Tories Smug with Big Warchest

First of all Happy Easter to you all.

It is now Easter Monday and spring break-up is in the air and we all want to take a little time off and recharge our batteries. At least those in the oilpatch that have returned home to visit family. Rural Albertans are very busy. I am an Aries which explains my ramrod approach and  that will help explain my message to you today.

We cannot let our guards down politically and we cannot lift our foot off the neck of this government until our objectives are achieved. Today the NRF is in full effect on the entire production base pre-November 19, 2008 and that means a light oil well making in excess of+/-  125 BOPD will be paying a +/- 50% GORR to the Crown. Is that competitive? Not when the maximum Crown royalty on a similar well in Saskatchewan would be 30%. Why was the reduction in the maximum royalties on conventional oil and gas wells not made effective immediately? Because this government still doesn’t get it. They are under qualified to govern and  because their financial situation is worse than they let are letting on. And they are still hoping for a miracle rebound in natural gas prices and they are hoping Albertans will remain apathetic.

Your donation and commitment to the Wildrose Alliance is making a huge difference in the attitude of this government and while we are not the government or the official opposition, I think you all need to take some credit for stalling the haphazard agenda this government has ongoing and at least partially reversing the now infamous “ New Royalty Framework (NRF)”.

Six or 7 changes and counting but the one change that will really count is the change in government that has to happen. And Albertans are with us. While we have a long way to go on many fronts, look at how far we have come.

If this article doesn’t get your blood boiling, maybe the thought of 7 more years of Mr. Ed or some other talking horse from the PC cabinet will be enough to get your goat. The talent pool within the PC caucus only has a shallow end since Guy Boutilier, Heather Forsyth and Rob Anderson left.

Are you prepared to say that this government understands Albertans and the economy and our deep concerns with respect to our seniors, healthcare, education, business and landowners rights? Have they been heard and properly dealt with? Were you properly consulted?

Are you sure that they have reversed direction and/or will never make the same mistakes again? In healthcare, education, energy, seniors issues, property rights? Are they capable?

Can you trust the Premier to reverse his own personal agenda, admit his mistakes, apologize for the NRF, cancel it and somehow get it right? He does not believe the NRF was the cause of the implosion.

Can you trust the Tory MLA’s to represent you and your constituents interests as opposed to the current top down PC ramrod policy where the constituents and MLA’s  are left out, and an inner circle of unelected bureaucrats calls all the shots ? They have not yet, what makes you think they are going to change? Rural voters can smell a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Are you concerned that this smug, arrogant government/PC party is flush with election war chest dollars that they will use to try and discredit you, the Wildrose Alliance, the Liberals and get the PC’s re-elected? Even worse, are you concerned that the Liberals could somehow elect more liberals to the legislature? If you said no I am not sure they get it or will ever get it then you will agree with me on this:

It is time, once again,  to step up, buck up and I am personally going to donate whatever I can, whatever my company can and whatever my family can to the Wildrose because I am very concerned that this government can somehow have a war chest of the size they are bragging about after all the mistakes they have made. They will use it to buy votes and  try to buy favour from those that have opposed them. Now we must stand up and go to the next level of commitment and that is for all Albertans to buck up and replace this PC Party/Government that has drifted so far away from the values we as Albertans hold so dear.

Free Enterprise, endless opportunities, the Alberta Advantage, the leading economy in Canada, smaller government, lower taxes, a stable, competitive, sustainable, predictable and equitable fiscal energy and tax policy; Sound good? How about adequate yet less intrusive, costly, time consuming regulatory burdens, enshrining and honouring property rights, democratic reform, citizen recall, citizens referendum, the Alberta Agenda, balanced budgets and a return to common sense government led by common sense MLA’s? MLA’s who are experienced government outsiders and who are elected to proudly serve Albertans and return to private life and practise. We need a constant influx of new people and blood and ideas and the younger people must be included as we go forward. Higher affordable state of the art education must be provided. Our younger adults are going to be highly educated and it is up to us to make sure that they are and they will need to learn the common and practical skills that are only learned from the experience of being hands on and getting dirty every now and then and working in the field with the experts. And boy do we have experts in rural Alberta. It is time for us urbanites to get out and smell the roses.

Rural Albertans know hard work and together we can “ Get it Right” and get this job done. It is up to us to restore the Alberta Advantage and prepare to retire and hand this off to our younger, well prepared leaders and our children knowing we did what we had to do, and that we did it for the right reasons and the Province is left well positioned to lead Canada and the world in agricultural production and technology, forestry products and forest management, medical services, technology and research, tourism and of course our number one industry; sustainable energy exploration, development and extraction that focuses on advanced environmental technology, educating the public and expanding and developing new markets in the decades ahead.

In Alberta we are blessed like no other place on earth and it is time we all realized it and time we took control of our Province and our families future. One way to ensure you will have a say in your future is to support a grassroots Wildrose, get involved, donate and join other concerned Albertans that just so happen to agree with you. We now have a base of members that fully represents the Alberta electorate and economy and we are all willing to sit down with fellow Albertans, free of government interference and listen and work through the issues that affect us all. Communication, planning and mutual respect for each other will see us through and out of it all will come a comprehensive policy framework that assures our prosperity in the years ahead.

We can accomplish this and take care of our cherished seniors, our environment, our less fortunate citizens that require our compassion and our members and we know how to do it. It starts with a commitment to remove the fat and the PC’s from government and replace it with a highly capable, knowledgeable, practical, common sense, efficient government that represents the interests of all Albertans and not just those that happen to be blue Tories that blindly fill the PC war chest. We need a government that is a facilitator, not a hindrance to economic development.

The doctors, the nurses, the care givers, the teachers and professors, the farmers, ranchers, landowners, professionals, small businessmen and women across the Province,  the junior and mid-cap oil and gas industry, the oil and gas service sector, the agricultural industry, the tourism industry, the hotel and restaurant industry, the Forestry industry; I know I have left somehow left someone out, so how about “Concerned Albertans” that have been wronged, ignored and don’t want any more BS, we just want this government out.

It will cost us but it will be well worth it. Pass this message along.

Please step up and join, volunteer/commit and/or donate. Get a membership book and sell 10 memberships. The get another one and repeat. Ask for a donation. If you know someone that you think would be an excellent candidate, please have them contact me at blaine.maller@wildrosealliance.ca . I know it seems that all we do is ask for money but we are building a party that is built from the ground up, from the blood, sweat, tears and the hard earned money of the grassroots. In exchange for that commitment, the grassroots calls the shots. The members decide who the leader will be and the policy and direction this party will take. Our leader, Danielle Smith, will lead us and deliver our message to Albertans and Canadians. If you have not heard Danielle speak, go see her and take a friend and I am confident that you will come out of that experience with a confidence that Danielle  is the new leader we in Alberta have been waiting for and she is a leader for all Albertans. We are so very proud of her at the Wildrose.

 I am signed up to the monthly donations for $ 200/month which is $ 2400/year and is the maximum from a tax benefit basis. I am also committing to donating well in excess of that knowing that we may not need to match the PC’s in what we spend to contest the next election but also knowing it is not going to happen unless I and many others donate and commit to the cause. I am all in. I am donating to my Fish Creek CA as well. I know it is tedious and in the past we have not used seasoned political fundraisers. However, we are seasoned family and business people and we know common sense and we know we have to get rid of these guys and we know we have to buck up as it takes money to accomplish these goals. I have not been financially burdened by the money I have donated to date to the Wildrose, nor would I ask anyone to donate money they cannot afford. If you can’t donate money, donate your time and expertise as we all know time is money and the party needs volunteers in all constituencies and experts in all fields. Donate your ideas.

Look at the progress Wildrose has made with minimal funding, a commitment to what is right for Alberta families and businesses and a commitment to all those Albertans that have put their hopes and dreams and volunteer efforts into the Wildrose. We are now over 14,000 strong and we are determined and we are on the right side of the issues and we represent the New Alberta Advantage. We are committed, we are capable, and we will prevail.

Go to www.wildrosealliance.ca to join, donate, volunteer, get involved and to just keep up with the party. Thank you to all those that brought us to this point in time. History is in the making and you are a part of that and for that Albertans thank you and I thank you.

Blaine Maller

Now to get your blood boiling

“Article rank

5 Apr 2010

Calgary Herald

graham thomson gthomson@thejournal.canwest.com

Champagne corks are popping in Tory land

The Alberta Conservatives might be down, but they’re not out. If they are out, it’s probably to go shopping — for Champagne, perhaps, to celebrate how much money they have. We’re talking good bubbly, not Baby Duck.

New financial statements reveal the Conservatives have more money than all the other parties combined. They raised almost $2.8 million in 2009, and ended up with a surplus of $400,000 for the year — an improvement over 2008. Add the surplus to money already in the bank and they have $2.4 million in savings. Wait, there’s more. The Conservatives also have a special savings fund that contains $1.6 million. The party usually spends just the interest earned each year from the fund, but in a pinch it can access more. So, add the money in the fund to the savings ($1.6 million plus $2.4 million) and you have a $4-million war chest. If you’re a Conservative, you’ll want to go shopping for Dom Perignon.

The documents show a party in good financial health with healthy support from industry. Enbridge Pipelines donated $11,000; Encana, $10,750; Syncrude, $8,975.

They lost the Calgary-Glenmore byelection to the Wildrose Alliance and two MLAs to floorcrossing and the public is losing confidence in Premier Ed Stelmach, but the party doesn’t have to worry where its next meal is coming from.

It’s a financial winner even when it’s a political loser. Just look at the Calgary-Glenmore byelection.

Oh, they might have suffered a crushing defeat on Sept. 14 by finishing third behind the Wildrose Alliance and Liberals, and their candidate, Diane ColleyUrquhart, might have blamed the loss on “a real deep dislike for the premier” by Calgarians, but the Tories made lots of money.

Colley-Urquhart raised just over $130,000 and spent $87,000 to end with a surplus of $43,000. (At this rate, the Tories could lose all 83 seats in the next election and walk away with $3.5 million).

The total spent by the Wildrose Alliance’s Paul Hinman on the byelection: $48,000, which left him with a surplus of $2,700. Liberal Avalon Roberts raised $35,770 and spent $35,770. Now that’s balancing the books. ColleyUrquhart spent $30 for each vote, Hinman spent $12 and Roberts spent about $9.50.

If armies march on their stomachs, political parties march on their bank accounts, and the Tories are the Energizer bunny of marchers. When it comes to raising money, they just keep going.

The Wildrose Alliance tripled its revenue in 2009 compared to 2008, but is still far behind the Conservatives in overall dollars. After raising almost $695,000 last year, the Wildrose war chest is at $196,000. Combing through the Wildrose list, you’ll discover the biggest donors aren’t big names: Questerre Energy and Cavendish Investing each gave $15,000.

The Liberals saw their donations drop in 2009 to $768,000 from $885,000 in 2008, but their glimmer of good news is the party’s $1-million debt has been whittled to $89,000. They’re within spitting distance of cracking open their own bubbly.

The worst financial news belongs to the New Democrats, whose debt has grown to $484,000. The financial statements give the Conservatives undisputed good news and the party’s president indulged in some gentle crowing.

“We all know that 2009 was a difficult year, but the encouragement offered to the PC party in the form of financial support during that time is most appreciated,” said Bill Smith in a written statement.

“Thousands of individuals, as well as numerous Alberta businesses, have chosen to support Premier Ed Stelmach, his team, and the constituency associations that are doing the groundwork in preparation for the next election.”

The adage that money can’t buy happiness is probably true for you and me, but not for political parties. Money can buy you advertising, strategists and glossy brochures — all the things you need for a happy election campaign. The Tories have a long list of problems. However, it would seem money isn’t one of them. “