All talk, no action plan of establishment candidates for the UCP leadership
Episode Stats
Words per Minute
207.08284
Summary
Staying the course just won t cut it. Six out of seven of the candidates vying for the leadership of the United Conservative Party are sitting MLAs, and it shows. Aside from Danielle Smith, the rest just seem to keep uttering the same old talking points when it comes to dealing with Ottawa.
Transcript
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Six out of seven of the candidates, you know, now that are registered vying for the leadership of the UCP,
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I mean, aside from Danielle Smith, the rest just seem to keep uttering the same old talking points
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The federal government's been attacking Alberta for years,
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and the provincial government hasn't reacted with much more than threats and musings.
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Court challenges are nice, but they invariably fail once they reach the federally appointed level of the courts.
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Referendums express our feelings, but they need to follow through with something with teeth.
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The silence from Kenny after the last fall's equalization referendum was deafening.
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The Fair Deal panel traveled Alberta ostensibly to get feedback from citizens
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and proposed ways to head off federal incursions into provincial jurisdiction.
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The panel issued a number of solid conclusions.
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The government spent, though, years talking about the conclusions
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and not really beginning the process of implementing any of them.
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Okay, how about the demands to reform unemployment insurance?
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Aside from appointing a chief firearms officer, and hey, good on him, that was a good call,
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the government really hasn't done anything more with the Fair Deal panel recommendations
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Trudeau is making plans for emission controls targeting Western energy producers that are
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going to castrate the industry if they're imposed.
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Fertilizer is also the next target the ideological liberals have in their sights.
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Their proposed attack on that will crush agricultural producers and consumers alike.
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It's hardly coincidence that Western industries are the focus of federal government attacks.
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It allows them to virtue signal to the world about what they're doing, and they know the
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provincial government will do nothing more than stomp their feet in a rage and talk and
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Daniel Smith came out of the race, out of the gates, into the race hard and fast.
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Her proposed Sovereignty Act takes the battle to Ottawa.
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She wants to play an offensive game with the federal government rather than the defensive
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Her tactic appears to be working as she's already sprung from being what was once considered
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not too long ago a spent force in politics to the presumed frontrunner in a race to become
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Smith's identified where the UCP lost the faith of their membership, and she's making
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The establishment candidates first appeared to be in shock.
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At first, they let Smith lead every headline and own the discourse while they continued to
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I've interviewed nearly every candidate for the leadership now, and aside from Smith, they
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sound nearly indistinguishable from each other.
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Now, the establishment candidates are finally starting to realize they may have let the
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Instead of looking at their own shortcomings in platforms, they're shooting outward at
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They're trying to tear down the frontrunner rather than raise up their own support.
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And this tactic is bad for the party, it's bad for the province, and it's not good for
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The establishment's saying the Sovereignty Act is not realistic and couldn't work.
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We know from experience that just talking about the issues doesn't solve them.
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That's why Kenny is heading for retirement rather than preparing for the next election.
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The candidates need to come up with some concrete policies and actions to counter Ottawa, and
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they need to be convincing in their will to do it.
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The UCP members already heard it all before from Kenny, and it's made them cynical when
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they hear establishment candidates making the same promises.
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Sorry, guys, you had three years to work on this.
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The campaigns trailing Smith and the UCP leadership need to look within.
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Start creating some unique ideas and approaches.
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Tired old talking points are just going to fall on deaf ears now.
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A person tweeted me this morning, I would rather take the wrong action than none.
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That may not be the most advisable path, but it illustrates how a lot of members are feeling
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They don't want to see the provincial government sitting on their hands with Ottawa anymore.
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They will support whoever presents them with a concrete plan, whether it's viable or not.
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Doing nothing isn't an acceptable course anymore.
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Will the contenders for the UCP throw and figure this out before Smith runs away with it?
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But right now, they've got to figure out what they're doing.
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Okay, that's what's got me wound up this morning as I watch the politics unfolding.
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Like I said, it's not an endorsement for Smith.
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It's a kick in the butt for the ones running against her.
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Just shooting at her isn't enough or she's going to win this hands down.