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PC MLA Sandra Jansen Joins Alberta NDP over PC "Dog Whistle Politics"
PC MLA Sandra Jansen Joins Alberta NDP over PC "Dog Whistle Politics"
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Submitted by jerrym on November 17, 2016 - 7:15pm.
It looks like the "dog whistles" that drove Jansen out of the PCs had to do with LGBTQ issues and female political leadership.
Quote:
Calgary MLA Sandra Jansen has left the “dog-whistle politics” of the Alberta’s Progressive Conservative party and joined Rachel Notley’s governing New Democrats.
Jansen and Notley talked Thursday at a news conference about how their “pragmatic” views of policy and governance were a good fit. The move comes less than 10 days after she pulled out of the Progressive Conservative leadership race over what she said was harassment.
“Extremists are taking over” the PC party, Jansen said, leaving the party out of touch with how most Albertans think.
The “dog-whistle politics” Jansen heard at the PC convention were “chilling to me,” she said.
Dog-whistle politics refers to a type of political speech using code words that appear to mean one thing to the general population, but have a different meaning for a targeted part of the audience. President-elect Donald Trump was accused of this tactic throughout the U.S. election campaign.
Jansen said that she needs to leave the petty, mean politics behind her and move Alberta forward as a legislator.
“I need to be true to the values of my constituents and to my own values,” she said. “I’m coming to this caucus from a tent that just wasn’t big enough. It wasn’t big enough to fit me.”
The NDP, she said, is “a moderate, reasonable, pragmatic government,” which Jansen called a better fit for her politics.
Notley agreed, saying Jansen and the NDP share ideals.
“Sandra has always been a voice for practical, moderate progressive policies,” said Notley.
“She is now going to be a compelling voice for that approach within our caucus and within our government.”
Jansen’s move across the floor is the first since the mass defection of Wildrose MLAs to the then-PC government in 2014. The Tory government was defeated in the subsequent election.
Jansen, known for her advocacy around LGBTQ and other social issues, was first elected as an MLA in 2012 and served as associate minister of family and community safety under Alison Redford. ...
Jansen, along with Calgary Donna Kennedy-Glans, was one of two female leadership contenders for the PC party until they both dropped out Nov. 6. Jansen cited harassment and the hostile takeover by former Conservative MP Jason Kenney and his socially conservative supporters, and Kennedy-Glans pointed to the party’s shift from centrist values.
http://edmontonjournal.com/news/politics/speculation-as-premier-rachel-n...
Submitted by Mr. Magoo on November 17, 2016 - 7:36pm.
Quote:
I need to be true to the values of my constituents and to my own values,
Jansen should run in a byelection to be sure that she's being true to the values of her constituents. What does she have to lose? If they love her, they'll love her.
Submitted by mark_alfred on November 17, 2016 - 8:47pm.
Quote:
Calgary MLA Sandra Jansen has left the “dog-whistle politics” of the Alberta’s Progressive Conservative party and joined Rachel Notley’s governing New Democrats.
Excellent.
Submitted by quizzical on November 17, 2016 - 8:55pm.
mark_alfred wrote:
Quote:Excellent.Calgary MLA Sandra Jansen has left the “dog-whistle politics” of the Alberta’s Progressive Conservative party and joined Rachel Notley’s governing New Democrats.
this is a duplicate thread but i agree mark.
imv her riding is maybe the most accepting and socially concerned in Calgary.
Submitted by Mr. Magoo on November 18, 2016 - 7:28pm.
This is a bit like someone saying "Oh, yes, I joined the KKK, but then I later found out that they're racist, WHO KNEW???".
It's nice that she wants to leave that behind, and I totally support that, but she should still have enough principle to let the electorate decide. Politics is supposed to be about them, not her.
Submitted by kropotkin1951 on November 18, 2016 - 7:55pm.
Notley is a red tory of the Lougheed persuasion as it seems is the defector from the Progressive Conservative party. Both Alison Redford and Rachel Notley ran and won on a red tory platform. I can understand how Sandra Jansen can think they are similar enough to not need a by-election.
Submitted by Rev Pesky on November 19, 2016 - 5:22am.
kropotkin1951 wrote:
Notley is a red tory of the Lougheed persuasion as it seems is the defector from the Progressive Conservative party. Both Alison Redford and Rachel Notley ran and won on a red tory platform. I can understand how Sandra Jansen can think they are similar enough to not need a by-election.
What Sandra Jansen 'thinks' is not important. This issue is the Alberta NDP stating clearly they are opposed to floor-crossing, then accepting a floor-crosser without even an acknowledgement of their former position.
The NDP, given their former position, could have easily said they wouldn't take Jansen into their caucus until after the next election. At the same time they could have commented on the treatment Jansen received from her former caucus, pointing to the retrograde elements in the PC party.
Thus, at one and the same time, they could have maintained their former position re: floor-crossing, while also providing support for Jansen in leaving the PC party. That would have been the principled thing to do.
Submitted by jerrym on November 20, 2016 - 3:55pm.
Starting at 1:33:00 of the Power and Politics video below, Paula Simons of the Edmontion Journal and Jason Markusooff of Macleans discuss Jansen's floor-crossing to the NDP. While the crossing does raise issues of opportunism and even hypocrisy (I'm shocked that this could happen in politics) for both Jansen and the NDP, it also raises issues about where Jason Kenney, who seems to be weill on his way to winning the PC leadership, will take the Alberta PCs.
Simons and Markusoff describe how Jansen had her election posters vandalized, been bullied (including physically) for "months and months", and received "toxic expressions antithetical to a progressive female candidate, especially on LGBTQ issues" on the internet. Simons emphasizes that many Red Tories, in addition to Jansen, no longer feel comfortable in Kenney's PC machine.
http://www.cbc.ca/player/play/812788803861
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