Friday Fun! Schmenge Brothers Christmas ( and Paul Hinman's Acting Debut?)

  I came across this video highlighting the Schmenge Brothers Christmas traditions and I must say, they are almost like any traditional Canadian family.  Who doesn't look forward to 15lb Cabbage rolls on Christmas Day?  I honestly believe that Cabbage Rolls and Coffee are an institution in many Canadian homes this time of year.  I am not sure about the Christmas Egg or the Christmas Budgie, but to each their own!

  A few months ago, I did a post on a PSA that the Schmenge Brothers did encouraging Wildrose Supporters to get out and vote!  While I suspected that they were just doing their part for democracy, I now have reason to believe that they are in fact "card carrying" party members.  If you watch the video, there is a gentleman that sure looks a lot like Paul Hinman. I have posted a screenshot above also.  I wonder why WAP leader Danielle Smith was not invited to this party?  Why was she left out of the festivities?

Watch the video on YouTube here.... right at the 1:09 mark and decide for yourself if this in fact Mr. Hinman!

Happy Weekend!

Shane

Message Sent!

  ( It's not bad with butter and salt....)

  Well folks, the people of Calgary Glenmore have spoken...and the people are never wrong.  However, this blogger was way off the mark on his prediction, although I was a bit biased!  I had the opportunity to work with Diane CU and her team on her campaign and I must congratulate her for a job well done.  Diane's campaign was well organized, well funded and her team was amazing.  That said, it goes to show you that a full bank account, dozens of organized volunteers and exceptional name recognition do not guarantee success on election night. 

  I must say, I am impressed that Paul Hinman won this race.   Congratulations on your victory ( and now that he is an MLA, I will no longer use the "corny" references!)  and your team should be proud.  The slogan "Send Ed a Message" hit a nerve with many voters and it was better than having 500 volunteers on the ground. It was just that powerful. 

  What now? 

 This victory has the potential to change Alberta's political landscape.  The common thoughts from the MSM that if " Diane can lose...any PC MLA candidate can lose in Calgary" may now have some real meaning?  Perhaps some of the local MLA's, especially those with lower profiles, maybe be pondering this today?  Its one thing to lose a by-election on a protest vote, but to finish in third place is quite another. 

 Will this result in a leadership review at the PC Convention later this fall?  Will this be a wake up call to the PC party, confirming that no riding can be taken for granted?  Time will tell. 

 The WAP will ride this publicity into their Leadership Race, which will do nothing but legitimize them further.  A loss here would have wiped them out.  The only thing left that will kill their momentum would be a Mark Dyrholm or Jeff Willerton victory. It will be interesting to watch.

What a ride....

Shane

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.

Alberta "Opposition" Parties Comedy Continues...

The state of the "opposition" parties in Alberta continues to diminish by the day. If it were not so funny, it would be quite sad. Let's take a quick look at the "would be" alternate parties in our province...

1) Alberta Liberal Party.... 1) Broke.... 2) Fractured.... enough said.

2) Alberta Green Party... Kevin Libin from the National Post had an excellent piece on this today. This party is in shambles.

3) Alberta NDP: 2 Seats....Lots of Noise...Outdated Views...Edmonton centered support= NO HOPE.

4) Wildrose Alliance Party: Lots of Cash.... No Quality Candidates.... Confusing, Populist Platform... and now, leadership questions!

On Friday, WAP executive director and fellow blogger Jane Morgan showed her solidarity to her party and her leader by claiming "some members may be seeking a more charismatic leader" during the party's AGM in June. Even party leader Paul Hinman brushed off the comments by stating, " Well, I guess you never has as much charisma as you'd like...We've been trying to track someone down since the party started, from Preston Manning to Deb Grey, to numerous other ones."

Now that is leadership! What is Jane Morgan saying here? Well, we need someone more interesting that doesn't just appeal to the "Rural/Small Town" Vote. How does Hinman respond? By agreeing that he thinks someone is better out there...but no one wants the job, so he will just stay on in the meantime? Where do I join this party? Where do I send my cheque?

Interesting how everyone wants to be Premier in this province, but none of the opposition party's leaders can create and manage a party that can fundraise, pay staff, create a platform that the people want want and get solidarity from their members.

It is not "voter apathy" that has kept the Alberta PC party in power as much as it is the incompetence of the opposition leadership. ALP, NDP, WAP, Greens...(or those party's that are still around) good luck with the next election.