How do these people get elected?

I've been way too busy packing up my house to bother blogging this past week or so. Sure there have been a few issues worth commenting on, like the new entrants to the PC Alberta Leadership Race or Garth Turner's nomination race in Halton, Ontario, but I haven't really been motivated enough to sit down and type something out.

I read something last night, though, that absolutely infuriated me.

When I read, in this CBC article, that Etobicoke Centre (read: Toronto) Liberal MP Borys Wrzesnewskyj is "ashamed to be Canadian", I was absolutely beside myself.

This man, along with the other MPs on the trip, BQ MP Maria Mourani and NDP MP Peggy Nash, have repeatedly talked about "Israel's crimes against humanity" and that PM Harper is "condoning human massacres".

ARE THESE PEOPLE FOR REAL?

They've been in the Middle East for a few days and suddenly they're experts on what has gone on in the last month or so?

Honestly, its as though they believe that only one side of the story deserves to be heard and, since the tories are with Israel, they have to be against them.

What kind of weak-minded individuals make up their mind with only half (if even that much) of the facts???

William does a much more succinct and thorough job of pointing out the absurdity of the statements being made by the opposition on this trip.

I, for one, am simply agog.

I am NOT, however, embarassed to be a Canadian. If anything, I am proud that Canada has finally removed the fence post that was lodged firmly in our asses and chosen to stand with the only historically democratic nation in the Middle East.

I'm embarassed that people like Borys Wrzesnewskyj get elected to Parliament.

A veteran retires

News from Edmonton this afternoon that longtime MP John Williams won't seek re-election. I've had the pleasure of talking with Mr. Williams on a number of occaisions and can honestly say that he's one of the good guys.

Canadians owe John Williams a heartfelt thanks for the work he has done on behalf of taxpayers for the last 13 years. I definetly consider myself to be a John Williams fan... the article below explains some of the reasons why:


St. Albert MP Williams to retire from politics (2:00 p.m.)

edmontonjournal.com
Published: Thursday, August 10, 2006

John Williams, the Edmonton-St. Albert Conservative MP who led the charge on the Liberal sponsorship scandal, says he is planning to retire from politics.

Williams, 59, said today he wants to leave politics to concentrate on his work with the Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption, which he helped form and chairs.

“My concern for the millions who are destitute caused me to engage parliamentarians around the world and form GOPAC,” he said in a prepared statement.

He said he will continue as MP for the remainder of his term but will not seek re-election.

Originally from Scotland, he came to Canada in 1970, originally to work at the Royal Bank before starting his own accounting firm in St. Albert.

He joined the Reform party in the late 1980s and was first elected as a Reform MP in 1993 for the federal riding of St. Albert, where he owns a 10-acre hobby farm.

He rose to national prominence as chairman of the public accounts committee, which is usually a low-key position that confines itself to arcane rules over spending of public money.

But it was under his watch that the sponsorship scandal broke, putting him in the public spotlight hammering the Liberal government over more than $100 million in taxpayers’ money that vanished to Liberal-friendly ad agencies in Quebec. The scandal is blamed in large part for Paul Martin losing the election this January to Stephen Harper’s Conservatives. Williams was re-elected by a 23,000-vote margin.

He was also an early player in talks between the splinter Reform and Alliance parties to merge with the Conservatives.

The father of two adult sons, he lost his wife of more than 20 years to cancer in 1998.

Another roundup

As you may have noticed, the idea of blogging from Las Vegas was a bit of a flop. It shouldn't come as much of a surprise, though... who the hell goes to Vegas to sit in their hotel room and blog?

Anyway, here's a bit of a news roundup:

• THIS is getting ridiculous. Someone needs to step in and show these people that this is not some kind of third world country, and that we follow the law here. I'm glad to see that Justice David Marshall is trying to do that in the absence (as usual) of leadership from Ontario's provincial Liberals.

• THIS is unfortunate. While I wouldn't brand myself as a Democrat, i've always thought of Senator Lieberman as a moderate and reasonable individual.

• THIS is very interesting. I don't know much about Wajid Khan, but he has come across as a reasonable individual the few times i've seen him speak in the House. Its a smart move for Prime Minister Harper, though. In appointing Mr. Khan, he has chosen someone who not only comes from a Muslim background and has an exceptional understanding of the Middle East, but he also has found someone who supports our role in Afghanistan AND someone who is backing a supporter of Israel's right to defend itself for leader of his own party (Joe Volpe). Kudos to the PM, and congratulations and thanks in advance to Mr. Khan for the work he is about to undertake.

• Speaking of the Israeli-Lebanese conflict, HERE is yet more compelling evidence that all media reports need to be taken with a grain of salt.

• One of my favourite Liberals, Daveberta, has a post talking about the Federal Liberal leadership candidates' fundraising in Alberta. Percentages aside, I must admit that it sure is nice to have some public accountability/scrutiny for political fundraising numbers at the national level. Regardless of who wins the Alberta PC leadership, I sure hope its something we'll see more of at the provincial level in Alberta.

The Big D

Just when I thought I was done for the day, I strolled over to see Will at Noise From The Right. In his latest post, he asks me a fair question which i'll do my best to answer.

Before I get to that, though, there are a couple of points he makes that i'd like to touch on.

For one, there was nothing inconsistent about backing Scott Brison for Leader of the former PC Party of Canada. For those who wanted to see some fresh, bold, and conservative ideas (things like Jump Start 250 and the elimination of ACOA), Scott was clearly the right choice. Yes, we all know that he has since betrayed his conservative roots in favour of a cheap shot at power under the Liberals... I suppose none of us thought to break out the crystal ball back in 2002/03.

True, I gave Scott a hug the last time I saw him, even though to I went over to McLellans' office with the intentions of tearing a strip off of him. I reminded myself of a phrase I often repeated to my PC friends when informing them of my decision to campaign for the Alliance in the 2000 election... "friendship transcends politics." Scott is still a friend, and I think you would find that sentiment resonates with a great number of people who spent the kind of time working with Scott as I did when he was a tory. If that makes us somehow less worthy as human beings in the eyes of "principled conservatives", then so be it.

Sometimes one realizes that life is too short to hold a stupid grudge.

The second piece Will touches on is the "party establishment" within PC Alberta. I have had more than my fair share of run-ins with said establishment and would also love to see them driven from the halls of influence. The people I see as being problematic to our party, though, are not the people who have been identified as "the Calgary mafia". They are primarily based in the Capital region and have very much turned our party into a glorified partisan bureaucracy.

Rather than being his downfall, the Premier's advisors in Calgary were the people who helped shape him into the politician that so many of us loved in the early days. It was when the Premier stopped listening to the Art Smith's and the Scobey Hartley's and shifted his attention to the more career-oriented politicos in the Capital that things started to go south.

I agree with Will that there are a great many people who are content to move "at the speed of Government" who need to go, but I think that their support does not currently with either my candidate or Will's candidate.

Now that that's out of the way, the question William poses for me is "does Dinning enjoy such strong support?"

Until the votes are counted sometime in November, the best anyone can offer is an educated guess based on the opinions of people they talk to. The people I talk to here in Fort McMurray, are a mix of industry and public sector leaders, small business owners, community activists and average folks who work out at one of the plant sites. Those who follow politics at all are, by and large, behind Jim. They like his political and professional resume, and they like the fact he has been up here talking and listening to people in Wood Buffalo about the issues we face.

Is my perception that Dinning has strong support based primarily on the vibe I get here in Fort McMurray? Probably so.

But I wonder what the sentiment is in other communities outside of Edmonton and Calgary?

Aside from Dr. Oberg's sudden departure from caucus, the only story in our local paper regarding any of the PC Alberta leadership candidates occurred when Jim was in town to meet with the RHA, Keyano College, and the Mayor.

The other candidates have rarely been seen to be talking about Fort McMurray issues and, if they have, they certainly haven't been seen up here.

One can open the major papers in Edmonton or Calgary and read about what is quickly becoming an Edmonton against Calgary taint on this entire race. That may sell memberships in Edmonton and Calgary, but it does precious little to advance the real issues facing people in this province.

On his blog, Jim said recently: said all along: "I’ll be a leader for all Alberta. I won't do the Calgary vs Edmonton thing. Nor rural vs urban. Or north vs south. Others might play that games. I'm determined to be a leader for all of Alberta."

Its a sentiment I agree with and one that every leadership candidate should echo.

In talking to a number of MLAs last week (some who are and some who aren't supporting my candidate), I definetly got the feeling that caucus wants this race to heat up and start talking about serious issues rather than fighting over who has who's support or where that support comes from.

I suspect Albertans are beginning to feel the same way.

Leaving for Vegas tomorrow... can you tell i'm killing time?

Another little roundup of odds and ends for you this morning:

• THIS is very, very good news. The fact that the sick man who did this was allowed as much freedom as he was is very disturbing, and something that I think Vic Toews will be trying to rectify that shortly.

• THIS was a neat story to see in today's National Post. My family has known Tiger Williams for a number of years and he is every bit as humble and down to earth as the story will have you believe. It sure is nice to see him get some recognition in the oil and gas field.

• When I commented on this story, I entirely forgot to mention some more good news that comes with it. I have been saying for a couple of years now that, with its newfound prosperity, the biggest threat to the economy of the Northwest Territories is not the climate, or a labour shortage, or anything of that nature. Rather, the biggest threat to the NWT was Ottawa. While provinces like Alberta enjoy full jurisdiction and responsibility of their natural resources and the lands on which they sit, that power does NOT currently lie with the territories. The Conservative government in Ottawa recognizes that the oil, gas, and diamonds that lie within the NWT belong to the people of the NWT and it is they who should manage the resource and reap the benefits. Bravo to whomever spearheaded this through the halls of Parliament, the NWT will be a much greater place because of it.

• What to do when socialism alone simply isn't enough? Why not add another level or two of tax-wasting bureaucracy? The Wheat Board needs a reality check, and fast... here's hoping Minister Strahl will have something with a little (lot) more sense on the table soon.

Chalk one up for P-Mac

Most people who know me politically know that i've never been accused of being in the Peter MacKay fan club. The same can be said of my feelings for Liberal MP and brainless media hog Dan McTeague.

However, when these two collided today I was solidly and proudly behind our Foreign Affairs minister.

HERE is the article detailing today's Foreign Affairs committee hearing.

What I enjoyed most, though, was Minister MacKay's shot back at McTeague when accused of being invisible during the first four days of the current conflict in the middle east:

"Where were you for the first four days of this crisis?" McTeague asked, referring to MacKay's initial lack of visibility.

"I was on the job," MacKay shot back. "You may have been on TV, but I was meeting with officials."

Way to tell it like it is, Pete.

Randomness

• First, thoughts and prayers go out to the family of Paddy McGloin who passed away suddenly on Sunday night. I've known Paddy, his wife Jackie, and their kids Aedan, Paul, and Renee for a long time. They're all stand-up people and I wish them well as they cope with their loss. Godspeed to one of Ireland's finest!

• I leave for Vegas in 3 days. Its gonna be a great (if not hot) long-weekend with 11 of my old/new BC friends.

• Speaking of British Columbia, the big move is now 3 weeks away. While i'm certainly getting a bit nostalgic about McMurray, the lure of life by the ocean is pretty cool too. I'm also looking forward to hooking up with THESE people. They've done a remarkable job turning BC around, and that's definetly a cause I can line up behind.

• THIS is just plain stupid. The problem with federal Liberals is that they don't understand the difference between appointing qualified people who happen to have a political pedigree and the kind of willy-nilly pork barrelling that they engaged in for 13 years. Harvie Andre, with the cabinet portfolios he held during his time in Ottawa, is indeed uniquely qualified to perform this work. Mind you, we saw this same "moral outrage" from federal Liberals when Jim Gouk was appointed to a the board of Nav Canada. Jim Gouk is a former Conservative MP, yes, but he was also an Air Traffic Controller. Call me crazy, but I think that someone who has both practical knowledge in a certain area AND an understanding of how Ottawa works (or doesn't work) might just prove to be an asset when dealing with federal policy and/or tax dollars. The federal Liberals just don't get it... no wonder their party is in ruins.