Calgary Federal Politics

[MalcolmTucker]

fabricated perfectly-time poll

Take Bruce Cameron to the Marketing Research and Intelligence Association if you think so.

[suburbia]

Originally Posted by Rusty van Reddick

What makes it "excellent," that its puerile, short-sighted points agree with yours? You have to scrape the bottom of the journalism barrel to find somebody who understands as little about what really happened in this election as you do?

Liberals ran a fabricated campaign of fear capped with a fabricated perfectly-time poll that destroyed the Greens' momentum. Libs were never going to win this and Chris absolutely could have.

And here I thought you'd appreciate a leading article from your Institution's publication

Originally Posted by Rusty van Reddick

And hey, are you "officematt" at the G&M?

No I'm not officematt at G&M - have never registered with their site.

[fusili]

Originally Posted by MalcolmTucker

Take Bruce Cameron to the Marketing Research and Intelligence Association if you think so.

I heard (not verified) that he is no longer part of that Association.

[RyLucky]

It is undoubtedly important to vote one’s conscience, but when a political party holds the reigns of a city so tightly and so far beyond the point of complacency, pragmatism must prevail over ideology.

I can only assume that this statement from the Gauntlet editorial means to say that the only practical opposition vote is the Liberal vote. While I don't agree with this interpretation, I actually find the original statement really interesting: when the reigning party is complacent and takes the electorate for granted, pragmatism must prevail over ideology. For me, that's really what this by-election was all about. NONE of the parties had really paid much attention to this riding in years. While most of the party leaders (those that have leaders or would-be leaders, and not Harper) seemed to commit interest in the by-election, I really got the sense that none of the parties really understand Calgary. In a world where everyone is a reporter, everyone is a critic, fact-checking can be done in 30 seconds, and transparency is more possible than ever, pragmatism, reasoning, critical thinking MUST prevail over ideology, because ideology is no longer static, authority is no longer granted, and autonomy of the individual is king. This is Nenshi's secret. This is what so few in Ottawa seem to understand. Calgary isn't becoming more Liberal, Ontario isn't becoming more conservative. The difference in ideology was a myth in the first place. We all just want someone who will protect and nourish the interests of our region. In 2012 we can no longer tolerate poor communication, lack of transparency, or vague ideals. I hope that this message, along with encouragement for plurality, was produced in Calgary Centre. Pragmatism must prevail over ideology. I like that.

[suburbia]

Originally Posted by RyLucky

I can only assume that this statement from the Gauntlet editorial means to say that the only practical opposition vote is the Liberal vote.

You're commenting on a statement you extracted out of context. Read the entire excerpt I had quoted, particularly the bolded red portions.

I'm amazed at the Greens' refusal to accept reality.

[MalcolmTucker]

I wonder what will happen to the Green Party when the public subsidy goes away. Will supporters be willing to put enough of their money where their mouthes are?

[RyLucky]

Originally Posted by suburbia

You're commenting on a statement you extracted out of context. Read the entire excerpt I had quoted, particularly the bolded red portions.

I'm amazed at the Greens' refusal to accept reality.

I read the whole thing, I'm just telling you that this line resonated with me, probably not in the way the author intended.

[RyLucky]

Originally Posted by MalcolmTucker

I wonder what will happen to the Green Party when the public subsidy goes away. Will supporters be willing to put enough of their money where their mouthes are?

Other than the CPC, none of the parties have a rosy future. Liberals can't do much worse. They lack a national perspective and any potential leaders have too many obvious faults to become PM in 2015. NDP can't possibly repeat their success without Jack. Green I could actually see winning a few more seats, but they aren't going to be forming the official opposition just yet. And Bloc... well... they could actually rebound a little with a stronger BQ leader and a weaker NPD leader. It's too early to call, but I see no end to Stephen Harper's reign.

[Cage]

Originally Posted by RyLucky

Other than the CPC, none of the parties have a rosy future. Liberals can't do much worse. They lack a national perspective and any potential leaders have too many obvious faults to become PM in 2015. NDP can't possibly repeat their success without Jack. Green I could actually see winning a few more seats, but they aren't going to be forming the official opposition just yet. And Bloc... well... they could actually rebound a little with a stronger BQ leader and a weaker NPD leader. It's too early to call, but I see no end to Stephen Harper's reign.

There are multiple signs the Liberals could push themselves to the center, at least three top candidates have all expressed support for certain factors that are part of the Conservative platform (Trudeau, Garneau, Hall-Findlay).

NDP are consolidating their position as the Opposition.

Greens are likely living on borrowed time. Issues with their ability to fundraise will be their undoing. Plus the green Dear Leader has swung the party to the left and into the space currently occupied by the NDP.

So how do the Conservatives lose the next election:
- Party policy misstep causes them to lose support among center Canadians.
- Multiple bozo erruptions from the far right social conservative section of the party.
- Inability to procure the next PM.

How do the Liberals win the next election:
- Revive the party by adopting Center right policies and getting rid of the far left portion of the party (the far left is all ready mostly within the NDP, the few remaining left supporters just need to be told to either get on the bus or we will throw you under the bus).
- Wait for a big Conservative bozo erruption and capitalize.
- Create policies that are at least appealing to the Conservative center right base.
- Push the NDP to the far left. Likely by writing off most Quebec seats ave for the west island and other pro liberal areas in and around the MUC.

How do the Dippers win the next election:
- Hope that liberals misstep and go too far to the right on their policy platform (e.g. pull the mistake of the Decore Liberals in the 1992 AB election).
- Wait for a big Conservative bozo erruption and capitalize.
- Liberal leadership race becomes ugly and the top flight candidates who don't win leave the political arena for good.
- Merge with the Liberals combined with the Conservative bozo erruption.

[simster3]

This was posted by 1CalgaryCentre on their Facebook page: Electoral Map for the byelection.

I'm still a noob and don't know how to post an image. Here is the link:

http://daveberta.ca/2013/02/new-calgary-centre-by-election-map/

[suburbia]

Anyone recall what the estimated timing of the new throne speech will be, given parliament is expected to be prorogued? Would that mean mid-October or so?

[Cage]

Originally Posted by suburbia

Anyone recall what the estimated timing of the new throne speech will be, given parliament is expected to be prorogued? Would that mean mid-October or so?

It will be after Thanksgiving Day long weekend. Could be October 16th or 21st.

[canucklehead2]

Bump! But seriously, almost 1-year post election, how is everybody feeling about their local federal representation? Any letter graded reviews of the fed's so far? Discuss!

Personally I didn't vote Liberal and I don't think they've accomplished much so far, just really plans to make plans on just about every major issue, however the tone set is light years different from under Herr Harper...

[suburbia]

Originally Posted by canucklehead2

Bump! But seriously, almost 1-year post election, how is everybody feeling about their local federal representation? Any letter graded reviews of the fed's so far? Discuss!

Personally I didn't vote Liberal and I don't think they've accomplished much so far, just really plans to make plans on just about every major issue, however the tone set is light years different from under Herr Harper...

I think they have had to spend a lot of time undoing much of the mess Harper had done. Several files have moved significantly. Work with and acknowledgement of aboriginal communities, and foreign affairs. Harper had really pissed all over Canada's reputation internationally (though some who've never been on an airplane may not have noticed).

[artvandelay]

The previous government had become tired and stale so it was definitely time for a change.

Having said that, the announced infrastructure spending program has largely been a disappointment. The flow of money is far too slow and the Libbies' definition of infrastructure is far too wide ranging. Spending on concrete infrastructure projects - say like a real national highway system - would actually spur economic growth. These so called "social-infrastructure" projects are largely a money sink that will result in higher long term operational spending by the government.

Deficit spending by government is much akin to margin investing. Investing wisely in projects that will create enough economic growth to cover the cost of debt is a good strategic move. Wasting money on projects with limited utility is foolish and I'm afraid that's what is happening.

I also think that there is a lack of appreciation for the oil & gas sector and a lack of understanding regarding how important the industry is to the national economy. It is the single most important driver of economic growth in this country, and leaks like this show incredible ignorance within the government regarding the sector.

As far as local representation goes, I think Kent Hehr is a good MP for Calgary and an improvement over his predecessor.

[lineman]

Infrastructure spending this far has been allocated to projects that can be quickly started, thus getting people working sooner than later. Curbs, paving, waterworks, etc. The "non-sexy" stuff. Highways can take a couple of years to get going.

Edit: Don't get me wrong, I would love to see Highway 1 and 2 upgraded.

[artvandelay]

Originally Posted by lineman

Infrastructure spending this far has been allocated to projects that can be quickly started, thus getting people working sooner than later. Curbs, paving, waterworks, etc. The "non-sexy" stuff. Highways can take a couple of years to get going.

Edit: Don't get me wrong, I would love to see Highway 1 and 2 upgraded.

Yeah, that's true and understandable. I'm just not a fan of the proposed split - there is just too much spending that isn't truly infrastructure. I'd like to see a greater portion spent on roads, bridges, ports, and public transit.


Link

[lineman]

Ah yes, I get where you're coming from now. It's the first time I've seen that graph. I would not have guessed, and I find it odd, that social programs would fall under infrastructure spending.

[MalcolmTucker]

Originally Posted by lineman

Ah yes, I get where you're coming from now. It's the first time I've seen that graph. I would not have guessed, and I find it odd, that social programs would fall under infrastructure spending.

A school building is not infrastructure?

And the graph was the new incremental infrastructure spending announced in the last budget. When they created a transit pot and a water pot, the old program which was those two things plus roads became just roads plus odds and ends iirc.


If the federal government here only for money to projects that met performance metrics (congestion, congestion relief, financially prudent cost per incremental user) like are used in the USA there would literally be pitchforks from smaller centres and smaller provinces.


You have watch how outsiders analyze federal spending, because it is presented differently than provincial spending, and journalists seem more familiar with those types of budgets as they make more sense intuitively (even if less useful for many purposes). The budget usually only contains changes, whereas the provincial budgets present all spending.

[suburbia]

I'm curious where Federal political animal Jason Kenney takes things provincially. By trying to unite the right, he is attempting to do what Trump has (successfully) done in the USA. Group all of the right wingers - moderates and extremists. You get what you ask for.