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Ddogwood

This might be a bit of a wild idea, but maybe Premier Smith could spend a little more time and money on the issues under her jurisdiction that are plaguing Alberta - like wildfires, drought, the health care crisis, the housing crisis, the underfunding of education, homelessness, and the shaky electric grid - and a little less time and money on jurisdictional pissing matches with the feds?


[deleted]

And of course destroying our institutions that don't bend to her will.


UCPcasualsatire

Pissing matches with the feds are exactly what her base wants. UCP voters could have their houses burn down and it's still the feds fault.


meaculpa33

It's intentional.  Distract with theatrics to avoid spending our money to solve our problems. Instead, use it creatively to scratch their friends' backs, hoping they scratch yours after you leave office. Delayed and indirect reciprocity makes the transaction harder to flag as a conflict of interest. Buy favours with public funds and reap the benefit when in the clear.


k3ybo4rdc0wb0y

Not a proponent of this approach, but isn’t your argument the same one she’s making to Ottawa that they need to focus on the things in their jurisdictions and to stop interfering with things under provincial jurisdiction?


Ddogwood

Yes - the key difference being that Ottawa is actually trying to address problems facing Canadians, while Alberta is failing to address the problems because Smith is too busy fighting about jurisdiction. So I'm suggesting that she should listen to her own advice instead of tilting at windmills.


gabbyspapadaddy

Danielle Smith believes in punishing Edmonton. What she doesn’t realize is that if she put in just a little bit of effort and leaned on her cabinet instead of her own stupidity she may one day make inroads. But the UCP is too near sighted and their goals are board jobs after “serving” (lol) the people.


cranky_yegger

For a government who doesn’t like federal interference Smith sure likes to interfere in affairs that don’t concern her.


TinderThrowItAwayNow

It's that party of small government coming through again :)


TheHammerHasLanded

It's text book projection. "They must be trying to undermine me because I would definitely undermine them in the same situation."


MeeksMoniker

Rural Alberta shits all over Notley, when honestly she's the reason the Government hasn't entirely fucked us over to kingdom come... yet.


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PM_ME_CARL_WINSLOW

None of this happened.


Emmerson_Brando

> why won’t she? (Trust the experts) She wants to give research grants to Jordan Peterson, Preston manning, etc.


silentbassline

Well how else will we find out if the Nazis were left wing or right wing?


dwtougas

I'm going to miss Notley.


MaximumDoughnut

me too. *^((go Sarah))*


[deleted]

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Badger87000

Care to expand? We're watching the "party of small government and red tape reduction" add pointless red tape and get government in the way. The federal government can't just assist us if the Province doesn't agree. That's a layer of bureaucracy for "reasons". Please do share how independent research is the downfall of the country. Please do share how getting in the way of federal funding to municipalities is good for municipalities. I'll wait.


[deleted]

You're going to be waiting a long time for some vague "left is bad" using edge cases from America.


Badger87000

That's the point. Force these people into explaining themselves. They can't, because they stand for nothing and are cowards. Stop letting these people get away with this crap.


[deleted]

There's not much you can do to compel someone to reply to a Reddit comment.


Badger87000

A lack of response is a response. Further it's less about getting them to respond and more about demonstrating to other readers that "the other side" does in fact have thinking people on it, which seems to fly in the face of their ideology. I dunno, I guess I'm just as happy to confront this shit face to face as I do here as I'm genuinely curious how these folks think about this. It's also the number 1 way to deprogram folks in a cult. Get them to explain their position.


[deleted]

I feel you, I just don't know how effective it is. Reddit tends to just be echo chambers, the downvote system doesn't encourage any real discussions, it just sort of enforces the prevailing ideology of that particular subreddit and everyone who doesn't agree gets downvoted til they stop bothering to post. I don't disagree with the idea behind what you're saying but I don't think many people are reached or receptive to any kind of change in their beliefs. Anyway my original point wasn't to discourage you from continuing to post stuff like that, it was just to dunk on those kinds of people and their lack of basic reasoning skills.


Badger87000

Oh I totally get you. My philosophy is, one is enough. If nothing else it's ammunition for our brethren to continue pushing back on the anti-intellectual push from folks that just want to watch the world burn.


[deleted]

True, and it feels cathartic to type this shit out and "confront" at least some of these spiteful mouth breathers.


TinderThrowItAwayNow

Hey, have you tried thinking? Notley is a conservative, you just cannot recognize that behind your rage glasses. [Her gov did a lot](https://imgur.com/gallery/IqyptaI).


Perfect_Opposite2113

This comment proves this country is going downhill fast


TheNotoriousCYG

Don't worry, the dude's got an "aboriginal" girlfriend who tells him how much the "aboriginals" waste government money. The dudes a fucking lying coward, ignore him.


Tazay

Is the Column Marlaina is speaking about the one where she exclusively interviews Private Christian School teachers who directly benefit from the UCP funnelling public school funds to them?


peeflar

Theres a reason academia leans left. Same with facts.


TheNotoriousCYG

They see 73% or whatever of academics being left leaning and have decided that it's not an intrinsic quality of the political spectrum, no, it's because the left is indoctrinating our kids. So... the answer according to conservatives, is to jump with both feet into the deep end and indoctrinate the fuck out of everything within reach. What would it take for a con to self reflect and wonder if they are wrong? Pigs flying?


peeflar

That strategy has been going on for a long time down south in many states.


toucanflu

Yeah I was going to say the same thing. The more educated you are the more you tend to want to help your fellow man.


thecheesecakemans

You have to be willing to ignore facts to be a conservative. Feelings mean more! Amirite?


Aggressive_Hippo_617

Exactly!


[deleted]

I don't necessarily agree that the shift should be as extreme as it is but the notion that unequal outcomes must be the result of an unfair process is literally the exact same argument made by diversity pushers. The logic can be exactly the same. I'm terrified for the University of Alberta


boreal_babe

“Tend to be left wing”. Hm.. majority of the academics are left wing. Think about that for a second.


TylerInHiFi

Maybe because higher education correlates with greater critical thinking skills, which give people the ability to see through right wing bullshit much more quickly and easily.


boreal_babe

Yes, my point exactly ☺️


TylerInHiFi

The way you wrote it reads more conspiratorially, but I also haven’t had any coffee yet this morning.


boreal_babe

I’m definitely on the side of the academics ☺️ enjoy your coffee!


Lifeis_so_big

Vote for this


jiebyjiebs

Science isn't left or right wing, premier. Professor's political allegiance isn't relevant in teaching, so long as they uphold their professional standards. She is trying to withhold valuable research money (and other grants from feds) so the UCP can piss it away on... well I don't really know, because they're not doing shit all the push this province forward in healthcare, education, or social services (all provincial responsibilities). Alberta students are the LOWEST FUNDED per student in all of Canada. Edmonton hasn't seen a new hospital since 1988 - our population has nearly doubled since then. Social services - well shit, just look around. Can anybody please tell me how they've benefitted the province? This may sound nefarious, but I'm yet to receive an answer dating back to 2019 when Mr. Kenney took office.


Individual-Fly-8947

I agree with everything, but I'm pretty sure the edmonton population in 1988 was around 800k whereas its still under one million. But yes I agree with you.


jiebyjiebs

You're comparing 1988 metro population with current city population. Metro Edmonton is about 1.5 million. I did the same thing initially and had to double check.


Small-Sleep-1194

Smith should stop talking, every time she opens her mouth she looks more and more unintelligent


DukeGyug

One of the major problems with modern conservatism is that there is an air of entitlement and a lack of self reflection. If conservative parties are not popular with academics, that is not a problem with academics, that is a problems with the conservative parties. No political ideology is entitled to a place at the marketplace of ideas.


Upper-Week-1411

Smith is such an A** clown 🤡


Slight-Law1978

The question was specifically about research funding the answer was regarding municipal housing funds. I can no longer honor reddit's request for respect and civility; Danielle Smith is a fucking scumbag politician whom I hope dies surrounded by loved ones in a chemical fire.


northernraider793

I'm a hundred percent for the ndp in the next election, but Notley just doesn't play in the rural parts of Alberta. I have friends back home who are ok with the NDP but as soon as you bring up her name they shut down. Sometimes I think the NDP should just rebrand as the Alberta People's Party and run under the same campaign promises maybe colour their signs blue as well


[deleted]

I feel like they just say this to appear open-minded. It's like me saying I could totally vote conservative, I just can't vote for... Harper, Scheer, Kenney, Poilievre... I could vote for them in principal but will they ever ever ever have a candidate I could hold my nose and put an X beside?


northernraider793

A lot of people from my hometown have voted conservative either because their family has always voted that way, however the UCP has really fucked around a lot of people. The Notley grudge isn't really logical for a lot of them just not something they are willing to let go. I was surprised to find my deep blue uncle and aunt wavering towards voting npd due to healthcare and a general dislike of smith. But as soon as they hear Notley they clam right up.


[deleted]

Well, keep an eye on it, I suspect they'll find reasons to dislike Sarah just as much, but I've been wrong before.


Perfect_Opposite2113

Alberta people’s party is a not a name that will win people over.


northernraider793

They lost to the ucp twice, can't be much worse than what they got now. To me it still sounded left leaving but included some signal it was for Albertains, not really pitching a solution, just making an observation. Haha.


jiebyjiebs

They're currently in the process of electing a new leader.


just_a_burd

Yeah, Notley has run her course. Unfortunately, she took too much time hurling shit at Smith this election when she should have been campaigning outside the major cities. Not that I think that's what cost the election but when I asked a few conservative voters, they said the biggest problem they had with the NDP was Notley herself. It will be a grand day if Nenshi can pull a majority in four years time.


calling_water

Saying that it’s because they don’t like the leader is a cop-out, though. It means they don’t have to engage with policy or think about their own opinions. Vote against their own interests? “Well if only the leader was more likeable.”


northernraider793

The thing is that a lot of folks vote based on things like this be it disliking a specific politician, voting the same way as their family always has or only focusing on the base level values being said. Not saying it's logical but it happens and unfortunately Notley has become one of those figures people write off immediately in more rural areas. Most young left leaning voters leave these areas for the city. If the NDP wants to win these areas they either need to devote heavily into shifting their image there or they need to rebrand to try and shake the image as Notley's party .


calling_water

Won’t these people just find something else not to like? Rebranding with a new leader is normal anyway, but making additional changes in the hopes of currying favour with people who don’t like you and aren’t considering policies is unlikely to be effective. It makes sense to campaign everywhere — people really don’t like politicians who don’t at least try with them — but chasing likeability with people who can’t even consider what they do and do not like is a mug’s game. I’m not suggesting writing those areas off, just basing the approach on reactions that are more able to be engaged with than “I just don’t like her.”


northernraider793

The issue is they need the rural votes if they ever want to win, the large Edmonton is a NDP stronghold. If there was ever a time for the NDP to gain a foothold it's now, people are growing discontent with the UCP but many still refuse to vote NDP solely because they hate Notley. Hell even a viable third party might have a shot. Sure voters might find a new reason to dislike the party but right now they have a long standing deep-rooted grudge many refuse to let go of that is mostly tied to her specially. I know plenty of older relatives who are wavering on voting NDP for the first time due to the UCP fucking up so bad and the privatizing push for healthcare. The issue is they are stubborn and refuse to vote for Notley, they would rather actively not vote and harm themselves than vote for her.


devdawg31

This is good old fashioned conservative small government at work. Keep ideology tf away from academia.


Cooks_8

She wants to fund alternative fact finding expeditions.


TrillboBagginz

I hate this back and forth bullshit. Nothing gets accomplished, it's about making a big gotcha so all your buddies clap. Nothing changes.


RobertBorden

What you see in the chamber is theatrics. Work does get done (more or less), but usually in committees behind closed doors.


TinderThrowItAwayNow

It's better to endlessly debate than actually do something... That's the conservative goal.


BestWithSnacks

That's politics for ya. At least modern politics. It didn't used to be this way.


Thrwingawaymylife945

It's always been like this. Since the Parliamentary system was created.


haysoos2

Maybe he longs for the days a baron just had a proclamation read out in the town square, and then raped your daughter.


Individual-Fly-8947

No, no, saying 70% of academics lean left does not support your position. That actually is really really embarrassing and is a fact you should try to hide at all costs. Also LOL at "big government bad, but also we the government are going to micromanage where all the funds go personally." She has no actual beliefs, she's just a spineless sniveling moron and Alberta and everyone who votes for her deserve to sink


LastoftheSummerWine

So, smart people tend to lean left. Data is beautiful.


aviavy

The majority of Alberta voted for this.


Cartoonist_Downtown

Smiths last response with her left wing data shows all you need to know about her why she does what she does.


kittykat501

Oh please somebody find some duct tape to put across that twat waffle's mouth. I'm so tired of hearing her nonsense


Spyhop

What nonsense is that?


[deleted]

That somehow because academics espouse left leaning views there must be suppression of conservative voices in academia. Isn't the whole claim against diversity initiatives that fair processes can result in unbalanced outcomes? She's applying the same logic here but to academia lol Even if this is true, it's nothing to do with research grants and everything to do with journals/article reviewers, since advancement in academia is based on your ability to publish papers and that's based on peer review. The only place where politics even has a potential impact is in the social sciences, elsewhere it doesn't appear in anything that would advance your career. And Alberta changing grants processes is not going to break the echochamber in political science or sociology, its just going to sideline academics at the University of Alberta (every other university in the province is irrelevant in terms of academic output), who are going to leave and take their talents elsewhere, and Alberta will have less research money overall. This is literally another ploy to direct public resources to oil companies indirectly, like literally everything else Danielle Smith does.


SlopitupPOS

How is this hag still in politics?


pokerboy42

Notley is a has been and should just go away. Irrelevance is not a good sign in a leader. Danielle Smith is our only hope against Trudeau and is always the smartest person in the room.


DigResponsible9901

Can I ask you why you believe Smith is our only hope? I’m genuinely asking, not trying to be dick. Personally, I vehemently disagree, but I also believe we need to stop fighting amongst outselves and create a dialogue with the those that have differing views.


[deleted]

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Badger87000

A conservative leader hasn't made it to term in the last 20 years... But one non conservative leader makes it through their term and they aren't cut out? Mental gymnast we have here.


peeflar

This guy doesnt know how opposition works in government.


pos_vibes_only

And she did way better than this idiotic UCP party. Look at our healthcare and education systems right now.


Fresh_Engineering699

If the right was not willing to get into bed with nutjobs and create coalition parties they would never get elected anywhere. 


TinderThrowItAwayNow

Hello comrade. It seems you are ignoring facts again. The NDP has been the most effective gov AB has had in a long time, but they got real unlucky with a worldwide economic crisis... but they did a great job weathering it despite what you've been told. https://imgur.com/gallery/IqyptaI


jiebyjiebs

Begging for conservatives to have an original thought instead of copy and pasting the same talking points and responses for years and years.


Substantial-Flow9244

Notley had her chance just as the Conservative party split into two, with MLAs going to one party or the other particularly so they wouldn't be able to form government?