A couple of things on the Leadership Race:
FIRST, former Premier Peter Lougheed has thrown his support behind Jim Dinning. This will no doubt give encouragement to the Morton and Oberg camps, who seem to have little time for the kind of province-building that Premier Lougheed exercised back in his day. More and more, Ken Chapman's observations about the nature of this race and the future of this party are becoming clear. We can either work within the big tent that has kept us in government for so long, or we can pull some of the outer pins and tell people to go hitch their horse to another wagon.
Maybe its the fresh sea air talking, but i'm not sure this decision requires much thought. I'm sitting here in a province that is NDP-free thanks to a well-run, big-tent coalition of free enterprisers. Historically, the NDP have managed to take over when that big tent is shrunk (see 1991). Granted, there isn't nearly the opposition movement in Alberta that exists in BC... but that isn't to say it will always be so.
Even Norris agreed that our biggest potential threat is a Bronconnier-led Alberta Liberal Party. I, for one, don't think the best way to defeat him is to drive supporters towards him.
SECOND, it sounds like the Advance Polling in Edmonton was a bit of a gong show. This is hardly surprising given the organizational record and foresight of some of the higher-ups in the politboro. What is surprising, though, is the ridiculous suggestions coming from Renewing The One Party State that the lineups in Edmonton as opposed to Calgary or rural polls are somehow part of a grand Jim Dinning conspiracy to subvert democracy.
Seriously guys, give your heads a collective shake. I know how easy it is to be caught up in all of this and lose touch with reality, but there is a limit. When this is all over, regardless of who wins, I REALLY hope people will be able to look back and realize how ridiculous some of their statements have been.
ps. Life goes on over at Blake On The Coast... come say hi!
I'm all for a big CONSERVATIVE tent, but I won't shed any tears when the federal Liberal supporters pack up and leave.
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