Alberta's having its elections - guess why Ralph will win

[TrogL]

The majority of voters like Ralph because he's the kinda guy you can sti down and have a drink with (many voters have) and he's got "horse sense".

Sound familiar?

[HEyHEY]

1. Fuck I don't miss Alberta

[Feathered Fish]

3. amen! n/t

[ironflange]

11. Thanks a lot guys

Some of us are stuck fighting this rear-guard action.

[CHIMO]

14. Hope You Like

Privatization of medicine and being forced to sell water to the US of A. Don't forget that NFTA applies to all.


Calgary – A Green candidate is worried a Conservative government will start selling water, after a Tory MLA said a price tag is one way to help conserve the commodity.

"To help people to realize that water is not just an unlimited resource," Abbott, who hasn't returned phone calls on the issue, said when he addressed a meeting of the Surface Rights Federation.

On Friday, PC Leader Ralph Klein said his government will push through a province-wide conservation plan after the election.

Abbott's Green opponent in the riding says if the province starts selling water, it will have to sell it to the U.S. as well, under the North American Free Trade Agreement.

http://calgary.cbc.ca/regionalnews/caches/ca_water_abbott20041112.html

[nine23]

2. Ralph's blackouts nonewithstanding,

...he'll win for exactly the same reason that other, um, man in the US won - a stupid electoriate.

Personally, who gives a fuck. Alberta will continue to be the "little Texas" we've all come to know and laugh at. As long as I don't have to live there, keep those laughs coming...

[Wat_Tyler]

4. Your attitude is completely unhelpful.

In fact, you sound just like one of our local rednecks.

[Joel]

5. As a Nova Scotian

I ask you:

If they are so stupid why are they rich and my province broke ass poor?

[Spazito]

6. One reason OIL

Alberta is boom or bust depending on the price of oil and it doesn't matter who the leader is when that happens. Nova Scotia's resources coal and cod were the mainstays, they are longer either desirable as in coal or diminished in supply as in cod.

[Joel]

16. It's not just oil

Alberta is boom or bust depending on the price of oil and it doesn't matter who the leader is when that happens

We have something like 2 or 3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and plenty of oil. We lose 70 cents on the dollar for it because we don't have strong leadership.

[LiberteToujours]

8. Have you ever even been to Alberta?

If not, don't be so ignorant. If you have, well, then that's even worse because you're being willfully ignorant. Why do you need a province to laugh at, anyway? What did we ever do to you, besides give you money through transfer payments?

[LiberteToujours]

7. You know...

I know I'm going to get flamed for saying this on this message board, but as an Albertan, Ralph Klein has done some very good things for the province. He has upset a lot of people with his antics (going drunk to a homeless shelter and yelling at people to get a job), and with his policies (cutting funding to education). But the fact is that he has also produced results. His fiscal responsibility has brought Alberta from a deficit to a surplus, making it the only province in Canada with a surplus.

If you disagree with his policies that's fine, and there are many things to criticize him for, but it's insulting to just laugh him off and say the only reason he gets voted in is because Albertans are stupid. It's exactly that attitude that causes the Democrats to lose more and more votes to the south every year. Would YOU listen to someone who told you you were stupid?

[Feathered Fish]

9. Albertans are not stupid

Contrary to some sarcastic post that I have posted before, I don't believe that all Albertans are dumb. My whole family lives there as well as many, many good friends. The problem in wild rose country is that the people are quite content to continue to vote someone in who really doesn't concern himself with any social policy. His whole thing is the surplus. And it didn't come from his 'fiscal responsibility'. It simply comes from the amount of money generated by the oil and gas industry. I also don't buy the argument that he was fiscally responsible. That would imply a balance of spending and saving, when there seems to only be saving and spending on certain things that would benefit the rich of the province. After every election he makes cuts to the essentials, health, education etc. and every time he needs to be elected he tours around and makes little tweaks in his policy so it sounds good to the majority.

The people of Alberta are (mostly) salt of the earth types who are hard working especially in rural areas. They are very used to the status quo and won't budge on the matter. The conservatives have run the province since about 1925, with a few social credit (shudder) premiers to boot. It doesn't seem that this will change for years.

[Wat_Tyler]

10. We're stuck with the Tories 'til the oil runs out.

Then we'll just be another Canadian Province.

[Spazito]

12. Ralph Klein didn't bring the province to a surplus, the price of oil did..

bush's dog could have been premier and the result re surplus would have been the same. Alberta is a boom and bust province dependent on the price of oil to determine whether the current climate is boom or bust.

[ironflange]

13. I saw my local Tory candidate yesterday

We were driving home, and lo and behold, there's the guy in his big black pickup truck. What's funny is that he had a large campaign sign stuck to the back of his cab, totally blocking off his view to the rear; there must be something ironic about that, but it won't come to me.

BTW, I live in Calgary Lougheed, and the new candidate is named Dave Rodney, whose main claim to fame seems to be that he has been to the top of Everest twice. That's how I knew it was him, the plate said EVRST2X. Big deal, these days, if you have the cash, they'll practically carry you to the top. I've told my daughter (13) that if he shows up at our door shilling for our vote (fat chance!) she's to say, "Twice up Everest? How come you haven't done K2, you candy ass?" Thing is, she would do it!

[Spazito]

15. My daughter lives in Alberta and was going to vote for Ralph...

because he 'wasn't so bad', geez. I worked on her to look at the other candidates, see where they stood, etc. Well, she watched the debate, was disgusted by Ralphie's 'performance' and is going to vote Liberal! Yessssss, one by one, whatever it takes!

(She does know that Ralphie is going to win and is casting her vote on the issues and to reduce his winning numbers)