Dave Meslin Makes Sense of Citizen Engagement

Readers of this blog know that I am keen on progressive politics but also citizen engagement.  Dave takes on the presumption of apathy.  The presumption of apathy is challenged and seen as a function of institutionalized barriers and obstacles.

He explores my other passion of leadership.  Leadership is an heroic effort and a collective effort.  Leadership is imperfect and voluntary.  Leadership is "...about following your own dreams uninvited and work with others to make those drams come true."

His comments about political parties are very telling.  He rightly says that political parties ought to be the most obvious entry point for citizen to become engaged. Instead they be come unimaginative and uninspiring organizations that are so dominate by polling and focus groups they all crowd in the muddle (sic) and don't risk bold and creative ideas.

It is just over 7 minutes but if you are concerned about how to prevent, avoid, detect and correct what is hindering citizen engagement this TED Talk is worth your time and reflection.

Alberta Party Leadership Nominations Close Today

The next growth stage for the Alberta Party starts today.  The nominations for the leadership close today so we will know who is really in the running to lead this new political party and who is not.

GLENN TAYLOR FIRST AP LEADERSHIP CANDIDATE CONFIRMED:
Glenn Taylor was confirmed as qualified to run for the Alberta Party leadership last Thursday.  He was the first candidate to declare his intentions to seek the Alberta Party leadership on February 8th and he is the first to meet the requirements of the Alberta Party to qualify to run for leadership.

Glenn is the candidate I believe most qualified and experienced to help the Alberta Party move to the next level of organization and preparation.  He aligns with the values and the shared governing philosophy of the Alberta Party.  There is also a pragmatic reality facing the Alberta Party around leadership. That is all the work that must be done to get this fledgling political movement ready to be a force to be reckoned with in the next Alberta election.

There is so much on the ground organizing work to be done.  That will take dedicated time and proven talent if the next leader to continue to help the Alberta Party and its dedicated and growing membership realize the goal of being a viable and valid political alternative in the next election. The next election may come sooner than we think.

ALBERTA PARTY IS MOVING TO THE NEXT STAGE OF GROWTH:
Albertans are now seriously considering the Alberta Party but there is a long and arduous road ahead to move  people from seriously considering to actually supporting the Alberta Party. Part of that shift will depend on  the new leader.  Will she or he be credible within the Alberta Party membership to capture and help them generate more enthusiasm for  doing politics differently?  Will the new Alberta Party leader be credible with the general voting population of Alberta to move beyond being Alberta Party curious to being an Alberta Party supporter?

That support for the Alberta Party that must come from Albertans who are yearning for a viable alternative to status quo politics.  Casting a ballot for an Alberta Party candidate is necessary but insufficient to make the real difference the Alberta Party is pursuing.  That support has to translate into memberships, fund raising, constituency organization, candidacy selection and training, policy and platform development, communications.  Plus a deep and determined dedication to continuing and extending  the Big Listen process all over, up to and through the next election.  That support comes from hard work and devoting the time necessary to make it happen.

QUALITIES AND CAPACITIES OF THE NEXT LEADER:
The next a leader has to do all this and model the behaviour necessary for others to engage deploying their time and talents to the cause too.  This is a shared responsibility that is lead from within the membership not  dictated by a top down leader.  The Alberta Party is looking for an authentic and catalytic leader not just a charismatic personality kind of leadership.  Finding that kind and quality of leader is one of the keys for the Alberta Party to actually demonstrate that we will do politics differently and not just say we are different.

The new leader has to be capable an competent in all these areas as well as bring the capacity for personal electability.  There is nothing good going to happen for the growth of the Alberta Party if the new leader is not electable in a constituency somewhere in Alberta.  That is the truly one of the most profound and pragmatic reasons why Glenn Taylor is the best choice for the Alberta Party leadership.  He has been elected four times in Hinton, three times as Mayor.

Glenn is the real deal when it comes to organizing and delivering on citizen engagement and political participation .  He has sold the most Alberta Party memberships of anyone in his campaign.  I will not be surprised that come the May 28 Alberta Party Leadership and Policy Convention that Glenn's constituency of West Yellowhead is going to be one of the largest, if not the largest Alberta Party constituency membership in all of Alberta.

Glenn has attracted and recruited former provincial and federal candidates from the NDP and Liberals in the West Yellowhead constituency to join the Alberta Party and support his leadership bid and his candidacy for the Alberta Party in the next election.  That kind of bridge building and relationship focus is going to be at the heart of the next stage of the Alberta Party growth and development.

JOIN THE ALBERTA PARTY AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE:
So today is a big day in the history and the future of the Alberta Party and those candidates who qualify for the leadership race.  They offer themselves for public service in a partisan political leadership role and potentially as the Premier of the province.

So Alberta, it is not too late to have an influence on the Alberta Party, its leadership and the future of the province.  If you want to support Glenn Taylor you can.  You can buy a membership by contacting haleys@glenntaylor.org.  You can donate online at www.glenntaylor.org.  You can organize and invite folks to a meet and greet event in your home or your community to move people from Alberta Party curious to Alberta Party enthusiast.

Forty years of one party rule is enough.  We need a viable progressive political alternative.  The good news is the Alberta Party is emerging as that viable progressive political alternative but it need nurturing and support to make it happen.  The world is run by those who show up.  Here is a chance for you to be a citizen again  and to be part of running Alberta again.  

Are Canadian Youth Standing Up and Showing Up This Election?

Here is a video that is simple and pointed about youth at the University of Guelph showing up as citizens and encouraging voting to make a difference.  Lets hope this spirit spreads to other campuses and to other groups.

It is election time in Canada.  Time for citizens to take back control of our democracy.  Time for citizens to create alternatives to the status quo - and definitely time to get rid of oppression, intimidation and abuse through political power.



(h/t to Political Cafe for the link - a new blogger I recommend  you put on your must read list.)

We can't sit back and assume all is well with how we are governed or will be under a Harper majority when we see these scenes happening on a Canadian street to peaceful protesters.  Mass arrests of peaceful protester at the G20 that was more than twice the amount of arrests than happened during the FLQ crisis.



Do you think if we just concentrate just on the economy and not the integrity, accountability, transparency and honesty of those who want political power over us we will be well governed?  Of course it's about the economy but it is stupid.to think it is just about the economy.  Think about this election.  Get informed and show up to vote and make a difference.

Canadian Women Are "Breaking Up" With Harper

In all the negative ad space this election and even before the election there are glimmers of satirical political hope on YouTube.  These clips of Women Breaking Up With Stephen Harper fit the bill.

I think the most politically disengaged citizens in Canada are youth and women.  When you put them together and cleverly highlight the personal relationship of political leadership to citizenship you get this kind of high quality satire.

These clips are 3 minute or so and worth every second of your time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kn5RzQCx7So&feature=share
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2766jFKOEY&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyuXptGR9cY&NR=1

This is the stuff of pointed political commentary but it is not enough to make the political changes we actually need. If women and youth show up in large numbers at their local polling stations on May 2 and reject the "Harper Government" (sic) and choose a Canadian Government instead, they can be the change agents we need to clean up the political culture of Canada.

If not, we will get more of Bev Oda's kind of conniving that made the "Harper Government" (sic) guilty of the very first finding of Contempt of Parliament in the entire history of our Westminster system of governance.  How can you trust Harper to keep any promise if he has demonstrated no respect for integrity, accountability, honesty, transparency and holds the highest of our governing institutions in contempt?

If not, we get more personal abuses of political power calling in the RCMP to investigate outlandish claims, with no evidence whatsoever, but directed at personally destroying Helen Geurgis' reputation.  She was a friendly, a Harper Cabinet Minister. Consider how Harper might handle his political opponents if he gets the absolute power of a majority government.

The politically motivated firing of Canadian nuclear watchdog, Linda Keen for doing her regulatory job as another example of Harper using political chilling and marginalizing those in the administration of government.  There are a lot more examples.   These are just a few graphic examples of why the women of Canada have to re-engage and be part of the citizen's movement to take back control of our democracy from abusive power-hungry political forces.

We need more women in Canadian politics in every way, not the least of which is as active informed and voting citizens.  Cynicism is dangerous.  Apathy is boring.  Citizenship is a serious responsibility if democracy is to survive and reverse the scary shift towards political demagogy that we have enabled by our neglect and distaste for politics.

Politics is the power source of citizenship - especially at election time.  Don't throw away your power.  Make a difference in the vision and direction of Canada in this election. The world is run by those who show up.  Show up and vote on May 2 to send Harper a message - Canada is "breaking up" with him and women are making it happen.

Vote for an Independent Conservative. Vote for Jim Ford May 2

OK - it will come as a surprise to many that I am endorsing a conservative candidate in the May 2 federal election.  Well I am.  It is my strong recommendation (for what it is worth) that the good citizens in the Edmonton Sherwood Park Fort Saskatchewan riding vote for Independent Conservative Jim Ford .

I have known Jim Ford for decades.  We were both active in the Progressive Conservative Party of Alberta.  We were in different parts of that "big tent." He was Reform leaning and I was Red Tory as they come.  We could always  share ideas, address concerns and have real and respectful conversations about issues that mattered.  That is not the case in the current opposition hating hyper-partisan Harper hegemony and that is not good enough.

There is a difference between a thinking independent conservative like Jim Ford and the herd of Harper compliant conservative candidates we see hunkered down and running scared across the country.  We rarely hear from the individual Conservative candidates in this election. When we do it is all just speaking points. This election it is all Harper all the time and he is only talking about the most simplistic, shallow and short-sighted of his own speaking points.  They are used to keep his half-hearted fiscal conservative and disheartened social conservative base happy since he has does so much to betray all of their trust since coming to power.

In conversations with Jim Ford over the years we knew we could thrive on our differences.  We never had to fear each other or deride each other for having another point of view. Jim was always about gathering the collective wisdom of people.  I expect he still is all about that.  That is only part of why I want to endorse his candidacy, again.

We Albertans need to send the Harper Conservatives a message, not the least of which is he should no longer take the support of Alberta for granted. Canada is a representative democracy not a "friendly dictatorship" as Mr. Harper sees it as he rules rough shod over HIS caucus and HIS cabinet in the HARPER government.  If Harper wins a majority  government he will reign and rule over the rest of us and we will all suffer from the natural consequences of such absolute power. 

Chuck Cadman knew that first hand about how Harper uses political power when he was ousted  from the CPC nomination in favour of a Harper loyalists.  After serving many years as a Reform and later Alliance MP Cadman was unceremoniously pushed out of the CPC nomination. Cadman was offended by the tactics used in the nomination process and decided to run anyway.  He won as an independent Conservative - and the Harper preferred candidate came in 4th.  Cadman heard about his 2004 election victory from his hospital bed.  He had terminal cancer at the time but was still the overwhelming choice of his constituents.  Canadians, and especially Albertan, need to take that same rebellious independent spirit that elected Cadman and do it again in ridings all over the country and all over Alberta.

Cadman made a huge difference and a positive personal contribution to good governance in Canada.  Some of you will recall the scandal that erupted when it was alleged that key advisers to Harper were accused of offering a bribe to Cadman to secure his vote against the Martin Budget in May 2005. Cadman apparently refused and in fact, while in chemotherapy,  he flew from his riding in BC to Ottawa specifically to vote for the Martin Budget.  The Budget vote was a tie and the Speaker broke the tie voting with Cadman and the Martin government on the obvious non-confidence motion.

There is so much more to the Cadman story on Wikipedia and other sources if you are interested.  You should be interested,  It is a fascinating story that has been forgotten in the perpetual partial attention world of modern politics.  Cadman was a man of courage, principle and public service.  He had values that he lived by.  He was caring, and conscientious and responsible.  His ethics were not situational and selective as we see in so much of the Harper approach that is often an abuse of his political power.

The Jim Ford I know is an independent thinker - much like Chuck Cadman - and I expect he shares many of the other admirable Cadman qualities.  Jim Ford is a guy worthy of our consent to govern. I strongly recommend the citizens of Edmonton Sherwood Park Fort Saskatchewan.send Jim to Ottawa for your own good, for the good of Alberta and yes, even for the good of the country.