Doug Elniski: how to do it right

My blog post from yesterday about MLA Doug Elniski's comments about women and equality made on his blog, and about participants at the Pride Parade made via Twitter quickly became the most viewed post in this blogs history. (Practically doubling from the previous high!)

That post was particularly popular with Government of Alberta officials - at least that's what the stats tell me. Or at least it was popular enough that I was invited to be a guest on both CBC Radio One's Calgary Eyeopener and Edmonton AM to talk about my thoughts around Doug's use of social media and what he said. Once the interviews are posted (if they're posted) you'll probably be able to listen to them online at those links.

The interviews were both quick and and I didn't necessarily get to say everything I wanted, so I thought I'd share those thoughts here.

1. While I don't agree with Doug's comments I fully support him. He said something dumb and he knows it. He's human, we all say dumb things from time to time. I'm impressed with his handling of the situation however; he did an excellent job apologizing with the openness and honesty that made his Tweets and blog so refreshing in the first place. It wasn't simply the standard empty apology one has come to expect from a politician. I wish I had an audio link to it so you could here it. It's worth a listen.
   
   This is the main reason why I don't think he should have deleted his blog. His honesty and engagement provided through the blog and Twitter - up until this point at least - I think should have allowed him a fair bit of patience from the public in this situation. If he would have apologized online and allowed us to see the process he was going through to make amends, I would not have been surprised to see come out on the other side with more supporters than before.
   
   I really do think we want politicians who represent us and are willing to communicate and engage in what concerns us. We don't need another "walled off politician". I hope Doug won't become that because of this error in judgement.
   
   
2. I also hope this won't discourage other politicians from communicating with constituents via these newer tools. As you can here in the Calgary interview, host Jim Brown mentions the Alberta PC party may be coming out with guidelines to monitor their party members online communications more closely. This concerns me a little.
   
   You can make as many guidelines or memos as you like to control a party’s members on the internet, but when it all comes down to it the only point guidelines will really set out is "don’t say dumb things".
   
   I would argue that is the same advice you would give to them if they are talking giving a speech, writing a newsletter, or talking casually to friends.
   
   The point here isn’t that an MLA said these kinds of things online. The point is that he said them period. Social media is not the culprit in this situation. I hope the PC party doesn't make the mistake of not seeing it the same way.
   
   The only other option is to not allow your party members to converse with consituents at all. And I think that is a terrible choice.
   
   
3. I did get to touch on this in Calgary interview, but for me when it comes down to it I want my elected officials to be engaged. I want them to hear what I and others are saying, and then make the decision they feel is in the best interests of their constituents. Social media provides direct access that no town hall or newsletter in a mailbox could ever give.
   
   In the future this kind of engagement will be expected of our political leaders. Currently about 40% of the population of Alberta is under the age of 30. These are the people learning to expect to know what their friends are doing on a regular basis. This is happening via text messages and status updates. There is no stopping it as it has become rooted in our culture. In 10 years about one third of the voting public will fall into this category and expect to know what politicians are doing on our behalf on a regular basis. To get elected you will NEED to master these tools. Our elected officials may as well lead the way and start on this course now. After all we elect them to be leaders.

PS - Please don't just have a staffer update your accounts. We can tell the difference and will ridicule you and penalize you for your lack of transparency. Social media is about dialogue. If you are not responding you obviously don't get it and don't want to. And at the end of the day, remember this: who wants to elect a person who is non-responsive?

Doug Elniski: now just another walled off politician?

Did MLA Doug Elniski do something dumb? Yes. Was posting his thoughts online the mistake? No.

This is what makes social media such a powerful tool when it comes to politics: you get a chance to see inside the mind of our leaders and what makes them tick. And as you can imagine, when you get a chance to look inside someone’s mind you might not always like what you see.

The alternative to this is what we have been doing for generations. In that example, we elect someone without really knowing much about them and then either approve of what they do on our behalf or become belligerent and shocked when a massive scandal blows up.

I would argue social media like Twitter and Facebook allow us to get an inside perspective of what our elected officials do and think and that is a good thing. If they are corrupt or disengaged, status updates may give a peek at that attitude. If they don’t? Well they were just lying to us anyway so we’re no worse off then we were before.

Personally, I don’t agree with Doug’s comments. When I first read his tweets at the Edmonton Pride Parade I thought to myself, “Gee, I don’t think those are appropriate comments to say out loud.” And when I read what he said at a grade 9 graduation I thought, “That does not seem appropriate at all.” But you know what? He has a right to think and say those things. Just like we have a right to judge him based on what he said.

I would much rather an elected leader show me their true face and let me decide what to do with that information, than live a lie and pretend to be something they are not.

Where I really became disappointed with Doug was with his reaction to the controversy created by his remarks on his blog. Rather than apologizing on his blog and trying to help us understand why he made the remarks and what he is doing/going through in getting past them, he simply deleted the blog all together.

And in doing so left us all to wonder what is going on in his head and became just another walled off politician. And that is our loss.

Conversing with Alberta politicians on Twitter

Twitter has proved to be a pretty powerful tool for democratic engagement. The Bill 44 debate cemented that belief because MLAs were having conversations on Twitter with constituents well into the night as the live debate in the Legislature continued.

I think the argument put forward by Ian Bushfield over on his blog "Terahertz" regarding the seemingly futile nature of the debate - his post is titled "Get over it: Social Media is not going to change the world" - is a good one. Twitter and social media are just tools; you still have to have a strong message that is convincing. Same as always.

But I don't want to debate the pros and cons of social media here. Instead I just wanted to create a list of Alberta politicians on Twitter. Step one in creating a strong message - for whatever your issue or political sway is - is to listen. So I invite you to listen and then converse with the following folks. Hopefully this will create even greater understanding among us all moving forward.

This kind of direct access to politicians is something new that we should all take advantage of. I know I've had some great conversations with these individuals and I hope you do too.

Provincial:
Progressive Conservative:
GriffMLA
KyleMLA
JonoMLA
RAndersonMLA
CindyAdy_MLA
JaniceSarichMLA
LindsayBlackett
ElniskiMLA
DaveHancockMLA
premierstelmach

Liberal:
darshankang
chasemla
davidswann
calgarycurrie
calgarybuffalo

NDP:
bmasonNDP
RachelNotley

And there are even some municipal politicians on Twitter too:
BillGiven (Grande Prairie)
aldjohnmar (Calgary)
doniveson (Edmonton)
ben_hen (Edmonton)

Most of these accounts are updated regularly and are operated by the politician themselves, although the odd one is manned by a staffer. Which certainly lessens it's impact and usefulness. No Twitter user is looking for regurgitated press releases. This is something the politicians will learn over time if they REALLY do want to be engaged with constituents. (Basically if they care. Or rather, have the time to care.)

I'll update this post as more Alberta politicians join Twitter, but if you know of someone I missed please DM me on my Twitter or add it to the comments of the post, and I'll update the list. Thanks in advance!

A final issue to push you to the polls?

As you no doubt know, today is election day in Alberta. So if there is one thing you plan on doing today it should be getting out to your local polling place and marking an X next to the candidate/party of your choice. You can find your polling place by visiting www.elections.ab.ca.

Have you made up you mind who you'd like to vote for yet? There are many issues that you (or I) can choose to go into the voting booth with at the top mind. Health care, education, the environment, and the royalty review will no doubt be popular ones this time around. But I'd like to draw your attention to another issue that doesn't get the same about of "air time" in Alberta: Arts and Culture.

It's an issue that effects us pretty much ever moment of every day. It is the building blocks of quality of life and standard of living. Without it you can't belong and you become just some loser in your dark basement typing (which is ironic actually...).

The Calgary Professional Arts Alliance (along with their Edmonton counterparts, PACE) provide a good run down of each party's platform when it comes to arts and culture. I present them here for your review:

CONSERVATIVES:
Although not listed in their election platform, the PCs announced a new Cultural Policy called "The Spirit of Alberta".

• Ensure stable and predictable funding
• $12 m in the next provincial budget including a 30% increase to the AFA
• Provide support for arts festivals, post-secondary artist-in-residence programs, community presenters,Aboriginal arts camps, traveling exhibitions, public galleries and the acquisition of art
  
• Encourage greater private charitable giving to non-profit organizations by increasing the tax credit for charitable donations
  
• Provide funding for communities to plan, build and upgrade cultural and recreational facilities
  
• $1.6 million for the Alberta Film Development Program

LIBERALS:

• Double Alberta Foundation for the Arts funding immediately and triple it within three years.
• Pursue Status of the Artist legislation.
• Launch an Alberta Arts Festival, equivalent to the Alberta Games.
• Create an Alberta Film and Television Tax Credit.
• Pilot an Alberta Publishers Fund.
• Develop a capital investment strategy for heritage and cultural facilities.
• Eliminate entrance fees for youth to cultural facilities.

NDP:

• Create a separate Ministry of Arts and Culture to coordinate arts funding and programs, and offer stable funding to arts groups.
• Improve the living and working conditions of artists by helping artists to establish thriving markets for their art, gain easy access to information about building their careers, and support collective bargaining in those sectors where the artists want it.
• Introduce $30 million in new funding for the Alberta Foundation for the Arts. Ensure the independence of the Foundation’s board.
• End political patronage in board appointments.
• Allocate 1% of all large capital projects for the commission of arts projects. Increase fine arts curriculum in elementary and secondary schools.
• Expand and coordinate Alberta’s network of museums, historical sites, galleries and libraries.
• Promote Alberta arts and artists on the national and international stage.

WILDROSE ALLIANCE:

• A Wildrose Alliance Government will ensure that the arts, music and physical education curriculums are fully funded in Alberta’s public schools.
• A Wildrose Alliance Government will encourage and support through funding for community projects and school programs such as music, art, theatre, dance, sculpture, reading-writing and other arts and cultural activities as an essential enrichment of life and integral part of Alberta’s communities and cultural diversity.

GREEN PARTY:

• The Alberta Greens will encourage diverse community arts programs and cultural centers by providing up to 3 years start-up money for community-initiated proposals.
• Proposals would be expected to be self-sustaining after three years.
• Stable funding would come from the general revenue, and not be dependant on lotteries.

The CPAA and PACE have a great table on their websites too which shows each parties' stance on several key points around this issue. Please check it out if you have a moment.

If you haven't made up your mind on who to vote for yet, hopefully this will help, and perhaps arts and culture will be your "top of mind" issue today.

Now get out there and vote before 9pm!

30 Second Summary of the Alberta Election Thus Far

As we find ourselves passing the half-way point of the provincial election you have no doubt noticed I have pretty much been entirely silent during thus far. While I could blame my seemingly abandoned blog on the fact I was in Asia for the first third of the writ period, or the fact I’m still mad Premier Stelmach hasn’t apologised for calling an election while I was out of the country, or that I’m in the middle of packing for our upcoming move, I won’t. No, I won’t. Instead I blame it almost entirely on the fact there has been little if anything worth talking about. (That and I’m lazy.)

In that spirit I offer you here, my thirty second summary of what’s happened up to this point in the election:

• Ed Stelmach sounds like Woody Allen trying to make a quick decision each and every time he speaks. This is frustrating the majority of PC voters, members and candidates.
• Kevin Taft can make all the policy announcements he likes but people still aren’t saying they will vote for him or his party.
• Brian Mason and the NDP are struggling to be remembered.
• People have no idea who George Read is but a small number of Albertans will vote for the Green Party anyway.
• The Wildrose Alliance have yet to earn any of my allotted 30 seconds.

There you go. What else do you need to know? Did I really need to be blogging daily to give you more details? If you want more details however, I am back and will begin weighing in again. In my absence I give kudos to the following blogs for doing a great job keeping everyone informed.

From the right: Alberta Tory, Ken Chapman

Somewhere in the middle with me: The Enlightened Savage

From the left: Calgary Grit, Daveberta

Some newbies: Alberta: Get Rich or Die Trying, Four Strong Winds

General coverage: Alberta Election 2008

If you know of other blogs that are doing a great job covering the election please feel free to post them below for everyone to visit.

China Airlines you have not broken my will yet! But Stelmach has broken Hung Pham's

Well here we are, however many god-forsaken China Airlines survived hours later, in Taipei. (BTW, I'm pretty sure I know what Canada's contribution to China's development was: they gave the old Air Canada planes to China Air.) Yeah, it wasn't the most fun 12 hours I've ever spent. Especially when the flight started off sitting on the Vancouver tarmac for an hour waiting for them to de-ice the plane.

So far in Taiwan the only difference I can see is that their airport's computers are all in Chinese (I hope I remember what buttons to click in Blogger to actually make this post). But on the bright side they are free which they weren't in Vancouver. [On that, note if anyone needs internet access and they happen to be at the international terminal in Vancouver airport I've got 35 minutes of time saved on the internet kiosk by Gate 54. Drop me a line, I'd be happy to provide you my login.]

So, there isn't much to report on the cultural front yet. An airport is an airport is an airport I guess. The Amazing Race should've taught me that. But we still have one flight more to go and then we can begin the real fun part of the trip: exploring. We'll be in Kaohsuing in a little over two hours from now. Where I look forward to having a shower.

Until then, remember what they say on China Airlines, "Sir, please sit down." I might have lost something in the translation, but they said it enough times to so many different people it must have more cultural meaning than I have found as of yet.

I hear the rumour from Pierre Trudeau Is My Homeboy that the Alberta election may be called tomorrow (today? what time zone am I in anyway?). This would be a little surpising as they would be jumping the gun. Not that I think it really matters. The Alberta Liberals and NDP are probably as ready as they'll ever be and I know the Alberta PC Party is ready. (Although the Calgary-Montrose debacle could not have been handled worse after Ed Stelmach's comments last week about selecting a candidate if he has to and it might not be Hung Pham. Pham blasted back earlier today announcing he will not run.) If the election is called while I'm away, I'll try my best to stay updated before I get back when I'll provide you with my two cents on each Calgary riding. Election! Whoo!

Feel the PC momentum build!

What a weekend! Did you feel it? The ground breaking momentum the Alberta PCs found on Saturday as they finally rose out of the ashes like a sparkling, flaming phoenix and nominated Some Body as their candidate for the upcoming provincial election in Calgary Egmont. Woohoo! No, you don’t feel it? Yeah, neither did I.

Don’t get me wrong we should be happy the Craig Chandler nomination saga can finally be put to bed, but should we really have cared this much about a party nomination? Sure the nominees and Calgary Egmont PC party members should have been swept up in the hoopla, but why should the rest of us have cared? Raise your hand if you belong to either one of those categories – nominee or Calgary Egmont PC association member? Maybe a handful of you?

I was quite happy not addressing the PC nomination process in this riding again but for readers arriving at this blog for the first time it is the second most searched topic.

Now we can move onto things we ALL should care about – the upcoming provincial election (I’m almost positive it’ll be called in February) among other items I’ll rant and rave about in the near future.

PS – The most searched topic for readers finding this blog for the first time is “sleeping porn”. When they search that they find this post I made about antics in the legislature and parliament. So there you go – us perverts can now read this blog safely knowing there will be no more talk of the Calgary Egmont PC nomination saga.

PPS – Okay, one more note: the Some Body was Jonathan Denis, who came second to Craig Chandler last time, won the nomination this time. Now that the pre-season is over we’ll see who comes out on top in the playoffs. Round two… ding, ding, ding.

PPPS (I don't thing that is a real thing) - The Wildrose Party and Alberta Alliance party merged into one miniature, non-news-worthy, juggernaut over the weekend (the Wildrose Alliance). That's why it is so far down in this post.

A lawyer mountain out of a domain name mole hill

This is just so darn silly I can't believe it is actually happening.

Let's say for a second you made a mistake. A mistake that you know was a mistake. A mistake someone picked up on; a mistake that they could exploit to hurt your reputation. They're not doing that yet but you don't really trust them not to. They don't really like you - you're not BFF - but they are not a hater or anything like that. As a matter of fact you don't really know them. You've just heard of them.

Now what would you say if there were an opportunity for you fix things by admitting to your mistake and asking politely if this other person would help you correct it.

Would you do it?

Or would you do what Ed Stelmach did and skip asking politely and instead ask your lawyers to go ahead and sue the debt ridden 24-year old student who noticed your mistake first?

Whether you think that "Daveberta" registering edstelmach.ca on a whim and pointing it to his personal blog (and later the Wikipedia article on Harry Strom) was right or wrong (the latter I think is frickin' hi-lar-i-ous) I hope we can all agree that Stelmach's lawyers jumped the gun more than a little fast here.

If you haven't already heard all about the mountain out of a mole hill you can read the full story on Dave's blog, on the front page of the Herald, or on CBC. You can read a full PDF version of the letter from Stelmach's lawyers here. BTW, I understand the lawyer who sent the letter - Tyler S. Shando - is on the executive of the Alberta PC party. (I'm not sure if that means anything though.)

Something tells me this is going to hurt Stelmach as much, if not more, than Dave Cournoyer.

As I always said when I stage managed theatre: people rarely notice your first mistake; they almost always notice your second - trying to fix it and save face. You're almost always better to just let things go and not make any more mistakes.

Learning the true meaning of "democratically elected"

I’ve written about it before and it looks like I’m going to have to write about it again: Craig Chandler – you MUST learn what an election is. Seriously. This is getting embarrassing.

As I stated before Mr. Chandler has not won any election. Elections Canada or Elections Alberta has not overseen any “election” in which he has won jack-squat. They are the bodies in charge of our democratic elections. The only thing Mr. Chandler has done is have more than 50% of a handful of Alberta Progressive Conservative Calgary-Egmont Riding Association members who showed up at a specific community hall on a specific day in November say they wanted him to be their nominee to run in the next provincial election under the Alberta PC banner. That’s a long way from being “democratically elected” to anything.

So why is Chandler, who announced a couple days ago that he will run in Calgary-Egmont as an independent, touting the fact his campaign signage will contain the phrase: the “democratically elected conservative candidate for Calgary-Egmont”. Nope. Sorry, that’s probably going to be some other person. Probably one who doesn’t slag and sue his own party.

On a related note – my rabbit and I just held an “election” and I’m please report I have been named Assistant Deputy Prime Minister of Everything. (The bunny abstained on the third ballot - that broke the stalemate and sealed my victory.) As my first act I am going to introduce legislation to make snow tires mandatory and to lower the legal blood alcohol level for drivers to .05.

The rabbit is ticked I’m using my powers so recklessly.

Just the facts, Craig

For those of you that are interested in the facts of the Craig Chandler dismissal (and are, like I normally am, too lazy to click the link in my previous post), here is the full text of the section of the PC constitution that are pertinent to this situation.

(vi) A candidate who has been duly
nominated shall be approved by the
Leader and the Executive Committee
and officially endorsed as a candidate of
the Association if such approval is in the
best interests of the Association.

(c) Dispute Resolution
Any dispute or other matter in question between
candidates for nomination for a Provincial
Constituency, or in respect of the nomination
process arising under, out of, in connection with, or
in relation to the nomination of a candidate or a
candidate’s qualification or disqualification before or
after nomination, shall be resolved pursuant to the
following process:

(i) The dispute or matter shall be
submitted to the chairperson of the
Provincial Constituency Association’s
Nomination Committee (the “Nomination
Committee”) for a ruling, who
immediately shall call a meeting of the
Nomination Committee to rule on the
dispute or matter. Such ruling shall be
rendered by the Nomination Committee
within seventy-two (72) hours of
submission to the chairperson of the
Nomination Committee.

(ii) If the Nomination Committee is unable or
fails to make a ruling within seventy-two
(72) hours, or if either party to the
dispute disagrees with the ruling of the
Nomination Committee, the dispute may
be immediately submitted to arbitration
for determination pursuant to the
provisions of the Arbitration Act of
Alberta, R.S.A. 2000, c.A-43, pursuant to
the following procedures:

a. The Nomination Committee or one
of the disputing parties shall
immediately after ruling by the
Nomination Committee or expiry
of the 72-hour period without a
ruling having occurred notify the
President of the Progressive
Conservative Association of
Alberta of the dispute or
disagreement.

b. If a ruling by the Nomination
Committee has issued but none
of the disputing parties notify the
President within 48 hours of the
Nomination Committee ruling
being provided to the disputing
18 Amended May 5, 2007
parties, the Nomination
Committee ruling shall be final
and binding on the disputing
parties and the Nomination
Committee.

c. The President of the Progressive
Conservative Association of
Alberta and in his or her absence
the Vice President Organization
shall, as soon as possible after
being notified of the dispute,
appoint a single arbitrator to
decide the dispute.

d. The arbitrator shall not be a
member of the Nomination
Committee or the Provincial
Constituency Association from
which the dispute originates; but
shall be a member in good
standing of the Progressive
Conservative Association of
Alberta.

e. Upon his or her selection, the
arbitrator shall contact the
disputing parties and shall
advise them of his or her
appointment and request
submissions in writing from the
parties within seventy-two (72)
hours.

f. The submissions in writing shall
be in a form satisfactory to the
arbitrator and shall include
summaries of the relevant facts
and argument.

g. The arbitrator shall not be bound
by formal rules of evidence or
procedure and may accept
submissions of fact and
arguments in a manner deemed
by the arbitrator to be reasonable
and appropriate in the
circumstances. The arbitrator
will have power to determine the
dispute, whatever its nature,
including determining questions
of meaning, intent and
reasonableness of nomination
rules themselves and their
compliance with the constitution
of the Progressive Conservative
Association of Alberta, and the
power to direct changes to the
nomination rules.

h. Upon receipt of facts and
argument, the arbitrator may
request further submissions if
deemed appropriate.

i. When the arbitrator has received
submissions of fact and
argument deemed sufficient by
him or her, the arbitrator shall
so advise the parties and shall
deliver a decision in writing
determining the dispute within
one (1) week of so advising the
parties, which decision shall be
final and binding on the
disputing parties, the Nomination
Committee and the Provincial
Constituency Association.

j. All fees and costs of the
arbitration shall be in the
discretion of the arbitrator. The
arbitrator may in his or her
discretion direct that a portion of
such fees and costs be paid by
the Progressive Conservative
Association of Alberta in
circumstances in which the
Progressive Conservative
20 Amended May 5, 2007
Association of Alberta has elected
to make submissions to the
arbitrator.

k. The arbitrator may at his or her
option require that security be
posted in respect of payment for
fees and disbursements.

l. The candidates for nomination
upon filing nomination papers
will be deemed to have agreed,
and the Nomination Committee
and the Provincial Constituency
Association, on appointment of
the Nomination Committee, will
be deemed to have agreed, that
all disputes and matters will be
determined by the foregoing
process; and that such process is
accepted in lieu of, and no
recourse shall be available to, the
Courts for or in respect of any
such dispute or matter.

m. The arbitration proceeding,
including submissions to the
arbitrator and the decision of the
arbitrator, shall remain
confidential to the participants
and shall not be disclosed to
anyone other than the
participants, the Nomination
Committee, the Provincial
Constituency Association and the
Progressive Conservative
Association of Alberta, except as
required by law.

Notice under section 14 c ii l it says, "and no recourse shall be available to, the Courts for or in respect of any such dispute or matter." I hope Chandler read that too.

Aren't by-laws and the ilk fun!

I always thought Chandler was the biggest whiner of the Friends, didn't you?

It looks like Craig Chandler has resigned his Alberta PC membership and is suing the party just days ago he wanted to represent in the next election.

Maybe it’s just me, but this smacks of arrogance. It strikes me that if you can turn your back that quickly on the party you wanted to fly the flag of, you didn’t really believe in them or want to represent them in the first place. You just wanted to have power – to be an MLA (if you seriously can consider being an MLA “power”).

I have a problem with all this though: I’m not sure exactly what he is suing for. It is written into the constitution of the Alberta PC Party that the executive have the right to overturn a riding associations’ proposed candidate if it is "not in the best interests of the party" (pages 17-21). They followed their by-laws (whether you agree with them or not). Chandler signed onto a system that didn’t go his way and now he is crying to the party, the media, the courts, whomever will listen. But no one cares. The rules were followed.

As I said in a previous post: a candidate selection process is not part of the ‘democratic system of Alberta’. It is an internal party matter and has nothing to do with elections, government or democracy. So, please leave democracy out of it.

But here’s what I really think is going on: I don’t think the Alberta PC executive decided to reject Chandler as a candidate because of his rants about the ‘wicked homosexual agenda’, or telling non-conservative emigrants to leave, etc. I think they gave him the boot because of his comments about not being willing to tow the party line or be accountable. He practically throws that fact in the fact of Stelmach and the Party executive. Heck, I’d even say that was the main issue his campaign was running on based on the video that automatically runs when you visit his website.

When you put it altogether it’s just politics, and the Alberta PCs made the right move and for all the right reasons. The only issue is they should have done it earlier to avoid all of this. Hindsight is 20/20. Either way, there is no reason the Alberta PCs should pay up.

Happy anniversary you Party animals!

Happy first anniversary to Ed Stelmach and Stephane Dion. (Today marks one year since both were elected to lead their parties - as everybody's second choice.) So far boys, it looks like you are living up to absolutely everyone's expectations. Keep up the... good (?)... work (?).

See Canada? Alberta's not a bunch of rednecks! (Oh, except that guy...)

So it looks like on Saturday the Alberta PC Party decided it would be a bad idea to let Craig Chandler run in the upcoming election.

I don't want to get into regurgitating the whole story so I'll let FFWD do it here instead. (The article is complete with the prerequisite offending Chandler quotes to keep your scandalous needs satisfied.)

I can't say that I blame the Stelmach crew for ditching him. Like others have said if: if he was allowed to run he would become a lighting rod used by Alberta Liberals and Alberta NDP throughout the next election to drum up support to oust the Tories. But the interesting thing I see in this thinking is that it makes the assumption that the majority of Alberta PC voters are not "big-C", traditional, social, over-the-top-type conservatives. Have we finally reached that critical mass in Alberta? Is the stereotype waning, or (heaven forbid!) not true? Perhaps this even means that the Liberals actually do have an outside shot at winning the election after all.

I'm not convinced however. I think it actually just means the vast majority of Albertans are not bigots or homophobic. Sorry Rest of Canada, but it looks like you really will have to give up that stereotype now. And at least this means there is some good news coming out of the Craig Chandler conundrum after all.

One final thought on the Chandler situation: Chandler and Calgary-Egmont PC riding association president, David Crutcher (who himself was just recently dumped by the association), have been quoted often this past week as saying they hope Stelmach would do the right thing and they'll "see if democracy triumphs". I don't buy into this. A nomination is not 'a democracy'. It is inner-party policy. And when that party policy also says the party can hand pick a candidate and skip the nomination process, that is not 'democracy'. (The democracy part is the election.) However the PCs may need to explain why they allowed Chandler to run, get elected as their rep, and then change their mind. This sure seems like politics masquerading as a democracy. You can't have it both ways.