daveberta.ca - Alberta Politics and Elections

The book that Tory Premier Ralph Klein threw at a Legislative Page has been placed up for bid on eBay!

As I first mentioned here, the Alberta Liberal Health Care Policy book has been signed by Kevin Taft, the Alberta Liberal Caucus, and hundreds of Albertans (including yours truly) before being put up for bid. Here is part of the description on eBay:

You are bidding on a book which played a major role in a political embarrassment for Ralph Klein, Premier of Alberta. You may remember that in March of this year, a Legislative Page was assaulted by the premier, when he angrily threw a book which struck her, during a session of the Legislature.

The book, “Creating a Healthy Future – Our Plan for Public Health Care” by the Alberta Liberal Opposition, was carried to the Premier, in response to charges by the premier that he had not seen any good policy regarding health care which was better than his own badly explained “Third Way”. The book struck the page as she was walking away from Mr. Klein’s desk. That actual book, suitably autographed, is now offered for sale here – with the proceeds going to support the work of the Edmonton Youth Emergency Shelter Society.

As of this morning, the bid is up to $182.00 – place your bids!

(Cross-posted at Ponies & Pachyderms)

On November 7, 2006, 33 seats in the United States Senate will be up for grabs as those Senators last elected in 2000 are up for re-election.

At this point, the United States Senate is composed of 55 Republicans, 44 Democrats, and 1 Independent. Out of the 33 contested seats, 17 are Republican, 14 are Democrat, and 1 is an Independent (former Republican Seantor Jim Jeffords of Vermont).

To continue to hold the majority, the Republicans need to win 50 seats. For the Democrats to attain a majority, they need to win 7 (7 Republican, or 6 Republican and the 1 Independent).

According to the United States Senate 2006 Elections entry on wikipedia:

The market-based outcomes of an independent public trading exchange suggests as of June 7, 2006, that the most vulnerable Republican seats are Pennsylvania, Montana, and Ohio, respectively and are likely to switch control. In addition, the same market suggests that in Rhode Island and Missouri, the chance that the Republicans will keep the seat is less than two out of three. For the Democrats, two seats (Minnesota and New Jersey) fall below the two-out-of-three threshold of safety, but are still deemed likely by the public market to be retained by the Democrats.

The entry also notes that a number of Senators will be retiring – including Minnesota Senator Mark Dayton (D), Tennessee Senator Bill Frist (R), Vermont Senator Jim Jeffords (I), and Maryland Senator Paul Sarbanes (D).

Noteable incumbents planning on running for re-election include Senators Maria Cantwell (D-Washington), Joe Lieberman (D-Connecticut), Robert Menendez (D-New Jersey), Bill Nelson (D-Florida), Debbie Stabenow (D-Michigan), George Allen (R-Virginia), Conrad Burns (R-Montana), Lincoln Chafee (R-Rhode Island), Mike DeWine (R-Ohio), John Ensign (R-Nevada), Jon Kyl (R-Arizona), Rick Santorum (R-Pennsylvania), and Jim Talent (R-Missouri).

What will happen? We’ll just have to wait and see (meanwhile, make sure to keep an eye on sites like Politics1 and the Daily Kos for current US political goings on…)

–daveberta

Some interesting developments from the Republic of Yemen…

Yemeni Pres. To Run For Re-Election
Reverses Earlier Decision Because Of Popular Pressure

SAN’A, Yemen, June 24, 2006
Ali Abdullah Saleh. (AP)

(AP) Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh declared Saturday that he intended to run for another term in September’s presidential polls, saying that he had caved in to popular pressure to reverse his decision of last year.

Saleh, who has ruled since 1978, said last July that he would not seek another seven-year mandate because he wanted to open the way for the peaceful rotation of power.

Saturday’s announcement was the second time Saleh changed his mind about an earlier promise not to run, having done so in 1999 — the first time he faced a direct vote.

“I comply with the people’s pressure and upon the people’s desire, I will in run the coming polls,” Saleh told tens of thousands of cheering supporters in San’a.

Read the rest here.

The other night, I made the unfortunate mistake of renting the film Firewall staring Harrison Ford, Mary Lynn Rajskub, and Paul Bettany. I seriously can’t describe how much I disliked this film.

I’m a fairly big Harrison Ford fan, and count the Indiana Jones trilogy as my favorite film trilogy, but not only did Firewall’s storyline present a weak plot and uninteresing characters, but the final scene presented the sour icing on the cake – I really wish someone could explain to me what the deal was with the abandoned log cabin on the lake?!?

And what was the best line in the film? Twas was a nobrainer:

Janet Stone (Rajskub): What are you doing?
Jack Stanfield (Ford): Going to get my dog!

On my film list for the near future:
– Good Night and Good Luck
– The American President

Back in Edmonton. Post coming soon.

It’s really nice outside.

I saw An Inconvenient Truth last night and as a result Al Gore has gone up 3.9 points in my book.

I’m in Calgary today and tomorrow for meetings, so I’ll comment on how awesome Al Gore’s movie is this weekend (maybe? hopefully?).

Independent MLA and Alberta PC leadership candidate Lyle Oberg is launching his campaign to lead the caucus that voted to sack him!

Along with these spify invitations, Oberg has also relaunched his Obergerffic website – ObergforAlberta.ca (as opposed to the burgeoning “AlbertaforOberg.ca” campaign)

I also discovered Dr. Oberg’s Obergasmic website, “Oberg for Alberta Business Leaders Golf Tournement.”

If this is any indication, I’m looking forward to the “Oberg for Farm Families,” “Oberg for Working People,” “Oberg for starving and debt-ridden University Students,” and the ever so popular “Oberg for Albertans on AISH” campaigns…

Oilers fever swept Edmonton over the past month – and our team played great in the Stanley Cup play-offs – the final series in particular. Though they weren’t able to make the Stanley Cup an Edmonton reality tonight – the Edmonton Oilers brought themselves back from a 3-1 series to Game 7! Good work, guys! You did awesome!

And of course, congrats to the Carolina Hurricanes in offering to take care of Lord Stanley’s Cup for the next year – we’ll be asking for it back in 12 months.

On a side note, the bar I watched Game 7 at was picking up a satellite feed from Atlantic Canada and showed at least two Pizza Delight commercials every commercial break… Pizza Delight must have spent their entire advertizing budget on the Stanley Cup final series…

And finally, we shall see if Whyte Ave survives the night – the kill-joycopter is flying low tonight…

I got this email from an old friend yesterday. I haven’t seen the movie yet, but I’m planning to…

Hi everyone,

I know lately some of you have been receiving e-mails from me about climate change and this movie that just came out called “an inconvenient truth” starring Al Gore Jr..

I just saw the movie and felt extremely moved to change from being a pseudo-environmentalist to taking the everyday choices that I make involving climate change seriously. I urge all of you to please see this movie because it is highly informative and has no poltical bias. It clears up the many misperceptions provided by small groups of people feeding misinformation to the public and shows us that even as individuals, we can make a change.

This movie is currently playing at the Garneau which opened on June 16th. The following is a weblink to a page about the movie and some interesting information, www.climatecrisis.net.

Thanks for the read and please take it seriously.

4-0!!!

Let’s bring it home, guys!

I thought this was interesting…

The West wants change

The Ottawa Citizen
Tue 13 Jun 2006
Page Name: Editorial
Column: Andrew Cohen

CALGARY – In the high summer of 1971, there was a historic election in the province of Alberta. The Social Credit party had been in power since 1935 and was seen as the Natural Governing Party. But something was going on here.

The formidable Ernest Manning had resigned as premier in 1968, giving way to Harry Strom. It was an orderly, bloodless succession that seemed to assure the government’s re-election. Mr. Manning had been premier from 1944 to 1968, offering what historian John J. Barr calls “a cautious financial conservatism and a cautious social reformism” that led him to oppose the universal healthcare program introduced by Lester Pearson in the mid-1960s.

The Conservatives, led by a rugged lawyer named Peter Lougheed, didn’t seem much of a threat. Although he had been elected to his seat in the legislature in 1967 with the largest majority of any candidate, he was joined by only five other Conservatives.

Yet the earth opened in Alberta in the election of 1971. Mr. Lougheed promised a regime of change that a tired government of 36 years could not match. He was articulate, intelligent and energetic. The Conservatives said the Socreds had had their day. Albertans gave Mr. Lougheed 49 of 75 seats.

That was 35 years ago. The Conservatives have been in power in Alberta now almost as long as the Socreds had been then. But this time it is the Conservatives who are tired, divided over their leadership and direction and pressed by a spirited opposition led by a popular leader.

Are we on the cusp of a generational watershed here? Could history repeat itself in Alberta?

Maybe. It depends on the depth of the public’s desire for change, the appeal of a new Conservative leader, and how the Liberals position themselves in the new political firmament.

Mr. Lougheed was the nemesis of eastern Canada and Pierre Elliott Trudeau, whom he battled over the constitution and energy. But when he left in 1985, Mr. Lougheed was widely respected as an honourable advocate of his province’s interests. In leadership, it has been downhill ever since for Alberta.

Mr. Lougheed was succeeded by the feckless Don Getty, who showed he did not have stature of his predecessor in the constitutional negotiations at Meech Lake in 1987. Mr. Getty was followed by Ralph Klein, who represents the descent of politics. He is vain, vulgar, mercurial and petulant. His response to the province’s budgetary surplus was to issue every Albertan a cheque for $400. It is said that Mr. Lougheed thinks Mr. Klein is an embarrassment, and won’t be sorry to see him go this autumn.

The favourite to succeed Mr. Klein is Jim Dinning, the former provincial treasurer who has been out of politics for years. Mr. Dinning would bring experience and credibility to the job, but it won’t be enough to save the Conservatives if Albertans are shopping for something else, as they were in 1971.

At one time this province worried about having too little money: Now it worries about having too much. Managing oil revenues, balancing competing claims on the public purse, re-positioning Alberta in Confederation, dousing the persistent brushfires of alienation — these will be the challenges facing the new premier of one the wealthiest jurisdictions in the world.

Everyone knows Alberta is surging. Developers are throwing up office towers and building subdivisions, creating suburbs in search of a city. The price of the average house in Calgary is said to be rising by $500 a day. Calgary hums with a vitality unimaginable to cities of similar size and means.

Yet for a province awash in wealth, why are hospitals still crowded, why are neighbourhoods without schools, why are social services uneven, why is the environment an afterthought? Why was homelessness up 49 per cent in Calgary between 2002 and 2004?

A column in Avenue, an impressive, glossy magazine in Calgary, dreams of the city as the next Florence. There are no great cathedrals here, of course, but the idea that money can create something grand and enduring on the Prairie is worthy.

The Liberals see an opening. In Kevin Taft, they have a smart, aggressive leader, a former entrepreneur and policy analyst who has written widely on social and political issues. Like Mr. Lougheed in 1967, he won more votes in his last election in 2004 than any other candidate in the province; he also doubled the party’s seats in the legislature to 16 of 83, elected three representatives in Calgary and is reducing the party’s debt.

The Liberals, who gathered on the weekend to talk about their vision of Alberta, want a broad, open, progressive province, an exemplar on the environment and an innovator of social programs. They want this to be an influential, respected player in Canada, not a small, resentful one, and they appear to be striking a chord with a changing electorate.

An election is expected here within two years. The man to watch is Kevin Taft.

Andrew Cohen is a professor of journalism and international affairs at Carleton University.