You should probably have put “love-in” in quotes, because it’s going to be a messy convention. TBA has been very clear that their goal is a public cleansing of the UCP, and I’d expect that to be the theme of the convention. There’s no way they only finish taking over the board and then content themselves quietly behind the scenes.
The knives are going to be out for anyone not fully on board with TBA, and I suspect how stressful it is for Smith will depend very much on how willing she is to lead that charge, vs how worried she is about personal blow-back.
Great observations! Unfortunately not what we need in Alberta at this time. The electricity "freeze in the dark" campaign in another waste of money. Advertising in Manitoba? Which is 100% hydro and zero fossil fuels.
Nova Scotia? Trying its hardest to eliminate coal and reduce its per kwh cost by using renewables.
Complaining about base load power when all the government has to do is tweak a few regulations to insure that certain producers cannot withdraw their production to increase the price and leave the grid short. How often do we hear about grid problems in other provinces? Not often. The private sector has an anything goes or not, and is free to manipulate the grid, the price and the lack of electricity and is likely the the only government in North America that permits that. Gas turbine electricity is almost instant but why turn on my turbine when needed when I can wait and get double the price. Then we , those, not in the regulated rate paying an atrocious price for past Conservative governments decisions to build a direct current transmission line from nowhere to nowhere? Calgary Edmonton ! Instead of giving atrocious payment from you and I for power transmission, and grants to those who cannot afford electricity, pay the darn debt off, require our co-generators to produce when we need electricity not when they feel like it. With 50 % of new electricity generation in the world being renewables! Do we actually believe Smith’s claims about grid instability when 10% of Alberta's electricity is renewables. Pure gaslighting. Pure fabrication and Pure politics to fight a federal regulation that openly permits natural gas use to generate electricity. And if we build new gas turbine generation, regulation limiting CO2 doesn't kick in for 20 years ! So don't be bamboozled by TBA, Smith and the UCP and a few other alt right groups holding meetings around the province.
Speaking of the leadership campaign and Smith winning, I've long been puzzled about something: why did Brian Jean lose? When Kenney quit, my understanding was that it was Jean's to lose and Smith was an also-ran from the start. And then that got switched around somehow. Why did he lose?
My read is that he unintentionally set himself up to get squeezed out down the middle.
He originally positioned himself as the establishment candidate that was throwing the most dog whistles and quiet support to the right wing crazies. So the original electoral math was that he’d get a chunk of the establishment vote, and then get the whole crazy wing vote by default to put him over the top
Then Smith joined the race and brought the genuine unfiltered crazy. Which put him in a tough position. If he openly joined her fighting for the crazy vote it would cost him the establishment support. But if he let the crazy vote go he was splitting the establishment voters with too many other candidates to win.
There's also the unavoidable reality that Brian Jean may be a very nice person, but he's the opposite of charismatic. I remember during the 2015 election all he ever said was 'We won't raise your taxes'....a true blue conservative thing to say, but the only thing???
He was no match for a born charlatan like Smith...she's has a quick answer to everything, and moves fast enough that the average c;onservative loses track of the contradictions and outright crazy things she comes up with.
Point taken....perhaps 'nicer' is more accurate??? Or just less quick on his feet with the repartee? In 2015 he struck me as borderline....eh say this politely...verbally challenged???
Brian Jean is an opportunist, as are many of the other UCP MLAs. Before, Brian Jean was very critical of Danielle Smith. Now he is cozying up to her. Danielle will not endure as premier of Alberta. Way too many gaffes are happening, and she is a very bad leader.
Maybe she won't last, maybe she will. We have to factor in the reality that the conservative movement is now dependent on the crazies that think vaccines are AI implants, that climate change is a hoax, that all Alberta's troubles are inflicted on us from outside the province...and that isolation is the road to riches. I don't know how many of them there are, but nor do I see who the central party could put in Danielle's place....
Where is the premier in waiting that could calm the TBA waters AND convince fiscal conservatives that good governance, for their sense of the economy, is possible.
REALITY CHECK: Becoming a separate state isn't going to solve the dilemma the world faces regarding fossil fuels. Alberta Conservatives have bet the farm on the tarsands. They're in a cul de sac of their own making....but getting out of it is going to take more than old conservative ideology.
And across Canada, that party is having the deuce of a time coming up with any new idea. I'm afraid things will get nuttier before they find a way to replace Danielle with anyone with a firmer grasp of actual reality.
You should probably have put “love-in” in quotes, because it’s going to be a messy convention. TBA has been very clear that their goal is a public cleansing of the UCP, and I’d expect that to be the theme of the convention. There’s no way they only finish taking over the board and then content themselves quietly behind the scenes.
The knives are going to be out for anyone not fully on board with TBA, and I suspect how stressful it is for Smith will depend very much on how willing she is to lead that charge, vs how worried she is about personal blow-back.
Sounds like a lot of fun is going to be had by all...can't help but wish them a rocking good time of it.
Premier Smith is doing a fireside chat at the Pembina Climate Summit on October 26. I wonder if she'll find love there too.
Great observations! Unfortunately not what we need in Alberta at this time. The electricity "freeze in the dark" campaign in another waste of money. Advertising in Manitoba? Which is 100% hydro and zero fossil fuels.
Nova Scotia? Trying its hardest to eliminate coal and reduce its per kwh cost by using renewables.
Complaining about base load power when all the government has to do is tweak a few regulations to insure that certain producers cannot withdraw their production to increase the price and leave the grid short. How often do we hear about grid problems in other provinces? Not often. The private sector has an anything goes or not, and is free to manipulate the grid, the price and the lack of electricity and is likely the the only government in North America that permits that. Gas turbine electricity is almost instant but why turn on my turbine when needed when I can wait and get double the price. Then we , those, not in the regulated rate paying an atrocious price for past Conservative governments decisions to build a direct current transmission line from nowhere to nowhere? Calgary Edmonton ! Instead of giving atrocious payment from you and I for power transmission, and grants to those who cannot afford electricity, pay the darn debt off, require our co-generators to produce when we need electricity not when they feel like it. With 50 % of new electricity generation in the world being renewables! Do we actually believe Smith’s claims about grid instability when 10% of Alberta's electricity is renewables. Pure gaslighting. Pure fabrication and Pure politics to fight a federal regulation that openly permits natural gas use to generate electricity. And if we build new gas turbine generation, regulation limiting CO2 doesn't kick in for 20 years ! So don't be bamboozled by TBA, Smith and the UCP and a few other alt right groups holding meetings around the province.
Speaking of the leadership campaign and Smith winning, I've long been puzzled about something: why did Brian Jean lose? When Kenney quit, my understanding was that it was Jean's to lose and Smith was an also-ran from the start. And then that got switched around somehow. Why did he lose?
My read is that he unintentionally set himself up to get squeezed out down the middle.
He originally positioned himself as the establishment candidate that was throwing the most dog whistles and quiet support to the right wing crazies. So the original electoral math was that he’d get a chunk of the establishment vote, and then get the whole crazy wing vote by default to put him over the top
Then Smith joined the race and brought the genuine unfiltered crazy. Which put him in a tough position. If he openly joined her fighting for the crazy vote it would cost him the establishment support. But if he let the crazy vote go he was splitting the establishment voters with too many other candidates to win.
There's also the unavoidable reality that Brian Jean may be a very nice person, but he's the opposite of charismatic. I remember during the 2015 election all he ever said was 'We won't raise your taxes'....a true blue conservative thing to say, but the only thing???
He was no match for a born charlatan like Smith...she's has a quick answer to everything, and moves fast enough that the average c;onservative loses track of the contradictions and outright crazy things she comes up with.
I doubt if he's nice. Thanks to both of you for responding.
Point taken....perhaps 'nicer' is more accurate??? Or just less quick on his feet with the repartee? In 2015 he struck me as borderline....eh say this politely...verbally challenged???
Brian Jean is an opportunist, as are many of the other UCP MLAs. Before, Brian Jean was very critical of Danielle Smith. Now he is cozying up to her. Danielle will not endure as premier of Alberta. Way too many gaffes are happening, and she is a very bad leader.
Maybe she won't last, maybe she will. We have to factor in the reality that the conservative movement is now dependent on the crazies that think vaccines are AI implants, that climate change is a hoax, that all Alberta's troubles are inflicted on us from outside the province...and that isolation is the road to riches. I don't know how many of them there are, but nor do I see who the central party could put in Danielle's place....
Where is the premier in waiting that could calm the TBA waters AND convince fiscal conservatives that good governance, for their sense of the economy, is possible.
REALITY CHECK: Becoming a separate state isn't going to solve the dilemma the world faces regarding fossil fuels. Alberta Conservatives have bet the farm on the tarsands. They're in a cul de sac of their own making....but getting out of it is going to take more than old conservative ideology.
And across Canada, that party is having the deuce of a time coming up with any new idea. I'm afraid things will get nuttier before they find a way to replace Danielle with anyone with a firmer grasp of actual reality.