Wednesday, May 06, 2015

The Day the NDP Painted Alberta Orange



It had to be one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen on TV. So beautiful I almost couldn't believe it.

I just sat there stunned.

But it was true. What once seemed like an impossible dream had actually happened.

Rachel Notley and the NDP had crushed the Cons to smithereens, and turned Alberta ORANGE. 

Albertans have chosen a new political path with the stunning election of a New Democratic government, ending a Progressive Conservative dynasty in power for more than four decades.

“I think we might have made a little bit of history tonight,” Ms. Notley said in her victory speech. “I believe that change has finally come to Alberta.”


I can't congratulate Notley and the NDP enough for such a stunning victory. Or congratulate the people of Alberta enough for choosing hope over fear.

Take that Jim Prentice...



Or thank them all enough for making my spirits soar.

Because I know that what happened in Alberta last night, will have a big effect on a country just a few months away from an election.

I know that if the people of that province can vote for change, and choose hope over fear, so can the rest of us.

And you can be sure he knows that too...



And is in such a state of shock his PMO handlers must be changing his diapers every fifteen ten minutes.

Because as I said the other night, Harper knows that the winds of change are his most deadly enemy.

Knows that once they start blowing there's no stopping them. 

They can make an old and corrupt dictator looked even more dilapidated...



And even more good to go.

And if those winds of change can bring down a rotting Con dynasty, they can bring down a rotting Con regime.

So you can imagine how he must be feeling...



Gosh. Isn't change wonderful?

And did it ever look better than this?



Way to go Rachel. Way to go NDP.  Way to go Albertans.

Way to go all those Liberal and Green supporters who helped bring down the Cons.

Hope is better than fear.

Party like I know you can. You deserve it.

Soon it will be our turn...

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50 comments:

Anonymous said...

What an amazing feeling that washed over me when I checked the results. This feeling will be doubled this fall after Harper is blown out of office by the mighty orange chinook that swept Alberta.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4RjJKxsamQ
Start packing your things Harper, and while you're at it, take your fear, your loathing, and your total contempt for all the good that I love about this country. The people have spoken and yes, The Tide is Turning... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbeLFG6Lglo
Congratulations Rachel!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xhs5j7HN8wM
JD

Anonymous said...

Wow!
First Alberta . . .
Then Ottawa . . .
Then Canada!
What a great birthday gift this is por mois! HOPE!!!
This IS how it starts!
JC

Marmalade said...

Such wonderful news this morning..........hope the rest of us outside Alberta take a lesson from this..........stay positive and vote......Yes, we can!

lungta said...

as a white male over sixty albertan
who has voted ndp in alberta for 40 years
i'm as giddy as a ten year old
who just got everything for christmas he ever asked for
last night for the first time in years we let our hair down and drank mucho wine
we can breathe !!!!!
it will be a day of silly grins
i will have some grumpy friends whose world has ended
but we will get them thru
thanks simon
keep on the feds for us
and now it's back to work

Anonymous said...

Over the moon. They will try to make everything as difficult as possible, those corporate people. But she is smart and people are angry so she just might make that difference.

bcwaterboy said...

Indeed it was a thing of beauty Simon, to see a competent, sincere and intelligent leader finally topple an entitled, corrupt and self-serving dynasty that has ensured that Alberta stay as a boom-bust province with nothing more than crumbs in its coffers. Squandered opportunity after squandered opportunity and vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Heard some early whining about how a corporate tax increase will cost thousands of jobs and no doubt, some vengeful Koch types will do just that. But one thing's for sure, Prentice slickness could not change a brand damaged beyond repair. Like everyone I'm shocked but despair about enduring more Con ugliness has changed overnight! Congratulations to the wonderful Rachel Notley on a job well done and please take note Tom Mulcair.

Anonymous said...

Yes a wonderful morning and one can only hope that Ottawa is next to be chopped.By the way I see in the Globe & and Mail this morning where some of the PMO camera men have put our soldier's lives at risk because of their insidious need to take pictures of his nibs.Of course as per usual this was denied but finally it admitted to doing just that.Some things never change

Anonymous said...

BEST NEWS!!!!!
Power to the people!!!

mizdarlin said...

Tommy Douglas, wherever you are, you must be smiling...

Anonymous said...

people boo harper!!!! great to hear!!!

http://www.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=607642&playlistId=1.2361252&binId=1.810401&playlistPageNum=1&binPageNum=1

Anonymous said...

Do NOT get too excited folks...

Always remember...

On May 13, 2013 Christy Clark lead the BC Liberals to a provincial election victory - reversing a 20 point lead held by the BC NDP at the beginning of the campaign.

It is worth noting how well Wild Rose ran their campaign, and how similar that campaign was to the successful 2013 BC Liberal campaign.

Expect the Harper Cons to choose that same message and beat it like a rented mule.

Your homework assignment is:
How do YOU stop the CPC mono-message?

Mogs Moglio said...

Hi Simon,

In one campaign picture she Notley was holding a pop can of Orange Crush I laughed so much I nearly fell out of my chair. The wind of change listen the corporations have out lived their usefulness so has party politics hopefully she will make a positive change. I heard Harper had to change his diapers several times during the Alberta election then he fainted and woke up in intensive care in a republican US hospital. Is that true he-he?

Mogs

Wind of change:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4RjJKxsamQ

Now you got to give these guys credit they wrote and produced the song before the Iron Curtain came down I believe it was just prior to the 'Berlin Wall' being eviscerated.

norberto said...

Great news, indeed!

Maybe now the rest of Canada will realize that big changes are possible and maybe we awake and have enough courage to VOTE the same in the federal elections and get rid of harper and his fear mongering party.

HAVE NO FEAR ! Lets paint Canada orange !

e.a.f. said...

That certainly was great news!
The NDP has a good leader who knew how to campaign. It really helps. Notley doesn't look scary. She projected the right image. Some one else might not have been able to pull this off. She talked about fairness and the people of Alberta didn't think the tax increases were fair, exempting corporations.

Notley was lucky. People were pissed with the PCs. The money was gone. They are in debt, as a province. They saw Notley as the way to change governments. the wild rose party may well have been seen as just another version of the P.Cs and the Liberals, well they aren't going to make much head way in Alberta. They just aren't liked. So when a province decides to change, they will swing in the opposite direction. That's what happened last night.

If Notley manages to keep things on an even kneel, then the federal NDP, with the right candidates will be able to do the same in the federal election. It may have contributed to the NDP victories in the last election in Quebec. They had the right candidates. Some were young, they weren't part of the usual political types. Perhaps that is what Canadians are looking for, change, not just in party but in the type of candidate that runs.

Noah Patterson said...

I'm elated about this. Alberta has proven what was considered impossible is indeed possible, and all of Canada was watching. Now Canadians know that we do not need to vote for the devil we know, that we do not need to be cynical and say "if voting changed anything they'd make it illegal" and other hollow excuses to avoid voting.

If change can come to Alberta, it can come to Canada!

One of the first things I thought of, Simon, was from an article you wrote a while back wherein you depicted Harper spinning on the floor biting at the carpet like a dog in an insane rage (I can't recall the exact wording unfortunately) but that's exactly what I envisioned him doing last night when the results were coming in and finalised.
He must be livid. His congratulatory words to Notley were shabby platitudes.

Today I see how quickly the Conservatives have changed from heralding Alberta as their fortress to calling it "Albertastan". I'm glad of this, they're showing how utterly lacking in regard they have for the people of Alberta, how the citizens of the province are at best political pawns to toss aside and ridicule when they no longer obey their masters.

I could not be more proud of Albertans today.

Unknown said...

Harper and his puppet, pretending their our government CONs. Pay Attention! Never, ever underestimate the Canadian electorate. Remember 93 when they decimated the PC party. Harper you have been intentionally ignoring and giving the finger to the majority of Canadians. You govern, if you can call it that,only for your base. The only majority you will get in October. is the boot from the silent majority. Bravo Alberta!

lagatta à montréal said...

Somewhere up high, skdadl aka native Albertan Susan Kent Davidson, is looking down at us, after chiding us for calling Albertans congenital neocons addicted to oil, ecocide and killing Native people. Not that the Alberta NDP has become ecosocialist by any means, but they do want a more diversified and socially-useful economy.

Anonymous said...

Some of the pundits are in denial. The most conservative province already has a 50/50 right/left divide and voter participation is going up. Bring on the excuses of voter split. This has huge ramifications nationally.
BRILLIANT ORANGE

Simon said...

hi JD...yes it was an amazing feeling, and should be a big boost to all progressives. Rachel Motley and her Notley Crue were amazing, and the winds of change are blowing across this country...

Simon said...

hi JC...well first of all happy birthday !!! And yes you sure got a great present as we all did. I've always believed that hope will eventually conquer fear. And the best is still to come...

Simon said...

hi Kathleen...I too hope that the rest of the country will be encouraged by what happened in Alberta, and that they will turn out to vote in massive numbers, and bury the Cons once and for all...

Simon said...

hi lungta...well as special as that victory was for progressives in the rest of Canada, I can only imagine how good you felt. And I celebrate that , for it is well deserved. Congratulations to you and all the other Albertans who made that happen. You should all be very proud...

Simon said...

hi anon...yes, the Cons and big business will try to make things hard for Rachel Notley and the NDP. But from what I've read she's a real fighter, and will not be easily intimidated. And the lower their attacks the more popular she will become...

Simon said...

hi bcwaterboy...well you and I have been battling the Cons now for almost ten years, from back in the days when you were blogging. So yes wasn't it a thing of beauty. I almost missed the magic moment as I was working on a friend's boat, and didn't think it would be over so soon. So luckily Seb was watching and called me on my cell phone, and I was able to make it through the door just in time, to grab Seb's I-pad out of his hands and take the picture I used at the top of the post.
Glory hallelujah did we need that victory. Now let's get ready to fight harder than ever and give ourselves one we can all celebrate...

Simon said...

hi anon...yes it had to be one of Stephen harper's worst days ever. Not only did the hated NDP take control of his beloved Albertonia, he was also caught endangering the lives of our soldiers for crass political purposes. And yes they did try to lie again, only to have to finally admit it. It doesn't get better than that.. ;)

Simon said...

hi anon...yes it is the best news, and it certainly powered me up. I'm been feeling a little exhausted since I've had to take some exams, but after that glorious victory I'm ready to take on the world...

Simon said...

hi mizdarlin...not just Tommy Douglas. I pass s statue of Jack Layton at the ferry docks almost every day. And last night as I cycled by I gave him a big thumbs up... ;)

Simon said...

hi anon...Yup. That victory couldn't have come at a better time for us and a worst time for Harper. Let it be the beginning of the great battle to free our country...

Simon said...

hi anon...well I do have to party for at least three days. But yes, we can't get carried away. We face a massive battle, and the Cons are far from down and out. But Motley's victory will put a dent in the Big Blue machine in Alberta, and the intangible effects of that change will help power our campaign. As for the message, as I have said before it needs to be boiled down, so it can be as powerful as possible. I'm working on some slogans for the battle in my riding and will share them soon...

Simon said...

hi Mogs...I love Orange Crush, and Quebecers are the biggest consumers of Fanta in the world. However, because I'm teetering on the edge of diabetes its not something I can consume. Still I like the crush part a lot. ;) And yes the winds of change are blowing across this country...

Simon said...

hi Norberto...I've never been afraid of the Cons, and even though I have received an amazing amount of hate mail from their trolls, I am not afraid now. Let this victory encourage us to redouble our efforts and sweep those scumbags from power once and for all...

Simon said...

hi e.a.f...yes Notley deserves a huge amount of edit. Although there were many factors at play, she ran a perfect campaign, and powered them to victory. I read a great story about how when she was a college student she grilled her father who was the NDP leader at a big meeting, and made his ears turn red. So she's a fighter and her organization will help the NDP in the next election...

Simon said...

hi Noah...yes like you I thought Alberta would be the very last place in Canada to become progressive. But it has the youngest population in Canada, and it has been changing for the good. And as for Great Leader I can only imagine how loudly he must have been swearing. And I wouldn't be surprised if they had to put a stick in his mouth to prevent him from biting off his tongue. As for calling Alberta Albertastan it just shows you how demoralized they must be, and I hope every Albertan heard that, and understands how the Cons have been using them for years. Finally like you, I too never thought I'd ever be proud of Albertans, but I sure am today...

Simon said...

hi Pamela...the Cons have been taking Alberta for granted for so long, it must have been a horrible shock. As it must have been for many in the MSM who refused to believe that the NDP could win. I also hope it reinforces the message that Canada is NOT getting more Conservative, it is still a centre-left country. For after what happened in Alberta I think we can burry that right-wing myth forever...

Simon said...

hi lagatta...yes how sad that Davidson didn't live to see that great day. And yes many good Albertans have been unfairly tarred by the crimes of others. What this election result really confirms is that the province has changed a lot thanks to the influx of many younger Canadians from all over the country. I believe the average age is about 34 which is about ten years younger than the average age in other provinces. So if they can break their dependence on the tarry goo, they should have a very bright future...

Simon said...

hi anon...yes I see that some of the pundits are twisting themselves into knots to tray to explain away the significance of that win. I realize this is a big country to cover, but it doesn't help when they are stuck in Ottawa which has to be one of the worst places to get a real feel for Canada. I only hope that they don't act like the Postmedia gang, who were apparently instructed to endorse the Cons by their bosses in Toronto....

Mogs Moglio said...

Simon I think you meant credit not edit eh?

Cheers Mogs

Mogs Moglio said...

Well that article published about the fear gland pretty much explains the hate mail from the trolls. Simon they are actually afraid of you.

Big laughs and cheers,
Mogs

On one of the other sites I visit one of their trolls used to follow me around and take nasty pot shots at any thing I said. Well I shoved it back and apparently the moderators at The Tyee banned their IP address. The troll was so stupid it had no valid argument that I was mistaken only hurling personal abuse. Well I'm glad they are that dumb and afraid of me and I am on Harper's ENEMY LIST. He-he! Proud strong and free ho-ho merry christmas!

Mogs Moglio said...

Get well Simon we need you:

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/may/12/type-2-diabetes-diet-cure

http://www.prevention.com/health/diabetes/how-cure-diabetes-food

You can end it like these people did I love man ;)

Mogs Moglio said...

Here is a slogan "The Conservative Party of Canada is nothing more than con artists" eh?

Lead by big bubba fat gut himself.

Grins,
Mogs

Mogs Moglio said...

That Rachel is a clever woman not only did people boo at the sound of Harper's name did you notice how brilliantly she under cut Harper? Thanks for the link Anon 10:26 AM!

"I am looking forward to working with Prime Minister Harper on the many issues and projects that invade our province by the federal government." Rachel from the CTV clip...

Way to go woman!!!!!!!!!!

A new day is dawning for all of Canada The NDP have always been a small minority in Alberta The Progressive Conservatives were the 'steam rollers' that ruled Alberta for forty years. They have outlived their usefulness and Albertans were asking were did all our money go? Salted with the truth about Norway's success that built its almost one trillion dollar savings fund on former late and great Alberta Premier PC Peter Loughheed's method they studied him and copied his method. Tax the oil corporations do not give them a free ride was his philosophy. He was correct and Norway today is a shining example.

Mogs

e.a.f. said...

First of all the B.C. NDP made a big mistake in the last election, they brought in outsiders to run the campaign. Notley was smart, she brought in Gerry Scott, one of the brightest political strategists the NDP has and home grown in B.C. He got Mike Harcourt elected mayor of Vancouver, leader of the NDP,.and then premier. I don't know why Dix didn't want to use Gerry Scott, but next time the B.C., NDP might want to use him. The guy is really good at what he does and he proved in Alberta. Good on you Gerry! My you help more NDP parties to become the government. Mulcair, please pay attention.

e.a.f. said...

Yes, and Notely used Gerry Scott, a veteran campaign manager from B.C. Dix and the NDP did not use him in the last B.C. election and it most likely helped them loose. Gerry Scott has a great track record of winning, going all the way back to the 1970s, when he got Skelly elected to the leadership of the B.C. NDP. Now Skelly didn't do much with that once he was elected. Gerry Scott can't work miracles, but given the right candidate, he can work a lot of magic.

watching Gerry Scott work a convention is a great show.

Anonymous said...

I wouldn't be surprised to see the Liberals do well here federally, at least in my riding. Heck, I have a tenant who grew up here and is a member of the WRP and even she thinks our PC MLA here is in her own words "just a little creepy." I can't say I'm very fond of him myself to be honest.

Anonymous said...

I was going to say that I suspect we'll see a lot of bashing of the younger MLA's in the coming weeks but we've already seen it. I find it funny how some will whine about young Canadians being politically tuned out and apathetic yet when we get a handful of new MLA's under the age of 25 these same people freak out that they are not fit. It's not like the bums we just booted out were doing us any good. Prentice's sad attempts to fix problems that were in fact created by his OWN damned party were just plain sad.

Anonymous said...

I wasn't sure if you had heard of this one, Simon but apparently during the campaign, the now-defeated education minister Gordon Dirks, tried to take credit in his campaign literature for Bill 10, the bills allowing for GSA's in Alberta schools. He completely ignored how this was actually an initiative introduced by the Liberal Laurie Blakeman and how his party had originally balked at the idea. It's indicative of an arrogant party that has long over-stayed its welcome and feels that it can take credit for anything that gets accomplished even when it wasn't even their idea in the first place. Disgusting.

Simon said...

hi Way Way Up...It's always great to read you comments on Alberta and the North. Since you know so much about both. But did you say a LIBERAL could do well in Alberta??? OK now I'm going to have to travel there and take the temperature of the province... ;)

Simon said...

hi Way Way Up....thanks for pointing that out. If we want young people to join in the political process we can't hold their lack of experience against them, because if they had a lot of experience they probably wouldn't be young. But they do have something to contribute, and they can learn quickly. My party in Scotland just elected the youngest MP to go to the British parliament in 350 years, and she's fantastic...

Simon said...

hi Way Way Up...no I didn't, but I do remember Prentice and his government dragging their feet on the issue. But I must say Albertans have made some spectacular progress on the rights of LGBT people, and is yet another reason the province should be proud of itself. Gawd. If I keep saying nice things about Alberta my tongue is going to fall off... ;)

Anonymous said...

Looks like 'The Guardian' is covering this story too...

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/may/12/bullseye-man-sneezes-out-toy-dart-after-44-years