The UCP is Telling You Who They Are Alberta; Are You Listening? #ableg #abpoli

We have seen other parties and the media call them “bozo eruptions” but the United Conservative Party isn’t a “new” Party.  They aren’t run by political novices with no funding either.  And they aren’t having “bozo eruptions”.

Fintan O’Toole wrote a fantastic piece for the Irish Times in which he discusses the “trial runs for fascism”.   The sub-heading for the story is “Babies in cages were no mistake by Trump, but (were instead) test-marketing for barbarism.”  Jason Kenney and his numerous UCP nomination candidates aren’t making mistakes either; they’re testing to see what they can get away with.

S Todd Beasley, July 26, 2018

The Party turfed Todd Beasley, nomination candidate for Brooks-Medicine Hat after “discovering” he made anti-Muslim comments on social media.  Since Mr. Beasley, we have seen other candidates do the same but have, so far, been able to let their name stand.  I’m no master of spin but I can tell you that either: the outrage over not letting a candidate be chosen by the members actually reached the party brass (positive), or; Todd was a test run (negative).

The UCP nomination committee is not incompetent, Kenney wouldn’t allow that, so there is a bonafide reason they did not disqualify other candidates.  Now, if one candidate was disqualified for expressing anti-Muslim sentiment, why wouldn’t they all be?  Perhaps, as previously suggested, gender played a part.  Or, as O’Toole suggests, it was just a trial run.

The Party took issue with Beasley’s comments but their popularity didn’t seem to decrease.  So, maybe, it’s not really an issue for the Alberta voter/UCP supporter. People were talking about them and maybe they even sold more memberships.  Maybe they reached the silent racist within.  It obviously didn’t hurt them or they wouldn’t be allowing it to continue.

Notice as well that the speaker has changed.  Todd was a white male, Sandra Kim and Cindy Ross are white females.  Are racially-charged or anti-LGBTQ+ comments more acceptable when they come from women?  Do not think they aren’t taking notice of the public response; data is the most valuable thing in politics, especially when it comes down to messaging.  I’m not going to tell you you’re a Guinea Pig but… we’re all just data points to those who are looking for a way to control us.

Appeal to quietly maintained racism – attained.

The nomination contests are a fantastic way for the UCP to float potential platform items to the general public.  People are watching and a few are reporting everything Kenney says or wants to say.  Was there any Party outrage over the female candidates who opposed Muslims or LGBTQ rights?  Some have asked “why don’t the other parties have these issues?”  Because it’s not an “issue” to the UCP; it’s an outreach program.

Jason Kenney can’t have his Party posting memes about Muslim terrorists but if a nomination candidate says it, and the media covers it, and they get a few more members… well, that’s a job well done.  When people who have fought for LGBTQ rights as long as Jason Kenney has fought against them make candidate’s anti-LGBTQ statements public, and newsworthy, and the UCP gets a few more members… you see the pattern here.

Michael Moore, Twitter; and he’s obviously not been to Saskatchewan if he’s complementing well-paved roads…

Last night at the nomination candidate forum in Lac LaBiche-St. Paul-Two Hills, three candidates discussed healthcare.  They all support privatization with the government paying the bills. Current UCP MLA Dave Hansen also offered the following: “I’m sorry to tell you, but it’s going to hurt. Will it affect you? It absolutely will.

Appeal to antipathy for neighbours, family, others – in progress.

Will it affect you?  As a supporter of the Leopard Party supposedly once stated “well they never tried to eat me“.

Though unemployed, or underemployed Albertans, believe Jason Kenney deeply cares about their plight while no other Party does, I’m sorry to tell you that once your story is no longer helpful to the UCP narrative, it will become one of laziness and refusal to work; just a leech on the public dime.   Right now you invigorate him.  If you are still unemployed when he needs to have higher employment than the NDP during a recession, your personal struggles will be ignored.  But he absolutely is counting on your vote; for now.

To suggest that the UCP is having “bozo eruptions” is ludicrous.  The UCP is simply telling us who they are; is anyone listening?

This post contains both opinion and fact.  Links to supporting documentation provided.

Deirdre Mitchell-MacLean
Content Director/Writer

Info: [email protected] Social Media: @ThisWeekInAB

Sources:

https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/fintan-o-toole-trial-runs-for-fascism-are-in-full-flow-1.3543375

Former UCP Nomination Candidate Calls Results “Illegitimate”

https://edmontonjournal.com/news/politics/ucp-under-fire-for-nomination-candidate-in-mascwacis-wetaskiwin

UCP candidate apologizes for comments opposing Fort McMurray mosque

https://www.bonnyvillenouvelle.ca/article/candidates-lay-it-all-out-at-ucp-forum-20180911