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The 5 Stages to an Alberta Party Election Loss

Published

6 years ago

11 minute read

The Alberta Party managed to attain 5x more votes than they did in 2015. Yet were the biggest losers of the 2019 election cycle. To be honest I believe we would have been well served to have the AB Party win a couple seats in the legislature. However, that is certainly not how things went down on April 16th. They gained 5x the votes and lost all three of their seats. 



I have seen some curious behaviour from former Alberta Party candidates as of late and it got me to thinking: ‘What is the AB Party (both party and individual candidates) going through right now?’ Lets explore what I believe to be happening and where I think they need to go to turn (what is now a fringe party) into the opposition.



5 Stages of the Alberta Party Loss



Denial
As mentioned The AB Party went into the election holding 3 seats, hoping to build upon their party growth. What they attained was actually pretty incredible. They recieved over 5x the amount of votes they had in 2015. From 33,867 to 170,872. The response to attaining 0 seats was not surprising and was somewhat humble In my opinion. Mandel cited being proud of the AB Party brand and, frankly, they should be. However, he was wrong for blaming polarization as the reason for the loss. You cannot simultaneously gain 5x the votes and blame polarization. The one thing missing here is that there has been no recognition that their platform was extremely weak. They continue to be in denial that their ideas were not inspiring, their vision was lacking, and their boldness was not focussed on any areas of importance. The AB Party is currently in denial. I do, however, think they are moving past this. Slowly but surely. 



Anger
Although we have not seen a direct example of anger from the Party we have started seeing some pretty broad examples of anger throughout the AB Party team/former candidates. I have seen individual candidates who have generally touted themselves as the calm and collected type start to lash out. I have seen insults directed towards conservatives and towards anyone who disagrees with them in general. It is clear that after a couple weeks individuals are starting to feel angry. This is to be expected it is, after all, a human trait. It is now a month after the election. Candidates who worked so hard for so long are realizing what the election cost them both financially, and emotionally. They find it freeing not to be under the “do no harm” mantra of the party system anymore and are beginning to say how they really feel. This is where the rubber really hits the road. The AB party was supposed to be different, made up of candidates who respond with thoughtfulness and consideration. The blinders are being pulled off and we are finding out that the AB party is just another party. They are no different than anyone else. They have their spin, they have their ideology, and ultimately they were fooling themselves into thinking they were different. Perhaps this is an opportunity for their candidates to prove me wrong and pull back on some of the over the top anger and remember that anger is in general, just not worth it. 



Bargaining
We have seen a very very clear example of bargaining this week. The AB Party refuses to accept the fact that they are no longer in the Legislature. They have asked for money from they LAO with the intent of being a quasi opposition without a seat in the legislature. They want the funding to do the research while they no longer represent anyone. This is just part of the steps of grief that the AB Party is facing. They are trying to hold on to what once was but no longer is.



Depression
I don’t think the AB party is here yet. Depression in the party sense is devastating. We are going to see growing disinterest from individuals who gave so much before the election. We are going to see folks question ‘What is the point?’. They are going to question the AB party principles, they are going to ask themselves if they should just try to change the NDP or UCP from within. There will be some individuals who pull back and you won’t hear from them again. This is the stage that the Party’s head brass need to address head on. They need to quickly work on inspiring individuals and they need to come up with a plan to allow individuals the time to “shut-off” after a tough election while ensuring they don’t lose touch. If the depression symptom spirals out of control their party will die. On an individual sense, and with sincerity, I do ask anyone who finds themselves getting into this stage to take the time to reflect on the greater good in life. Please seek help if you need to. Depression is nothing to joke about and, yes, an election loss is a legitimate reason for someone to become depressed.

Acceptance.

I do hope the AB party is able to move to acceptance quickly. Let’s look at a few things that the AB party needs to accept. 

1. They ran a terrible platform – Yes, there were things in their platform that were amenable. However, it was choppy there was no consistency. It focussed on things that Albertans didn’t care enough about. They were bold in all the wrong areas. 

2. The AB party made a mistake kicking out Greg Clarke as leader – There was no opposition MLA that I liked more than Greg. Make no mistake, (while Greg may not admit it himself) Greg’s demotion was a result of a coup from old PC members who didn’t like Jason Kenney. They were quick to join the AB party and place their own person in the position of leadership. Stephen Mandel may have carried the party to 5x more votes but there is no doubt it was on the kindness and likability of former MLA Greg Clarke. 

3. They cannot blame polarization for their loss – If they knew that the election was going to be a polarizing one they were perfectly positioned to create themselves as the opposing pole. Instead they positioned themselves as an outlier. The election was polarizing, yes. However, as I already said, they cannot simultaneously blame polarization while championing 5x more votes.

4. They are not different than other parties. – Trying to run a party as though Ideology doesn’t exist is a fools errand. The thought that they are going to do politics differently and its all going to turn out does not come from humility but rather just a vain attempt to pull the wool over the eyes of the public. Trudeau is a perfect example of the AB party narrative. He was going to do politics differently too. The AB party just isn’t different from other parties and the idea that they think they are is actually quite frightening.
5. They need to stop talking, and start working – The AB party is doing themselves no favours by silly maneuvers such as asking for money from the LAO. They need to stop this nonsense and come to grips with the fact that they are now no different than the FCP, the AAP, and the AIP. They should look at the votes they attained as an opportunity to fundraise, not as a passage to being taxpayer funded. 





In Conclusion: There is a lot of room for the Alberta party to grow and become the official opposition in 2023. However, this will never happen if they get stuck where they are. They need to move beyond the Denial, Anger, Bargaining, and Depression stages and start to accept their failures so they can embrace the reasons for their incredible success at achieving 5x more votes than they did in 2015.

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International

Seattle Police Department investigating attack on journalist during Antifa protests

Published on June 21, 2025

By

From The Center Square

By 

“I turned around and somebody pulled him back and he kicked me in the face. I pulled out pepper spray and I nailed him in the face, and then I retreated and called 911 and then the police never showed up.” Higby said he waited for police for about 45 minutes but they never came.

Seattle Police are investigating an attack on an independent conservative journalist last weekend during anti-Trump and anti-ICE rallies in Seattle.

Cam Higby says he was assaulted by Antifa members as he attended the sometimes violent “No Kings Day” protests in Seattle at a Department of Homeland Security Building (DHS) on June 14.

Separately, independent journalist Brandi Kruse says she also was assaulted by Antifa members in Tukwila, just south of Seattle. Both attacks were captured on video posted to social media.

“It was out of nowhere, completely out of nowhere that they got violent,” said Higby, whose attack was captured on vide and posted to X. The attack left him bloodied, bruised and with a concussion that is still causing headaches, vision impairment and memory issues nearly a week later, he said.

In a Friday interview, Higby told The Center Square he had been covering the protests in Seattle all day and took a seat on the ground near the federal building by himself when the assailants came out of nowhere.

“They took over the streets, they lit fires to cars, they shot fireworks at cars. Then it’s out of nowhere where this guy yells, ‘Hey Cam, it’s time for you to leave,’ and they charged me and I knew one of them and I’d identified him earlier in the night because he threatened to kill me three weeks earlier,” Higby. told The Center Square

The attacker he was referring threatened to kill Higby in an Instagram post, he said, which was reported to police.

“They crossed the street to get to me and charged me and before I could stand up, I was pinned up against the wall,” said Higby. “They were grabbing at my gas mask and my helmet and just keeping me in place and one of them picked me up and choked me out from the rear. And then he released me, punched me twice in the head with SAP gloves which were filled with steal or lead shot. I turned around and somebody pulled him back and he kicked me in the face. I pulled out pepper spray and I nailed him in the face, and then I retreated and called 911 and then the police never showed up.”

Higby said he waited for police for about 45 minutes but they never came.

Video journalist Jonathan Cho, who was also covering protests, picked him up and took him back to his car across town, Highboy said.

Higby said he went to urgent care the next morning and then to the emergency room when his symptoms related to the concussion were getting worse.

“They said if I had a brain bleed, I’d already be dead. I think it’s very likely that if I wasn’t wearing a helmet, that I would have been either killed or critical,” Higby said.

Kruse, host of the unDivided video podcast, told The Center Square she had only been at the Tukwila protest scene for 30 seconds when she was attacked.

“I didn’t even get a chance to cover it. Within 30 seconds of walking up, I heard a couple of people shout, ‘that’s Brandi Kruse.’ And then they started to form around me, and initially it was they were blocking my camera with their umbrellas because they don’t want you to document their criminal conduct. And then they started spraying water at me, and then they got a little more aggressive,” Kruse said. “They were dumping full bottles of water and hurling bottles of water and it hit me a couple of times from behind.”

Kruse said she tried to walk away but was followed with protesters pushing signs into her face and continuing to hurl things at her.

“But the thing is they won’t let you walk away, and they don’t want you to walk away. I’m just sort of looking over my shoulder and then I see this individual coming from behind me to the right who had something that they were starting to spray. And you know, your mind goes in a million different places, and you don’t know what it could be, but as soon as it hit my eyes and I got the smell, I knew it was some sort of bug spray because it had that distinctive smell. We found out later it was this hornet and wasp killer that can spray like up to 20 feet,” said Kruse, who posted to social media video of the attack and security escort pouring water into her eyes to flush out the spray which she shared burned painfully for days.

In the assault on Higby, police say they know who the assailant is but have yet to make an arrest. Higby said he’s “10 thousand percent sure” it’s the same person who threatened him weeks before.

Higby told The Center Square he’s been informed that despite the seriousness of the assault, prosecutors may not be inclined to pursue charges.

Seattle Police responded to an email from The Center Square on Friday requesting details on the case and received the following response: “This case is an open and active investigation assigned to SPD’s homicide & Assault Unit. SPD policy prevents me from releasing suspect details or ‘leads,’” wrote Eric Munoz, detective in SPD media and public affairs.

Seattle Police Guild President Mike Solantold The Center Square in a Friday interview that he was skeptical as to whether prosecutors would pursue charges, despite the serious nature of the attack on Higby. He also condemned the lack of coverage in the mainstream media of the assaults on journalists.

“I think the bigger conversation here is why isn’t corporate media drawing attention to this political violence as they’re watching journalists get assaulted and it doesn’t appear to be covered by corporate media at all. My question is why, and the fact that that’s not happening is a major problem with what’s unfolding in our nation,” said Solan.

Kruse said she was also disappointed that members of the mainstream media have ignored the attack.

“I was getting text messages from former colleagues in television news in Seattle asking if I was OK, saying they saw the video, but then never reporting on it. So it’s not as if they’re oblivious…..if these were the proud boys, or if these were right-wing extremists and they assaulted journalists, there’s no way that it wouldn’t be covered,” said Kruse.

Kruse said she’s been in contact with officials in the Trump administration who are paying attention to the case, but has also filed a police report with Tukwila PD.

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conflict

Victor Davis Hanson Makes a Disturbing Prediction About What Happens If Iran Survives

Published on June 20, 2025

By

Amidst rough seas, you need a steady sailor.

Historian and classicist Victor Davis Hanson just delivered a masterful breakdown of the Iran conflict with clarity few can match.

Not just what’s happening, but what’s coming next.

“I think we’re going to see things that we haven’t seen in our lifetime in the Middle East,” he said.

This could go one of two ways, neither is small.

Victor Davis Hanson isn’t known for hyperbole. So when he opens with a warning like this, people pay attention:

“We are at an historic time in the Middle East,” he said.

“Never in our lifetimes have we been closer to a complete revolutionary fervor that gives promise of normalcy for the Middle East. And never have we been in more danger of seeing the entire region blow up.”

The paradox is striking.

Peace may be closer than ever, but so is total collapse.

And at the center of it all is the unfolding conflict between Iran and Israel, which Hanson called “surreal.”

Reflecting on the rapid collapse of Iran’s regional dominance, Hanson admitted that even a few years ago, this moment would have been unthinkable.

“If we had this conversation five years ago,” he said, “and I said to you, the Iranian nation that is huge compared to Israel, ten times the population, the Iranian nation has lost all control of the Houthi terrorists, and they are themselves neutered…”

He pointed to a chain reaction across the region: Iran’s proxy forces in Gaza and the West Bank have been neutralized. Hezbollah, once a feared military force, is now dormant.

“They’re gone as a Hamas, as a fighting force. The formidable, the terrifying Hezbollah cadres, they’re inert.”

The chaos in Syria, once a stronghold of Iranian influence, now seems to be working against Tehran.

“There is no more Syria, the Assad dynasty, the pro-Iranian, the Syria. It’s in chaos. But whatever the chaos is, seems to be anti-Iranian.”

The collapse is strategic, not just symbolic. Hanson noted that the so-called “Shia crescent” connecting Tehran to the Mediterranean is no longer intact.

“Lebanon is free of Iranian influence. So is Syria. Gaza, a de facto, will be.”

Even Russia, once a key ally, is no longer a player in the region.

“It’s tied down in Ukraine,” he said.

“Iran itself, the formidable powerhouse of the Middle East that evoked terror all over, has no defenses.”

Over the course of just five days, Israel has launched a targeted military campaign to dismantle Iran’s strategic infrastructure.

According to Hanson, the damage has been sweeping.

“They have dismantled all of the Iranian missile defenses. They have dismantled the terrorist hierarchy. They have dismantled the people who are responsible for the nuclear program.”

And yet, there’s risk.

“The Iranians have sent over 400 ballistic missiles and drones into Israel,” he said, “and 90 percent are stop. But that 10 percent gets through.”

Which brings us to the turning point.

All of this only matters if it ends with Iran’s theocracy on the brink of collapse.

If it doesn’t, everything that’s been gained could be erased.

“All of this chaos and all of this war will be for not if Iran’s theocracy emerges intact from this war.”

Even more dangerous, he added, would be a scenario in which the country’s nuclear infrastructure survives or can be quickly rebuilt.

That possibility has triggered one of the most urgent strategic questions on the table: Can Israel finish the job?

Or will it need help from the United States to strike Iran’s deeply buried nuclear facilities?

This is where things get complicated.

Under the “America First” foreign policy doctrine, Trump has been clear: no more forever wars, no more ground troops in the Middle East.

But Hanson argued that Trump’s actions tell a deeper story.

“I’m not an isolationist, I’m a Jacksonian,” he said, echoing what Trump might say.

“You should have known that when I took out Soleimani… when I took out Baghdadi… when I took out the Wagner Group.”

The message? Trump doesn’t go looking for wars. But when deterrence is at stake, he’s not afraid to act decisively.

Still, Hanson posed a chilling question: what if the Iranian regime survives?

“If this war should end with the Iranian regime intact and the elements of its nuclear program recoverable,” he warned, “then in some ways it will be all for naught.”

Despite Iran’s military losses, its media destruction and its isolated position, surviving such a coordinated strike could give it something even more powerful than weapons: perceived invincibility.

“It will be more like, oh my gosh, Iran survived everything that Israel, and by association the United States, threw at it.”

“It’s indestructible.”

And that, Hanson suggested, would be the real danger.

Not just a return to the status quo, but a shift in perception that emboldens the regime and reshapes the balance of power across the region.

Now the question hanging over the entire conflict is this: does the world play it safe and allow remnants of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure to survive?

Or risk a final strike that could eliminate the threat for good, but possibly trigger even greater instability?

“Do you risk more danger by taking out and eliminating the nuclear threat for good,” Hanson asked, “and by association, you humiliate the theocracy to the point it can be overthrown?”

That’s the gamble.

He didn’t shy away from his own discomfort with war.

“I don’t like forever wars,” he added.

“I don’t like preemptive wars. I do not like the United States intervening anywhere in that godforsaken area. But if the war ends with the regime intact and a recoverable nuclear program, it won’t just be back to square one. It will be a disaster.”

That’s when he dropped a bombshell prediction of the future in the area after the dust settles in the desert.

Whether this ends in collapse or resurgence, Hanson believes the next phase of the war could reshape the entire region and the world’s understanding of power in the Middle East.

“So we’ll see what happens,” he said.

“And hold on, everybody. I think we’re going to see things that we haven’t seen in our lifetime in the Middle East. And it could turn out very bad.”

“But it could also turn out to be quite revolutionary and remake the map of the entire region.”

This story was made possible with the help of Overton —I couldn’t have done it without him.

If you’d like to support his growing network, consider subscribing for the month or the year. Your support helps him expand his team and cover more stories like this one.

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