tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31415271.post8082277273095561089..comments2023-09-22T06:22:50.820-06:00Comments on Ken Chapman: Notes on Getting to Know the Alberta Partykenchapmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11384045981190810115noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31415271.post-25409207465117506262011-02-25T11:19:58.242-07:002011-02-25T11:19:58.242-07:00My question is can a political party described as ...My question is can a political party described as "Progressive" or "Liberal" or "Conservative" or "New" and "Democratic" or "Wild" and "Rose" or "Alberta" promote "cutting taxes to the bone" and at the same time espouse "providing comprehensive high quality healthcare" without being pigeon holed as either "Right", "Left" or totaly confusing the public? My simplistic way of looking at it is "Right" means get government out of my business, my face and my pocket. "Left" means give me my share and more of the tax pie through services or better yet cash for the social good. My conclusion is that the answer is likely not. <br />To bring about real change the paradigm will need to change. For example, the elimination of political parties as representatives of the people. Eureka!!! Now that is a platform I could get behind. But how? <br />Well we may not be that far away from giving everyone the opportunity to vote on each agenda item through information technology. Imagine a system where each interested individual in Canada could either support or oppose a particular idea with the simple majority ruling. The facilitator - not to be confused with government - would put the questions to the public which could express their views through any number of publically accessible kiosks or even at home or work through the internet. Punch in your SIN + password and off you go. Now that would be grassroots. OK OK maybe it is a little far fetched BUT every idea had to start somewhere.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31415271.post-55522248879082778942011-02-22T13:06:02.753-07:002011-02-22T13:06:02.753-07:00I like the theory of the Alberta Party but before ...I like the theory of the Alberta Party but before I can support the party I need concrete and specific actions on how the party's platform will improve Alberta. Healthcare - how will the Alberta Party make our healthcare system sustainable?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31415271.post-5399446598892781332011-02-22T11:50:46.868-07:002011-02-22T11:50:46.868-07:00in some respects i wish the AP well but there is a...in some respects i wish the AP well but there is a long way to go before there is anything to vote for (or not). <br /><br />one of the biggest problems with democracy is a tendency for people to vote against something or someone or some party instead of voting for something or someone or some party. to vote "for" something or someone or some party means having a platform and policy positions and the accountability that goes with those things so they can be selected.<br /><br />a working democracy is more than people coming together at a tea party or a big listen. at some point what is heard must be distilled such that those we vote for are capable of leading in a direction they are committed to. asking for a vote simply to not be voting for someone else strikes me as being very "american" in the worst sense of "american" politics.<br /><br />at some point, politics has to include the grass roots but it also has to rise above those roots. if not, there would be no need for politics or parties or even government for that matter. we could simply hold grass roots referendums for every issue that needs a decision and quickly watch everything deteriorate to the politics of the short term and the expedient.<br /><br />"the democratic process in alberta is broken"??? that would be the very democratic process that allows the AP to even be discussed in public, never mind implemented? politics in alberta might not be perfect but it's far from broken. broken is tunisia and egypt and libya and somalia... sometimes rhetoric has its place but somehow i think this is more than a little over the top when describing a political system that allows you to even say that with no fear for your own safety and security.<br /><br />"horizontal collaborative partnership relationships that have to replace command and control paternalism inherent in vertical concepts of "senior" orders of government"??? what in the world does that really mean? isn't that just "governments need to be accessible and accountable?"<br /><br />ken cantorAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31415271.post-27221478185742418502011-02-22T08:38:30.042-07:002011-02-22T08:38:30.042-07:00Funny, Ken, but this "new" Alberta Party...Funny, Ken, but this "new" Alberta Party, now re-invented by two very much older (respected I will admit) Lougheed Progressive Conservatives (yourself and David King) has too much if the "old Reform" mantra. When I read your initial submissions almost 2 years ago, (someone had sent it to me for my opinion), I must admit I gagged when I got to the phrse "supporting Family Values." You see Ken, nothing is really that "new" about the "Big Listen" - I, as a centrist progressive Alberta Liberal voter, just can't wait another 10 years for the Alberta Party to stop listening and start acting. This election will provide an opportunity that the centrist and forward-thinking Alberta voter has not had in the past 40 years. I will listen to what the Alberta Party actually adds to the debate, when that happens, but in the meantime I will NOT waist my vote!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31415271.post-58674544697065396692011-02-22T08:29:33.927-07:002011-02-22T08:29:33.927-07:00Ken, sure the AP is a grass roots party. But some...Ken, sure the AP is a grass roots party. But sometimes I get the impression, that since many of the AP are ex or stealthed in PC's that this party is just a bone yard for dissident PC's to render any voices with the PC's useless. Since you guys have a 100 year program to win, I think the invisible hand wants to ensure your existence, just barely, to keep snarfing away disgruntled Liberals and PC's, to effectively kill off all opposition against the PC's. At the same time, the naive and overly chatty youthful approach with marginal intelligence keeps scaring away real heavy weights from joining your party from ever becoming a viable threat to the PC's.<br /><br />Until I see exodus from the PC's to the AP, to me the AP is truly an ingenious bear trap, meant to allow the PC's to stay in power by taking liberals and dissident PC's and rendering them useless.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31415271.post-90067441406458977652011-02-20T14:10:15.198-07:002011-02-20T14:10:15.198-07:00The Alberta Party is truly a grassroots party inte...The Alberta Party is truly a grassroots party intent on doing things differently. I am active with with the AP in Calgary Currie and can attest to the fact that the AP's focus on sharing good ideas, listening and working together toward a common goal ring true with young and old alike. This will be an exciting year for the AP, one which will move this province forward on all fronts.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com