seems to be heading for the bottom of the barrel.
One thing that continues to surprise me is Danielle Smith’s confession that she actually believed that a Premier could grant amnesty in a criminal case.
That to me is an incredible display of her basic lack of a basic understanding of how our Government and how our judicial system works.
If I were her, I would be embarrassed to admit this publicly.
Is Madu the message or the medium? Oh, never mind! The whole thing is just too stupid to do it justice in words.
Never mind ‘post-structuralism.’ With just over two moons to go Albertans are staring into an epidiascopic reflection and its illusion of proximate depth. If they don’t want to swim with the fishes after the big splash, they must seize this pre-destructionalist period to send the foundering UCP ship to the bottom.
Too harsh? Remind that the project now is not merely to relegate the UCP to the opposition side of the Assembly, but to destroy it. As presumable as its self-destruction appears, it simply may not be presumed . Even a rattler’s severed head can bite.
Now is not the time to retreat to the corner for the ten-count over the sprawling UCP, nor to give it a gentle hand up as if merely counting coup. It’s rather time to quickly straddle the squirming beast on the mat, place the point of a sharpened wooden stake (already prepared) over its heart, and hammer it through with a stout, heavy mallet (already at hand) before it can get up and wreak havoc anew. Hasn’t Kaycee just confirmed beyond a doubt that this party is absolutely irredeemable?
Message to NDP Loyal Opposition Leader Rachel Notley: you may not—not ‘might’ not, but ‘may’ not—offer quarter to the enemy of the people, the enemy of workers and their families, the enemy of our Constitution and nation, and the enemy of Alberta. At this point in the march toward the objective, nothing may substitute, nothing else is permissible but total defeat.
In the campaign of partisan politics, it is not virtuous to offer quarter to vice.
The objective is clear—probably even to the blind: every single opportunity to destroy the enemy and its ability to wage war must be exploited. Spoiling actions, feints, and surprise are all permissible to this end. Let the enemy negotiate its peace in front of a judge on its own time—but, right now, defeating it is priority.
And that is absolute.
It’s no time to wait for Danielle Smith to get caught in a zoom conference sympathizing with the UCP Lethbridge-West riding association’s disappointment over their now-former candidate’s disappointment. As likely as it might seem, it’s no time to wait for Danielle to defend the odious Torry Tanner by promising to intervene with the defamation suit she so richly deserves for the heinous and totally outrageous accusations she made against school teachers.
I generally disapprove of slogans on principle, but in the circumstance, the one we used to proclaim in unison after agreeing on a plan for a new project— “Let’s Kill This Puppy”— wouldn’t be too bad. If ever there was a party that deserves to expire, it’s the UCP. Let its orphans be free to find the parties which reflect their respective views. But, for the love of God!—the UCP must go.
Now go! Get on with it. Get It Done (with nod to Charlie Pride, RIP).
Scotty: Regulated hate speech, suggested by another commenter this evening, would have a better prospect of success than defamation law to ensure Ms. Tanner’s odious comments had consequences. Defamation, basically, requires that the plaintiff or plaintiffs be identified. Suggesting that some teachers are doing something preposterous, no matter how self-evidently false, is not likely to be actionable under Canadian defamation law. On the other hand, if she said anything that identified a particular teacher or group of teachers, they might have cause for action. DJC
Infinitesimally minor point DJC. Scotty has hit the nail or the stake, on it’s blunt end. Alta – this UCP thing has to be soundly obliterated – vanquished for the sake of the working people of Alberta. Afterwards you can ditch the NDP and resurrect a conservative replacement for it if you wish but do the right thing for now – Kill the Puppy…
“The right course of action for the NDP is to hammer Danielle Smith relentlessly, every hour of every day, for her outrageous behaviour, her serial lying. . .” I’m doin’ my bit, but like you, wish to all that’s holy on a daily basis for the NDP to actually get off their cushions and help with the fight! It’s bare knuckle time!
Let’s start with a contest on a billboard on Deerfoot Trail, shall we? “Name the first Premier who set a precedent on personal legal liability”. Winners will receive a friendly consultation with Danielle Smith via zoom on her radio show!
Dial or text: 403-aru-nutz
I’m sure we can find some third party to foot the bill!
If you think the UCP are bad, wait until Take Back Alberta gains control of the UCP. When TBA gains control of the UCP, we will be longing for the good old days when the UCP was in charge.
I am a UCP member, BUT I am VERY afraid! When the new Premier speaks, A LOT of strange things come out of her mouth unfortunately. Her “handlers” have done MOSTLY a good job of keeping her from speaking in public over the last number of months, but even with that she is able to put her foot in her mouth OFTEN.
What worries me most, is that IF she gets elected, then she will take that as being given carte blanche to say/do whatever she can think of – with NO controls on her by then. THAT is what keeps me awake at night!
Terry, I accept and appreciate your comment as a UCP supporter. I too see giving Ms. Smith and the TBA carte blanche to be very destructive to Alberta and the people who live there. It’s a two-horse race so the alternative is an NDP govt again but as I said upthread you can resurrect a reasonable party out of this TBA-UCP mess for next time but this iteration is looking very dangerous. All the Best…
Terry, this must be a worrying time for you. I’m sorry, but your party has been taken over by the Take Back Alberta clique, with Danielle Smith as their figurehead. Smith has hijacked your party on behalf of an extreme-right fringe of separatist-wannabes. It’s not Jason Kenney’s “United Conservatives” anymore. It’s Danielle Smith’s Take Back Alberta Party.
So…what will you do? You have some options.
You could hold your nose and vote UCP/ TBA, and pray Smith won’t trash the whole province. You could stay home, and boycott the election. You could cast a protest ballot; there are lots of radical, but non-TBA conservative parties in Alberta (none of which have a snowball’s chance in Hell of winning). You could vote for the Alberta Party; it’s the only moderate conservative, center-right party these days. You could spoil your ballot! Write “None of the above” on the page. It’s still counted, it’s your right and privilege, it’s the ultimate protest vote.
Or—last choice—you could vote strategically. Swallow your pride, just this once, and vote NDP. It’s not a vote “for Rachel,” it’s a vote against Danielle Smith. Notley’s NDP, despite the name, is center-right. Their policies would have fit well with the last Progressive Conservative premier anyone respected—Peter Lougheed.
Good luck with your choice. I’m afraid you’ll need it.
“Say what?” indeed – 60 days to go and it is Game On. I am hopeful/optimistic that the AB NDP have a plan which will take advantage of all the ammunition and ground Ms. Smith has given them. I’m hopeful that we’ll see a tsunami of clarity from the AB NDP of the choice Alta faces but as Scotty reminded us, the NDP on this side of the Rockies threw that away and snatched defeat from the jaws of victory just a few years ago. Whatever- I believe it would be more than unfortunate for Alta if they elect Ms. Smith and this disaster UCP again…
David: what asylum did Alberta’s current first ministeer escape from? And have they yet realised their high profile patient can currently be found inside the Alberta Legislature?
And when does the draft Jason Kenney movement start to bring the former premier back? Time is short before the next Alberta general election.