No room for Reds in Morton's ToriesOlsen continues...
Tom Olsen, Calgary Herald
Published: Tuesday, November 07, 2006
If you're worried about the state of democracy in Alberta, elect Ted Morton. Not because he has a package of refreshing democratic reforms -- all the contenders in the Tory leadership race have that.
Nope, elect Ted because if Morton wins the race to lead Alberta's Progressive Conservatives, there will be a Red Tory exodus from the party.
The constituency which Morton derides as "liberal lite" will look for another political home. They'll find it, maybe, in a new centrist conservative party, or perhaps with Kevin Taft's Alberta Liberals, who will make themselves more palatable by tightening up on the fiscal restraint.
Liberal boss Taft, by contrast, says a win for Morton is a victory for Alberta's Grits.
"There would be a larger opposition in the legislature, absolutely," said Taft. "And it would be led by Ted Morton."
Ha! That's a great line by Taft at the end there.
ReplyDeleteInnnteresting. There's actually a part of me that's kind of sad that it won't happen this way, warped as that may be.
ReplyDeleteThat is a stupid line by Taft in the end. Is he, as Klein would say, stupid at politics? If he REALLY wants Morton as an opponent, why would he start trashing him now? Why not wait until he wins? Another reason why Taft won't win in AB. He's not like the LPC which will simply do whatever it takes to win.
ReplyDeleteDon't give up yet Idealist, Morton still does have a shot at winning this thing. You'd be surprised at how much federal machinery he has in play in AB. (...although the odds are obviously still on Dinning, Morton will be second).
Morton might scare off some Red Tories, but that would be more than offset by re-energizing the conservative base. If you look at all the conservative voters that stayed home in the last provincial election (or voted for the Alberta Alliance for that matter) you'll see that there is plenty of room for electoral growth.
ReplyDeleteThe above poster is right. Federal Conservatives are flocking to Morton en masse.
Just to add to that, people said that Stephen Harper was "too extreme" and that the Conservative Party of Canada was "too far to the right" after "Red Tories" like Scott Brison and Belinda Stronach abandoned ship. We all know what happened there.
ReplyDeleteTed Morton is the "Stephen Harper" of this leadership race.
You assume that Taft will be around in the next election.
ReplyDeleteAs much as I can tell, the whole "Taft is leaving before the next election" rumour movement is only coming from a small number of folks who are members or supporters of political parties that are not his (Tories or Dippers). So, I think this speaks for itself.
ReplyDeleteIf these folks thought that Taft wasn't a good leader, they wouldn't try to spread these rumours about him leaving, they'd want him to stay.
It seems to me that they're concerned about Liberal gains in the next election...
I don't think anyone much cares if Dr. Taft stays or goes. Last poll I showed saw his Libs at a whopping 12% support.
ReplyDeleteThe Alberta Libs under Dr. Taft are headed in the same direction the Dippers were under Ray Martin... i.e. total elimination from the Legislature. Their MLA's are weak on the issues, absent in their local ridings, and generally ineffective beyond belief.
All that aside... comparing Ted Morton to Steven Harper is interesting. Are you suggesting a Morton led PC party would be reduced to the same minority status that Mr. Harper now has? That would be just lovely. We'd finally see some actually interesting politics in the AB legislature.
I see Werner Patels is posting anonymously now...
ReplyDeleteWerner Patels is supporting teh PC;s and Dinning. Paul Stanway is a Tory.
ReplyDeleteDave's point remains strong.
Let me get this comment straight. "I see Werner Patels is posting anonymously now"...and that is a comment according to ANONYMOUS!!!!...too rich in stupidity to be ironic - or IS THIS just the classic self-RIGHT-ous "Right" framing and name calling to divert us from truly appreciating their true "depth and breadth?"
ReplyDeleteGreat addition to the dialogue anonymous...your clear insight and enlightened commentary is absolutely breathtaking. Thanks for being you!
Patels is a Liberal. Just look at his site. Liberal logos all over it. He's a member of Liblogs, and is supporting Kennedy. And if Taft can't win over federal Kennedy supporters, he's in big trouble.
ReplyDeleteNicole Martel is another federal Liberal who has taken out a PC membership - is she not a Liberal? Taft is talking to her.
And as for Stanway, sure he's of a conservative bent, but are you accusing him of making stuff up? Is he lying about talking to Liberal and Tory MLAs about the rumours about Taft?
The fact is the rumours are out there and it's mostly Liberals who are spreading them. There are rumours about Taft being given an ultimatium - get the party up near first in the polls or get out. Rumours that he's been given a year to turn things around or be replaced by Anne M. or Dave B.
Graham Hicks has reported on these rumours too - is he also part of the vast conspiracy?
You can dismiss them all you want - it's your party. Claim you won't listen to the rumours if they are reported from Tories or Dippers, fine. But that leaves 12% of the population - not a huge sample to collect your intellegence from.
So is this Alberta Report tory or dipper? Any consensus?
ReplyDeletehttp://thealbertareport.blogspot.com
- Cody.
To the Liberals who feel Ted Morton gives you the best chance at winning:
ReplyDeleteBy all means buy a membership and vote for him!
i'd get involved again if bronconnier or mclellan were leader. taft is nowhere, and his cronies are his achillies heel.
ReplyDeleteYep, that damn Kevin Taft. How dare he lead the Liberals in 2004 to triple their caucus from 5MLA's to 16MLAs (including 3 seats in Calgary).
ReplyDeleteAnd how dare he as MLA for Edmonton Riverview get the most votes, largest margin of victory, and highest voter turnout in any riding in the 2004 election.
How dare he lead some of the most effective MLA's (Miller, Taylor, Blakeman, Elsalhy, Swann) in the Legislature in opposition against the Tories.
And how dare he lead the Liberals to fundraise over $400,000 in the past two years alone to put towards the party debt.
Man, he's just not doing anything...
I'd like to see Brian Mason get replaced. When is David Eggen going to step up to the plate?!?!
ReplyDeleteI can't wait until they replace that Jim Dinning... oh damn...
ReplyDeleteA Jim Dinning victory equals an even greater split between the federal and provincial tories. A Ted Morton victory will lead to a stronger unity between Conservatives in Alberta. Ted has the strong support of Stephen Harper and the Federal COnservative MP's in Alberta. It's about uniting the Conservatives under one large freedom banner. Let Jim Dinning's red tories and homosexuals go to the Liberals. Kevin Taft can have the red tories. Alberta needs unity under a strong leader like Morton. That's why I'm Support'n Morton!
ReplyDeleteDear Craig, with logic like that I thank god you are one of very few.
ReplyDeleteTaft is playing with fire - Morton would win at least the first election he called and that gives us a solid 4 years of Ted Majority government.
ReplyDeleteWhat's best for the LPC? What's best for Alberta? Not always the same thing!