CORY： It's time to stop playing defensively & play offense when it comes to dealing with Ottawa
Episode Stats
Words per minute
195.60422
Harmful content
Misogyny
5
sentences flagged
Summary
Danielle Smith is running for the United Conservative Party leadership of Alberta. In this episode, I talk about her rise in popularity, her leadership campaign, and why it's time to play offense. I also talk about the dangers of playing defence, and how to move forward in the leadership race.
Transcript
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I mean, Danielle Smith's return to politics and rise in popularity
00:00:02.700
caught many people flat-footed, including myself.
00:00:06.400
If somebody had said two years ago that Smith was going to make a successful return
00:00:10.280
into the political sphere, I would have laughed in their faces.
00:00:12.900
While she established herself well as a popular talk radio host,
00:00:15.640
there was no way she could overcome that breach of trust with party members
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At least I would have said that, and clearly I would have been wrong.
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I mean, Smith's floor crossing is her weakest link.
00:00:27.320
It makes people question her judgment and loyalty to party members
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One would expect her leadership opponents to be focused on this when shooting outward,
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they're still mostly too hung up on attacking Smith's sovereignty act.
00:00:41.320
Now, Smith came out of the gates hard in the leadership race with the proposed act
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She took the presumptive lead of the race while other candidates appeared stunned.
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They were left kind of figuring out how to, you know, try and deflate her campaign
00:00:54.180
rather than pumping up their own, and that's where they're making a mistake.
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and it's led to her dominating the discussions.
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Opposing campaigns have found themselves in constant reactionary mode
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in response to Smith's proposals, and it's made them look weak and defensive.
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Smith is proposing taking a similar approach with Ottawa
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if she should become premier, and it clearly appeals to a large number of Albertans.
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She's signaling that she doesn't plan on waiting for the next federal incursion
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into provincial rights, and she'll be drawing a line in the sand
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And the campaigns have been flailing and trying to poke holes in Smith's proposed sovereignty act
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Kenny called it nuts as he jumped into the mix.
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Kenny spent three and a half years in the premier's office,
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Flaccid court challenges, unkept promises for things like a provincial pension plan.
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And all of it's been ineffectual in hindering federal aggression towards the West.
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I mean, Trudeau's surely got a corner of his office wallpapered
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with the angry letters sent from Premier Kenny during his time in office.
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So, Smith's approach to dealing with Ottawa may or may not succeed,
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We already know for sure and with certainty that Kenny's approach isn't going to work.
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Lost court challenges, new firearm bans, increasing carbon taxes,
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investment chill, and now a possible fertilizer ban attacking Western farmers.
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Trudeau, he knows that Kenny's a toothless tiger
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and he has nothing to fear in assaulting the West.
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It's time for not just Alberta, but all the Western provinces
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to start making autonomous changes and saying to Ottawa,
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Constantly waiting for Ottawa to throw the first punch
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and then weekly trying to counter it has failed.
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Now, Smith's offering a way to bring the battle to Ottawa on Alberta's terms.
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Make the feds respond to the province's actions rather than the other way around.
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The approach might fail, but citizens are prepared to go down fighting at this point
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and are embracing the Sovereignty Act on that basis.
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Now, candidates for the UCP leadership would be well served
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to cut back on attacking Smith and look at their own policies.
00:03:01.640
There's a void being filled with Smith's Sovereignty Act
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and it's going to win the leadership race for her
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if the opponents can't propose a better way to deal with Ottawa.
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Every time they attack Smith, they just give her more airtime to promote her plan
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while her opponents just don't have a plan right now.
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It's not enough to just keep saying over and over her plan won't work.
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The candidates need to propose a plan then that will.
00:03:21.980
Sitting on her heels and waiting for the next assault from Ottawa