Danielle Smith wins the Wildrose Alliance Leadership....Now what?

  First off, I would like to congratulate Danielle Smith for her impressive victory in the Wildrose Alliance Leadership race this weekend.  While I am not yet a supporter of her party, I am amazed by her ambition and work ethic in her approach to achieving this goal.  Having met Danielle socially and spoken to her a few times, I was intrigued by her campaign.  Most readers of this blog may feel that I gave Mark Dyrholm an unfair shake, as seen in some of these posts: ( I'll let you have a quick chuckle and decide for yourself)

•  If I was a WAP supporter, who would I vote for?
• WAP Leadership race via Social Networking Stats!
• Dyrholm closes in on the "Interweb" Gap! 
•  Who is the best (looking) candidate?  ( This is purely science folks, purely science. Correct also!)
• Do Endorsements matter in the WAP race?
• WAP Membership Sales-Part 1.  ( My favorite...lol)   

It took a while, but most of my opponents finally realized that there was a lot of sarcasm in these posts.  Even Craig Chandler finally got in on the joke and let me know he knew where I was coming from.  I should also congratulate Mark for standing up for his beliefs and running for the leadership.  I know it took a lot of time and resources to run, so I can respect those sacrifices.

 Just over a month ago, there were massive rumours floating around that Dyrolm's team was outselling memberships by 2-1 over Danielle.  This is odd, considering that the votes went 3-1 for Danielle.  Was there a last minute push by the new members to ensure that Danielle would win ( or to ensure a Dyrholm loss), or was this a strategic plant?   Part of the rumour was quite vicious, so I am not sure what happened.  Politically, it is interesting though. 

 So now that Danielle Smith has won, whats next?   I believe that the momentum of this movement will slowly start to stall, as the "excitement" of the leadership race is now over.  Here are some random questions that I have:

What direction will the Wildrose Alliance move to with its policy and platform?  The membership has spoken loud and clear with a 3-1 vote for Danielle and her "libertarian" ways.  To me, this shows that the party does not want to make a move to the far right on social issues, as Dyrholm would have liked. This is dangerous for the PC's, as they will be treading after the "average" Albertans vote.  I am curious to see where the party will go now with Danielle as its leader.  If they move to a more socially moderate platform, I think they can be a real force.  If not, it will likely be back to fringe-party status.

 Who gets the media attention now?   With Paul Hinman the only WAP MLA, who gets the soundbite on the 6pm news everyday?  Hinman or Smith?  I cannot see Danielle just parroting the comments made by Hinman, but it seems rather silly to have a leader without a seat commenting instead of Hinman.  Will Danielle simply wait outside the Legislature for the media scrum after watching it in the galley? What will Hinman do...simply deflect the media questions to the leader?  How will this work?

 Will there be any PC defections now?  I previously posted on this, but this has likely changed over the past few weeks.  Check out Ezra Levant's "Predictions" on twitter! 

 Finally, back in May I did my first blog post ever on the WAP, I asked the question " Is the Wildrose Alliance Party the real deal"?  Looking back, less than six months ago, and I cannot believe how much has changed in the Alberta political landscape.  Are they the real deal?  Not yet...but with the new leader and a good set of policy, they will be.  Perhaps Danielle Smith said it best this weekend..." Ed Stelmach, you haven't even begun to imagine what's about to hit you"....

Hopefully my party wakes up and takes notice before its too late. 

Shane

Mark Dyrholm's last stab at attention, before he goes back into obscurity...

 How Embarrassing. 

 I caught wind on Twitter about Mark ( The Media is unfair and out to get me) Dyrholm and his whining about the media's bias towards Danielle Smith.  This is is just absurd.  I do not care who Danielle Smith used to work with or what station her husband works for now,  as it just does not matter in this case.  Does the Dyrholm team seriously think that that the Alberta/National media is really out to get him and his 'conservative" ways.  Mark is truly "jumping the shark" here and realizes that he cannot win the Wildrose Alliance Leadership, so is trying to create a last minute issue for his poorly run campaign.  Either that, or it is a poor, poor attempt at mimicking Wayne Gretzky's famous "nobody wants us to win" speech in the 2002 Olympics.


 To be honest, this blogger has also been accused of being biased against Mark.  Many times in fact.  The truth is, I do not believe for a minute that the "Media" is out to get him.  In my opinion, I would not want to put a live camera in his face on the 6pm News.  I have seen Bingo Callers that have more charisma and a better cadence to their voice.  Remember last month when Charles Adler called him Mark "DRY-Holm"....he was dead on my friends.  Adler also stated that he was accused of not giving him equal time, but declared that the man did not make a good enough phone in caller, let alone "radio guest"....yikes.

  Before you blame the media for you lack of attention, perhaps he would consider getting some sleep before going on TV...or at the very least, borrow he could some of his wife's eye cream.  At least then, he would look a little more presentable and perhaps get some more interviews. 

Also, I wonder how many "interviews" Mark has been told to turn down, because the source was not "friendly enough" to his campaign. 

Good Luck to you.  After Saturday, you will be back to manipulation.  Manipulating backs that is...and not the Alberta Voter.  I guess running was not such a good idea?

The video can be found at the Calgary SE News blog.

Do Endorsements Matter in the Wildrose Alliance Leadership Race?

  With the Wildrose Alliance Leadership race now in the final stretch, I found myself wondering if political endorsements really matter?  Does anyone switch their vote based on who has more ( or better) public endorsements?  Is it all for show?  Lets look at some of the public endorsements for each candidate...

Mark Dyrholm's endorsements ( taken from his twitter posts over the past few months & official website) include the following:

•  Ken Mazzeroll, former candidate for Calgary Currie in 2004. 
• Tim Bloedow, ECP Centre
• Randy Hillier
• Ontario MPP's Lanark, Frontenac, Lennox & Addington.
• Myron Thompson
• Dianna Brooks, Candidate 2004, Calgary Elbow
• Justin Wong, Calgary Shaw Constituency Assoc & Business Owner
• Don Leonardo, Veteran, Former VP, Calgary Egmont Alberta PC Party Association  
• Jim Blake, National Charman, Concerned Christians Canada Inc.
• Craig B. Chandler, Executive Director, Progressive Group for Independent Business (PGIB)

Danielle Smith's endorsements ( taken from an email I had received recently) include:

•  Betty Unger, Alberta senator-elect, Edmonton
• Link Byfield, Alberta senator-elect and Joanne Byfield, pro-life organizer and activist.
• Candis McLean, Calgary, investigative journalist and documentary producer.
• Tom Flanagan, former federal Conservative campaign manager and author.
• Rainer Knopff, U of C professor and author.
• Gordon Butler, Past President of the Western Stock Growers’ Association and Property Rights Advocate.
• Ezra Levant, Western Standard Publisher.
• Barry Cooper, Professor of Political Science, U of C.
• David Chatters Reform Party/Conservative MP for Athabasca and Westlock-St. Paul, 1993 -2006
• Phil Klein, Edmonton, (Ralph’s father)

The scope (and arguably, the quality) of these endorsement varies quite a bit.  I know the conventional wisdom says..." the only endorsements that matter are the votes on leadership day", but I thought it was worth reviewing.  Either camp cannot say they do not care about these endorsements or they would not publicly flaunt them every time the were received. 

Does it make a difference to anyone?  Will it change anyones vote? Does anyone care?  If not, why do people make such a big deal about the endorsments?  What are your thoughts?

Wildrose Alliance Leadership Race...Who is the best (looking) candidate?

Now I know that some of my WAP friends will have a fit over this one, so lets keep in mind that this is for fun!

Remember these sayings?... "Don't judge a book by its cover....", or "Its whats on the inside that counts"? Well according to a recent Princeton University study, none of this matters when we are deciding on who to vote for! This study claims that people make their decisions on who to they will vote for based on their looks! It also determined that "most people judge a political candidates competency within seconds of seeing their face. Period. Issues did not matter. Stance did not matter". Interesting... If you think about it, the study is probably not that far off base.


So using this theory, I thought it would be fun to see who will win the upcoming WAP leadership race based on this? Based on science ( lol), I think that Danielle Smith runs away with this race easily! ( Between Dyrholm and Willerton...Jeff gets my vote for second place!) I guess it is not fair to base someones competency on their looks, but unfortunately, this is likely how our society works. I just want to see if there is any discussion on this?


What do you think?










Danielle Smith





Mark Dyrholm





Jeff Willerton ( On the left...)













Lets see if the science will hold up on election day...

Friday Fun: New Political Theme Song...you choose who should use it!

Another Friday and another lighthearted post! Sticking to the theme of catchy songs from my youth, I found this gem on youtube. Any child in Calgary during the 1970's and '80's will fondly remember The Buckshot Show. Personally, I would rush home at lunch to watch this show everyday as a kid. Ron "Buckshot" Barge is truly a legend in Calgary TV and I wish I could come across some more video of the show.

Anyways, this song got me thinking...

I am wondering what politician this song fits best? Close your eyes and imagine this song as a political theme song...who comes to mind?

• I know my friend Werner Patels will probably say Premier Stelmach. (With his constant"Pig Farmer" references, lol.)
• I think that Danielle Smith is too classy for this song?
• I hear that Jeff Willerton ( is he still in the leadership race?) prefers gospel music, but this hillbilly tune may fall in line with most of his extreme beliefs?
• Chandler's Chap? Maybe...( that is, if he is allowed to listen to music during the campaign!)

Interesting.... What are your thoughts? Come on now...don't be shy!

Happy Weekend!

Shane

Mr. Nenshi...How do you get a free campaign ad in the Calgary Herald?

I had a little chuckle this weekend when I saw that WAP Leadership Candidate Danielle Smith had a great response to Naheed Nenshi's article ( advertisement) regarding political party lables. This topic got started on Twitter of all places and spread to the MSM pretty quickly.

Now, most of the blogs I read just seem to love Mr. Nenshi and his Better Calgary Campaign. He must also have a wonderful readership following in the Herald, as they seem to print one of his "manifesto's" every other week. Seeing that Naheed ran unsuccessfully in the last municipal election, one would assume that he is grateful for the free advertising that these weekly columns provide for his 2010 Aldermanic run? I mean, what aspiring politician would not love the opportunity to have your name and picture in the paper every week? I am sure the name recognition factor will help him in his next campaign for sure. ( To be fair, Danielle Smith also had a regular column in the Herald, but this was before she left her previous job to run for the Leadership.)

Can you imaging the PGIB chaps with a weekly article? Oh my...that would definitely sell some papers. ( Or drive away advertisers...?)

Now, I would jump at this chance in a second...but unfortunately, I cannot write and have nothing to say I guess!

Maybe if we come up with a creative group name, we can legitimize our cause and get a weekly guest blogger article? What do you think?

Shane

IF I was a Wildrose Alliance supporter...who would I vote for?

No that Stampede is over and the early morning functions have ceased, I finally have a moment to post something before I head off to work!



I had the opportunity to meet both of the WRAP leadership candidates at two different Stampede events last week, and thought I would put a quick post together about my thoughts on each of them.





Mark Dyrholm:





I met Mr.Dyrholm briefly at the Calgary SW/Prime Minister Stephen Harper annual BBQ at Heritage Park. He was flanked by his campaign manager ( handler?) Craig Chandler and never seemed to waver more than 3 feet from him. It was kind of uncomfortable to watch this pair working the room and reminded me of the old movie "Twins" with Arnold and Danny Devito.





Now, I did not get a chance to have a lengthy discussion with Mark, because I had not yet eaten and did not think I could stomach it. My first impressions are usually right and I just could not picture this gentleman as the Premier of Alberta. While I am sure he is an honest, hardworking individual, in my opinion "he is just not for me....".








Danielle Smith:









While I saw Ms. Smith at the Heritage Park event, I did not get the chance to meet her that night. I did get to meet her shorty thereafter at a Private Stampede BBQ and had the opportunity to chat briefly. I found Ms. Smith charming and she did not have the stereotypical "fakeness" that some politicians carry. I was honest with her that I do not support her party ( I am a PC supporter) and gave her my thoughts on what this average Albertan was feeling about the current issues. She was respectful in her responses and I found her very intelligent and articulate.


Now, IF I were a WRAP supporter, It is clear who I would support here. Personally, (and from quick straw polls at some events over this past week) I think that Ms. Smith will win the leadership race handily with some more hard work. I know that Mr.Dyrholm's team is quite organized and It would not surprise me if Mr.Chandler already has already booked the charter buses to transport the voters to Edmonton in October, so he is definitely a contender.

The winner of this race determines the fate of the WRAP's future. Extreme/Fringe?... or Moderate/Contender?

Again, who cares what this PC supporter thinks right? These are just my thoughts.

Still Just for fun...Mark Dyrholm team closes the "interweb" gap!

In what was supposed to be a lighthearted post on June 14, I jokingly compared the social media following of the two declared WRAP candidates. It set off a funny set of comments, including some from Mr.Dyrholms team.



I thought it would be interesting to see how the numbers stand up now, almost 10 days later....



June 14:

Danielle Smith:

Facebook: 140 Followers.
Twitter: 696 Followers

Mark Dyrholm:

Facebook: 58 followers
Twitter: 90 Followers


June 24:

Danielle Smith:

Facebook: 235 Followers.

Twitter: 911 Followers

Mark Dyrholm:

Facebook: 212 followers

Twitter: 727 Followers

Looks like a big jump for Mr. Dyrholm. I know I have received 3-4 requests to add Dyrholm as a "friend" on facebook from a certain well known member of his campaign team, so they are obviously pushing the social media well.

What does this mean? Absolutely Nothing!

Young Liberal candidate ( Calgary Glenmore) Cory Hogan had 222 friends on facebook....yet he could not sell enough memberships ( 100 people total voted at the glenmore nomination meeting) to win the nomination. Pretty sad.

Moral of the story? Social Media is important in getting your message out...but unless you actually sell memberships and gather supporters, you will find out who your "friends" really are.

Just for Fun...WAP Leadership Race via Social Network Stats!

Just for fun on a lazy Sunday morning...

While two candidates have come forward in the Wildrose Alliance Party leadership race, I am going to save commentary on each until all of the candidates have come forward. That said, I have been following both Danielle Smith's and Mark Dyrholm's web presence with interest. Here are my thoughts...

Websites:

• Danielle's website is clean, bright, crisp and visually appealing. It is easy to navigate and simple but highly effective.
• Mark's website is good, but it has the PGIB/Chandler NASCAR advertising style, which may turn some people off. It is not as easy to read and forces you to read long winded letters of endorsement, with a few website links from those endorsing him. Hmmm...
  

Now, just for fun...( don't read too much into it) lets look at the Social Media following of each leadership hopeful....

Danielle Smith

• Facebook: 140 Followers.
• Twitter: 696 Followers

Mark Dyrholm

• Facebook: 58 followers
• Twitter: 90 Followers

Edge: Danielle Smith by a mile.

Now, It looks like Craig Chandler and his PGIB crew were a little slow getting the Dyrholm website up and twitter account up and running, so this may be the reason for the "gap" here. Perhaps it may also be a demographic issue, as older people generally do not use Facebook or Twitter?

Anyways...I just figured this would add some mindless banter! Time to grab another coffee...

Is the Wildrose Alliance Party the real deal?

Over the past few weeks, I have seen countless blog postings over the potential godsend that the Wildrose Alliance Party feels it is bringing to the Alberta political landscape. Most of the WAP supporters are posting constant spins about how their party is going to lead Alberta back to the “promised” land after they “wipe out” the PC Party in the next election. I have had some time to watch some of the theatrics and thought it was time I posted some of my thoughts on this…

Disclaimer: I am a supporter of the PC party of Alberta and sit on my local constituency board. That said, I strongly believe that in order to make Alberta a better province, we must first ensure that there is a strong political engagement from our citizens, regardless of what party you support. I really don’t care what party you belong to, as long as you are passionate about making this province stronger. To each their own, as long as your views are not harmful to others.

The WAP is a new party and seemingly lacks the support of the Alberta voter. I am not sure why they feel that they are the “party in waiting” (The last time I checked, they had NO elected members.) but their confidence is definitely not lacking. .They are currently running town hall meetings across the province, with minimal success in my opinion. There recent meeting in Calgary had a paltry 50 people show up. (Wow, 50 whole people? in a city of 1.1MM which is considered a conservative bedrock?) Not exactly the grassroots earthquake of support that they are claiming to be causing. (Probably more like enough “shake” on the Richter scale to cause a candle to flicker!)

The recent announcement that Paul ( I am sure he’s a nice guy and all) Hinman will be stepping aside as WAP leader has given the media ( and us bloggers) some fodder to try and guess who the next leader will be. This move is entirely spin related and designed to gain some attention for their upcoming AGM. There is lots of speculation on who the next leader will be. In my opinion, its easier to decide who the leader will NOT be…

1) Craig Chandler. ( See the last post on the following blog, and you can see that Chandler confirms that he is OUT!)

2) Preston Manning. ( Why Not? Why end your career being associated with a disorganized movement? Ie. “Also Ran”)

3) Danielle Smith? This is an interesting plant? She has stated recently that she is interested in the position. Or is this just posturing for a better cabinet post when she runs (and wins) under the PC banner? If the latter is true, the WAP movement will be dead in the water in my opinion.

4) Ted Morton. (See # 2 above.)

Note: I would not be surprised to see Hinman run again, and win, given the possibility that no credible leader comes forward for the nomination.

If the WAP wants to make inroads in Alberta, they must elect a centrist leader that appeals to ALL Albertans, not just the hard-line WAP supporters and rural voter.

The WAP Platform is all over the map in my opinion. The most curious line in the whole platform to me is:

SOCIAL POLICY
Wildrose Alliance social policy will always reflect the views of mainstream Albertans.

I spit my coffee out on this line! Even as a conservative myself, I find their stance on social issues a little too right for this “average Albertan”. Interestingly enough, the VP of Policy is Cory Morgan, who was once the LEADER of the Alberta Separatist Party. ( Note: His wife is fellow blogger Jane Morgan, who is also the executive director of the WAP.) Hmmm… I guess he must have seen that there was no future with an unelectable party promoting an unelectable platform? ( Seem familiar?) Perhaps he just saw the light?

Personally, this destroys all of the WAP’s credibility in my view.

Interestingly enough, The WAP has been successful in raising money from the oilpatch over the past year. I believe that this is simply a “protest” donation rather than a symbol of support. The true test will be 2 years from now, as the election nears. Will the money still be flowing to the WAP? Time will tell.

The next few months will determine the future of this party. There leadership campaign will be over in October, which will confirm what this party is all about. Will it continue to be a party for the same hard-line rightwing conservatives? Will they move to the centre in an attempt to capture the average Albertan’s vote? Or will they fade off into the sunset?

Until they prove otherwise, I believe that they are “All Hat, No Cattle”.

I am sure that I may not make many friends in the WAP after this, but seeing how they are champions of free speech and all, I just thought that this “Average Albertan” would share his thoughts.