NDP doesn’t waste any time going after new MLA Kenney
I had thought that for a few moments Monday afternoon the political guns in Alberta might fall silent.
You know, just as a gesture of goodwill from the NDP toward United Conservative Party Leader Jason Kenney as he was being sworn in as MLA in the legislature chambers.
But no. A few hours before the swearing-in ceremony, the NDP launched a radio ad attacking Kenney’s “plan” to lower taxes for the wealthiest Albertans by reintroducing the old PC government’s 10 per cent flat tax on income.
“Jason Kenney’s plan? It’s out,” says the ad. “The wealthiest one per cent get a $700-million tax break. Regular Albertans? We get nothing. Think that’s fair? Kenney also wants to privatize our health care and cut our kids’ education. Tax cuts for the top one per cent, cuts for everybody else. Jason Kenney: he’s working for someone all right; it just isn’t us.”
I shouldn’t be surprised, of course, by the attack ad. The next provincial election is a little more than one year away and the campaigning has already begun. You could say it kicked off Monday with Kenney officially becoming an MLA and now able to lead his party from inside the legislature, not from the public gallery.
The attack ad was the NDP deliberately raining on Kenney’s swearing-in parade.
The UCP will say the ad reveals just how scared New Democrats are about Kenney. The NDP will counter-argue the ad is simply designed to show just how scary Kenney would be as premier.
It is the new merry-go-round of Alberta politics, but without much merry.
One 30-second attack ad is just the beginning. There will be more, much more, from all sides.
On Monday, during a small partisan rally after he was sworn in, Kenney made a point of saying he will never stoop to personal attacks against the premier or the government: “We respect our premier, a talented, intelligent and strong woman who is doing her best as head of government. We respect her personally and we respect her office.”
Then a promise: “You have my commitment. I and our caucus will raise the bar of civility and decorum in the legislature and in the course of the next 16 months before the next election because we believe Albertans deserve a legislature, deserve an official Opposition, that demonstrates civility and respect for our democratic institutions.”
And a message for Premier Rachel Notley: “Premier, please do the same. Since this government took office, I believe they have lowered and coarsened public discourse in this province.”
Kenney used deputy premier Sarah Hoffman’s “sewer rats” comment in the assembly last year as an example. (Hoffman has never actually explained who she was referring to with the clumsy barb, but Opposition MLAs have happily embraced it as an insult against them.)
While Kenney has been careful to steer clear of personal attacks, others in the conservative movement have not.
In 2016, Sandra Jansen dropped out of the Progressive Conservative leadership race after she complained of being verbally harassed by Kenney
Albertans deserve a legislature, deserve an official Opposition, that demonstrates civility and respect for our democratic institutions.
supporters. Kenney had been careful to personally avoid gutter politics in the race, but Jansen said some of his supporters were vicious. After she crossed the floor to the NDP, she endured ferocious attacks on social media.
Blaise Boehmer, who is now the UCP’s manager of caucus communications, tweeted the phrase “ratted to the socialists” to describe Jansen’s floor crossing.
In the past few years, we have had MLAs from both sides complain of MLAs on the other side using vulgar or threatening gestures. Virtually every day in question period, we had MLAs popping up to complain to the Speaker about unparliamentary language from the other side.
Every party leader promises to bring civility to politics, and by my count, every leader has failed. They fail and then blame the other guys for the failure.
It’ll be interesting to see how Kenney does.
And it’ll be interesting to see if he brings not only civility but honesty to politics.
All politicians exaggerate, but Kenney tends to go one step further in his attacks on the NDP. He has, for example, accused them of lying about the carbon tax in the last election. He has said the NDP promised to not introduce the tax and then broke that promise.
That’s not true. Kenney’s commitment to bring civility and respect to politics is noble, as is his promise not to engage in insults.
Perhaps he should start by not using flimsy pretexts to constantly call the NDP liars.