Letter: Re MLA Column

MLA Maureen Kubinec’s Nov. 26th guest column shows what’s wrong with Alberta’s PC government. She states as fact that “One of the regular talking points of the Official Opposition is to claim that after 41 years of Tory rule, the province of Alberta is some grim, dark, horrible place to live.”

Unless she can offer an example of any Wildrose Party spokesman claiming, saying, suggesting, implying or hinting that Alberta is “a grim, dark, horrible place,” she should apologize to your readers for misinforming them.

What the Wildrose does say – and demonstrates on a daily basis in the Legislature – is that Alberta is badly governed. PC MLAs take criticism of their own poor performance to be criticism of Alberta. Their incapacity to distinguish between their own party interest and the public interest of all Albertans is why they need to be replaced.

We in the Wildrose love Alberta every bit as much as Maureen Kubinec does, and think it deserves better management.

Link Byfield
Riviere Qui Barre

Editor’s note – Link Byfield was the Wildrose candidate for Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock in the 2012 provincial election.

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4 Comments

  1. …….and how about the misleading ADD on property rights, page nine, taken out in the last print edition of this news source????

  2. Mr. Byfield,

    Given all the negative press that Wildrose has provided since the election, I’m sure that Ms Kubinec could have easily come up with a specific quote, rather than a general comment. Based on what I have heard and read, I think that her general comment about Wildrose’s opinion of the Majority Government is correct. But your letter ignores that fact.

    A big reason that the Wildrose Party never got elected, other than saying dumb things in the media, was the fact that they did not come up with a concrete, viable and well-articulated plan of their own. Had they pitched their own plan, spoken knowledgeably about it and accurately explained the costs, they may have been elected. They couldn’t and didn’t.

    I went to the voter forum in Morinville and can honestly say that you talked me out of voting for you and Wildrose due to your hollow rhetoric and lack of a platform. While you can speak very effectively, there must be more substance to what you and Wildrose are saying. Give me facts, give me costs, show me your detailed plan, then, maybe, you’ll get my vote.

    Thus, I see this letter as simply another attempt to distort the message and discredit our MLA. Prove them wrong by coming up with something better and sell it to us on its own merits, not based on what the other party didn’t do.

    Am I a card-carrying PC voter? No. But I listen and read not only what is said and written, but also look for the underlying messages. I’m not alone. If all you can do is ask for an example of what is generally understood, then I suggest that you and your party start doing the same or you will never get elected.

    Concerned Voter

  3. Cheers to the concerned voter for the well placed comments.

  4. Update – I feel that my comments were confirmed after listening to CBC Radio’s Hotspot (?) on the drive home last night. The two political commentators both said that the Wildrose Party is in “continual campaign mode” and attacks such as these are part of their coordinated plan to discredit the sitting government at every opportunity as part of a very early start at the next election. They also commented, as I did, that Wildrose needs to start defining themselves and what they stand for, rather than simply campaigning by saying what the government is doing wrong.

    I want the Wildrose to convince me that they can identify government problems, come up with a better idea that they can articulate, identify the costs up front, and then execute it successfully. It’s easy to complain, but hard when you have to do it yourself. Don’t bring me problems, bring solutions.

    If they can, well, even the NDP got elected in Ontario in 1990. But look how well that went and it will likely never happen again.

    I anxiously await Mr. Byfield and Wildrose’s next attack letter as I’m not convinced they can do it.

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