Monday, April 23, 2012

Where have all the rednecks gone?

All I can say is that I'm profoundly disappointed in Alberta:

For the first time in a long time, perhaps ever, Albertans had a clear demarcation between left and right.  And how did they vote? Left, in spades, for a former UN bureaucrat as their Premier.

As John Robson put it: "I thought Alberta was different ... There is nothing here that isn't demoralizing."

Will the CBC ever again be able to use the "redneck" slur when describing Alberta and Albertans?  Sadly, no.

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8 comments:

  1. AnonymousApril 23, 2012 at 9:21:00 PM PDT

    Alberta is overwhelmingly liberal.

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  2. AnonymousApril 23, 2012 at 9:42:00 PM PDT

    A dark curtain is about to descend on the people of Alberta, Our thoughts and opinions will now be subject to the whims of the HRCs. Our energy policy will be dictated by Ontario and Quebec. We will have a sales tax to cover the revenue shortfall when the PCs hive off a large portion of our oil and gas revenues to the other provinces. Our future can be seen in Ontario.
    As for myself: I'm in the one category that is untouchable by all parties...I'm a senior citizen and since the new reality is give me more by picking the pockets of other citizens I will be jumping on the NDP bandwagon. I want more and I want it now and I don't want to pay for it!

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  3. bertieApril 24, 2012 at 5:53:00 AM PDT

    Yes, a sad night for sure.I always respected Alberta.Now NOT..Another dream gone down the toilet.A wasted 4 or 5 years until these yahoos find out they were SO WRONG..But they may have destroyed their province by then.SHAME

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  4. haithabuApril 24, 2012 at 9:19:00 AM PDT

    WRP is in a good position for 2016 with the rightmost 35% of the 2012 vote. Given that this level of support was for WRP as a relatively unknown party in the face of a fear campaign I think it is safe to consider this bloc of voters as WRP's irreducible minimum. Every other electoral scenario than yesterday's is upside from there, provided Danielle is able to maintain caucus discipline and provide an effective opposition in the next 4 years.

    If WRP picks up just 5% from the PCs next time around, it will be in contention for government.

    This presents the PCs with a quandary: either move right to smother WRP (and lose the borrowed Liberal/NDP vote) or move leftward to claim permanent ownership of the soft left and further expose its right flank to WRP nibbling. Given the bridges burned between PC and WRP, I don't believe that PC is likely to recover much of the WRP base and as the fear factor recedes it may lose more of the conservative vote it still has. So my guess is that Redford will follow her heart and move the PC party further left.

    The trouble with this is that there is not much left to gain on the party's left. What remains is hard Liberal/NDP support. If the 2012 Liberal/NDP voters did not migrate to the PC in the fraught atmosphere of this election, it is unlikely that they will do so in the future. Again, as the WRP fear factor recedes with familiarity, the PC may lose come of the soft left vote it got this time around.

    To sum up: the 2012 election returns represent a best case for PC support in its new positioning, while the same returns establish a minimum for the WRP. Danielle Smith is absolutely right: while last night's results were disappointing, they should not be seen as discouraging by WRP supporters.

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  5. JRApril 24, 2012 at 12:05:00 PM PDT

    Well, I hope you're right about WRP's future prospects, haithabu. Based on her concession speech, Danielle Smith appears to share your optimism.

    That said, I'm still very disappointed in Alberta, even acknowleding that I may have been suckered by all those 'rosy' polls.

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  6. haithabuApril 24, 2012 at 6:00:00 PM PDT

    Look for a run on rose coloured sun glasses 4 years from now.

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  7. Concerned about our futureApril 27, 2012 at 6:00:00 PM PDT

    Don't worry your dear leader will save you from the dreaded lefties. He is going to bomb Toronto and Vancouver until they all vote Conservative. Then he will bomb Quebec and the East. He is going to use the F-35s as his weapon of choice.
    Hmmm sounds like I should be moving to Toronto. It may be the safest place in the country.
    I hear the F-35's engines light on fire and burn up. I don't know much about jet engines but I think that's bad.
    Conservative DND is going to double down on this one and by 130 instead of 65.

    ReplyDelete
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    ReplyDelete