Incestuous Little Bastards, Aren't They!

From an article in The Guardian:

Brodie did his PhD in political science at the University of Calgary under Ted Morton, an American-born former academic and activist and known as the dean of the "Calgary school", an intellectual movement that has remade Canadian conservatism along American-lines.

Yeah, that's this Ted Morton. Hat-Tip to The Galloping Beaver.

Random Thoughts on the Events of Yesterday


Insert Obvious Caption Here

• The size of the Tory majority was greater than I'd thought it would be.
• The size of the voter turnout was smaller than expected. These two points may be related.
• The Wildrose Alliance Party got deservedly shut out.
• Craig Chandler did not get elected.
• Rachel Notley did, so virtue, in that small regard, triumphed.
• The Tories may now hold the majority in Edmonton, but they're going to have to work to keep it. Edmonton voters get pissed off fairly easily.
• As Alison has pointed out at Creekside, many Alberta voters will now be represented by very few MLAs. This election was among other things, a scream for some nod to proportional representation.
• The Green Party did very well, doubling their vote from last time out.
• Our riding saw the Liberal incumbent defeated by a Tory newcomer. This isn't too surprising, as our riding has gone back and forth between the two parties over the last few provincial elections.
• Ed Stelmach has been, and will be, a far better premier than Ralph Klein. This does not mean that he has been, or will be, a good premier.
• Alberta is once again the political laughing stock of Canada. This time out, Alberta earned it.
• Oddly enought, Calgary has now has more Liberals in the legislature than Edmonton. That didn't used to happen...
• Edmonton, however, has the only two NDPers.
• Despite having one quarter the number of seats that the Liberals do, the NDP is actually in better shape for the next election. The Liberals have got to pretty much start over, while the NDP already has (and don't underestimate the Notley name being back in their ranks).
• The Wildrose Alliance may go away, but the people involved with it will put something else together to try to lure the lunatic right vote away from the Tories.
• Even with a small number of seats, the opposition should still be able to hold Ed Stelmach's feet to the fire, at least a certain amount of the time.

Provincial Tory Leader in Smart Political Move Shocker

Tories veto candidate's nomination
Calling himself a 'martyr' for the cause, social conservative weighs next move
KATHERINE O'NEILL
December 3, 2007

EDMONTON -- An outspoken social conservative has been denied a chance to run for the Alberta Progressive Conservative party, as the country's oldest reigning political dynasty readies for a tough election expected to be called in the coming months.

Craig Chandler said in an interview yesterday that the rare decision by the Conservatives' executive committee on the weekend to not accept his constituency nomination is undemocratic and makes him a "martyr" for the province's social conservatives.

I have to say that Stelmach's made the right move here, although I was quite looking forward to watching the Tories get mauled by the opposition over the candidacy of Mr. Chandler, a man whose only reason for existence seems to be hatred of a) gays, and b) everybody else who isn't a viciously conservative Albertan (but mostly gays. And other people). Sigh. We will have to get our political theatre elsewhere, is seems, and we wonder who will perform the sacred duty of informing newcomers of their moral obligation to vote Tory?

I'm betting here that Chandler will run in the upcoming provincial election, possibly for the Alberta Alliance.

Hmmm... This Could Become An Election Issue

So, the good people of Calgary-Egmont have gone ahead and nominated Craig Chandler as Tory candidate in the upcoming provincial election. However, hang on a sec':

Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach says Tory party officials will review the nomination of a candidate who was sanctioned by the Canadian Human Rights Commission for hateful remarks about gays.

I bet it'll be reviewed. If he lets Chandler run for his party, Stelmach is putting a ginormous club in the hand of the Liberals and NDP. However, Chandler can take heart; even if the Tories punt him, I'm sure he'll be able to find somewhere he'll feel welcome (go here for more Oi! Thump!-brand snark about that lot).

Well, That Was A Stupid Thing To Say...

From a Mr. Craig Chandler, aspiring Conservative MLA for Calgary something-or-other:

"Alberta is growing in a way that was never expected and many of the people coming here do not truly appreciate Alberta or even understand the history of this province or the relationship with the Alberta Progressive Conservative party. To those of you who have come to our great land from out of province, you need to remember that you came to our home and we vote conservative. You came here to enjoy our economy, our natural beauty and more. This is our home and ... If you wish to live here, you must adapt to our rules and our voting patterns or leave. Conservatism is our culture. Do not destroy what we have created."

Much has been written on this piece of anti-democratic drivel already, and by clicking on the text itself, you can peruse a pretty good column by Rick Bell of the Calgary Sun(!) on the subject. However, I did feel the need to investigate a bit further to find out precisely who this Craig Chandler person is. Therefore, I donned my trusty pith helmet and monocle, I set off to the homepage of the Committee to Elect Craig Chandler, where I encountered a video of Craig Chandler announcing his candidacy, with a sterling endorsement from Paul Jackson, all set to bizarre synth-pop. The video goes on from there, but I don't know what happens, since I had ripped my headphones off and was jumping up and down on them.

Next stop: Chandler's policy page, jauntily titled "Putting Alberta First." That in itself should tell you all you need to know here. And yes, it turns out to be fairly boilerplate stuff; the usual blend of miserliness, xeno- and homophobia, and union-busting that characterizes the modern Alberta conservative. It's probably a little to the right of where the provincial Progressive Conservatives are at this moment, but that's ok; there'll be plenty of time for Chandler to roll over and let Ed Stelmach rub his belly should he get nominated.

And so we must, in the end, Judge Craig Chandler By The Company He Keeps. By which I mean his endorsement page. And whadda we find there? Well, I've already mentioned Paul Jackson. However, Chandler also receives glowing tributes from Rob "Nelson Mandela is a terrorist" Anders, and, best of all, Link Byfield. Why "best of all?" Well, Link has recently set himself up as the Executive Director of the Wildrose Party of Alberta, the latest collection of folks seeking to rid Alberta of the PCs from the right. I'm sure it comes as a great comfort to the Wildrose Party's backers to see their ED endorsing somebody who's running for a different fucking party (oops, this blog's even more R-rated now...). Anyway, more on Link's new bunch tomorrow.

So, conclusions? Well, the only one I can come up with right now is that Craig Chandler's quote on newcomers' voting rights is entirely indicative of his personality and political beliefs, and ought to be used to beat him and the rest of the PCs over the heads come next provincial election.

Hello Again!

Well, we're back. And where were we, you ask? Buried in end-of-term stuff, we respond. However, the exams have been marked, the marks submitted, and life returns to a semblance of normal. So what did we miss? Some of the highlights, so to speak, of the last couple of weeks:

Ed Stelmach becomes premier of Alberta. The official Oi! Thump! position on this is that it could have been worse. Oh boy could it have been worse! And now we'll have the fun of watching Stelmach try to find a place for Ted Morton where he won't be able to do too much damage. Don't be surprised if Morton ends up running for the Alberta Alliance at some point in the future.

Stephane Dion became leader of the federal Liberals. Um, ok. A surprising choice, and there are questions about his electability, particularly in the West. However, once again, it could have been worse.

Parliament refused to ditch same-sex marriage. Not that they had much of a choice. Anyway, the next day, the sun amazingly rose in the East and set in the West, and has continued doing so since. Some people are still refusing to take the hint, though.

The Iraq Study Group recommended that George W. Bush do a number of highly reasonable things to rectify that situation. He will, of course, do none of them.

Rona Ambrose made a rather amusing Freudian slip. "These are the kinds of things we can show Canadians that we mean business when it comes to our environmental agenda," said Ambrose. Yes Rona, we know that your government has business, along with heavy industry, at the heart of its environmental policies.

Anyway, stay tuned for Friday Archaeology Blogging!

First Ballot Day!!

And, as Albertans trudge through the blowing snow and sub-minus-twenty temperatures to cast their votes, we present the last of the leadership candidates.

Mark Norris

• Who He?: A former Tory rising star, his trek to the top hit a snag when Edmonton voters ungraciously dumped him out on his keister in the last provincial election. Since then, he's been working to get things back in order for his run at the party leadership.
  
  
• Why Should Progressives Support Him?: He actually responded well, and classily, to his electoral defeat, putting his head down and getting back to work. His policies are somewhat vague, but there doesn't seem to be anything particularly loathesome in them (although see below). He seems like a nice guy. High praise indeed, I know...
  
  
• Why Should We Not?: The above-mentioned policy vagueness shades over into actual weakness on issues like climate change (he wants to "promote Alberta's priorities" in that area, which is probably code for "not doing anything at all about climate change"). He bizarrely channels George W. Bush, of all people, on education issues, calling, verbatim, for a "No Child Left Behind" act. Weird...
  
  
• Is He Likely To Pick Fights With Homeless People?: Probably not.
  
  
• How are his chances?: He's a dark horse. If he gets to a second ballot, he make up support from people who don't like Ted Morton, and are leery about Jim Dinning's economic policies. Overall, he's not terribly likely to win, but it could happen.

Only A Couple More To Go

Todays candidate in the line of fire is...

Ted Morton

• Who He?: A former U. of Calgary poli sci professor, who leapt into politics a while back apparently because we offended God in some way. Was one of our hilarious "senators in waiting" before deciding that provincial politics was a better way to get his grubby hands on the reins of power. He's very much the right-of-right's candidate.
  
  
• Why Should Progressives Support Him?: Only because of the possibility that he would be so dreadful as premier that nobody would vote for his party, perhaps even to the point where he might take Harper down with him.
  
  
• Why Should We Not?: Because he's a contemptible human being, whose only method of campaigning for political office is to try to set people against each other (Albertans against The Rest of Canada, straights against gays, Edmonton against Calgary, etc. etc.). Because he was the mastermind of the jaw-droppingly cynical attempt to weasel the province out of allowing gay marriages right before the leadership campaign. Because the only people he hates more than he hates gays are non-Albertan Canadians. Because every single element of his political ideology involves fucking people over. Because Lorne Gunther endorsed him. I could go on, but you get the idea.
  
  
• Is He Likely To Pick Fights With Homeless People?: No, he might get hurt. He'll have his followers beat the homeless for him, probably on live TV.
  
  
• How are his chances?: Depressingly good. He's still considered an underdog to Dinning, but should make the second ballot easily. After that, it'll depend on which of the two of them the other candidates support.

Todays's Wanna-Be Premier

Presenting...

Lyle Oberg

• Who He?: MLA since 1993, and has held a number of cabinet portfolios. Recently booted out of the Tory caucus, then bizarrely reinstated. Was a medical doctor in private life, a fact which he is apparently quite fond of pointing out to people.
  
  
• Why Should Progressives Support Him?: There's nothing particularly odious in his campaign platform (beyond his stance on youth justice - see below), although there's not much to make progressives stand up and cheer either. He's not afraid to speak his mind, either, even when doing so gets him in hot water.
  
  
• Why Should We Not?: Well, he did stoop to indulge in the anti-youth silliness at a recent campaign forum, for which he was rightly slapped down by Dave Hancock and Gary MacPherson. He also has a reputation for being belligerent and confrontational, and not just in political circles either (there have long been tales of Obergian bad behaviour in pubs around the Legislature Building). In short, there's a pretty good supply of evidence that he's an asshole.
  
  
• Is He Likely To Pick Fights With Homeless People?: Oh my, yes. And probably with everybody else, too.
  
  
• How are his chances?: Poor, since nobody really likes him, and he keeps sticking his foot in his mouth. He could, conceivably, slip through to a second ballot, but's that's as far as it's going to go.

Provincial Tory Leadership Candidates: Two For The Price Of One!

Since I missed yesterday...

Jim Dinning

• Who He?: Was provincial treasurer back in the day, and is usually given "credit" for being the brains behind Klein's budget savagry during the early 90s. Has been out of politics for some time, a fair amount of which he's apparently spent plotting his path to becoming Premier.
  
  
• Why Should Progressives Support Him?: Well, he's certainly the best-organized of the candidates, doubtless due to the long time he's been preparing for this. He also seems to be a competent sort of public official, without any major ideological axes to grind. Lastly, he's received the endorsement of Peter Lougheed, and, despite Ralph Klein's blatherings to the contrary, a thumbs-up from the man who introduced Alberta's human rights act does count for something.
  
  
• Why Should We Not?: As treasurer, he introduced policies that hurt a whole lot of people; he essentially fixed Alberta's financial situation by pounding on the people least able to bear said pounding (despite the fact that his on-line bio claims that the budget was balanced by Albertans "from all walks of life"; that's patently not true). There's also something a bit disturbing about the fact that he's been manoeuvring for policial power for so long.
  
  
• Is He Likely To Pick Fights With Homeless People?: No, which is only fair given that his policies put a good number of them on the streets to begin with...
  
  
• How are his chances?: Right now, he's the odds-on favourite, and it would be stunning if he didn't at least make it to a second ballot. He's really the only candidate with a chance to win on the first ballot, and unless Ted Morton finds a lot more support in these last few days, Dinning will be the next Premier of the province.

And, moving right along,

Dave Hancock

• Who He?: Former Tory cabinet minister in Alberta, holding major portfolios such as Advanced Education. He's also been Government House Leader recently.
  
  
• Why Should Progressives Support Him?: Along with Gary MacPherson, he's one of the only guys in this race who can actually be described as "progressive." He was a decent Advanced Education minister, and has done some good things in working against domestic violence. He's quite strong on environmental issues, and at a recent candidates' forum actually had the guts to call out Ted Morton and Lyle Oberg over their bloodthirsty, hang-'em-high rhetoric concerning youth justice.
  
  
• Why Should We Not?: Very few reasons. He does come across as too confrontational sometimes (although on occasion that's been a welcome trait - see above), and he's sounded silly recently while accusing other candidates of trying to undercut his campaign.
  
  
• Is He Likely To Pick Fights With Homeless People?: Not even slightly.
  
  
• How are his chances?: Unfortunately very slim. He just doesn't have the support to get by Jim Dinning, Ted Morton, and Mark Norris (and maybe even Lyle Oberg).

Another Day, Another Tory Leadership Candidate

Victor Doerksen

• Who He?: Long-time MLA, former Minister of Innovation and Science. Primarily known for his attempt to have Of Mice And Men banned from schools on the grounds that too many characters in the book use the Lord's name in vain.
  
  
• Why Should Progressives Support Him?: Despite his reputation as a fundy nut-case, he's got some interesting and even progressive ideas about child-raising and family finances in general.
  
  
• Why Should We Not?: Well, the fact that he demanded the banning of a work of literature is a problem. Also the fact that he seems bizarrely un-motivated; even Ralph Klein, who'd been his boss for more than a decade, expressed shock when Doerksen actually threw his hat into the ring.
  
  
• Is He Likely To Pick Fights With Homeless People?: Only the ones who read Steinbeck.
  
  
• How are his chances?: Not a chance in Hell. The people who don't remember him unkindly for the book-banning thing are all supporting Ted Morton.

Continuing On With The Provincial Leadership Candidates!

Gary McPherson

• Who He?: Local community leader, heavily involved in community associations (particularly sports-related) and disability-related issues.
  
  
• Why Should Progressives Support Him?: He's probably the most progressive candidate of the bunch, although that really isn't saying much. For someone portrayed as a "one-issue" candidate, he's got a fairly decent grasp of the issues, at least as far as one can tell (see below).
  
  
• Why Should We Not?: There aren't really too many reasons not to support Gary McPherson, although his lack of experience in politics may raise some red flags (he's never been elected, although he's served on a number of government committees). The "one-issue" thing is dogging him a bit as well, and he could afford to be much more specific in terms of exactly what his plans for Alberta are.
  
  
• Is He Likely To Pick Fights With Homeless People?: No. I think a Gary McPherson premiership would be fairly free of that sort of tomfoolery.
  
  
• How are his chances?: Zilch. He's got no real body of support, and pragmatism rather than anything else is going to send potential McPherson voters into other camps.

In other news, Friday Archaeology Blogging is to follow, although possibly not until tomorrow!

Breaking News: Sun Columnist Being A Twit!!

Yup, in the wake of Ted Morton's execrable attempt to revive legal gay-bashing, some people are pissed:

No compromise
By Paul Stanway

The rights and freedoms of Albertans suffered a double blow yesterday, as the opposition parties torpedoed a bill to protect the rights of those among us who don't want to be actively involved in gay marriage.

So, I guess we're all going to have to get gay married, or something?

A private member's bill sponsored by Foothills-Rocky View Tory MLA Ted Morton died as a result of the time-wasting tactics of opposition MLAs. Morton's bill would have offered some protection to those who continue to oppose gay marriage, and it forbid the punishment of anyone who refuses to officiate at a same-sex wedding.

No, it forbid the punishment of public employees, paid out of the public purse, who refused to do their goddamn jobs. Religious leaders who don't want to perform same-sex weddings, or any other wedding for that matter, don't have to as it stands now.

Anyway, Stanway blathers on at length on the theme of "We're dooooooooooomed", and I don't particularly feel like going over it at length, but I do want to say one thing about the whole issue. Ted Morton is in a no-lose situation here. Because his bill lost, he can now portray himself as the guy who stood up for rights of "normal" Albertans and was cruelly beaten down by the mean ol' opposition parties. What's sad about the whole thing is that are people out there who will fall for that shit.

So What Did We Miss?

As is usual for the weeks when I'm too busy to do much blogging, this past one was eventful. Let's see:

• Ralph Klein announced that, instead of hanging around clinging to power like a particularly clingy leech, he's going to resign. In a few months. You know, after he does some more powery sort of stuff.
  
  
• Preston Manning apparently wants Klein's job, and rather surprisingly, is early leader in polls taken this week. Oi! Thump! remains skeptical; for one thing, the polls only show that Manning would win the first ballot, so a lot would depend on who a lot of the delegates' second choice is.
  
  
• The explosion at the Toronto Tim Horton's was apparently a suicide.
  
  
• The baseball season began. This is good.
  

Oberg Walks The Plank

Alta. cabinet minister kicked out of caucus for leadership remarks
Last Updated Fri, 24 Mar 2006 00:53:57 EST
CBC News

Cabinet minister Lyle Oberg was suspended from Alberta's Progressive Conservative caucus on Thursday for comments he made about an upcoming leadership review of Premier Ralph Klein.

I have never really liked Lyle Oberg; he's always come across as an arrogant jackass. However, I have to say he got it exactly right on this one, and it's telling that he got booted out of caucus for doing so. It appears that Ralph, who's losing his temper with alarming frequency these days, gets particularly snitty when it's pointed that he's not wearing any clothes... (and, having invoked that charming image, I now need to go and scrub my brain).