Women of ABpoli Hot Flashes: Who are you?
This Week in AB
Everything I don't like means you called me a racist
This was both strange and yet not at all strange if you keep up with conservatives; as in, I know they do this but it still floors me.
Danielle Smith, after having to sit and listen to someone else have the floor, absurdly defended herself being called a "racist" -- except she wasn't "called a racist".
Manipulative communications 101: never let an opportunity to play the victim pass you by.
I always go back to "sewer rats", myself; I am, and always will be, amazed by how many people wanted to be in that club.
When Deputy Premier Sarah Hoffman made a play on words ("we're focused on hard hats and they're hanging out with sewer rats") in the Legislature, the Wildrose (Derek Fildebrandt, specifically) spun it into "they called Albertans who don't support them 'sewer rats'!"
And the conservatives stuck to the narrative, creating an opportunity for people who were already against the NDP to unite in their victimhood.
I watched the creation of this narrative and its expansion. It was amazing. I even picked up a button at the final PC convention in 2017 to commemorate this psychological sham.
In May of 2018, Brad Wall gave a speech at the inaugural UCP convention. I'd heard the sewer rat story many times over by then -- and literally watched it morph into the legend it has become -- but when Wall was recounting the story, I almost forgot it was fiction... and I know better.
For those that don't? Forgeddabout it -- it's not a legend, it's an historical account.
Yet, this victimhood mentality is, for some reason, appealing and the ease with which too many conservatives are willing to sell it to their supporters -- not to mention how eagerly those same supporters are to wrap their entire identity within -- is just sad.
Their supporters are fragile and conservative leaders are fully willing to take advantage of them, so, there is an opportunity to do what we can not to give them ammunition to further manipulate these poor people.
Or not. Whatever floats your boat.
Canada
Women are running (from the law)
“Woman running for Victoria, B.C. city council is also wanted by police https://t.co/4zmkczgy2P”
B.C.'s municipal elections are less than a month away but it's possible that some may not make it to E-Day. Victoria police said there is a province-wide warrant for Riga Godron, who is on the list of official candidates vying for a seat on Victoria City Council, after she tried unsuccessfully to outrun police upon learning they sought to have her illegally parked vehicle towed.
Godron was running on a platform to "increase police funding", presumably not to provide them more resources to track down people charged with offences who just skip their court date.
I'd say a stakeout at a candidate forum might be in order but candidates are notorious for not showing up to those.
Chelsea Hillier -- former People's Party of Canada candidate and daughter of former Ontario Member of Provincial Parliament and anti-law enforcement enthusiast Randy Hillier -- has entered the "find out" stage of "fucking around".
After posting defamatory statements about Post, Hillier was previously ordered to delete them, and apologize, but you know where this is going: freedom.
Hillier believed she had the freedom to completely ignore the judicial order because that's where we are in 2022.
Hillier has now been saddled with contempt charges, and a $97,000 judgement for the plaintiff.
There's always the next election, though, right?
Who would have thought Patrick Brown was sidelined?
Buried in the midst of summer was the announcement that Patrick Brown was cleared of the allegations by the Pierre Poilievre team that came from an infotainment outlet whose "commander" is best known for being the guy who displayed "a reckless disregard for the truth".
Shocking, I'm sure.
New CPC boss settles in
Now why would they apologize for sending out a text message to party members, you might ask.
Alain Rayes offered his resignation from the CPC to sit as an independent just days after Pierre Poilievre won the leadership of the party with 68 per cent of the membership's support.
Rayes, who supported Jean Charest, said he "did not want to compromise on his values and convictions".
If it sounds like something Poilievre has been harping on about since, oh, February of this year at least, that's because it is precisely the sort of freedom that Poilievre has claimed to champion; freedom of conscience, freedom of choice; freedom, freedom, freedom.
The party, who doesn't just send out text messages to members without going through a few checks and balances, then crafted a text targeted only to members in Rayes' riding of Richmond-Arthabaska, "urging members to pressure him to resign" because Rayes "decided not to fight Trudeau's inflation with Pierre Poilievre's united team" (which absolutely sounds better than "Alain won't play with me!!").
Skippy also got upset that veteran journalist David Akin didn't want to play scribe for Poilievre's press release (that was delivered in person to invited journalists, but then attempted to say Poilievre wouldn't take questions).
Poilievre referred to Akin as a "Liberal heckler", which had the ripple effect of pissing off a rash of Conservative columnists who admit "there is a 'liberal bias' on the Hill but David Akin isn't the problem".
Skippy's team then tried to fundraise off the event saying they need money to "go around the biased media".
Conservative infotainment outlets are likely already counting those sweet, sweet donation dollars they'll get to regurgitate Skippy's every word.
Yet, there's more...
Replacing Brassard with Scheer is a signal that Reform is back in control.
This is a fight that will continue within these "united" parties; they are not "united" because they agree or necessarily get along -- they are united in their quest for control and the hope that their side will be in control when next they form government.
We are getting the same show in Alberta; Danielle Smith should never have been able to get this close to the Premier's seat but here we are, heading into the tail end of a leadership race that looks as though Danielle Smith could become the next Premier.
Maybe that will be a wake up call for a majority of Albertans. Maybe it won't.
I will firmly stake my claim that neither scenario should have been possible in the first place.
Final thoughts
“My son just let a girl “borrow” his hoodie. Should I tell him now or let him learn?”
“Anyone who says women are dramatic has clearly never met a man working in politics.”