With all this touring, one can hardly find time to govern.....
Alberta Premier Alison Redford’s cabinet began a province-wide tour Monday, hoping to “talk with Albertans about their priorities for the future.” It’s an all-too-familiar refrain as of late. They may indeed find Albertans’ priorities include, for starters, a preference for fewer tours.
Tours can add up. For instance, in 2010, when Ms. Redford was justice minister, her office spent $61,103.27 on “meals, accommodation and travel,” but detailed breakdowns aren’t made public.How well is that money being spent? How many days did they sit? Consider this:
Between April and November 2011, Alberta’s 21 ministries claimed a total of $487,354.83 in ministers’ “meals, accommodation and travel.” It’s an average of approximately $23,207 over the first eight months of the fiscal year. And that’s above what each MLA can claim for travel.
Depending on the math, the opposition parties pointed out the shortened session means the legislature would be open for business a total of just 44 or 45 days this year.
“The PCs are playing hooky,” Rachel Notley, one of two New Democratic MLAs, said in a statement. “Having a full fall sitting is important to getting work done for Albertans.”
How would you like to work for only 45 days a year and get full pay? Right, they are in their ridings....doing what? Have you ever met your MLA? I have, and he's a mouse, now known as our Health Minister. She likes weak "yes" men around her, it makes her look better.
We have two females running to be Premier. As a female, I should be torn about who to vote for, but I am not. I really find nothing to like about Red Ali. She is a typical lefty feminist, and honestly, she makes my nose turn up because I smell something not quite right about her, call it my sixth sense.
Tonight, I got invited to participate in a conference call from Danielle Smith, it was about education. I listened to all the people asking questions, and I liked all of her answers. She is one smart lady. The conference call cost way less than Alison's Magical Mystery Tour, and it was funded by the Wildrose Party, not the taxpayers.
Most importantly, Danielle leads a party that is actually Conservative, not like our PC/red tory/liberal party. She is young, dynamic and personable. Heck, even Rick Mercer went out on a date with her!
Only thing I think is missing from this video is that she should have taken him to the shooting gallery where he could have shot a real gun. He would have liked that, as he is a great supporter of our military, and horrifying as it might be to lefties, our military actually have weapons and know how to use them!
Ask yourself, who is the phony, Alison or Danielle? I suspect that Albertans are smart enough to smell a rat, and Alberta is rat free! Go Danielle and Wildrose!
3 comments:
Not to mention that Danielle is far more photogenic than the crotchety old librarian, Redford!
Danielle appears to be a more independent person who wears her convictions on her sleeve. Redford is bought and paid for by the Alberta Teachers Union.
It was great to hear that Professor Flanagan will be running the Wildrose campaign. He's got a proven track record of political success (eg running Stephen Harper's CA and CPC leadership campaigns, and the 2004 federal campaign). I've got every confidence that he can adapt his federal experience/theories to the provincial level.
As a political junkie, I've always been somewhat flummoxed about how a true conservative party can run a winning campaign at the provincial level. It just seems like provincial public sector unions have too much clout; the health and education files overwhelm every other provincial responsibility--add in debt payments and there is very little money left over to play with.
Anyway, Alberta's campaign should be very instructive. Flanagan is also a crafty guy, so I would look for some surprises along the way. His presence will also increase donations, as he is an icon within conservative circles. His hiring sends a message that Danielle has been working hard AND smart all this time, in preparing to take on the PCs machine.
Redford should be very afraid. Her mis-steps tell me that this media darling is in fact a lot closer to the inept Kim Campbell than any pundits are ready to admit. But we need an actual campaign to see who is the better politician.
This just in ... Redford is on Rutherford's show, who asked her if she would freeze public sector salaries (as advocated recently by Danielle Smith on Dave's show). So after the expected progressive gobbledygook from Redford, Dave asked: "So that would be a no ?".
And Redford replied: "That would be a no".
So there you have it.
The battle line between PCs and Wildrose appears to be drawn re the freezing of PS wages (one never knows with this slippery woman). I see this as as a mis-step by Redford--she should have remained in fuzzification mode, as I'm pretty sure her campaign platform is far from finalized.
But now we've got her on tape, and any future hedging on her "commitment" will furhter erode her trust and competence ratings.
Dave's interview should be in today's Audio Vault, starting around 9:35 AM.
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