Severely Teflon

Ralph Klein has moved on from the homeless to the disabled. Yes, that's right. The Premier of Alberta is now going after disabled people...during an election campaign.

Let that sink in.

For those who have ignored Alberta politics for the past few years, I first offer my congratulations - you're as good as people who manage to stay away from reality TV. However our political scene has become more ridiculous than the latest round of wife swapping shows. To recap, Ralph has assault homeless people in a drunken fit of rage, plagiarized an essay, gone insane with an opposition MLA who dared ask him to provide receipts for a trip, shouted at reporters, told ranchers to "shoot, shovel and shut up", and left a health summit to go gambling. And yet, none of it will stick.

The Liberal party is trying to avoid attacking Klein. Personal stuff like drinking and his illegitimate children are off the table and they'll only hint at gambling. Fair enough. But even on issues where they have the full authority to attack Ralph on, they shy away, fearing he's too popular. I know it's a lot harder to attack someone people have had ten years to grow comfortable with than a relative newcomer like Stephen Harper, but isn't the moral of the federal election that going negative works? If I were Kevin Taft, I would be viciously going after Klein at every opportunity.