Postscript: Today the same media who commissioned polls with a 100% failure rate are busy explaining the motivations of 952,000 Alberta voters without asking so much as a single one.
Postscript: Today the same media who commissioned polls with a 100% failure rate are busy explaining the motivations of 952,000 Alberta voters without asking so much as a single one.
The Wildrose got 35% of the vote and it all came from the PC’s. The NDP and Liberals received 35% of the vote in 2008, and only 20% last night. Where did their votes go? It will be interesting to find out what really happened last night as far as strategic voting.
I voted WR and will do so again. The PC’s will never get back my vote and they have to pander to all their new supporters so they don’t leave them. I can only see them moving further left and hopefully, this leads to a WR victory in four years.
“Today the same media who commissioned polls with a 100% failure rate…”
Or, those earlier polls were all largely accurate, and what happened was that a big chunk of support swung away from the Wildrose Party to the PCs in the final day or two leading up to the election: theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/final-alberta-poll-hinted-at-decisive-swing-from-wildrose-to-pc/article2412359.
@ Hans Rupprecht
My point is all sides engage in fear mongering. But the poster here seemed pretty sad his side lost out this time.
People who live in glass houses shouldn’t cast stones.
All the Best!
fiddle said: “But that’s okay, still not equivalent to being crucified or thrown to the lions.”
fiddle, I think you misunderstand me a little bit. I’m talking about what works in a Canadian -election campaign-. Election campaigns are not Real Life(TM), they are media driven propaganda contests trying to squeeze a vote out of people who mostly don’t care. In Canada, in an election, overt religiosity is the kiss of death for a candidate or a whole party.
The reason is simple. Canadians are -uncomfortable- with public protestations of faith. They don’t like it. It makes them squirm.
Additionally the main line churches have been shedding members for the last twenty to thirty years. People aren’t going. So whatever the reason is, if there even is one, that’s a real phenomenon and it has to be considered in an electoral context.
The Liberals have been entirely successful since the Trudeau years with their combination of free stuff for all and quiet contempt for the Church and Canada’s traditions. Its worked for them and now that they’ve imploded due to corruption from within, the PCs have latched on to it.
Church membership continues to shrink. We can’t blame media or government for that, its a failure of the churches themselves. Whining and telling people they are bad ain’t going to turn that around. I’d say that until it does get turned around, until church membership starts to ROCKET upward, nobody is going to pay one pinch of positive attention to social conservatives. They don’t win votes these days.
The CPC didn’t get a majority by letting its members spout off to the media about religion. They won by -slowly- moving forward with fiscally sound policy, by getting rid of the gun registry (major issue, don’t ever doubt it), by allowing the Libs and Dips to melt down around them without really saying all that much about it, and mostly by SHUTTING UP in front of the media. Pretty much every CPC “scandal” over the last six years has been one or two guys saying something off-script to the media and them blowing it into a major uproar for months. Remember “Wafergate”?
That’s just how it is right now. That’s the war we get to fight, not the one we want. So if you want to see some of your issues treated with a little more respect, maybe you should start thinking about what it would take to double and quadruple the membership of your church you go to. Fill those pews.
Telling me I’m some kind of unGodly offscouring and I’m going to Hell isn’t going to fill a pew my friend. I understand your frustration, but it isn’t going to have the effect you want. Quite the reverse.
That’s why I don’t go and haven’t since I was old enough to tell Mum “I’m not going.” Not just church either, I quit other groups for the same reason. Big organizations tend to say one thing and do another, and it hacks me off.
People are frickin’ stubborn you know, threats and being mean don’t really get you anywhere. Walking your talk, that gets results.
the fed Cons with the coalition scare?
It was’nt a “scare” Dan. It was calling a spade a spade. That was the plan, Iggy admitted it point blank. We’ve been over this before.
The truth is albertans voted overwhelmingly to accept the corruption in the PC party plain and simple .
I thought albertans were the beacon of liberty and freedom , in this election we see that they are not .
When klien handed over power to stelmach this is what has happened since.
the pc party was in the black by about 217 million dollars when ralph handed power to ed stelmach.
A) The royaly farce
b)Huge deficit’s to tthe tune of 15 billion now in deficit spending (spare me the recession garbage).
c)Intimidating doctors to tow the party line or keep there mouths shut
d)Voting a 30% ….a 30% pay increase for themselves.
E)1 Introducing bills that eliminate the rights of land owners to proper compensation for the aquisition of their land.
E)2 Invading peoples proprty right’s will the same types of bills like the protected water way bill i beleive it is bil C30 , C24,C36 . not sure but it is one of those bills.
f)Cow towing to the enviro fascist’s in kyoto and ottawa
g)Passing bills with out asking citizens opinions or voting on it .05 alchohol legislation.
h)Funding pc candidates with municpal money.
i)Running another huge deficit budget of 3.1 billion on top of the 15 billion.
There is more to it than that but that is just to get started danielle smith did not attack her on any of those issues enough , i applaud her moral high ground for sure , but it cost her.
My final thought is either we have an extremly ignorant electorat , or the people of alberta are some of the most forgiving kind sap sucking limp wristed wussies suffering from white guilt i have ever seen !!
Albertans should haveb een heading to the polls fuming mad at this supposed conservative governemnt , however they didn’t ,not only were they not mad they were happy and jubilant in there voting “strategically” ooohhhh how strategic was that letting a fat bloated beurocratic government stay in power and not only that re assuring them of their corruption by saying it is o.k. we will for give you for the next 41 one years as well !!!
I voted wild rose not in protest but becasue i can see how far left the pc party has drifted and unfortunatley it has taken it’s electorate with it …so long alberta …so long !!!
I will always vote wild rose but i know now that is throwing my vote away …now i know how the ndp and liberals felt in alberta for the longest time …how quickly the tables have turned !!
Let’s compare voter intentions.
Wildrose supporters voted to repeal .05, restore property rights, keep parenting rights, give the voter better access to their MLA reduce cabinet pay 30%.
PC supporters voted to save gays from the lake of fire. Which is a Federal law anyway. The mind numbs.
My personal revenge will be the .05 law. Any pc voter that gets busted by that will here me laugh for a week.
That which the pc warned we would do they are doing allready.
It wuz God’s will, kommunism needs to march on!!!!
Alberta, look what have you done? Who will pay for Quebec now?
Hmm….methinks the fix was in.
No wonder Alison wasn’t worried……she had all of her “soldiers” manning the polling stations.
Or…the pollsters were simply out to lunch.
Who will pay for Quebec now? Alberta!!
My prediction:
Not much change will be noticeable in Alberta for about the next year and a half. After that overspending and a hostile economic environment will lead to a noticeable economic downturn. The money for transfer payments to Ontario, Quebec and the maritimes will dry up with knock on effects in those provinces leading to increased economic and political strife with a resurgence of separatism in Quebec. Apres ca — le deluge. Beware the winter of 2013.
I hope I’m wrong.
“I thought it would be a shoo-in so I didn’t go vote”…
Unfrickenbelievable!
When will people learn?
So if you want to see some of your issues treated with a little more respect, maybe you should start thinking about what it would take to double and quadruple the membership of your church you go to. Fill those pews.
People go where they’re fed. Obviously not being fed. Anyway, a church isn’t sticks and stones. There are many Christians who owe no allegiance to any denomination (which means to divide).
I’m basically anti-social when it comes to any human organization, Wildrose included. Just vote as far right as possible.
If more Christians were Biblically literate they would know how an Israelite called Jehu gathered up the Baal worshipers by pretending to be one of them. Then he killed them.
Anyhow, the Lord said Jehu had done right in His eyes.
Perfectly workable, updated to killing only in metaphor.
I suspect Stephen Harper may be wiser than we think…
The biggest loser in last night’s election was fiscal conservatism.
Nary a word about Alberta running a billion plus deficit @ $100 barrel of oil.
There is no fiscally conservative messenger out there to bare that cross. It’s lost in the rhetoric.
Fiscal conservatives are homeless today in Canada. A licence to print money has been issued.
I almost fell off my chair laughing at a comment I read elsewhere earlier. Apparently the right-wing biased media was bamboozled by a slick WRP campaign.
#YouMightBeALiberalIf opinion polls about climate change are hard science, but opinion polls showing a right-wing party leading are media bias.
Ford Prefect:
I was going to write a long rant about this later, but you put it so succinctly I don’t think I’ll bother.
> PC supporters voted to save gays from the lake of fire. Which is a Federal law anyway. The mind numbs.
very sad
Danielle Smith should now learn to project fear on the Conservatives.
Having endured the push polls with questions like – if you believe in the Wildrose policy of sticking babies with pitchforks press 1; if you believe in the Wildrose policy of dipping babies in boiling water push 2.
There if fertile ground to raise fears about the billions of dollars of power lines Alberta doesn’t need.
Here’s the real reason the progressives won.
Too many people, from Ontario, have moved to Alberta.
Just one request though.
Could you please take a few million more?
I’m not a regular churchgoer but I find it reprehensible that all the parties but Wildrose would disqualify a Christian who believes in a literal Bible from office. For such bigotry to be front and centre is disturbing.
fiddle, I’m thinking Stephen Harper is a political -genius-, the kind that only comes along once a generation.
I find myself in the exceptionally annoying position of agreeing with Davenport. Even worse, with the Lying Jackal. A couple of -stupid- comments by got seized upon, blown out of the MSM foghorn at high volume, and may have turned the election on a dime.
I would not have voted for the “lake of fire” guy either, Wild Rose or no. Not who I want in government. That’s what happened to the Ontario PCs in Ancaster/Dundas riding, they parachuted a guy in over the protests of the riding association, he ran his mouth and nobody voted for him. Province returned to the Liberals due to abject stupidity and arrogance at the top.
Moral of the story, either get those guys out of the party or make them shut the hell up during election season. They can talk later, right?
If Danielle Smith stays Libertarian and controls some of the fringie Dick Slater types she’s got on board, Redford’s next four years of Left-leaning policy will hand her the next election on a plate.
With all due respect, Grey Lady, you are wrong. James and the many other who agree with him have it right. There is no excuse for staying home on election day.
Taking any election result for granted before the votes are counted is foolish. But more: if there is no candidate you can support, you should show up at the polling place anyhow, get your ballot, and creatively spoil it. Write a message on it: something like, “None of these bozos represents me!” More specific would be better, but that would do as a fall-back.
As a multi-election party scrutineer, I can tell you that those messages have traction. We report the gist of them to our party HQ. It gives us an insight from someone responsible enough to vote, but whom we could not attract. That’s a very important person.
Staying home on election day because you believe the outcome is already determined is irresponsible, yes.
That doesn’t mean, however, that there aren’t valid reasons to abstain from voting – the primary reason, of course, would be a genuine belief that none of the candidates are suitable. I’d even argue that part of the problem with the state of affairs today is due to the absurdity of voting blindly or reluctantly because ‘the wrong lizard might get in’.
Personally, I’d argue that you should still show up to vote, even if you have to write someone in – but since write-ins are unlikely to influence the result of most elections, I can understand why some would choose not to.
@ Phantom: well said. The WR now have a chance in opposition to show they know how to nail the right issues and project themselves in a more libertarian manner. While I appreciate the fact that Smith doesn’t like muzzling people, this doesn’t work well in politics.
That being said perhaps it is now time when party candidates are chosen at meetings for people to stop watching TV and show up and vote – the socons are good at one thing: packing a room during a candidate selection meeting, so to speak, – however the selected candidate may not actually represent a majority of the members of the party in a riding.
Danielle Smith cannot be blamed for that.
Phantom/ Davenport >
I found myself agreeing with Davenport today also, they need to get rid of Ron Leech and scrap Affirmative Action.
He clearly said whites are privileged in western society, which is the base reasoning behind Affirmative Action; it’s time to let them both go!
There is no room for politicians or laws that operate on the principle that whites are privileged and promote giving visible minorities an advantage.
The Liberal Progressives obviously now agree.
What might have been…
RaughKee
I would not have voted for the “lake of fire” guy either, Wild Rose or no. Not who I want in government.
I would have. Without a party system, maybe not.
And, I’m not afraid of the ‘lake of fire’. 🙂
***I would not have voted for the “lake of fire” guy either, Wild Rose or no. Not who I want in government.***
Phantom, I’ve been following your comments, and while I disagree with you (being a firm so-con), you come across as a reasonable guy, so I’d like to ask you a sincere question, hoping for a sincere response: What exactly are you afraid that a socially-conservative Christian candidate would do? What specifically? I never understand this. No one is going to force you to go to church.
fiddle >
I would have as well because I believe in freedom of thought as well as speech.
BUT as Davenport stated, Ron Leech was promoting Affirmative Action, there’s no place for that in Alberta.
Ford Prefect @12:49
“My personal revenge will be the .05 law. Any pc voter that gets busted by that will here me laugh for a week.”
If indeed the Redford gang does indeed go through with that, let’s use it against them. Make them wear it. Attend events where PC MLAS, Cabinet ministers, or back-room cronies will be present. Watch them like a hawk. If they consume more than two drinks, phone in an anonymous tip to the RCMP or local cops, not naming names of course. If any number of PC cronies get busted for “driving sober”, look for that law to get thrown out.
langmann, yes, the world is run by people who show up.
Which presents a problem for me….I’m not a joiner.
langmann said: “Danielle Smith cannot be blamed for that.”
That’s true, the socons do make a ruckus compared to “Get Out Of My Face” conservatives/libertarians. Its because they want to use government to MAKE people do something, whereas libertarians don’t believe in government in the first place. They only participate to shrink the damn thing.
Like I said before, that’s a pretty hard sell.
But it is her fault for letting those two morons -talk- in public. I would not want to be either of those guys today, let me tell you. There’s no excuse for “I hate immigrants” and “lake of fire” in a professionally run political campaign.
She’s a smart girl, I’m sure her cluebat is all sharpened up and lots of rosin on the handle.
Its because they want to use government to MAKE people do something…
Yeah, like pay for their own abortions…
Richard in V,
Of course you are correct: there IS an essential personality and ethics division of all people who seek to rule us (at implied gun point)just because they are of differing parties. People who seek power to enforce their idea of what is right and wrong are not all built the same in any way, shape or form…
I thought the Wild Rose would narrowly lose the election because of vote distribution and then get a few rats from a sinking ship to join them to form government. I have been a little bit wrong in the past, I have been very wrong in the past. I have never been more wronger than this time!
The Phantom >
“There’s no excuse for “I hate immigrants” and “lake of fire” in a professionally run political campaign.”
Absolutely, save for the case of Ron Leech who was speaking directly to an immigrant community using the words of Affirmative Action and talking about “lifting them up”.
Not a defence for him, but the context of his speech had been hypocritically changed by the left to reflex an anti-immigrant rant, when in fact it was a pro-immigrant and anti-white establishment rant.
It was the same rhetoric used by the left every day and the reason Ron Leech needs to go along with Affirmative Action.
To say I am disappointed would be an understatement. I hope Albertans remember what they did when Alberta brings in a sales tax, ups the booze and cig taxes and introduces day-care for provincial government employees, not to mention a big bump in teacher’s wages(thank you unions). That budget the PCs ran on was nothing more than Obama like pie-in-the-sky daydream. I’m afraid that the Albertan voter has developed the entitlement syndrome.
I’m sorry Alberta but you made your bed and now you have to sleep in it for the next four years.
SamsonJ asks: “What exactly are you afraid that a socially-conservative Christian candidate would do? What specifically? I never understand this. No one is going to force you to go to church.”
What am -I- afraid of? Nothing. Christians don’t threaten me, I am one. They -bother- me, quite a different thing.
I’m quite concerned the socon Christian guy is going to provide endless fodder for the Media and get my party defeated. Like just happened.
Because people who normally vote Liberal -are- afraid you’re going to make them go to church, which they don’t want to do. They are also afraid of guns and global warming, etc. They’ve been programed by 40 years of propaganda and they aren’t going to change.
The CPC didn’t win in Toronto. They won everywhere else. Toronto will be won over by 40 more years of inch by inch change and nothing else.
That’s why I told fiddle to never mind the politics and fill the church instead. Inch by inch.
Phantom: But it is her fault for letting those two morons -talk- in public.
1. The supposedly racist comment was politically stupid but in context (which 99.99999% of people didn’t bother to find) any moron could have figured out he wasn’t trying to be racist.
2. The homophobic comment was from a year old blog post. Contrary to popular misunderstanding, it had absolutely nothing to do with the campaign.
I honestly thought the way Ms. Smith handled the situation was a breath of fresh air, being very consistent with libertarianism and allowing them their personal opinions, despite the shrieking of the politically correct media.
As far as I’m concerned last night’s result has set back principled politics 100 years. May as well just lie, cheat, and tell the people what they want to hear to win.
Let’s recombine for greater accuracy.
Pollsters will face eternal damnation in a lake of fire.
Alberta will now face the world with confidence, able to demonstrate that they are just about as loony as everyone else.
The voters have affirmed woman-made climate change but nudge nudge wink wink don’t mind a bit of a hot time.
A purpose has finally been found for the Liberal Party of Alberta.
Warren Kinsella has renewed self-esteem and may call off his search for Canadian Nazis.
Calgary is the new (r)Edmonton.
Stephen Harper is chuckling in his office at the twists and turns of home-grown conservatism.
The search goes on for the missing Alberta Party.
Man walked upright on the earth.
Danielle Smith won a moral victory by not throwing Hunsberger under a bus. There are others for that sort of thing.
blametrudeau, good information there. UN Agenda 21, the Earth Initiative and the ICLEI are connected. You can see why Al Gore and Suzuki are whipping up the hysteria.
http://www.iclei.org/index.php?id=iclei-home
Note the members!
“In 2012, the ICLEI World Congress will take place in the long term member city of Belo Horizonte , Brasil and will deal with the pressing issues facing local governments and urban areas in this unpredictable era of change. The Congress will bring our Members, partners, global strategists, academics, businesses and NGO’s together. Participants will learn from inspirational speakers and real-life city cases about cutting-edge integrated solutions to the challenges we face.
Closely linked to the UN Rio+20 conference, the ICLEI World Congress 2012 will chart the way forward for local governments and their partners to a more sustainable and prosperous future.”
I’ve seen the changes in my own small town. Building dependence, one grant at a time.
I’m not disappointed the WR didn’t win a majority, they can spend the next four years exposing the repressive conservatives to the electorate. If Red-ferd stays on her repressive abusive course the next election will be theirs for the taking. Let the public see the true face of repressive conservatism in all it’s abusive nanny nation glory.
PC win is great news. Too bad WRP!
Alberta the Golden in the bubble, is dead. Finito. THis is not the Alberta I loved & thought I knew. I,m ashamed of this Province. In the over whelming face of corruption with a Socialist pretending to be a Conservative they took the low road of comfortability, when given the puck we took a dive.. It will only dawn on them who voted for this corrupt Party of proven crooks( Money for nothing committee). A Human rights UN stooge possessing as a Conservative, while doling out money to public Unions.
When these people again brought to the trough bring in a Provincial sales Tax, than destroy the oil industry. Perhaps the populace will realize the mistake made By than like America it will be to late. I figure after this, voting anymore is a waste of time. Evil rewarded, while values rejected for hand outs to us citizen dogs.
I hope your proud what used to be Alberta because your heading for the poor house. I was completely wrong & admit it. Honor has fled this Province .
It may be some sour grapes , but mostly its the fact Alberta as unique is gone. Replaced by another generic Marxist Province, soon to be looted.
Truly. People get the Government they deserve.
Alberta will reap what its sown. It won’t be pretty.
remember the word conservative is still in the name. by many peoples estimations Liberals are the centre party. meaning only 6 seats in the Alberta house would be considered leftists by most of the world.
ps. I am not the least bit happy on these results.
I predict the migration of petroleum devlopment investment out of the province to Sask and ND once the PC’s new UN-connected leader’s carbon taxing/regulating of the industry makes extraction marginally profitable and the new property laws make development/exploration more complex. That combined with the corporate instigated green stranding of AB’s land locked petroleum resouce though pipeline and shipping delays, will start a down turn in Alberta’s oil production and chill its economy.
A judas goat sustainability activist leading the province will begin the cooling of AB’s hot economy and usher in UN – mandated “sustainability” austerity – all according to agenda 21; the blue print for land use and resource management your new Premier reads from. Rural land owners were the first to see/feel her flurry of anti-property rights land use legislating (an integral part of UN Agenda 21) and went Wild Rose. Unfortunately cityots are cityots where ever you go and the ones in Calgary voted PC because its new UN masters land use/energy regulating hasn’t hit them directly – yet!
So the chump urban APC voters were conned by the “fear” of a concocted image of WRP as bible thumpers – LOL I guess having your main economic engines stilled by malevolent UN sustainability partisans is not “scary”. Well they say you can’t scare a fool with reality until it licks them in the head.
Rev keep in mind many of those working for the oil industry come from Atlantic Canada, and many of them are hardcore socialist’s leftwing loons. Did Albertians vote for the repressives or was it the displaced Easterners and their multicultural friends being flooded into Alberta?
Texas Canuck @ 2:55, K Stricker @ 3:05, chutzpahticular @ 3:22 and especially Revnant Dream @ 5:24 make very good points.
The old Alberta died last night and it will be tough to bring it back. Socialist statism has infiltrated slowly over the decades, taken over and warded off liberty.
Take the political boots to her. We wouldn’t put up with this from Liberals, least of all those who pretend to be something else.
You can only excuse those who truly are sorry. Not the jaded.