The ongoing saga of newly nominated Calgary-Egmont Progressive Conservative candidate Craig Chandler continues as Ed Stelmach is now saying that he wants to meet with Chandler before allowing him to run for his party. This is a confusing about-turn by Stelmach, who refused to take action this August after Chandler declared that:
You can watch Stelmach's original reaction to Chandler's comment in the video below:To those of you who have come to our great land from out of province, you need to remember that you came here to our home and we vote conservative. You came here to enjoy our economy, our natural beauty and more. This is our home and if you wish to live here, you must adapt to our rules and our voting patterns, or leave. Conservatism is our culture. Do not destroy what we have created.
And this is only the beginning in the long list of tasteless comments and declarations from Craig Chandler - just take a browse through Chandler's online homes - podcasts of the Freedom Radio Network and a webboard called Project Alberta. Yes, Chandler is a grown man who posts on a webboard.
If Stelmach is really going to refuse Chandler's candidacy, it would have made a lot more sense to have done so before Chandler overwhelmingly defeated Jonathan Denis and Rick Smith in last week's nomination in Calgary-Egmont. I'm not sure what is different about Chandler now (but I guess that's what you get when you have someone like Tom Olsen running your media machine...)
For more on the Chandler saga, see Calgary Grit's extensive post.
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20 comments:
I agree, Dave. I cannot understand why Ed Stelmach waited until after the nomination to deal with this. A Leader would have cut Chandler off at the pass and refused his candidacy for the nomination in the first place.
It says wonders about how little influence Stelmach's organization has in Calgary that the PC establishment was not even able to defeat Chandler in a nomination meeting or stop his group from taking over the Calgary-Egmont PC association.
If Ed Stelmach were a Leader, he would have dealt with Chandler back in August, not after he got nominated. Ed is going to have a hard refusing Chandler after PC party members elected him as their candidate.
Taking a critical look at this situation, it is hard to see any scenario going well for the Conservatives.
I see two scenarios:
1) Stelmach allows Chandler to run.
This would be a disaster for the PCs as every dark and disgusting statement that Chandler has ever said will be drudged out and become the center of media attention in Calgary alienating and scaring away moderate middle-class voters in Egmont from the PCs. This would also no do wonders for Stelmach's already weak image in Calgary.
2) Stelmach refuses Chandler's nomination, overturns the results of the nomination, and either appoints a candidate or holds another nomination meeting.
As Chandler loyalists control the majority of the membership and the District Association, this result in a very dirty and very public fight.
Chandler running as an Independent or for another party (Wild Rose) would split the right-wing vote and would put Chandler in the perfect position to spend 28 days lambasting the non-democratically selected PC candidate and play Stelmach against Calgarians.
Either way, it looks like the Liberals candidate Cathie Williams is in the best position regardless of what Stelmach does.
A Liberal candidate in Calgary - Egmont is not in the best position for anything... ever.
As much as the Daveberta crew tries to whip this into a frenzy, it won't become one.
Is Mr. Chandler a bonafide redneck arse? Absolutely.
Will the Calgary media care enough to dig through his quotable past? Absolutely not.
Whatever. Lose Egmont, gain Currie...it's a wash.
"We're sorry, but this video is no longer available."
How does Stelmach prevent someone from running in a PC Nomination? There is no legal basis to prevent anyone from running. Once they have won a nomination THERE IS A PROCESS for the Premier to decide if that person is someone who is suitable to represent the PC Party of Alberta (meaning they have to have values similair to the Principles of the Party).
Really, is the Premier sopposed to be running around worrying about what moron might want to be part of his party or should he be governing? Geez, just because the Liberals hand pickl them before nominations doesn't mean the PC Party does. Give your head a shake.
We could have refused to allow him to run for the nomination in the first place and spared this embarrassment for Alberta. It is an internal party process and can happen.
"Really, is the Premier sopposed to be running around worrying about what moron might want to be part of his party or should he be governing?"
A Leader would be doing both.
ED STELMACH IS NOT A LEADER!
I hope Chandler is refused.
If so this boy will get so much media attention that he may be the lightning rod that brings the Tories down and exposes the dictatorship they are.
How many Conservative MLAs other than Tony Abbott were challenged for their nominations? It looks like most of them were acclaimed.
If that's the case, then it looks like all current MLAs running for re-election were acclaimed.
Discrediting a candidate because they were acclaimed is a lousy barometer for candidate quality. I'm sure those acclaimed candidates from all parties would agree.
Yes, Chandler is a grown man who posts on a webboard.
You mean, as opposed to a grown man who posts on a blog?
The nomination of Craig Chandler raises some interesting internal party issues. Who chooses the candidate? The members of the district association or the leader. It is a question of grassroots. Chandler is crazy, yes. But the members chose him overwhelmingly. Chandler also has the support of the local PC association, which his supporters control. So the question remains, does the leader have the moral authority to overrule the decision of the local association when they have made their decision clear?
Dave, you are bang on in your analysis of Tom Olsen.
Tom is incompetent, a poor writer, and apparently right at home with the bumbling "B Team" that somehow is in control of the Alberta PC Party.
I know one thing for a fact - my PC Riding Association will send a full slate of delegates to vote for a leadership review as soon as possible.
And I have a hunch that Calgary - Egmont will do the same...
Now, speaking from the experience of running a nomination process I can assure you that there is no way to prevent anyone from running in a PC nomination as long as they hold a valid membership in good standing and has the correct amount of valid signatures to file the nomination papers by the correct time.
Once they become a nominated candidate they still need the Premier to sign their papers to make it official. There have been times in the past that papers have not been signed for various reasons.
Allie,
Will you be voting for a leadership review when the time comes?
"Will the Calgary media care enough to dig through his quotable past? Absolutely not."
So the PC newspapers won't tell the truth about what a such a poor candidate? Now that's journalism.
"Will the Calgary media care enough to dig through his quotable past? Absolutely not."
Hmm, let's see...
http://calsun.canoe.ca/News/Columnists/Bell_Rick/2007/11/23/4678241.php
http://calsun.canoe.ca/News/Columnists/Bell_Rick/2007/11/22/4675373.php
http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/story.html?id=a6d37c34-3591-4f4d-ba9d-ee546ceedfe1&p=1
http://calsun.canoe.ca/News/Columnists/Bell_Rick/2007/08/29/4454279.php
http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/story.html?id=a1ed2601-bdf1-4cfd-bba4-e26806fe4472
http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/story.html?id=5f4b62de-6eb8-4167-b3c8-33003f8843d4
http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/story.html?id=4c574ea2-9312-4519-96a0-d38a1e837712
I could go on.
It seems, like a good PC, you're parroting the sentiment that the media is "lazy" without having read any of the many newspaper articles on the topic.
Actually, it's no work at all to dig up dirt on Chandler, so I'm confident the media can handle it, regardless of whether you're right or not.
Craig
Chandler is a jerk, never did a days work in his life, Mommy has always supported him. She owns the oil companys that he claims he works for. If Ed Stelmack doesn't get rid of him, I and many of my friends will be voting LIBERAL.
If it is true that Chandler made this comment: To those of you who have come to our great land from out of province, you need to remember that you came here to our home and we vote conservative. You came here to enjoy our economy, our natural beauty and more. This is our home and if you wish to live here, you must adapt to our rules and our voting patterns, or leave. Conservatism is our culture. Do not destroy what we have created.
I have a better idea-it is time for Chandler to leave Alberta. We don't need an outsider-yes outsider-telling me or anyone what to accept and not accept about Alberta.
Who the hell is this clown????
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