[Canada] Canadian Politics Redux

[PRC]

I'm interested. Opportunity for Alberta bashing don't happen as often as it should.

Is Brian Jean a white supremacist?

No.  Where the fuck did that even come from?

My question is to what extent is Jean pussy-footing with anti-lockdown, anti-vax-mandate crowd?

I'm asking, I have no idea.

He might be pussy footing for them so I asked.

Don't think he is a white supremacist, but possibly fair to say he could be painted as a misogynist and a homophobe.  Jean has gotten into trouble in the past for making jokes about physically beating up Rachel Notley.  He also flip-flopped on schools notifying parents if their kids joined a gay-straight alliance group and has expressed anti-gay marriage stances in the past. 

Conveniently left out of the description 'He then ran for leader of the UCP, lost to Jason Kenney, then resigned "to spend more time with his family"' was that Kenney and his flunkies ran a kamikaze candidate against Brian Jean to sewer his leadership chances, along with, allegedly manipulating the electronic voting process so Kenney could win that leadership race.  Jean has reason to be bitter about Kenney, has criticized him as BB mentioned, and his presence is likely a real threat to Kenny, and to Rachel Notley as well.

[Barrister]

I'm interested. Opportunity for Alberta bashing don't happen as often as it should.

Is Brian Jean a white supremacist?

No.  Where the fuck did that even come from?

My question is to what extent is Jean pussy-footing with anti-lockdown, anti-vax-mandate crowd?

I'm asking, I have no idea.

He might be pussy footing for them so I asked.

Don't think he is a white supremacist, but possibly fair to say he could be painted as a misogynist and a homophobe.  Jean has gotten into trouble in the past for making jokes about physically beating up Rachel Notley.  He also flip-flopped on schools notifying parents if their kids joined a gay-straight alliance group and has expressed anti-gay marriage stances in the past. 

Conveniently left out of the description 'He then ran for leader of the UCP, lost to Jason Kenney, then resigned "to spend more time with his family"' was that Kenney and his flunkies ran a kamikaze candidate against Brian Jean to sewer his leadership chances, along with, allegedly manipulating the electronic voting process so Kenney could win that leadership race.  Jean has reason to be bitter about Kenney, has criticized him as BB mentioned, and his presence is likely a real threat to Kenny, and to Rachel Notley as well.

Lots of people used to be anti-gay-marriage.  That was the mainstream position 20 years ago.  Jean has said his position "evolved" - which is the same thing politicians like Barack Obama have said.

I had to look up the other.  He said, in 2016, that he would beat the drum for senior's housing, but "it is against the law to beat Rachel Notley".  He later apologized directly to the then-premier.  I think characterizing that lame joke as being misogynistic is wildly unfair.

Kenney and co did run a kamikaze candidate against Jean, and he has a right to feel bitter about that.  No idea about "manipulating the electronic voting process", and google is no help.  I feel like the former is dirty and underhanded, but the latter is out-and-out cheating.  I'd want to see some actual proof.

The big question though is a Jean run at the leadership a bigger threat to Rachel Notley, or to the UCP itself.  Brian Jean already lost once to Rachel Notley in 2015 (albeit with a divided right).

I feel like if by the spring the UCP's numbers haven't improved (along with the economy and our covid numbers) I hope Kenney will do the right thing and resign.  But a sustained leadership fight will probably do nothing besides hand the government over to the NDP.

[crazy canuck]

Wow, BB you pick some pretty terrible people to defend.

[Barrister]

Wow, BB you pick some pretty terrible people to defend.

By all accounts Brian Jean is a really, really nice guy.  I'm unconvinced he's a very good politician, but I've absolutely never heard him described as "terrible".

Do you want to try and make a case against Brian Jean?

[crazy canuck]

Wow, BB you pick some pretty terrible people to defend.

By all accounts Brian Jean is a really, really nice guy.  I'm unconvinced he's a very good politician, but I've absolutely never heard him described as "terrible".

Do you want to try and make a case against Brian Jean?

He joked about physically beating a female politician.  Your apologies for moronic right wing candidates is astounding.

[PRC]

Kenney and co did run a kamikaze candidate against Jean, and he has a right to feel bitter about that.  No idea about "manipulating the electronic voting process", and google is no help.  I feel like the former is dirty and underhanded, but the latter is out-and-out cheating.  I'd want to see some actual proof.

Re: Allegations of manipulating the voting process for UCP leadership, here is a link... Kenney also of course then fired the election official investigating their party on the matter. 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/ucp-leadership-voter-fraud-membership-lists-data-1.5091952

Documents obtained by CBC News show email addresses fraudulently attached to Alberta's United Conservative Party (UCP) memberships were used to cast ballots in the party's leadership race, which Jason Kenney won in 2017.

The Kenney campaign has faced allegations that it used virtual private networks (VPNs) to mask the addresses of computers in order to cast multiple ballots from one location.

That allegation was connected to the use of PINs acquired through the use of fraudulent emails.

Former UCP MLA Prab Gill has alleged in a letter to the RCMP that the Kenney leadership campaign used fraudulent emails to intercept personal identification numbers needed to cast a ballot in the leadership race. Gill said those PINs, which should have been sent to individual members, were then used by the Kenney campaign to vote for Kenney.

[Josephus]

I'm reminded of John Crosbie and that tequilla song he did for Sheila Copps:

  Pass the Tequila, Sheila, and lay down and love me again

It was pretty scandalous then...2010?? Imagine if that happened today. 

[PRC]

And in more UCP / Alberta politics news.  Alberta Agriculture & Forestry Minister, Devin Dreeshen, has resigned from cabinet to address his drinking on the job and allegations of frequent drinking in legislature.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/devin-dreeshen-drinking-allegations-alberta-ucp-1.6237656

Here is a picture of Devin Dreeshen in 2016 when he was in the US, working for Donald Trump's presidential campaign.  The photo is from Trump's victory party in NYC.

[crazy canuck]

The under 20 caucus?

[crazy canuck]

I'm reminded of John Crosbie and that tequilla song he did for Sheila Copps:

  Pass the Tequila, Sheila, and lay down and love me again

It was pretty scandalous then...2010?? Imagine if that happened today. 

It was in the late 80s.  But I am sure BB's guy has evolved his views about making jokes about beating women since 2016

[Barrister]

Wow, BB you pick some pretty terrible people to defend.

By all accounts Brian Jean is a really, really nice guy.  I'm unconvinced he's a very good politician, but I've absolutely never heard him described as "terrible".

Do you want to try and make a case against Brian Jean?

He joked about physically beating a female politician.  Your apologies for moronic right wing candidates is astounding.

He said he would beat the drum over some issue, but it was against the law to beat Rachel Notley.  You think one dumb joke should "cancel" someone from politics?  Really?

[PRC]

FWIW, I don't think Brian Jean should be "cancelled" and he should be free to work in politics, but in doing so it's certainly allowable to hold his feet to the fire for his past mistakes.

[crazy canuck]

Wow, BB you pick some pretty terrible people to defend.

By all accounts Brian Jean is a really, really nice guy.  I'm unconvinced he's a very good politician, but I've absolutely never heard him described as "terrible".

Do you want to try and make a case against Brian Jean?

He joked about physically beating a female politician.  Your apologies for moronic right wing candidates is astounding.

He said he would beat the drum over some issue, but it was against the law to beat Rachel Notley.  You think one dumb joke should "cancel" someone from politics?  Really?

I think that people should be accountable for despicable things they have said during their recent political careers.  Do you not think politicians should be held to account for what they say?  Really?

[Jacob]

Not sure how much you guys are interested in Alberta politics...

A fair bit, actually. Thanks for posting

And Kenney has kicked a couple of anti-vax wackos out of caucus.  But Jean still has a following and not allowing him to even run could be seen as a slap in the face to former Wildrose members and supporters (which does include me).

Where do you come down in this?

Will you feel slapped in the face if Kenney doesn't sign the papers, or will you think it's the right move? Do you think doubling down on the Wildrose base and the lifting of Covid related restrictions is the way to go, or do you think staying strong on Covid measures and avoiding steering towards the Wildrose is the way to go?

[Jacob]

Jean has reason to be bitter about Kenney, has criticized him as BB mentioned, and his presence is likely a real threat to Kenny, and to Rachel Notley as well.

Do you mean he's a threat to Notley because he'll improve the UCP's chances of winning? Or is this about his jokes about violence?