Dateline: Red Deer
What do you call a group of people who have decided to spend the Grey Cup weekend debating and discussing the future of Alberta? Passionate and weird.
Reboot Alberta has been an interesting experience thus far. It is hard to describe what this weekend has looked like, so I will try to articulate my thoughts deeper in a future post. Around 100 progressive thinking men and women are here from across Alberta - north, south, central, urban, and rural. I have had some incredibly meaningful discussions about what the future of Alberta should look like. The challenge is how to put these discussions into action.
There is a lot of talk about the future of Alberta politics. Many of the people here want to change the existing parties, some want to work outside the party system, and some want to talk about a new party. There has been a lot of talk around Renew Alberta and there is a lot of deep debate about whether a new political party is a solution. It is my opinion that Alberta is ripe for a new political movement. Starting a new political movement in Alberta is a risk. It can absolutely fail, but big things rarely begin without that risk.
Follow Reboot Alberta via Twitter at #rebootab. More updates coming...
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As I wrote previously, the Liberals and New Democrats aren't going anywhere. They've never learned from their mistakes, failed to make inroads in rural Alberta, and continue to miss out on opportunities to really grill the PC's.
ReplyDeleteIt's time to look at what's worked in the past. Look at Peter Lougheed's victory in 1971 where he successfully built a strong coalition of Albertans from across the political spectrum to change government. Look at the lessons of Brian Schweitzer down in Montana. A governor on the centre-left who was able to appeal firmly Republican voters.
It's time for a new party, build a membership, constituency organizations, and provide a strong leader who can tap into populist sentiments. Albertans want an alternative, and unless the centrist/centre-left provide one they'll go with a party on the right like the Wildrose Alliance.
For anyone interested, I'd recommend Rich Vivone's essay on the Liberal Party and voter apathy in Alberta for decent insights into why the PC's have been able to stay in power for such a long period.
Thanks for the updates! I have been talking to a lot of people in Medicine Hat and there is a discontent that I haven't felt in years. They want a new government that will be honest, humble, and forward-thinking. Only a change of parties can make that happen.
ReplyDeleteAny public servants there Dave?
ReplyDelete@Brandon J You say here that the traditional Liberals and New Democrats haven't been able to do it. Which I agree with. But how will we develop a left of centre movement without the insights and input of people from these traditional parties.
ReplyDelete60% of Albertans did not vote last time around. Do you think the creation of a new party will all of a sudden get these people involved? Won't we need the involvement of the people who actually do get involved i.e. those who now work or follow one of the traditional parties.
I think to truly make a move we will need to reach out to these traditional leftist people or all that will happen is that we will be pulling from a slim base (those that are disillusioned with the current gov but not NDs or Libs) and we will continue to split the left of centre vote.
There has to be a concerted effort to reach out to those involved in the traditional parties. And this is something I have not seen yet from those that are involved in the Reboot Alberta movement, and this is why I can't totally sign on to it yet.
//But how will we develop a left of centre movement without the insights and input of people from these traditional parties.//
ReplyDeleteAny new party would require people with experience in successful political movements. That would include the Reform Party, Green Party, Liberals, NDP, etc. The problem is that we have nothing to learn when it comes to campaign tactics, building a membership, and organizing a constituency structure, from the Liberals or NDP. If anything we have more to learn from former Greens because they were able to compete in rural ridings despite being a relatively new political force.
Back when I was on the right [Canadian Alliance] we maintained continuous contact with our members and held monthly constituency meetings. Once every year we would have a mail out discussing our policies and values [privately funded, not taxpayer funded]. I haven't seen anything similar from the traditional left wing parties in Alberta. They certainly don't give the same credence to grassroots organizing that the right does. When I volunteered for the PC's in 2001, we ensured that we hit around 80% of the doors in the area and maintained contact with as many people as possible. The Liberals on the other hand put up aesthetically challenged signs stating "Repeal Bill 11."
//60% of Albertans did not vote last time around. Do you think the creation of a new party will all of a sudden get these people involved?//
That's entirely dependent on who the candidates are, what policies are put in place, and whether or not we can tap into populist sentiment. If we created a party that could appeal to the interests of farmers, labour, and small business owners, there could be strong competition in former Tory strongholds. If the centre-left [I'm using a broad term for a reason] wants to win they should start looking at what works in a political climate similar to Alberta's. Look at what's the Democrats have done in the Mountain West, especially with regards to Brian Schweitzer and Jon Tester. Start mixing traditional liberalism with libertarianism. Attempt to formulate policies that meet liberal ends [alleviating poverty, helping the environment, reducing corporate influence on government] while embracing individualism [pro-free market, pro-civil liberties, etc] as well.
//I think to truly make a move we will need to reach out to these traditional leftist people or all that will happen is that we will be pulling from a slim base (those that are disillusioned with the current gov but not NDs or Libs) and we will continue to split the left of centre vote.//
ReplyDeleteDespite the stereotype Alberta isn't as right wing as many [especially those who have never lived in Alberta] think. During the Lougheed era we saw an activist government that invested in education, healthcare, parks, social services, etc. The big reason the Conservatives dominate [at the federal level] is due to a strong distrust of Ottawa. Like it or not the Conservatives are the party of decentralization while the Liberals are seen as strong proponents of centralizing political power in Ottawa.
PS: I recall one poll showing that if the Bloc Quebecois was an alternative in Alberta it would receive a decent level of support. Largely due to both it's centre-left stance and strong support for decentralization.
With any political movement that wants a change to govern you'll need to quickly adopt pragmatism and build a big tent. That's the number one reason the Tories are so successful, they have red tories run in Edmonton, social conservatives run in Taber, and libertarians run in Wainwright. The problem with the traditional left parties is that instead of building a big tent they choose policies first and then force any potential candidates to accept those policies. That leaves a narrow base and a narrow sliver of people you can reach out to. If we've learned anything from history it's that the best way to win seats is by building a strong coalition of people who might not agree with each other on every issue but share basic principles. That was the reason for the success of the Democrats in 2006 and 2008. You might have candidates who disagree on abortion, gun control, etc. But they agree on basic principles and can work together on legislation.
When it comes to splitting the vote, I don't see it happening. If you look at the most recent by-election [Calgary Glenmore] the NDP barely registered at 1.34%. The Liberals failed to provide an alternative, and if they stay on the same path we'll continue to see the opposition relegated to maybe a dozen seats. If we had a united left in 2007 for example it would have only resulted in 19 seats in the opposition. There wouldn't be any seats in rural areas and most urban seats would be in the hands of the Tories. When you're not even competitive in rural Alberta vote splitting is the least of your concerns.
ReplyDeleteThis is hypothetical, but the hope would be that a new centre-left party could attract MLA's from all three parties. With a strong leader it could be a potent force and worries about vote splitting would be alleviated if both the NDP and Liberals fail to provide any real competition. Once a political party is able to provide vision, ideas, and show themselves ready to govern, Albertans will vote for them. The only question now is whether the centre-left will be able to provide an alternative of whether Danielle Smith can moderate her party to create a big tent that can appeal to the electorate. We'll have to wait and see, but at the moment I'd say Smith is doing a much better job.
//There has to be a concerted effort to reach out to those involved in the traditional parties. And this is something I have not seen yet from those that are involved in the Reboot Alberta movement, and this is why I can't totally sign on to it yet.//
It will depend on what comes after the meeting. As I wrote before I'm very pessimistic about anything substantial coming about. Until I see real concrete plans and an organization to do it I won't join up. A big worry is that the new movement might become just an activist party with no real interest in governing. If that's the case myself and many others better off getting involved with the WRAP or PC's.
This should be required viewing for anyone wanting to create an actual change in Alberta:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUr48lg9Ocs&feature=fvst
it strikes me that integrity is what seems to be lacking. The PCs have done so much to prove they don't have integrity. Can a party sell that to Albertans?
ReplyDeleteBrandon’s statements above reveal a real naivety about politics in Alberta and the workings of political parties and organizations in general. It must make it really easy to have such grandiose ideas. Keep dreaming, buddy…
ReplyDelete//Brandon’s statements above reveal a real naivety about politics in Alberta and the workings of political parties and organizations in general.//
ReplyDeleteCan't point out what was naive about it. Maybe you're just angry that I pointed out the problems with the two parties and how it could be fixed. If you must know my opinion is similar to that of Rich Vivone [former editor of Insight into Government] who has stated the Alberta Liberals and NDP will never win unless they join or change strategy, and that if a change does come about in Alberta it will be from a new party that can get support in all regions of the province.
As well, if you had actually read what I wrote [you obviously didn't due to a low attention span] you would have noticed that I did have previous experience in political election campaigns in Alberta.
//It must make it really easy to have such grandiose ideas. Keep dreaming, buddy…//
It must also be easy to troll blogs and bitch and whine constantly. You never read anything I wrote, more than likely due to your low attention span, f*ck off.