Fodder To Consider

Tomorrow, the leaders of the various parties that are running in Alberta will engage in a debate on the local Global TV affiliate.

Normally, debates like this can be rather interesting and revealing. They are among the few times that we get to hear the leaders express their visions for the future in terms of both policy and perspective.

While the leaders of the "second parties" (the Liberals, NDP and Alberta Alliance) have much to gain from being heard, the PCs have much to lose - especially if someone can get under Ralph's thin skin.

Notably, Ralph has recently tried to 'take the high road' in the campaign - which seems to mean saying as little as possible and hoping like heck that nobody notices. Notice in this article that Ralph is very careful to avoid talking about anything concrete (are political campaigns becoming like software functionality promises - vaporware? - cool - Ralph's standing on a vaporform...hopefully it's like Wile E. Coyote in the clouds...)

Seriously, I urge all Albertans to read the platforms of the different parties - critically, and carefully.

After spending a couple of hours reading the PC "platform" as expressed on their website, and the last couple of years listening to Ralph bully, badger and heckle his way through issues, I'm more than a little worried about 4 more years of this man running the province. The least we can do as Albertans is send back a serious opposition. (E.g. 20-30 seats or so - at least!)

Perhaps most worrisome about the PC platform is the talk about "what they've done", not what they intend to do. To be frank, I don't care what they've done in the past - other than providing fodder for guessing future behaviour, it's largely irrelevant when they are asking us (the voters) for a new mandate. Ralph needs a mandate - but he's not saying "what for" - think about it. The other parties all have platforms that look forward - I don't drive my car by my staring out the rear window while accelerating forward. "Ralph's Team" seems to be looking backward and saying "let us govern again - we did all this for you..." - I'm asking "what will you do next?" Ralph's silent on the subject...

I'm just about finished reading a book that my father pointed me to - "Alberta Politics Uncovered", by Mark Lisac. While it's clear that Lisac has his own axe to grind (as do the authors of most such books), he does an excellent job of making his assertions from a position of clear information. At $10.95, it's cheap reading, and should be mandatory for anyone who plans to vote in the upcoming Alberta provincial election.