This Week in Alberta Politics - Week 1900 of Tory Reign

On The Web:
-Visit www.edspedia.ca - travel deals for Tory insiders
-Meet Kevin Taft
-The Adventures of PatMan flash cartoon (soon to feature sidekick "Woodman"?)
-Top 10 reasons to vote for Laura Shutiak
-EddieTube has a wide range of videos...including some cures of insomnia in the form of Ed Stelmach in QP


Commercials:
The Tories release Ed talking healthcare with the only actors in Alberta who can sound more wooden than the Premier when talking about healthcare.


Favourite "News" Headline on PC Alberta Website:
News: Ed Stelmach Cares About Albertans


NEP Watch
First Ed drops the NEP bomb to try and explain The Case of the Missing Doctors.

Then, later in the week, Ed gets NEP'd himself!


A Look Ahead to Week 2
I'd expect this will become an issue - the opposition needs to pounce. In my view, the ALP missed a chance to hammer Stelmach as hard as they could have on the conflict of interest switchero in week 1.

Ask Ed if he'll use the notwithstanding clause to override the Charter on this - I can guarantee the resulting press conference would lead to a lot of pain and suffering.



And now, from the home office in Vegreville, comes The Top Ten Steady Eddie Stumbles of week 1900. I intend this to be a weekly feature, although I may need top 12 or top 20 lists some weeks at the pace Ed is going...

10. Stelmach forgets NDP leader Brian Mason's name, calling him "Bill Mason" and "whatever his name is".

9. Stelmach uses the government news media room for a partisan press conference, showing a lack of understanding in the difference between the Alberta Government and the Conservative Party.

8. And the election date he chooses? The anniversary of the Mayerthorpe murders.

7. Stelmach gets blasted on royalties in Drayton Valley, a riding where they beat the second place Greens by a 5 to 1 margin last time: "I think the premier and (Energy Minister) Mel Knight are totally out of touch with conventional oil and gas."

6. A group of Grade 10 students all pan Stelmach's performance at their High School, including this gem: "What I just mainly took from it is we are the future. (But) what’s the point of coming here if you have no plans for the future".


And our top 5 show how Stelmach has fumbled his major announcement every single day so far this campaign:

5. Day 5: Ed announces tax breaks for seniors and, in fairness, the criticism is less than for his other announcements. The problem? He stands up the stud scud at a fundraiser, drawing front page criticism from his star candidate.

4. Day 4: Ed's "disastrous" daycare announcement. The moms on hand all critiqued his "plan", with one calling it "insulting".

3. Day 3: Ed's AISH announcement. And while the Premier did better than Ralph on this topic, staff who work with the disabled called it an "empty promise" and "frustrating".

2. Day 2: Ed's Health Care Plan which has been called "ridiculous", "the disappearing doctor act", "not possible", and "mythical".

1. From his very first day, Stelmach stole a page from the Turner '84 handbook and quietly brought in an order-in-council to exempt retiring Cabinet Ministers from his conflict of interest legislation, in a move Bill Mason called "change that works for Tory insiders".


Add it all up and you can see why the Red Deer Advocate observed: Stelmach appears to have Stockwell Day Disease.

Say My Name, Say My Name

I'm not sure if this reflects worse on Ed Stelmach, or on Brian Mason:

A reporter asked Stelmach to react to NDP Leader Brian Mason's earlier release of an email his party received from the chair of the province's royalty review panel, Bill Hunter.

Here's what Stelmach said: "I'm not aware of Bill's comments uh and uh... and and even if he did talk to or if he did or didn't talk to Bill Mason... uh, or ... whatever his name is."

Off microphone, a Calgary PC candidate volunteered to the leader: "Brian." So Stelmach continued: "Brian. Yes." That then drew laughter from the Calgary candidates.

In Other News...

I wouldn't over emphasize this one too much because, in fairness, it's only one dude, but here's what Preston Manning's former press secretary and hard right Reformer Ron Wood had to say yesterday:

For 40 years Ron has supported right-wing parties. His dad's side of the family has been of the conservative stripe for a century. But, in this election, Ron is voting Liberal and telling people why.

"You go back to Getty and his solution to everything was smother it with money, every time there was a hiccup he threw money at it. Stelmach is doing the same thing," says Ron, who got this page his first interview with Manning.

[...]

But voting Liberal doesn't mean Ron is bending the knee leftward.

"I am still a fiscal conservative, But the funny thing is so is Dave Taylor, so is Pat Murray. From what I've read Kevin Taft is a cautious spender," says the Reform party insider.