The Machine Against Raj

Raj Sherman sealed his fate with one click of the "send" button. Ever since his bizarre rant against the Stelmach government was made public last week, his days have appeared numbered. It therefore comes as no surprise that Sherman was booted from the PC caucus today (or, as Raj called it in his typo heavy e-mail, "caucas").

Given what Sherman has had to say about Stelmach and the fact that he tendered his resignation as the Health Minister's Parliamentary Assistant three weeks ago, I doubt either party is shedding many tears over this one.

So what does Sherman's departure mean? Well, in and of itself, he's a relative nobody - but it doesn't bode well for Stelmach that two of his MLAs have been quit/fired after accusing his government of breaking Health Care promises. This, when every indication is the PCs intend to use Health Care as a wedge with the Wildrose Alliance next election.

Alberta politics is traditionally dull during elections...and mind numbingly dull between elections. But since the last election, we've had a good old political jamboree. A PC caucus which won 72 seats in 2008 is now down to 67 MLAs after a by election loss, two defections, and 2 MLA ejections.

To that, you can toss in the surprise election of David Swann as ALP leader (which led to the departure of Dave Taylor) and, of course, the meteoric rise of Danielle Smith (fun fact: Danielle Smith doesn't walk on water, she runs on it!).

So, yeah, fun times. Stay tuned.