Thursday, March 02, 2006
Brick Mum On AB Leadership Run
Edmonton (FN) - Alberta political circles were abuzz today with rumours that long-serving Conservative MLA Tory Brick may be considering running to replace Premier Ralph Klein as leader of the Alberta Conservative Party.
Brick, a 37-year-old red brick with the letters 'P.C.' written on his side, was first elected as MLA in 1986 for Lacombe-Ponoka, a rural area north of Red Deer. Although he has never served on cabinet and is not considered a member of Klein's inner circle, he is widely respected for his partisan loyalty and his dedicated service to his constituents.
"What people always say about Brick is that he's a good listener. He almost never loses his cool or gets into arguments with people. His leadership would make a good antidote to the kind of behaviour we've seen from Premier Klein lately," said Spruce Grove-Sturgeon-St. Albert MLA Doug Horner.
Brick's staff, however, vigorously denied the rumours.
"Mr. Brick is a loyal caucus member. It is not appropriate for him or anyone else to be speculating about leadership candidacy while Premier Klein is still our leader. For this reason, he is not making and will not be making any comment on these rumours," said Brick's communications director Edward Carter.
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| Brick shares a laugh with Ralph Klein at the annual Premier's Stampede Breakfast |
"I don't know if these rumours are true, but if they are it would be good news. In my estimation, Brick is one of the finest minds in Alberta politics," Day said.
Brick has received frequent praise over the years for his high ethical standards.
"He's not drunk, lecherous, obnoxious or corrupt. How many Alberta politicians can you say that about?" said Horner.
The only hint of scandal in Brick's background came in 1997 when he was accused of assaulting a Liberal MLA on the floor of the Alberta legislature. Brick was later cleared of the charges after video-tape evidence showed that he had actually been hurled across the floor by Premier Klein.
posted by Mentok @ 11:16 p.m.,
7 Comments:
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At 12:38 p.m.,
Mentok said...
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American sub-titles:
As mentioned in previous posts, for 'Alberta' substitute 'Texas'. It's the most conservative area of Canada. As the saying goes, a brick could get elected in Alberta if it ran for the Tories. "P.C." stands for "Progressive Conservative" the name used by most provincial Conservative parties. Premier Klein is a drunken nut who most recently was accused of hurling a book at a parliamentary page who annoyed him. -
At 2:54 p.m.,
His Majesty said...
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When will people learn that only an incompetent and corrupt monarch can truly look out for the people?
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At 6:43 p.m.,
Bathroom Hippo said...
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Isn't Progressive contradictory to Conservative? In America, liberals call themselves progressives.
I'm so confused. Who should I shoot? -
At 11:59 p.m.,
Mentok said...
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Did you actually want an answer to that Hippo?
Oh well, I'll give you one anyway.
The party was originally called the Conservative Party. In the 1950's, they merged with the Progressive Party. One thing led to another, yada yada.
Yes, many ppl made jokes about the "Fast Slow" Party. Generally, it was just seen as a modifier, like "the Relatively Conservative Party."
However, some conservatives (social conservatives and neo-cons) really didn't like it, seeing it as the Pinko Conservative Party, so they split and ran a totally different party for awhile.
Well, that didn't really work out b/c it turns out Canadians don't really like hard-core conservatism.
So after 10 yrs., the splitters re-merged with the P.C. Party on the condition that the name be changed back to the original Conservative Party.
...On the federal level. The provincial level("state level" to you guys), the parties haven't caught up yet and still call themselves the P.C.s.
That's the quick version of the story. Make any more sense now? Didn't think so. -
At 11:23 a.m.,
Bathroom Hippo said...
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Does Canada have a party that always seems insane and never gets any votes?
Kind of like the Green Party in America? -
At 5:25 a.m.,
A. B. Chairiet said...
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Even with the subtitles, this one went right over my head.
Damn Canada... ;)
More elsewhere. Maybe.
Happy Monday!
~ Ash -
At 8:14 a.m.,
Mentok said...
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Yes, Hippo, there's a Green Party in Canada.
There used also be this great outfit called the Rhinoceros Party, a joke party. They were a legally registered party that ran candidates and everything, but their whole purpose was to satirize the political process and other parties. They kinda faded away some years back but everyone misses them.
