Post Mortem



Let's start with my personal results, and get them out of the way. I came fifth, as I predicted. I beat the Socred, but lost to the incumbent, the Liberal parachute, the Alliance no-show/no-sign, and the Parti Albertois. On the other hand, I doubled my vote and was in striking distance of all but Oberg, so there's something to be celebrated even in this.



To the rest of the election. The Klein who spoke last night was not the exuberant Premier of 2001 declaring Alberta "Ralph's World". He won three-quarters of the seats in the legislature, and he looked humbled. And rightfully so - he understands what he heard over the writ period. He understands what it means that the Alberta Alliance snagged over 9% of the vote, mostly out of a rural base the Tories have taken for granted. In Alberta, a grumbly electorate doesn't immediately throw the bums out. But Albertans clearly told the Premier that we expect some change, some new direction. If we don't see it from the Tories, we'll find it elsewhere.



This is going to have a huge impact on the upcoming leadership. The candidates who might pull the Tories out of trouble are the ones who articulate something new - who are as much of a change within the PC party as Klein was a break from the Lougheed era. A smart guy like Jim Dinning might figure that out and reinvent himself. My suggestion, and prediction, is that he'll invoke the PC party of 1971, of the Lougheed era. That PC party was a shift left from the Socreds who came before, running against the most excessive and offensive ideas left over from the thirties. Lougheed's first act in office was to repeal the eugenics legislation that permitted forced sterilizations. I'm not sure there's anything as huge or symbolic as that, but the contest will be the same. If the next PC leader lines up the party behind the modern, urban, fiscally conservative-to-moderate but socially moderate-to-progressive Alberta of today, the Tories can pull their vote once more, steal back from the Liberals, and dominate the centre once again. Like the Lougheed era, there will be a few opposition memmbers on the right ("Hey, what happened to our eugenics legislation?") and a few on the left.



Or, the Tories can move themselves to the right, try to get back the votes and seat they've lost to the Alberta Alliance... and Kevin Taft will be extremely well-situated to take most of Calgary, some of the medium-sized city seats, and a few in the bedroom community rurals. It's enough to turn the Liberals into the government - an awfully similar government to the Tory one I described above. No wonder Taft was happy last night.



We NDP last night were happier than we should be. Before Klein, the NDP were in the position that the Liberals are now - a decent-sized caucus sitting across from a government that needed to reinvent or fall. I'm not sure when exactly we let the Liberals steal that opportunity away. But Albertans of all political stripes who appreciate responsible government should be happy about the four ND members, because we've proven over the last session our effectiveness at holding the government to account with even a tiny caucus.



I think the rest of the country would be surprised to hear that an election that brought the Tories their tenth majority in a row was about change. But that was the message last night - the Tories can change, or Albertans will change them. Klein's political instincts are as good as ever - he heard it. Did the rest of the party?

Election Day



I had volunteered to help out at the NDP office today, mostly taking calls that begin with "Where do I vote?" But it seems the staff there are taking quicker-than-usual calls, because the website to find the answer is slow-to-crashy due to volume.



I didn't get a voter information card in the mail. My folks didn't get one. No one in my sister's household got one. I have the sneaking suspicion that the process changed, and no one at all got one. I also get the feeling that hundreds of thousands of Albertans are only realizing this today.



If you're in this boat, let me make a few suggestions:



First, call elections Alberta at 1-877-422-8683. They'll be able to answer the question - they likely have localized versions of the webpage database at each desktop. I sure hope they do, anyway.



If you're getting nothing but a busy signal, try calling your local frontrunner's office... I bet you still haven't thrown out his or her propaganda, so there might be a phone number there. It doesn't matter what party you're intending to support - they don't have the time or inclination to confirm if you're someone they want to help. They are also very likely the only candidate with enough staff (unless you're lucky enough to be in one of the hotly-contested Edmonton races) to answer the question. Maybe they'll even offer you a ride.



Finally, if you haven't changed residences since last time, take a stab in the dark and try the place you voted last time. Or (if you live in an urban area) walk to the nearest school or community hall and try your luck. If there's a poll, but it's not yours, they'll likely have a pretty good idea where you need to go.



I won't campaign for myself today (because (a) I don't think I have any Strathmore-Brooks readers I'm not related to and (b) elections officers frown upon it), other than to say that coming higher than fifth would be very nice. Coming high enough to have my count listed on the television would be a thrill, and would help me win some rural issue fights at the next NDP convention.



The Speaker sent me a very nice letter, telling me where and when I need to be for my new MLA orientation. I've left my schedule clear for that day, on the off-chance that the perfect storm of dissatisfaction, malaise, and slippery roads makes me the winner tonight. See you there, Ken!

Alberta's Senate Election - Bringing People Together!



This New Democrat thinks the Senator-in-limbo election, being held on Monday as part of the provincial election, is a stupid idea. I share this belief with most of my party.



The Calgary Grit, a Liberal, thinks the senate election is stupid, and so far as I know, his party's fielded no candidates either.



Now, a former Tory Senator, Ron Ghitter, has joined our ranks.



How do you tell the government you didn't want this vote, and you don't want to waste more of your money on this process in the future? Spoiling your ballot will get you tallied in a column along with people who are defeated by the complex technological challenges presented by a pencil.



Instead, refuse your ballot. Your poll clerk may be a little dumbfounded by the process, but the DRO ought to know, so insist. They cross you off the list, they hand you a ballot, and you return it to them, indicating you'd like to refuse it. Your refusal is tallied, and communicates your choice as loudly as the process allows.



To learn more about the process, call Elections Alberta directly at 1-877-422-8683. I don't actually think there is any more, but they can certainly confirm for you that this option exists, helping you to avoid the discomforts associated with eating your ballot.

Comedy at Club Democracy



I attended an all-candidates forum yesterday. It didn't actually attract all the candidates - that may be because it was scheduled for the middle of the day, in the middle of the week. Nonetheless, I was there, Tory candidate and Minister of Education Lyle Oberg was there, the Liberal, Carrol Jaques was there, and Seperation candidate Jay Kolody was there.



I'd like to point out that from my perspective, at least, I won. I was relaxed and confident, I got the laughs, I had two dozen or more "UFCW Local 401" hats in the room acting supportive and grilling Oberg.



Oberg was fine... didn't really mix it up, said the right things, said things I found myself nodding at. I don't think he's a bad guy, I don't think he's a bad MLA, I just think he sees a lot of issues through ideological-coloured glasses. I think he's had a harder time representing the riding since his primary residence shifted north (Sherwood Park, so I hear), but he's clearly still making the effort. There are Tories who are a lot more passive about holding their seats.



Jaques is a parachute candidate, so I might actually have an outside shot at beating her. But again, full credit - she showed up, she flew the flag, and you could tell she thought this was going to be much more hostile territory than it was. I'm thinking city dweller, but I didn't ask.



This event game me the most up-close-and-personal experience I've had with the Seperatist policy. Did you know that since Alberta joined Confederation (I leaned over to Jaques at this point and made a snarky comment, so I might not have my facts correct from here on... but then again, I might) we've sent 230 Billion dollars to Ottawa? If we kept that money in Alberta, we could fund education and health care no problem!



(Please tell me if I have to explain the various logical fallicies in this particular claim. I'm generally trusting my readers, but I'd hate to think I've just convinced another voter to consider seperation.)



Huh. You know, at the start of this campaign, I predicted I'd run fifth. Now, I'm thinking second might not be out of reach.

It could have been more timely, but...



Inspired by President-elect Howard Dean's success, the NDP has....



Wha? Really? Bush again?



Inspired by the success of Democratic nominee Howard Dean, the NDP.....



John Kerry? Who dat?



With electoral failure Howard Dean as their inspiration, the NDP has launched their own eCampaign. Join here, and help the Premier to the retirement he's earned.

Finally, the debate



I've been pretty busy given that I'm running a campaign that may come fifth of the rumoured six candidates. (I may, I suppose, come first or sixth, as well. The world's a funny place.) Yesterday, I travelled to Brooks to do some media, so I felt like I should take a little time to watch the debate (which I had missed in broadcast but recorded) in advance.



Okay, first of all, commercials? WTF? I wish I had the time to figure out the politics behind the debate being hosted by Global, instead of a commercial-free CBC debate, but that will have to wait.



Second, the format. Do people really find these free-for-all periods helpful? It seems to me that it only serves to expose who is the fastest and loudest talker among the leaders, though I appreciated the occasional forceful moderation being provided. I'm not sure the CBC could have done that, actually, but since Global was dedicated to providing me with entertainment as opposed to fairness, so I'd stick around and intermittantly consider purchasing some products, they had incenticve to build a narrative.



And that brings me to the final point - the narrative. The story that emerged wasn't really about policy difference, it was about Ralph Klein losing touch. I've always given the Premier huge credit for his political savvy, but it seems to be failing him now, as the debate demonstrated. Mason, who stylistically hasn't yet grown into the sort of debate-comfortable leader he will be, managed the barbs he did because the Premier has become so very barbworthy.



Calgary Grit (who has an excellent review of the debate through Liberal eyes here) is right... Taft and Mason weren't spending a lot of time clashing with each other. I don't think that's a sign the parties should merge, as Bart suggests. Rather, I think that's a sign of how much the scent of blood in the water is coming off of Klein.



Klein would have to continue to screw up for the next two weeks, at an accelerated rate, to lose this election, but there are seats to be had, in parts of the province that haven't voted anything but Tory since 1975, and before that, Socred since the 30's. Klein is looking like Don Getty c. 1986 right now, and come election night, the Liberals and NDP are both going to have something to celebrate.

Housekeeping



A couple of months ago, I sent out a few feelers in an attempt to put together a group provincial election blog. Unfortunately, a combination of technical trouble and disinterest scuttled the project. Instead, I've added a bunch of new links on the right, displacing my must-read blogs list downward. Is it a little weird that an NDP candidate is linking the Alberta Alliance? Not as weird as not including them in the "crazies", I figure.



I've also added Bear to the must-read list. I offered him webspace here at revmod.ca, but again with the technical trouble. Did I mention that I'm available for employment in technical support?



There's a few new reciprocals. Tell 'em Don sent you.

Election Day 2004 (US edition)



In the past several months, I've recieved e-mails from readers and spammers alike, asking me to use this space to promote this or that anti-Bush website. I was always sympathetic, but figured I've already made my feelings toward the current administration abundantly clear. Plus, I couldn't imagine the swing state undecided voter who wasn't already being heavily lobbied by his or her own countrymen. The last thing they would want is some Canadian telling them how to run their business.



I'll offer one piece of advice, though - a piece that long-time readers will recognize. Make your ballots out of paper. Mark them with a pencil. I'm sure your engineers can convert some standardized test grading technology to find the winner quickly, but producing an actual artifact clearly denoting a voter's intention seems intuitively to be a good thing.



Oh, well. In a few hours, it'll all be in the hands of the courts.

Bad timing



I've been out of town for several days, which doesn't seem like the smartest way for me to have launched my campaign. Today I'll be gathering signatures for my nomination. During the last election, I had to assure my nominators: "you don't have to vote for me, you just have to want to see me have a chance to express an alternate vision in the riding." It's not the most encouraging thing to have to say to my own sister.



I'll be writing something about AISH and the Premier's attitude toward the program, but not today. Instead, let me add my condolences to the Premier for the loss of his mother to those from my party and leader.



Despite the AISH comments, which have created a little media interest in the campaign, things are still pretty quiet. That should change after Tuesday, once the voting for the US Presidential election is over and it's all in the hands of the courts.

Bear gets a place of his own...



RevMod opens a branch plant with a distinctly west coast flavour



west coast flavour - B.C. bud odours mixed with mold and three day old sushi...

On your mark



The provincial election will be called today, and it looks like the Tories are running against Ottawa, as I predicted they would.

The [pre-election billboards] - one each in Edmonton and Calgary - show a smiling Klein next to the words: "Proud to be Albertan." [link here]

Klein's Tories have had a lot of electoral success running on the idea of debt elimination. That issue is no longer on the table. Is this what we have left? This isn't going to be the Premier's best showing - good thing for him it's his last.

Survey says....



Health, education, infrastructure. That's how Albertans want their money spent, now that the debt is paid. The province spent half a million dollars generating the answers almost anyone could have predicted months ago. It's a good PR scam - ask people what they want, knowing full well the answers you're going to get are the ones you were prepared to act on anyway. Then call an election, running on doing only what you were told to do. It makes the Tories relatively bulletproof from the emerging Alberta Alliance, who are talking tax cuts and more democracy. Sorry, but more democracy says more social spending. Nice try.



This isn't what I would call "leadership". Let me make a little proposal of my own, instead, for at least a few of these dollars. It's not an idea that would ever emerge from a survey, but it would serve the government well in a few different ways.



According to Ron Suskind's book The Price of Loyalty, Paul O'Neil, Dubya's first Secretary of the Treasury, lobbied toward the end of his tenure for a clean water project in Africa. He waanted to start with a single test country, Uganda, where the entire population could be provided with wells for US$25M. Long story short, the Bushites were too busy planning for their Iraqi adventure to mess around with a project like this, and it never got done.



Alberta could get a lot out of making this investment.



First and foremost, we could be doing something for Africa, something the developed world should be doing anyway, without any further incentive.



When the Premier heads to the United States to complain, again, about the border closed to Alberta beef, he gets to speak with a tone of moral superiority that he was probably going to use anyway, but this way, it's justified. "We're picking up your responsibilities, making the world a better place, and you still won't buy a roast?"



If the federal government starts thinking that Alberta has more money than it has really "earned", well, we're acknowledging that. But instead of contributing beyond our responsibilities to transfers, we're giving back to people who wouldn't see any assistance at all without Alberta's help. Is the federal government willing to plunder from Africa to pay Manitoba?



Finally, it gives Klein a stick against the feds, and you know how he likes those. Forget firewall-based ideas, which stink of greed and selfishness. And forget about the standard provincial-federal (and increasingly, municipal) power struggles, which tend to have each level of government fight for more power and less financial responsibility. Let's intrude on a federal responsibility, and have them just try to say no to such an egalitarian effort.



No survey is going to produce this idea. My party certainly isn't going to run on a policy like this, so I'm not going to be advocating for it at forums. But I might just whisper it in the ear of the Tory candidate at those forums. I hope that some leadership, and some sense of responsibility to people who have not had the advantages Alberta has had, will exist in the new government caucus.

RevMod backdoor-drafted reservist/guest host BEAR says:



Vancouver Wards Off Progress



Congratulations to the "Non-Partisan" Association, their Real Estate Developer sugar daddies, the West Side old money reactionaries, the perpetually opportunistic posturing Greens and anyone else who refers to the raw sewage leaking from the Vancouver Sun's editorial pages as ice cream, for your stunning victory in Saturday's referrendum on a Ward System for the City of Vancouver.



This result pretty much confirms for the rest of the country our city's reputation as Canada's undisputed leader in f**ked up local politics. Here's a sampler of the arguments that the 52% of voters bought from the "No" side, including translations for non-Vancouverites.



1. A ward system will result in NIMBYism.

translation: If we drop the at-large system, we can't shove every homeless shelter and rehab centre into the Downtown Eastside anymore.



2. The proposed ward system does not include proportional representation.

translation: Let's string the Greens along to reject wards, as if there's any way we're screwing with a system that's kept Kitsilano and Point Grey in the driver's seat for 70 years.



3. Equity seeking groups like people with disabilities won't be able to run for City Council under the ward system.

translation: People the NPA can't filter out through corporate vetting of candidates, stacked nomination meetings, and skyrocketing campaign costs would be able to run for City Council under the ward system.



4. A ward system is the first step towards a Vancouver mega-city

translation: until Vancouver's Coaltion Of Progressive Electors and the Burnaby Citizen's Association are crushed under our bootheels, and those of our right-thinking bretheren in Surrey and Richmond, we simply just can't have that.



It's not like the 'Yes' side did themselves any favours either. Every other previous vote on wards passed, largely because of COPE's aggressive campaigning against the NPA's long standing hegemony on council. Funny thing was, COPE swept municipal elections in 2002, and it's hard to stick it to the man when you're the man.

RevMod guest host/indentured servant BEAR takes care of...



The Obligatory Post about The Presidential Debates



George W. Bush must be proud of the fact he's the first from his family to be President, and given his opponent's momentum, should enjoy it while it lasts. No, Mr. President, I'm not missing anything or hallucinating, it's just that the past two weeks clearly illustrated that John Kerry is your Daddy!



When historians look back at the 2004 election, the pivotal moment that will generate most of the discussion will be that night in St. Louis when the President swaggered out of his chair toward the camera, thrust out his pelvis a little and exhorted "Need some wood"?

Fun session of Parliament



Alberta is in the midst of municipal elections. It includes another nonsensical "senate election". No one with an ounce of savvy seriously thinks Link Byfield will be getting appointed to the Senate. The election is a stick the Premier will be using to smack the feds around with, because going into a provincial election, no one is more popular in Alberta than a Premier with a Fed-beating stick. I digress.



By the end of October, we'll be well into a provincial election campaign. It will feature the NDP and Liberals running mostly against each other, the new "Alberta Alliance Party" running against the the Tories for being too moderate and concilliatory, and the Tories running against the federal government (see above).



Know what we need? A federal election. That'd be fun.

Prime Minister Paul Martin says he'll go to the polls if his government loses tonight's vote on a Bloc Quebecois sub-amendment to this week's throne speech motion.

(Full props to Martin for maintaining that the throne speech is a confidence motion.)



It might not be Martin's decision to go to the polls or not. The Governor General wotuld be entirely within her rights to give the Conservative Party a shot at governing first. However, I wouldn't expect that to last long either way. If the Conservatives are serious about not wanting an election soon, they're going to have to swallow it and vote with the Liberals, or be absent in precise numbers.

We just don't learn



A CBC investigative report (RealAudio version here, starts at about the 2 minute mark) heard over the weekend on The House found that spinal cord material --- including material from Canada's BSE "Patient Zero" --- made it into chicken feed as protien additive. When feed on a farm is mixed, when cattle are exposed to chicken waste, or when common equipment is used to deliver or store feed without cleaning (and who disinfects an auger?), we're risking feeding BSE-positive material to cattle.



Good Lord! Can't we throw away eighty-five cents worth of each animal to avoid risking another multi-billion dollar disaster to the industry? Are the margins in the packing industry really so thin that every cent needs to be squeezed? Really? Even with the BSE bailout that seems to have primarily benefited packers? Maybe the packers are hoping to extend the crisis, because it's been so lucrative for them so far.



Time for the government to step in.

(Rev/Mod guest host BEAR, for lack of a pithy quip, simply posts...)



No more extra innings



The Montreal Expos play their final home game of the season tonight vs. the Florida Marlins, and probably, the final home game in the franchise's 35 year history, as MLB is poised to announce their imminent relocation to Washington, DC. I find the Canadian sports medias hand-wringing and mock sentiment for the days of Rusty Staub, Tim Raines, Gary Carter, et al somewhat bemusing, given that their games have been relegated to the back pages of the sports section and upper register of the cable TV dial for quite a few seasons now.



I'm somewhat sad to see the Expos go - my father, who played briefly in the New York Giants organization, was a big Expos fan, despite his incessant francophobia and my Mom's allegiance to the Toronto Blue Jays. He taught me a lot about the game, and that's one of the few things about him that's stuck with me since he died 14 years ago. The Expos began their slow descent to oblivion shortly after that, when the Bronfmans sold the team a year later.



That's pretty much where any of my sentiment about the Expos ends - MLB has made the right choice in choosing Washington. The handful of remaining diehard Expos fans may disagree, and as a fan of a team that faced relocation (the Seattle Mariners) on a number of occasions I can sympathize. However, what kept baseball in Seattle was a perfect storm of a winning team, a new ballpark, and a superheated local economy in between.



As for the other contenders for the Expos, I had my doubts about all of them. America's suburbs belong to people who renounce the sense of community a baseball team can bring, which is why I'm happy Northern Viriginia is on the outside looking in. San Juan was a logistical nightmare for the 'home' games the Expos played there, making little sense to make the rest of baseball travel there repeatedly: there's a reason why the Pacific Coast League isn't in Edmonton and Honalulu anymore. If baseball still can't agree about what to do about Pete Rose, how could they consider putting the Expos in Las Vegas? As for Portland, who's bright idea was it to collectively hold their breaths 'til they turn blue, shun the AAA Beavers and expect the Expos to drop into their laps?



Meanwhile, back in Montreal, Olympic Stadium is left with a few trade shows and the occasional Alouettes playoff game. I sense an implosion...

Humanity manages to disappoint me. Again. Seriously, Humanity, what the hell is wrong with you?



There is much gnashing of teeth going on right now in St. Catherine's, Ontario, over a t-shirt. The design features a bloodied hammer, and the caption "She was asking for it."



Personally, I'm glad the shirt is available. Think of all the time people will save - if you see a guy wearing the shirt, you won't have to spend a second in conversation with him. It'll be as good as a red neon sign that reads "I'm an asshole".



The only thing that would make these shirts better is if the restraining order came free with purchase.

Good news, bad news



I've already reported the bad: the government would like to keep the Alberta election remarkably free of policy discussion.



But the good news? At least we don't have to anticipate an October Surprise.