Thank you, @BrockWHarrison, for pushing my follower count to over 5,000.
To all the newcomers, some notes:
I'm highly critical of the Alberta government's approach to intergovernmental relations - not because I'm anti-Conservative, but - because I'm pro-Alberta and pro-Canada.
I hold many conservative views. I believe in the importance of respecting institutions and preserving decentralized federalism.
I remember when most Western conservatives did, too.
I've been studying Alberta political culture & public opinion for over a decade. I've learned that a lot of Albertans feel personally & collectively "left behind" by their governments, and by the pace of economic & social change that is challenging the "Alberta way of life." +
Acknowledegment is important. The continual airing of grievances by politicians who claim to be "standing up for Albertans" may feel good at the time. +
So, too, might spending billions of dollars on failed pipeline bets, war rooms, and public inquiries to identify and target "the bad guys."+
To Albertans disappointed at your provincial government's inability to:
➡️launch a successful public inquiry, ➡️get an ally on Calgary city council to resign after sexually assaulting a minor,
➡️secure a massive majority against clock-changing... + #AbLeg
➡️win a multi-billion dollar bluff-bet on an international pipeline,
➡️win a Supreme Court case over the carbon tax,
➡️bribe Albertans into get vaccinated using multi-million dollar lotteries and gift cards... +
➡️convince a US governor to change her mind by calling her "brain-dead,"
➡️convince Netflix to pull an animated kids show without elevating it to the top 10... +
The #equalization referendum is all about buying the premier an unlimited flight pass to the rest of Canada so that he can escape accountability for -- and distract from -- his government's handling of the pandemic. 🧵#ableg#abpoli
Threatening to remove equalization from the constitution is kind of akin to the richest guy in the neighborhood threatening to cut the power cable that runs through his yard if his neighbour's don't pay up.
No one thinks he's serious. Even when he tells them he's polled members of his family who agree with him.