[untostaronaf]

Wildrose party is the rejuvenation of the PC party of Alberta.

Fiscal conservative + Socially liberal.

Are they a threat? No.

[space-on-s]

They are pro-abort, pro-gay marriage, and fiscal conservatives.

The only difference between them and Stelmach is that they are stronger on the fiscal side of things.

I think you would call that fiscal conservative, social liberal, no?

I've been following them for awhile now, and their new leader represents a hard shift to the left.

[2puO4Rhf]

The herd has been on the same range for a long time now and the place is filling up with poo. It's round about times like these that something can spook the hefers and set off a stampede. Once they start running the whole herd will move to the new range and leave the old one completely, never to return. As I said, the rejuvenation of the PC party.

I don't think they are a threat to anyone, least of all to the PC party of AB, but we shall see who seems to have the better assessment.

[wCYvMKAc]

I also heard the new Wild Rose leader is a very good communicator If you mean, she has nice **** and ***, then yes, she's a good 'communicator'.

[OixKKcj1]

What, you wanted to post a babe thread, drooling over Danielle?

[Reafnartefs]

They are a serious threat.

The herd has been on the same range for a long time now and the place is filling up with poo. It's round about times like these that something can spook the hefers and set off a stampede. Once they start running the whole herd will move to the new range and leave the old one completely, never to return.

Does that about sum up what you've read?

nye has it right, Ben is way, way off.

As usual.

[Morageort]

nye has it right, Ben is way, way off.

As usual.

Hardly surprising.


When is the next vote and will the Conservatives replace their leader before then? Would it even matter?

[FreeOEMcheapestPHOTOSHOP]

I'm archiving this thread.

Y'all think the Wild Rose are gonna govern AB? Seriously?

[JakeBarkings]

I'm archiving this thread.

Y'all think the Wild Rose are gonna govern AB? Seriously?

No one said that you disingenuous douchebag.

Get the **** out of this thread. Lori?

[StevenS]

No one said that you disingenuous douchebag.

Get the **** out of this thread. Lori?

I, as the thread starter, asked him to go away. He is not welcome and never has anything meaningful to contribute. Additionally, he knows how I feel about him.

His presence at this point is pure trolling.

[peakyesno]

You going to play the sandbagger card, fine -- I'll return fire. You and Harper are part and parcel eastern liberals cut from the same cloth.

Living out west doesn't mean anything if you can't hear what people are saying. I have plenty of friends out this way who were considering wild rose, some of whom voted in the nominating meeting. All were angry with Danielle, and they feel betrayed. Enough to vote in Stelmach? Probably so. Enough to call for the replacement of Stelmach? Yep. They are disillusioned that all their effort has been wasted.

My family has lived in Alberta since 1979 and I've lived there most of my life, and I still read the Calgary Herald daily and am in constant communication with many friends there. I'm very much in tune with the province, far more than you will ever be, and I will be moving back with my SO once the job situation there becomes suitably un-****ed. You've been saying that for years. I will make a bet straight up with you now, that you will never go back and stay in the east.

My family has been in BC since the 50's. My grandfather was born in AB, in a homestead up by Grande Prairie country. My other grandparents were both from Saskatchewan. The only one who came from the east is my grandmother who came from Ontario.

They had a chance. With Danielle, they have to displace the PCs of AB. I don't believe that will happen.

[russmodel]

Because unlike you, they've lived in Alberta long enough to see the damage Tory policies have done on the province. I have a different perspective. The vast majority of my friends have moved there to work. There are simply far more opportunities in AB than in BC. Yes, Stelmach hasn't been the greatest, but it's a damn sight better than here.

My dad, for instance, is livid with them over the royalty scheme which has forced his company out of the province and directly contributed to many of his closest friends being given pink slips. As he should! Stelmach has been horrible. What is there that couldn't be changed through the leadership of the PC Party?

They all have reasons, and as someone who has never lived in Alberta and knows nothing about it aside from what it's like to get discretely assraped in a truckstop, you wouldn't understand. You are right, I've never lived there. My two best friends are Calgarians, and intend to stay there, even though they are from here.

[cepAceryTem]

If you haven't noticed, THERE ARE NO JOBS OUT THERE IN ALBERTA RIGHT NOW. There haven't been for several years. WHICH TIES BACK TO WHY PEOPLE WANT TO OUST THE TORIES. It ties back to Stelmach. Honest Ed. If Ted Morton had been appointed, you would not be talking about a slowdown. Ted Morton is the man you want, not Danielle.

Unlike you, I have skills to be gainfully employed. For this reason, I go where I'm wanted and where I'm paid well. To get a software job right now in Alberta is virtually impossible, and if you do get one the pay is ****. Now now, no need to get catty. I can see why Toronto liberals live in TO. They feel at home there. You are happy there, why not admit it to yourself? TO is not all bad, I would never live there, but then I have different values.

My SO is a chemical engineer, so you'd think there would be lots of opportunities in Calgary for that, but there's not. The big oil companies are pulling out, they're not hiring new grads.

Until that improves, I am not moving back. Hey I hear you. I would have left here a year ago, but life got in the way. Seriously, TO seems better for you both jobwise, and lifewise, so why not stay there?

[dXI9XFOA]

Hardly surprising.


When is the next vote and will the Conservatives replace their leader before then? Would it even matter?

Stelmach just got the job, so that is unlikely. I think he has three or so years to go on his mandate.

Nothing is clear at this point. The Liberals could be the next government in Alberta not named PC.

[Adimos]

Wildrose party is the rejuvenation of the PC party of Alberta.

Fiscal conservative + Socially liberal.

Are they a threat? No.

The party that is not a threat according to Ben continues to gain in the polls and has almost pulled even with the Tories.

http://www.calgaryherald.com/technol...644/story.html

Alberta Tories slide, Wildrose gains in new poll

Conservatives barely ahead of fledgling Wildrose

CALGARY - Just days before Premier Ed Stelmach's party leadership review, a new poll shows the governing Tories have sunk to their lowest level of popular support in 16 years, barely ahead of the Wildrose Alliance as the preferred party among decided Alberta voters.

An independent survey of 1,000 adult Albertans (840 decided voters) conducted by Environics Research Group, and provided exclusively to the Herald, reveals the Wildrose Alliance has firmly cemented itself in second place provincewide -- and have overtaken the dynastic Tories as the favoured party in Calgary.

The telephone poll, conducted Oct. 19 to 31, finds that 34 per cent of decided voters would cast a ballot for Stelmach and his Conservatives if an election were held today, compared to 28 per cent for the fledgling Wildrose Alliance and new leader Danielle Smith.

David Swann's Liberals are in third, with the backing of 20 per cent of voters, followed by Brian Mason's NDP at nine per cent and the recently delisted Green party at eight per cent.

Among the full survey group, 16 per cent of voters were undecided or didn't answer.

Stelmach's Tories have slipped 21 points in the polls over the last year and it's the PCs' lowest level of popular support since December 1993, when they dipped to 32 per cent, according to Environics pollster Tony Coulson.

He said the shrinking support for the Conservatives is symptomatic of a faltering Alberta economy, and has eroded a core base of support for the party.

"It really does look like the right (is) separating," Coulson said Wednesday. "The wild card now is the Wildrose Alliance."

In Calgary -- long seen as Tory bedrock--the Wildrose party has surged to first, with 34 per cent backing, followed by the PCs at 30 per cent, Liberals at 20 per cent, and NDP and Greens at eight per cent.

"Calgary has been sending the province a message on a pretty regular basis, so this is just another reflection of that disillusionment," Coulson added.

In Edmonton, the Tories sit atop the pack with the support of about one-third of voters, followed by the Liberals at 27 per cent, Wildrose at 17 per cent and NDP at 13 per cent.

Outside the major cities, 38 per cent of decided Albertans would vote for the PCs, 32 per cent for the Wildrose party and 15 per cent for the Grits.

Numbers in the rural areas reflect "bitterness and concern" about the government's decision to revamp its oil and gas royalty plan to collect more revenue with a price-and production-sensitive framework, he said.

The survey also comes as the government grapples with its controversial handling of the H1N1 flu vaccine, which saw the province assailed for long lineups and few inoculation stations. The government was forced to close clinics due to a feared vaccine shortage, and will reopen them to only high-risk patients.

The government's approval rating also sits at a 16-year low, with 36 per cent of voters happy with how the Tories are running the province, compared with 54 per cent of Albertans disapproving of the performance. Ten per cent didn't know or refused to answer.

Peter McCormick, a political scientist at the University of Lethbridge, said the PCs' sliding support is a reflection of growing discontent with decision-making and a perceived lack of leadership from the premier.

"They are not doing a good job of governing the province just now and Stelmach is not doing a good job of leading," McCormick said. "That's the problem the Tories have created for themselves."

The emerging challenge from the Wildrose Alliance, and eroding approval ratings, come as Stelmach prepares for a mandatory review of his leadership at the PC party annual convention this weekend in Red Deer. Former premier Ralph Klein and political observers have argued Stelmach needs around 70 per cent support to fend off calls for a leadership contest.

Pollster Coulson noted the economic downturn--one that's cost tens of thousands of jobs -- has also seen the government go from big surpluses to a record deficit.

"The government is struggling so much because of the economy," he said.

The approval ratings and voting preferences found in the Environics poll are consistent with numbers from an October poll conducted by Return on Insight of Calgary.

Political scientist McCormick believes the Conservatives will be most worried about eroding rural support, which has always propelled them to victory during their 38-year reign.

The Environics survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, 95 times out of 100. In the regional breakdowns, the margin of error is 6.2 percentage points in the major cities and 5.6 for elsewhere.

---------

2008-2009: Tory Fortunes Slide

May 2008

Stelmach's cabinet approves substantial pay hikes of up to 34 per cent for themselves

August 2008

Recordbreaking resource revenues for 2008-09 are predicted in a provincial fiscal update, with a forecasted surplus of $8.5 billion

October 2008

Global markets crumble and stock exchanges around the world face the worst economic crisis since the 1980s

December 2008

Alberta Liberals elect Calgary MLA David Swann as their new leader

April 2009

Province releases its budget, forecasting a $4.6-billion deficit, the largest in Alberta's history; first deficit in 16 years

Sept. 2009

Statistics Canada says Alberta's unemployment rate hits 7.4% and reports 6,700 monthly job losses

October 2009

Danielle Smith elected leader of Wildrose Alliance, shortly after party wins Calgary byelection. H1N1 flu shot campaign begins

[FilmCriticAwezume]

Interesting.

That translates into what? Zero seats?

If Morton and crew switch over all bets are off, and I rescind my comment. If Morton and crew take over, then Wild Rose is finished.

[corolaelwis]

I'm asking a question. Is their support concentrated in certain areas of AB?

[insightmike]

Interesting.

With numbers like those, Stelmach is a dead man walking.

[GeraldCortis]

The article goes on about Stelmach.

Again, if they put Morton in, Wild Rose is done. It's all up to Morton right now. If Morton crosses over, than the Wild Rose have a chance.

If you and Wezil are any indication, Wild Rose is drawing the Tory left, not the Tory right.

[12ZHeWZa]

If you and Wezil are any indication, Wild Rose is drawing the Tory left, not the Tory right.

Where did I say I supported the party in any way shape or form?

I was curious about what I was hearing and was given very good info by NYE and Asher. Since they both say the opposite of you I now know where the truth lies.