The divine right of cookie jar ownership

Did you see or hear of the concerned Edmonton "businessmen" that talked about their divine right to the Alberta cookie jar? They didn't quite phrase it like that, but that's what the message is. To threaten to withdraw charitable donations to a children's hospital if their taxes go up is disgusting. They should be spat upon in the street.

Bluntly translated the entire PC message this election is "Fuck you Jack, I've got mine and I'm going to keep it." Oh, and don't forget, "to find fault, look in a mirror." Along with the classic bit of patriarchal condescension in "Math is hard."

Last election the PC's brought out the ooga-booga big scare guns, only it was to head off a surging Wildrose party. It worked. I know people that are still kicking themselves. They can't wait till that ballot is in hand to redeem themselves.

The PC's are doing it again, only this time the target is the NDP. I don't even know where to begin. Somehow it's bad that "Notley is taking direction from Mulcair," yet it's ok for Rona Ambrose (of the federal PC party) to scold Albertans about not voting PC, and Prentice and Harper are buddies.

They are saying anything to scare people from voting NDP in this election. Anything at all. You've probably heard it. Ignore it. Do the right thing. Vote the bums out of office. A majority NDP with a strong Opposition Wildrose will be good for everybody, PC's included. Maybe not the people caught with their hand in the cookie jar, but that's ok. Even if different hands go back in, that's a good thing. The money goes different places. Wildrose with NDP Opposition might not be quite as good, but still an acceptable outcome. Even a (gasp!) minority would make them sing for their supper, and make them think about what they are up to.

The dippers are inexperienced at government, as were the PC's when they took office in 1971. Some of their policies are probably not as well thought out as they could be, just like many PC policies. Some of their people that will gain office this time are not as experienced as we might like. Whatever. Shame on the PC's for pointing the finger there. None of the other parties have a member convicted of soliciting a prostitute (really an undercover cop) while on a taxpayer funded trip.

What's important to remember is this. These things, in no particular order:

• The PC's got us into this mess. If they haven't demonstrated financial competence to date, what makes you think it will happen now?
• There is a civil service that exists to help the government enact it's policies. There is likely to be some inertia there to resist the so called extremist positions. On the other hand, policies that are good for people, instead of oil & gas corporations might get enacted startlingly quickly.
• Remember the last Premier? The one that booked fake passengers on government airplanes so she wouldn't have to share? The one that created a swanky secret apartment for herself? The one that spent $45K of tax money to fly to South Africa because, golly, why should she have to fly commercial? It's the SAME GOVERNMENT! They let her get away with, and they'll let Prentice get away with it too. 
• The people that say "Let's put the past behind us and look forward" are thieves that have been caught, and are still trying to get away with it.
• Once the PC's are voted out of power, their campaign slush fund that would be illegal for every other party, (they grandfathered themselves) can be ended. This would bring in truly fair campaign finance laws, as opposed to the ones that Prentice says are fair.
• Doesn't the prospect of Gordon Dirks claiming credit for the advancement of LBGTQ legislation make you sick? After promoting the homophobic Bill 10, to now take credit for the bill allowing gay straight alliances is disgusting. But typical. Then again, he got his knuckles rapped by the ethics commissioner, and shrugged his shoulders.
• They saw nothing wrong with paying people for committee work, when the committee never met, and when caught on it, saw no reason to pay it back. 

There is much more. Keep it firmly in mind that the policies of a future NDP or Wildrose government are conjecture. Nobody really knows what they will actually be able to do, and they will have to face the electorate with their own record in the next election. One might fear the NDP "wrecking the provincial economy", or you could look at the PC record of doing exactly that. Vote for a change that could be better, or vote for more of the same incompetence? Hmmm, let me think about it.

The PC party has to wear their record. They own the endless boom/bust cycles, the thousands of people laid off in the last few months, all the uncertainty in planning in the oil patch, the botched royalty review, and the endless scandals. If they are somehow voted back in, we will get more of the same corrupt, arrogant, incompetent government, letting the oil & gas companies steal our resources for pennies on the dollar. 

I would far, far rather have a group of well meaning people as elected officials, even if they lack governing experience, as compared to a group of experienced thieves. That's what we've got now.

Vote. Think with the facts.