Project Alberta

The majority of those will honestly consist of political "no-hopers;" those who have run the gamut of provincial parties, and have been chased out of every one and have no place really left to go..... or, those who have to fear from a larger pool of people and resources, as the chances of them then becoming a party candidate in an election would obviously slim.

We both know a few examples.

I still think the new Provincial Council has to allow those that want to run, be able to run.

Unless you have a criminal record, not allowing someone to seek office because of bad press or a letter they did not write should not be reasons.

Quite frankly, I am a little shy about party politics at the moment and I think you can understand why.

If you feel very strongly about that position than join and put forward that notion at the new party's meeting, if and when the WRP and AA merge.

My attitude towards those sorts these days is simply that we are better off without them.

While there are nitpickers and the chronically malcontent who do put in effort before slamming the door in disgust over any perceived slight or tiny change in policy, most of the people I see as the ones who howl the loudest over possible progression are those who rarely are seen when the real groundwork needs to be done.

My priority is for Alberta over a party name or concept. Alberta needs a united right-of-center alternative and I certainly am supporting what comes of this.

We need a collection of workers and forward thinking people.

Well, I think that, for political parties, the Provincial Council and Leadership has to strike a balance between being open and fair and doing what is best interest for a party as a whole; this is normally charged to them in the Party's constitution.

Can't blame parties, really, for wanting to maintain some sort of control over who their candidates are. I don't like it, of course, but then I don't have to -- I don't belong to a party. I understand, though, that in an election, they'd want to have all their candidates playing from the same game plan, so to speak - not having everyone trying to play quarterback or working for themselves.

But, that's another topic.



A party nomination is not the same as public office, sir... despite assertions to the contrary in this province. You don't need a party nomination to run for public office.

Again, another topic.



It is rather obvious, yes.

I'm rather cynical about party politics, period; My wife tells me I don't "herd" well, at all.... that's probably why.

And you'd be right.



Also true. As I've mentioned before, it was said to me at the Wildrose Party meeting back in June that, quote, 'you see the same people at every one of these things.' I noticed a lot of familiar names, too. It spoke volumes as to the nature of the beast.



Well, where we differ, obviously, is my distaste for parties and party politics. I feel that the partisan bickering amongst the parties has done more to make the electorate disinterested than anything else.



On this we agree, also.

I may attend, but I will be observing to see if Democracy and the wishes of the people are respected.

Incredible! I cannot wait to see what happens.

Ah, optimism!

I admire that, however, I have not quite so much faith.... the electorate is asleep, and likely won't wake up until they get a swift kick in their complacency.

And, even then....

The way I see it Cory, the welfare and well being of Alberta and Albertan's has to take first place over all other concerns. I always have felt that it was a dirty rotten shame that all of Alberta's Conservative Parties could not get together under one tent. Maybe this is the beginning of something really good for Alberta. Many Albertan's are like myself, never going to vote Liberal or New Dipper. And I just cannot bring myself to vote for the wolf in sheep's clothing the PC/Liberals led by Stelmach. I think of Alberta as the best place to live in the world. I think of Albertan's as Thoroughbreds. Thoroughbreds should not be led by a Donkey.

The next election may be the best opportunity we have had in over a decade to get some changes in this province.

It is going to be tough work and a scramble to get things in order on time, but the goal is well worth the effort.

This is great news. I'm a little puzzled at that it is the Alliance that is going over to Wildrose, rather than vice versa, since the Alliance was the more established 'brand' and the Wildrose party has yet to make its mark.

The perception turned into the reality. Despite the disparity in party size and establishment, people (those few who have heard of either of them) in general look at the parties as equal in potential to split the limitted support to the right of the PC party.

I dont see this as a takeover or anything like that in either direction by either party.

This is just a move to get like-minded people under a single tent. It is sad that the tent got split in the first place, but there is no sense in dwelling on that.

Now aside from perhaps a few Socred stalwarts, I see few constituencies where there will be more than one conservative alternative to the PC candidate. That has to be a good thing.

Its only a good thing if you are right leaning and anti-PC ! That aside I think it could be a good political move if the attempt succeeds.

It will take a great deal of effort and strategy to defeat the PC government at this time. I still don't think it is likely at this point even so the effort is well worth the risks involved.

As to the risks involved, there is a shifting demographic in this province. With the current economic situation and the influx of more less than right of centre workers, it is possible that the NDP and the Liberals will gain some support. The unite the right effort needs to take that into consideration. There is little available room to the right of centre to start with, the potential supporters of that effort must be careful not to edge to far over and alienated potential disgruntled PC types.

The right must be careful not to appear to be religious and moral zealots, as is often the case.

We had better get our act together AND FAST. The Wildrose Alliance word smiths are going to have to articulate the party's philosophies in ways which are understandable and attractive to urbanite voters and focus on those which are most attractive/important to the GENERAL PUBLIC if any electoral success is to be achieved. The members (especially the policy wonks) are going to HAVE to understand that if we hope to grow beyond a political discussion club.



The PCs are probably going to find themselves in minority territory after the next election, and having 5 or 6 W A MLAs would be great for Alberta. LETS MAKE THIS WORK!

The policies of the Alliance remain intact; in full.

The main issue is which few policies need to be separated and focussed upon during the election.

Fiscal responsibility, government accountability, free enterprise.

Almost, but not quite.

Government accountability is a good one, absolutely. We need transparency and accountability in government; this is something shared by almost all of the Opposition parties in Alberta, believe it or not.

So is fiscal responsibility. This is something else shared by a good number of the Opposition parties, too.

But "Free Enterprise" is, in my judgment, pretty much a non-starter as an election plank. In the judgment of most folks, I'd wager, we already live in a "free enterprise" society; Hell, we've got many thousands of people in this province who came here because our industries are booming and there were jobs to be had. Of course, whether that's actually true or not is a source of argument. I won't get into that.

Want to win an election? Talk about lower taxes, better roads and hospitals, and improvement to education and so on.

Isn't there a song about two out of three aint bad?


I think there are simply too many regulations and too much red tape in many sections of the work place. IMO, a lot of these are redundant and simplification could do wonders for reducing government bureaucracy. That's what I meant by free enterprise. There's probably a better way to word that though...