The Alberta Court of Queen's bench has overturned the controversial 2006 Conservative party nomination process in Calgary West; click here for details.
Friday, August 25, 2006
The Herald Misses The Point
Posted at 9:26 AM
The Calgary Herald ran an editorial today on the brewing controversy in Calgary West, although their commentary seems to conflate two separate and distinct issues.
The first issue is the restrictive rules that are placed upon party members who dare to run in nominations against incumbent MPs.
As the editorial correctly points out, the deck is stacked in favour of incumbents in all parties, although unlike The Herald we're not sure that "everybody else is doing it" is truly a valid excuse.
The second issue, which is not actually addressed in the editorial, is the disqualification of the candidate competing against Mr. Anders, for reasons that cannot be disclosed.
Democracy, above all else, is about accountability and transparency. It is one thing for the Conservative Party to prevent candidates from running, but it is something very different for it to do so without publicly providing the reasons for the disqualification. Instead, the party has chosen to refuse comment, and handle the matter through an internal appeal process cut off from public scrutiny. This latter phenomenon is what is most disturbing, and unfortunately, it is this latter phenomenon that The Herald ignores.
Ironically, CanadianGrassroots.ca, a Canadian conservative website that approvingly posts articles written by members of the Herald's editorial board, has as its motto "Join our new party and help address our "Democratic Deficit" issues." If only the fine folks at The Herald felt the same way.
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Nomination news
Posted at 1:52 PM
In a bizarre twist, the Conservative Party today announced that the lone candidate running against Rob Anders for the Calgary West nomination has been disqualified -- for reasons it cannot reveal.
Over the next couple of days, public scrutiny should hopefully cause the Conservative Party to disclose the reasons for the disqualification. In the interim, however, we here at Vote Out Anders are disappointed for two reasons. First, we are obviously disappointed because of our distaste for Anders' extreme views and poor record of representing the riding.
But even beyond that it is sad to see the Conservative Party, the heir of the populist, grassroots Reform Party, now being run in the same manner as the heavy-handed backroom party machine that it so viscerally opposed. It is one thing to design a nomination structure that permanently entrenches incumbents, but another to clandestinely squash the nominations of those who dare to participate in the democratic process. It's somewhat ironic that Anders's vehement opposition to communism doesn't extend so far as to prevent him and his circle from appropriating the management style of the Politburo.
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Nomination hijinks
Posted at 8:03 PM
The media have begun to rumble about the bizarre windsprint nomination battle taking place in Calgary West. Although it is not unusual for political parties to protect even the most embarassing incumbent MPs, the brevity of the period in which memberships can be sold (you have until tomorrow to become a member) is somewhat odd, particularly coming from the descendents of the Reform Party, for whom "grassroots" meant something more than a part of one's lawn.
CALGARY - Got the political itch? Well, scratch the Conservatives.
They've secretly approved an accelerated process for selecting candidates that gives party headquarters new powers to protect current MPs from those who dare to want their job.
Outsiders need not apply unless they can somehow mobilize a challenge on barely one week's notice.
Under the new rules, introduced by Prime Minister Stephen Harper and rubber-stamped in private at last week's Conservative caucus retreat, local ridings will no longer have the power to set nomination dates or be responsible for notifying the party membership.
HQ now calls all the shots a perfect fit with Harper's control fetish and the result is a form of democracy by stealth that will preserve tired incumbency and keep fresh blood from entering a party that campaigned on openness and transparency.
Here's why you should pity people such as Walter Wakula, who is trying to perform a commendable public service by knocking loopy MP Rob Anders off the Tory ticket in Calgary West.
He returned home Friday night, on the eve of a long weekend, to find a voicemail from head office starting the 30-day countdown to a nomination meeting on Sept. 2 the Friday kickstart of the summer's last long weekend.
The party has abruptly dispensed with the need to advertise these meetings in local newspapers we know Harper hates the media, but this is taking it to a vindictive extreme and now uses those wretched demon dialers to blitz members with recorded messages.
Once notice has been delivered, the new rules give challengers only nine days to meet all the criteria of becoming a suitable Conservative candidate.
That means Wakula, who worked to get a junior MP named Stephen Harper elected for the Reform Party in the early 1990s, only has until Sunday to fill out a massive personal questionnaire, obtain police clearance, secure two $1,000 bonds and sign a confidentiality agreement pledging not to discuss the application process (how weird is that?).
But most daunting of all, that nine-day opening is the only window of opportunity he has to sell enough memberships to take on an incumbent who has been doing nothing else for months, which included missing his own caucus retreat last week.
All this hassle by Wakula's own party to deny him the chance to take down an MP who richly deserves to be kicked off the Conservative slate.
Hard-right Anders, you see, basically warms a seat in the House of Commons and tries to keep his considerable mouth out of trouble by biting his tongue when the temptation to deride gay rights or abortion or Nelson Mandela comes along.
But he does exemplary work in ensuring he has reclaimed the party nomination four times in a row. An office staffer boasted to me that Anders usually starts his membership blitz a full year before an expected nomination fight.
As a riding executive member who has seen his local MP up close and personal through four terms in office, Wakula says he's on a mission of electoral mercy to save his riding from their sometimes embarrassing representative.
We've got to take him out,'' he said.
I agree.
But the new rushed process has put Wakula at such a terrible disadvantage, you wonder if it's possible to take down the wizard of stacked nomination meetings.
''My campaign manager is in Iceland and most of my inner circle were away for the long weekend,'' he lamented to me Wednesday. ''It's incredible. I just got the police report (Tuesday). I've got this 35-page report to fill out. I've got to sell memberships. I've got a project at work to deal with. I don't have enough time to do it all, so I may have to fly to Ottawa on Sunday to meet the deadline. They should've spaced things out a bit.''
This is but one riding example of the 308 where a party with populist roots has morphed into a governing force that uses strong-arm tactics to ensure the fix is in for its preferred public face.
Particularly in the West, where getting elected means simply having to say you're Tory, the nomination contest is the only uncertainty in what is routinely an electoral cakewalk.
The best person should always come first and that's not always the last person elected.
Possibly in an effort to secure Rob Anders' nomination before new revelations of misconduct surface in his civil suit, the Calgary West Conservative party's nomination process has now begun. A source we spoke with in the Conservative Party noted that senior party officials are pushing for earlier nomination battles in "contentious" ridings, so that the dust will clear before a possible snap election.
The nomination meeting will be held on September 2, but the deadline to buy memberships is this Friday, August 11, so anyone looking to oust Anders may wish to consider shoring up the $10 to buy a membership. The list of candidates running against him will be filed soon, but after the membership deadline closes, so it is probably better to buy now and wait and see who his opponents are, rather than holding out until it's too late.
To buy a membership, click here, then click on the "Become a member" link. Select the "I agree with the above conditions of membership" button, and once you enter in the appropriate info, you're all set!
Friday, June 09, 2006
Cooking the books?
Posted at 2:59 PM
Our site traffic at Vote Out Anders has surged again over the past couple of days after Rob Anders's former constituency office manager filed a lawsuit against him that accuses the Calgary West MP of defrauding taxpayers and violating election laws. The lawsuit, which has prompted opposition MPs to call for an RCMP investigation, claims that:
Anders regularly borrowed money from his former executive assistant to cover his own expenses. Because the expenses were ineligible for reimbursement, however, Anders's office would make false claims for travel expenses and salary increases, as a way of getting taxpayers to foot the bill.
Members of Anders's staff worked full time on a Stephen Harper campaign while continuing to receive a salary from the House of Commons. According to federal law, staffers who work on campaigns have to take leaves of absence while working for a campaign.
More information can be found here, here, here, and here.
As the story develops, we'll keep the site updated accordingly.
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Debate schedule
Posted at 12:56 PM
A couple odds and ends to report:
First, as many of you know by now, Mr. Anders elected not to show up to the all-candidates debate at the University of Calgary. His office claims he was away in British Columbia helping campaign for the candidate Stephen Harper just fired after it was revealed that he's facing jail time for smuggling charges.
That said, given the possibility that Mr. Anders may decide to actually appear at the next debates, the schedule is as follows:
Friday January 13th - Rundle College 7375 17th Ave SW - 12:00pm
Mon Jan 16th - Bowness High School 4627 77 St NW, 7:30pm
Finally, in the "sincerest form of flattery" department, we humbly present this, and wish them the best of luck.
Monday, January 09, 2006
...so apparently, there's an election going on.
Posted at 6:13 AM
Despite the relatively quiet campaign going on so far in the riding, election season is now in full swing, or some reasonable facsimile thereof.
This time around, although we'll be campaigning virtually (or, virtually campaigning, take your pick) via this website, we won't be running a 'ground' campaign. It's not because of a lack of willpower; it's that although we would like for Mr. Anders to quit his day job, we can't afford to quit ours: we're almost all students, many of whom are away at school right now. Although we looked into the logistics of coordinating a campaign from far away, it's proven too difficult. As such, we won't be offering Vote Out Anders lawn signs this year -- if you didn't keep your sign from last time, you can print one off our Downloads page and proudly put it up in your window.
The bottom line, though, hasn't changed: we started this website several years ago because of an unfortunate tendency for Canadian voters to look at federal elections as if they were Presidential -- as opposed to Parliamentary -- elections, whereby the merits (or lack thereof) of local candidates are ignored, in the belief that it doesn't matter who wins your particular riding.
This isn't just an Albertan, or Conservative Party phenomenon -- all the conservatives who send me emails complaining about how Ontario voters would elect a can of beans if it was running for the Liberal party are onto the same thing. If you want good people in office, or effective representation, the candidate matters just as much, if not more, than the party you vote for, because at the end of the day, it's your candidate's office, and not Party HQ, that is going to return your phone calls when you have a problem.
Given that Mr. Anders takes great pains to avoid running on his record (or, perhaps, the Conservative party prohibits him from doing so, because you don't win Federal elections by attacking Nelson Mandela), our intention was to ensure that people are aware of what Mr. Anders has -- and hasn't been up to -- before they cast their ballot. In the end, the site is simply about helping to inform voters. We receive countless emails from people who stubbornly defend Mr. Anders's views, which is fine. (Usually, they also offer some of their own -- we've received multipage manifestos on, among other things, how Canada should recolonize Africa for the sake of the economies of Atlantic Canada; presumably the slave trade will wean people off depleted fish stocks?). The important thing, though, is that you know enough about your MP that you can decide whether you agree with him or not.
So, peruse the site, contact the candidates running in the riding, volunteer for one of their campaigns, and however you vote on January 23, make it an informed vote. After all, sometimes calling a spade a spade means calling a can of beans a can of beans.
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
We're still around...
Posted at 10:02 AM
Thanks for your endless supply of patience, and impressive quantity of emails. We're in the process of updating the website and figuring out the exact nature of our involvement during the January election period; I'd say that the site will be updated within a week, but realistically, it's probably going to be closer to two.
In the mean time, please visit our finally updated links page for links to websites of all of the candidates running in Calgary West this election.
Have a Happy Christmakwanzukah, and we'll see you soon...
Tuesday, June 29, 2004
Thank You!
Posted at 1:13 AM
Well, the results are in...
Rob Anders should have received 75% of the popular vote in the riding thanks to the Conservative/Alliance merger. Instead, he received 55%, meaning we cut a third of his share of the popular vote. All of the former Progressive Conservative vote went to other parties.
Although The Calgary Sun has a headline "Voter turnout drops across city", voter turnout in Calgary West was up by nearly 8%. At 68.5%, it was not only the highest turnout in any riding in the city (nearly 20% higher than turnout in some other Calgary ridings), but from what I can tell, it was one of the highest levels of voter turnout in Canada. (I started going through the turnout numbers in every riding, but quickly realized that I might have better things to do with my time) Even hotly contested races like Edmonton Centre and Toronto Danforth failed to generate that kind of turnout; so far the only riding I've seen that topped Calgary West was Ottawa Centre, where Ed Broadbent was running.
Justin Thompson, the Liberal candidate in Calgary West, received more votes than any other Liberal candidate in Calgary. Danielle Roberts of the Green Party and Tim Patterson of the NDP also both received a greater share of the popular vote than their parties had ever previously achieved in the riding. Although we were unafilliated with all of their campaigns, their successes are notable, and deserve congratulation.
We significantly affected public discourse about the election; you would be hard-pressed to find a newspaper article that did not mention us, or describe Mr. Anders as the controversial MP who called Nelson Mandela a terrorist.
We congratulate Mr. Anders on his victory. We believe that we have sent a significant message both to his team and to Stephen Harper, and hope that Mr. Anders will make a better effort to reach out to all of the voters in the riding. If you watched Mr. Harper's speech, you'll notice that Mr. Anders was well out of the camera's view the entire time; if that doesn't say something, I don't know what does...
334706 hits later, (30781 of which occurred today) it's been both an honour and a privilege...
Until next time...
UPDATE: Why do we only get linked from The Daily Kos after the campaign is already over?
Monday, June 28, 2004
Vote!
Posted at 9:30 AM
You can vote from 7:30 AM to 7:30 PM today; enter your postal code in here to find out where you can vote, and what you'll need to bring.
Best of luck to all of the candidates.
It's been a pleasure.
Sunday, June 27, 2004
A day in the life of a Vote Out Anders volunteer
Posted at 8:18 PM
Some of our volunteers were out putting up signs this evening when a middle-aged man in a white sedan slowed down and began to yell...
[We made some vocabulary changes to protect the innocent]
Gentleman: Frick you Frickers! You're fricking freaks! Who are you fricking supporting? The party of fricking freakiness?
Female volunteer: [Trite though polite response]
Gentleman: Frick you! You're a fricking [word that rhymes with "mutt"]
So if a woman dares to voice her opinion or become involved in the 'man's world' of politics, she's indecent. Sigh.
And on that note, I would like to take this opportunity to thank our volunteers, who have put up with far too much abuse over the past month; this campaign would not have been possible without their valliant efforts and willingness to tolerate vitriol from middle-aged men in white sedans.
Strategic Voting
Posted at 11:39 AM
Don at Revolutionary Moderation provides a handy guide to strategic voting from a general perspective, so we thought we should do the same from a Calgary West point of view.
We have to be careful because we pledged to be nonpartisan and not endorse a specific candidate (although, for all of the people who keep emailing us about it, "nonpartisan" doesn't mean that you don't believe in anything, it means that you are unaffiliated with the political parties), so our instructions are somewhat terse, but here's how to vote strategically in Calgary West:
If you like Rob Anders and think that he has represented you well for the past seven years, vote for him.
If you don't like Rob Anders and think that he hasn't done a particularly good job of representing you for the past seven years, vote against him.
There are five candidates you can choose from; if you want to vote strategically to maximize your chances of voting him out, choose the candidate you believe has the best chance of defeating him.
Saturday, June 26, 2004
Non-sequitur of the day
Posted at 4:48 PM
If you ever want proof that there's a drug problem in our neighbourhoods, try reading through some of the comments we get every day. From an anonymous (of course) visitor:
Getting desperate are we? You must be getting nervous. Somehow trying to convince yourself that you are taking the high road? I think you are just bitter, idealistic, naive students. Next time around you might have better luck if you do your homework a little better rather than just going around putting up the likeness of Mandela. The supercilious attitude is not only annoying but juvenile.
Can't wait to see your crying on Tuesday!
Yes, encouraging citizens to vote and educating them about their MP is juvenile, but saying "can't wait to see your crying" -- right, that's mature.
Drug-addled ramblings aside, it's interesting how many people who send us negative emails use "idealistic" in a pejorative sense; that is, that believing in something is some kind of character defect.
What makes this all the more ironic is that we are often criticized for being 'politically-correct', which in the dictionary of right-wing ideologues, means we're ethical nihilists who don't have any values -- we just dislike Anders, they claim, because he stands for what he believes in. Incidentally, standing for what we believe in is exactly what infuriates all of our critics. So, I guess the moral of the story is... say no to drugs.
Friday, June 25, 2004
"Under the cover of darkness..."
Posted at 7:40 PM
Click here to view a letter that Mr. Anders sent out to his supporters. In it, he desperately tries to shore up support by claming that his "opponents have run a completely negative campaign of fear and hate", "under the cover of darkness," no less.
If there's any fear in this campaign, it can be found in his own letter -- I mean, under the cover of darkness? Come on. This is a public awareness campaign, not The Lord of the Rings.
Elections Canada has reported that Calgary West had the highest advance polling turnout in any riding in all of Alberta -- voters are coming out in droves to defeat Mr. Anders, and he is obviously a little shaken.
Luckily for him, he'll get to enjoy some time off starting on Tuesday morning, but in the mean time, unlike our "opponent", we'll take the high road.
[UPDATE: Yes, the letter is real, his signature is just... strange. If you feel like "registering your disgust" with his scaremongering tactics, his campaign phone number and email address are on the letter.]
The Calgary Herald wrote an editorial today that mentioned that although Anders shows no lack of gumption, he "occasionally lacks wisdom about which political hill to die on." Well, perhaps it was a good sign that the party took place on Signal Hill, and Mr. Anders was nowhere to be found.
In other news, continue to keep an eye out on your signs; "someone" seems very intent on ensuring that there are as little of them standing as possible by election day.
Finally, in the "damned by faint praise" category, we got this email from Al:
Its unfortunate that you are organizing to defeat the Conservative candidate for Calgary West. It is important for Alberta that the Conservatives form the next government or a strong minority government. Every seat counts and this campaign doesn't help! I wouldn't care if the Conservative candidate was Charles Manson - My vote is for the Conservatives. Let's hope for Alberta's sake that your campaign is a complete and utter failure.
Now that's a strong endorsement: he would vote for Charles Manson, but since he's in jail for mass murder, he's voting for Rob Anders instead. Ah, good. Glad we cleared that up.
Block Party Tonight!
Posted at 9:40 AM
Back in the 1930s, William Aberhart used to host Social Credit picnics, where people would travel hundreds of kilometers to hear him speak, and get a good meal along the way.
Concerned Citizens of Calgary West is pleased to announce an All-Party Block Party taking place from 6-8 PM on Thursday, June 24, 2004, on Sienna Park Link, in Signal Hill.
This will be an opportunity to meet some of the candidates running for Member of Parliament in Calgary West in an informal setting, and our way of thanking you for all of your support.
Justin Thompson (Liberal), Danielle Roberts (Green), James Kohut (Canadian Action Party), and Tim Patterson (NDP) will all be there.
Mr. Anders has not confirmed his involvement...
What do I bring?
Bring your neighbours, bring your friends, and bring some food -- there will be a BBQ and potluck, so although attendance is free, you are more than welcome to bring some food or refreshments for the potluck; please refer to the suggestions listed in the chart below:
If you live in...
Scenic Acres, Silver Springs, Tuscany, University Heights, Varsity Acres/Estates, and Varsity Village: bring green salads or fruit salads
Aspen Estates, Christie Estates, Coach Hill/Patterson, Cougar Ridge, Springbank, Richmond Hill, Signal Hill, Sienna West, Elmont, Springbank Hill, Springborough, Springside, Spruce Cliff, Strathcona, Wentworth, West Springs and Wildwood: bring dips, chips and finger foods
Parkdale, Point MacKay, St Andrews Heights, Bowness, Montgomery, Crestmount, West Sunalta, and Valley Ridge: bring drinks and desserts
How do I get there?
For the Northerners in the riding, Signal Hill is located in the Southwest, and is roughly enclosed by 17 AV SW, Sarcee Trail, and 69 St SW.
You can get to Sienna Park Link from Sarcee Trail, or from 69 St SW:
From Sarcee Trail...
Turn West on 17 Ave. SW
Turn Left on Simcoe Blvd (2nd set of lights)
Turn West on Sienna Park Dr
Then take your first left onto Sienna Park Terrace, and first right onto Sienna Park Link.
For additional parking, follow Sienna Park Terrace to Sienna Park Drive, and park on the west side of the street.
From 69 St SW...
Turn East on 34 Ave
Go North on Sierra Morena Dr. (first left)
Turn West on Sienna Park Dr.
Then vear right and go up hill to Sienna Park Link
Wednesday, June 23, 2004
Debate Tonight In Montgomery
Posted at 2:03 PM
Another reminder about the All-Candidate's Forum taking place tonight, from 7-9 PM at the Montgomery Community Center (5003 16 Ave NW).
Also, Justin Thompson, Tim Patterson, Danielle Roberts and James Kohut have confirmed for the All Party Block Party tomorrow night from 6-8 PM in Signal Hill; Mr. Anders' attendance is still up in the air.
This BBQ and potluck is a chance to meet the candidates in an informal setting, and we hope to see you there. You can click here for more information, or click here to RSVP.
Tuesday, June 22, 2004
Save Our Signs
Posted at 6:09 PM
There are lots of ways to get involved in politics: you can go out to the all-candidates debates (like the one tomorrow night in Montgomery), you can volunteer for a political party; heck, you can even volunteer for us.
But destroying campaign signs is not a good way to get involved -- it's counterproductive, it's disturbing, and it's illegal.
We have been having serious problems with our election signs disappearing, particularly in certain neighbourhoods. In fact, a couple of days ago, all of our public signs mysteriously went missing.
We don't have the energy, the resources, or the time needed to stand beside every one of our election signs with a video camera.
All we can do is ask people to respect the rule of law, and to call the police if they see signs -- whether they're Liberal, Conservative or nonpartisan -- being stolen or vandalised.
UPDATE: On a related note, we are almost out of signs, and won't be ordering any more... if you'd like one, now's a good time to order... our sign coordinator, in her infinite wisdom, predicts we'll be out of signs by tomorrow afternoon.
UPDATE 2: This is what was left of one of our signs:
Monday, June 21, 2004
Varsity Debate recap
Posted at 9:30 PM
So we just got back from the Varsity debate... did anyone else at the debate hear Mr. Anders refuse to answer whether he had called Nelson Mandela a terrorist or communist? If my memory serves correct, Anders slickly talked his way in circles for a couple of minutes, infuriating a crowd that wanted a 'yes or no' answer to a 'yes or no' question.
Finally, Anders mumbled that he has never publically made those claims about Mr Mandela.
Did you pull a Rahim Jaffer and have an aide impersonate you, or is that actually you saying those things in that video?
UPDATE:
Ignoring Mr. Anders' disingenuousness, something interesting struck me as I was leaving the debate.
Originally we had intended to make some noise at the various debates, but we later decided to adopt a different strategy. Although it would have been fun to bring in an army of hecklers dressed in pinocchio noses, we thought it would be better to simply sit back and gauge the mood of the voters.
I mean, this site has gotten nearly a quarter million hits since it launched three weeks ago, but I have a lot of cousins, so I wanted to see how much of our momentum was real.
Well, it turns out that we didn't even have to be cheering and jeering at the debates, because the voters of the riding were already there for us. We sensed something was afoot when one of the candidates actually mentioned us in his opening speech, and knew we were on a roll when Anders was faced with a barrage of boos as he tried to weasel his way out of answering questions. Never has someone spoken so much while saying so little.
Even diehard Anders fans were somewhat taken aback, I suspect, by his stubborn refusal to answer the questions he was given, choosing instead to provide answers to questions he obviously wished he was receiving instead. So is the campaign working? Absolutely.
There's just one catch, however.
Almost all of the questions were for Mr. Anders, and almost all were antagonistic. Don't get us wrong -- we think it's great that people want to vote him out; that's why this website was set up.
But you can't vote him out unless you know who you're voting for, and although this debate was very good at showing people why they aren't voting for Anders, it was not nearly as good at showcasing the alternatives.
There's a debate tomorrow morning at around 6:30 AM on CBC Radio (info below) between some of the candidates; there's a debate between all of them on Wednesday at 7:00 PM at the Montgomery Community Center (5003 16 Ave NW). Go to the final debate, and ask the other candidates questions as well.
Finally, remember to RSVP for the All-Party Block Party this Thursday from 6:00 to 8:00 PM. This is a chance for you to meet these candidates in an informal setting; it's a chance for the nature of this campaign to change from being focused on voting someone in, instead of just voting someone out.
We hope you'll join us.
Varsity Debate Tonight
Posted at 10:20 AM
A reminder about the all-candidate's forum at the Varsity Community Center (4303 Varsity Drive NW) tonight at 7:00 PM.
Sunday, June 20, 2004
Odds and Ends
Posted at 11:24 AM
We received email from a couple of people who agreed that Mr. Anders did not perform particularly well at the University debate, but blamed it on a hostile crowd that wasn't going to vote for him anyways (and as for that University debate, here's a different CFCN clip of it.)
However, the Tuscany debate last thursday was not a crowd solely composed of, as one reader put it, "gimme gimme gimme" University students, and Anders' evasiveness still managed to rub the crowd the wrong way. According to one blogger, Anders fared no better than at the University. [DISCLAIMER: the blog contains colourful language]
There's an all-candidates debate at 7:30 on Monday night at the Varsity Community Center. If you missed the last two, or even if you didn't, make sure to be there...
Our signs have arrived, in a big way; if you ordered a sign and are in the riding (and not in Silver Springs, Scenic Acres or Tuscany), you should have received your sign today. If you've somehow slipped through the cracks, then let us know.
As well, a brief side note:
Every day, we receive a couple variations on this question:
"I, also, might not appreciate Rob Anders, but without any names attached to your Concerned Citizens' Committee you also prove that you are nothing more than another political group with an axe to grind! Names please! Who are you? "Concerned Citizens"! Big deal! Who isn't?"
It's actually quite strange how often we get this question, especially considering the fact that our names are plastered all over the press releases that fill this page, as well as all of the media coverage we've received.
But the email itself also raises two points. First, as to who is not a concerned citizen? Well, in the 2000 election, 40% of the eligible voters in the riding weren't concerned citizens. Our goal with this campaign is to make people concerned citizens.
Second, (and this is a pet peeve of ours), if you ask a question via the comment form remember to fill in the email address, or else we can't get back to you.
Saturday, June 19, 2004
All-Party Block Party
Posted at 10:22 AM
Concerned Citizens of Calgary West is pleased to be hosting an All-Party Block Party on Thursday, June 24, 2004, from 6-8 PM in Signal Hill.
This will be our chance to thank all of you for helping us run such a successful campaign, and it will be your chance to meet with different candidates running for Member of Parliament for Calgary West in an informal setting.
All are invited.
Please click here for more information.
Thursday, June 17, 2004
PRESS RELEASE: Vote Out Anders Campaign Website Receives 200,000 Hits As Momentum Builds
Posted at 3:06 PM
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Vote Out Anders Campaign Website Receives 200,000 Hits As Momentum Builds
Concerned Citizens of Calgary West President Josh Kertzer issued a thank-you message to the constituents of Calgary West at the Vote Out Anders website (www.voteoutanders.com) today.
"It's been amazing to watch our grassroots campaign take on a life of its own," says Kertzer. "We've received nearly 200,000 hits on our website this past two weeks, and the response has been fantastic."
The campaign is a nonpartisan effort to encourage the voters of the riding to help Rob Anders, the Conservative MP for Calgary West, quit his day job.
The Conservative party has responded by further tightening their muzzle on the controversial MP, canceling his public appearances at events like the launch of a campaign to repeal Bill C-250. Issues like same-sex marriage are no longer mentioned on Anders' website.
"We sold out of lawn signs -- twice," says Kertzer. "We now have over 200 signs up around the riding, with 20 requests coming in every day. By our count, some communities now have more of our signs on their lawns then they do of Mr Anders.'"
Contact :
Josh Kertzer - President,
josh@voteoutanders.com
Concerned Citizens of Calgary West
University of Calgary, P.O. Box 66010,
Calgary, AB T2N 4T7
For those of you who missed the debate today at the University of Calgary, you missed out on quite the event. (Check out this report from CTV's Bill Macfarlane to see what you missed.)
Rob Anders is now an honourary member of our organization -- every time he speaks, we get more donations and sign requests. We're now averaging at least 20 a day.
Anders actually spoke a couple of days ago at William Aberhart High School; when one of the students asked him a question, and then told him that he hadn't really answered it, he curtly replied, "Well I'm finished with you." Guess how many students of the class went out and ordered lawn signs after?
UPDATE 3: We've finally sorted this scenario out; one reader present claimed that the students were being belligerent, and that the quote is taken out of context, so caveat emptor.
But back to this debate.
I admit that I'm more than slightly biased, but it seemed to me that the debate did not go particularly well for Mr Anders. The debate was structured with the first half specifically related to post-secondary education, and the second half a general free-for-all.
When asked a question about how each of the candidates would focus on education, Anders says he wouldn't. "When I go door to door," he said, "people don't ask me about education. They ask me about tax cuts, about government waste and mismanagement."
Now, it takes cajones to show up to a debate on education and basically announce that education isn't important.
Perhaps it's better that he didn't pander to the audience, pretending to be something that he wasn't. But I think this shows something significant: he was in front of an audience mostly comprised of students and professors, and he told them that he didn't think education was a priority; in essence, he told them that he wasn't out to get their vote, or at least that he wasn't actively seeking it.
The media is bemoaning the fact that youth are disaffected with the political process. Here we have a guy who's taking advantage of that, and is planning on riding our apathy all the way to Ottawa.
If that's not a reason to vote him out, I don't know what is.
UPDATE: I've been told that you can also catch a rebroadcast of the debate on CJSW (90.9 FM) this Thursday at 6 PM. UPDATE 2: You can also check out this CBC story, or the coverage on page A6 of the Calgary Herald, which for some reason we couldn't find online.
Tuesday, June 15, 2004
At least they didn't bring up my underwear
Posted at 11:01 PM
More incomprehensible feedback today -- I guess now we know the political affiliation of the people who listen to QR77:
Are you for real? Do your research for Pete's sake... a low dollar keeps our exports strong which is pinncle to our strong economy. Ever wonder why our GNP growth outpaces the Americans? Please do us a favour and go back to school before creating a site like this...
I'm sorry, but I don't even know where to begin. Uh... I think you have the wrong website. UPDATE: An alert reader points out that we link to an old Rob Anders pamphlet where he argues against a low dollar. So who should go back to school, again?
And then we get another fellow, who, unlike our previous commentator, actually has some comments that pertain to the site. He says:
As a member of the Conservative party and a resident of Calgary West I can tell you that you have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. I was personally involved in the nomination campaign in which Rob Anders won on the third ballot (I was a scrutineer). I heard Rob's comments and know him and know what he feels about the issues you are trying to misrepresent. In many cases, what you assert that Rob stands for is correct however your assumptions as to why he holds to those beliefs are totally false. You are doing a grave injustice to the man because you don't know the facts. That's what we call bearing false witness on a grand scale. No matter though, he will win again and you will be relegated to protesting G8 summits or whatever else socialist idiots do these days.
Socialist idiot?
Was it something I said?
Nevertheless, I don't know whether there's a specific quote he feels we misinterpreted, although it's worth pointing out that the reason that we chose to center the site around a quiz is because it meant that we could present his quotes without fear of misrepresenting them with our commentary. Furthermore, all of the quotes we used are from the roughly 1400 media transcripts we read through (meaning that we feel pretty confident about the context in which his statements were made) and the entire site was checked over thoroughly by our research team and a lawyer. However, if you feel we're misrepresenting Mr Anders somewhere on the site, let us know what his actual assumptions are and we'll be glad to make the appropriate changes.
And finally, another reminder about the debate taking place tomorrow (Wednesday) at MacEwan Hall at the University of Calgary... click here for details.
Another busy day at Vote Out Anders...
Posted at 9:23 AM
A couple of things:
Be sure to listen in to QR77 (770 AM) this afternoon at 2 PM; Concerned Citizens will be appearing on QR77 Afternoons with Dave Taylor. It's a call-in show, so if you have any questions, be sure to speak up now, or forever hold your peace -- you can call in at 974-TALK.
We're all out of signs! We're ordering another batch, but if you've ordered a sign and haven't received it yet, you might have to wait until the end of the week...
Another reminder about tomorrow's debate at the University of Calgary (see below for details)
Finally, although this site gets more than enough angry diatribes from people who think our claims of nonpartisanship are hiding a secret agenda against the Conservative Party, there's a new website out, allianceconservatives.com, that predicts what a Stephen Harper cabinet would look like if the Rob Anders wing of the party was given the reins of power... [DISCLAIMER: as a nonpartisan organization, we are unable to endorse the predictions made in the site, and are providing the link for information and entertainment purposes only...]
Sunday, June 13, 2004
Debating Time
Posted at 3:36 PM
A couple of big debates people should know about:
Wednesday, June 16, 2004 from 11:30 AM -1:30 PM: All Candidate's Forum at the North Courtyard of the MacEwan Student Centre at the University of Calgary. We've been told that all of the major candidates will be attending... will you?
Also, for those who live in Tuscany, there's an Open Forum taking place on Thursday, June 17, 2004 at 7:30 PM at the Tuscany Club (212 Tuscany Way).
Finally, for those who live in Varsity, there's an all-candidates forum taking place at the Varsity Community Centre on June 21, 2004.
We encourage all concerned citizens to attend and ask questions -- that's what democracy is all about.
Saturday, June 12, 2004
And to think people wonder why young people don't vote...
Posted at 11:32 PM
Maybe it's a full moon or something, because the emails we've been getting tonight are the strangest yet:
First, someone sends the following comment:
"You say that you are "non-partisan". Hardly. Your underwear is showing throughout. You are anti-Conservative, at least. That makes you very partisan!"
To prove this, he provides the following quote from our News page (you can see the original down below):
Right now the Conservative party is polling fairly well nationally -- whether it will last is a different question, but the important thing, and what some of Mr Anders' staunchest supporters fail to realize, is where this success has come from.
Harper has basically spent the past week on the defensive about social conservatives within his party. Time and time again, his answer is the same: although the party has members like Mr Anders, their beliefs are not reflective of the party platform, and will not affect party policy; he won't disallow private members' bills on the subject, but that doesn't mean he'll let them pass either. In other words, there's a direct correlation between the party's success nationally, and Anders' marginalisation within the party.
Okay, class. Setting aside the odd reference to underwear, can anyone tell me how this shows "anti-Conservative" bias?
Unless there's something anti-conservative about providing, you know, a cogent argument, then it looks like our friendly visitor is out of luck.
Seriously, though -- the first reader to explain how this quote, when read in context, shows my anti-conservative underwear will win a prize.
They get bonus points if, like many of the visitors to the site, they also happen to be card-carrying members of the Conservative Party.
Moving away from the undergarment aisle, we turn to the immoral equivocation section, with this comment from another equally anonymous visitor:
You might want to expand your movement and give a citizenship to Yasser Arafat and Saddam Hussein too!
When you are old enough to shave, and know a bit more about what actually happened, you will find that what you are saying is totally absurd.
Alright.
Let me get this straight.
Every day, media pundits opine about the apathetic younger generation. "What's wrong with these people?", they ask. "They don't vote, and don't seem to care about politics. Don't they have any sense of citizenship or civic duty?"
Excuse me if my underwear is showing, but has it occurred to anyone that the reason that young people don't vote is because of self-righteous commentators like our friend here, who in lieu of providing actual arguments, instructs us to sit down and shut up because we're not old enough to know what we're talking about?
Friday, June 11, 2004
Miscellaneous Updates
Posted at 10:01 AM
A couple of miscellaneous updates...
First, we're mentioned on page A19 of The Calgary Herald today. Online subscribers can check the article out here.
Finally, a word about Mr Anders.
A couple of days ago, several astute readers emailed us a press release called "CAMPAIGN TO REPEAL BILL C-250 LAUNCHES IN AIRDRIE, ALBERTA." Anders, along with fellow MP Myron Thompson, was scheduled to speak at the event.
We were originally going to post something about the launch, but in a bizarre twist of fate, the spokeswoman for the group putting on the event was named Janet L. Jackson, and the update I had written ended up containing far too many Janet and Samuel L. Jackson jokes for us to publish it.
But that's not important. What is important is that a couple of different readers emailed in today to let us know that Anders and Thompson were mysterious last-minute no-shows at the event.
Right now the Conservative party is polling fairly well nationally -- whether it will last is a different question, but the important thing, and what some of Mr Anders' staunchest supporters fail to realize, is where this success has come from.
Harper has basically spent the past week on the defensive about social conservatives within his party. Time and time again, his answer is the same: although the party has members like Mr Anders, their beliefs are not reflective of the party platform, and will not affect party policy; he won't disallow private members' bills on the subject, but that doesn't mean he'll let them pass either. In other words, there's a direct correlation between the party's success nationally, and Anders' marginalisation within the party.
We saw this in play in Anders' abysmal speaking record this session, where he didn't once rise in question period. We saw this as well when Anders' website was overhauled right before the election, and all of the social conservative issues mysteriously disappeared. Now we see it where Anders and Thompson, probably on orders from Campaign Headquarters, are ordered at the last minute not to make an appearance at their debutante ball.
As I've said before, the interesting thing about the Vote Out Anders campaign isn't how Anders himself would react (after all, he refused to take a phone call from Nelson Mandela -- who can predict what the guy will do), but how Harper was already reacting. So far, what we've seen is that Anders is gradually being pushed aside.
Paradoxically, it's Anders' strongest supporters who are going to be left out if he's reelected.
Wednesday, June 09, 2004
A low blow
Posted at 10:26 PM
We've received a lot of critical emails, which range from incomprehensible blatherings to intelligent criticisms, but one we received this afternoon hit a new low.
A visitor wrote an email that concluded by making fun of the Calgary Flames failing to win the Stanley Cup this year.
Have you no shame, sir?
Tuesday, June 08, 2004
Volunteer Needed!
Posted at 9:48 AM
If you are reading this message, and you wouldn't mind helping deliver lawn signs this evening for about two hours (and you have a car, or at least have access to one) send an email to josh@voteoutanders.com. We've gotten so many requests that we can't deliver them all...
Monday, June 07, 2004
Why You Need To Vote (And How)
Posted at 7:44 PM
We've received a lot of emails from readers that either ask whom they should vote for, or announce that they won't be voting.
As a nonpartisan organization, we cannot endorse any candidate. Although at least one reader curtly reminded us that telling people to vote strategically without saying whom to vote for is better suited for a senior prom than a federal election, our mandate prevents us from endorsing a candidate.
However, a couple of things are worth pointing out.
First of all, the riding boundaries have changed since 2000; the riding lost a huge southern component between Bow Trail and Sarcee that was a significant Anders stronghold, while gaining a more moderate area east of the Foothills Hospital, and a large area west of 69th Street, filled with new families.
So, although Anders won by a large margin this past election, the riding is now less favorable territory. If disenchanted Conservative voters choose to vote strategically, it is possible for an upset that would make the front page of any newspaper in Canada.
If I wanted to vote out Anders, I would vote for the candidate I believe has the best chance of defeating him, and I would make sure all my friends and neighbors do the same. If all of the voters who have been flocking to this website do likewise, and 90,000 voters show up on election day, instead of less than 60,000 like last time, then we just may help him quit his day job on June 28. There are a lot of "ifs" in that paragraph, but that's the way democracy works.
However, the fact that Anders is still the Honorable Member for Calgary West shows what happens when people don't vote, or vote blindly for their favorite party. Anders appeals to a core component of social conservatives -- we know, because we've been getting hate mail from them. But there are a lot of moderates in Calgary West -- a lot more than one might believe -- who are fed up with their current representation. If you're one of them, and you stay home on election day, you're essentially keeping Anders in power.
So although we won't tell you how you should vote, we will ask you to remember that democracy isn't directed from above; it comes from the ground. If you don't want Anders to be your voice in Ottawa, then he doesn't have to be. But you do have to vote, and you do have to get engaged with the political process.
Another video!
Posted at 12:43 PM
The "Why Vote Out Anders" page has been updated. An alert reader sent us a link to the priceless Newsworld interview after the Mandela incident where Anders comes off looking... well, let's say he looked more comfortable in the pinocchio nose.
The interviewer, Newsworld's Christopher Thomas, seems kind of stunned by what Anders is saying, like he doesn't think he's being serious. [You'll need RealPlayer to view the file].
Curiously, Anders' strategy in the interview seems to be that he thinks if he mentions the Dalai Lama, everyone will forget everything else he's done. But that wouldn't work; he wouldn't still be trying that, would he? Would he?
Sunday, June 06, 2004
Signs have arrived!
Posted at 9:32 AM
Sorry for the absence of updates to the site yesterday; we were busy assembling the Vote Out Anders! lawn signs, which are quite possibly the best thing to happen to your lawn since the invention of plants.
Because of the volume of sign requests we've received, we're going to be delivering them over the next couple of days: the first batch should go out this afternoon. As always, if you would like to request a sign (for which we are suggesting an optional $5 donation), you can do so by filling out this form.
Friday, June 04, 2004
Anders' Speaking Record, Continued
Posted at 12:07 PM
We got an interesting email today from someone who contacted Anders' campaign office to ask about his speaking record this session. As previously discussed, Anders' speeches in Parliament have decreased substantially since he began to attract controversy for his extreme views.
In the third session of the 37th Parliament, Anders spoke only four times: on February 11, February 13, February 16, and April 2, he gave a thirty-second member's statement.
To provide some context, however, that figure is abysmally low, even for backbench MPs. In comparison, Anders ranks at the bottom of all Calgary MPs with regard to speaking in Parliament: by our count, during the same time period, Jason Kenney spoke on 51 different days, sometimes more than once a day, while Diane Ablonczy spoke on 40 different days.
Anyways, the fellow who contacted Anders' campaign office received a reply that listed all of Anders' speeches in Parliament, not just those from this past session.
I guess they thought nobody would notice.
Thursday, June 03, 2004
Media Update
Posted at 8:43 PM
The word on the street is that we'll be featured tomorrow (Friday) between 12:00 and 1:00 on CBC Radio 1's Friday Scrum, so tune in if you're interested.
Also, we tip our hat to A-Channel, CJSW, and AlbertaViews Magazine for their coverage of the campaign.
The money quote:
"After a week and a half of electioneering, Kertzer and his comrades have attracted more attention with their burlap banner than the three major political parties combined.
Indeed.
At the risk of repetition, however, it's worth pointing out that this campaign is about far more than the Mandela incident. When we review the site statistics at the end of the night, it's interesting to see how most people read about Anders' extreme social views, but not about his ineffectiveness as an MP, which is just as, if not more important, in my books.
NEW! Donate Online
Posted at 7:58 PM
Finally our PayPal account is sorted out. If you're interested in making a contribution, but don't want to use a stamp, click here to donate online using a PayPal account.
The comments keep on coming...
Posted at 2:52 PM
We've had a lot of great comments, both positive and negative, since we set up the site; we've been accused of being disgruntled conservatives, closeted liberals, "know it all" and "holier than thou" university students, and everything in between.
Personal favourites include the guy who pointed out that you can't spell "Neanderthal" without "Ander", the fellow who told us to get a life because this election wasn't supposed to be about "our values", the guy who rewrote the words of the song "War" by Edwin Starr to be about Mr. Anders ("What is it good for...ABSOLUTELY NUTHIN... sing it again, y'all"), and a whole host of comments, both positive, and negative, that I can't print here.
However, this comment received today wins the award for its bizarre moral equivocation:
"Will you also be cheering on Osama to be a Canadian citizen?"
Wednesday, June 02, 2004
All we need is Gepetto
Posted at 10:10 PM
The good thing when you get 20,000 hits one day, and 30,000 the next is that you start getting presents in the mail.
You may remember how Anders got his start as a paid heckler wearing a pinocchio nose for the Republican Party in an Oklahoma state senate race in 1994.
That sounds too good to be true, we thought. If only we had footage to prove it.
Concerned Citizens of Calgary West is putting on a 'Seven Year Contest', commemorating the past seven years of Anderific fun.
We're not sure what Anders has done all of that time, because his website and campaign materials are suspiciously void of references to the past. His website, which has been recently stripped of all traces of social conservatism, is like an episode of Extreme Makeover, Calgary West edition. (Seriously. If you've been to his website two weeks ago, go back now and ask yourself where all of the same-sex marriage stuff went. Interesting, isn't it.)
Anyways, since a lot can be done in seven years, we're looking to see what you can come up with. What's the best thing that can be done in seven years?
Send us your entries. You can enter as many times as you want, and the winner will receive a free lawn sign (ok, so we aren't charging for the lawn signs, but we're requesting a small $4-5 donation). You'll also enjoy the admiration of your peers. Except for the people who have sent us hate mail -- they probably won't admire you.
The contest closes a week from today, so submit now!
[CAVEAT: In fairness to Mr Anders, we did receive one email from someone who pointed out that he had done good things for the Cadet program. So, if you actually know what he's been up to and are willing to write it in an email, let us know, and we'll put it up on the site]
Visitor Feedback
Posted at 7:56 PM
The comment box is now overflowing; originally we wanted to be able to reply to all of your feedback because this blog has the comment feature disabled, but at this rate, we can barely finish reading all of them.
So if you don't get a reply, it's not that we didn't read it, it's that there aren't enough of us to reply to all of the messages while running the campaign.
There are a couple of common questions we're getting, so I'm going to try and answer some of them here.
1) A lot of people think we're excessively fixated on Nelson Mandela. We chose to use the Mandela image as our logo for a couple of reasons:
because it's an iconic image that people generally recognize;
because it allowed us to make all sorts of bad puns;
because we think that this referendum on Rob, like apartheid, is a black and white issue. (Please refer to the point above, about bad puns)
Anders is a polarizing candidate -- judging from the responses we've been getting, you either love him or you hate him; you either agree with his positions, or you don't.
We chose the Mandela incident because we thought it encapsulated that dichotomy fairly well, but there are plenty of other incidents we could have used: refusing to approve summer job placements in the riding as part of a federal student work experience program because it interfered with the invisible hand, for example; ideology before constituents at all costs.
If people go to the site, and decide that Rob Anders is revealing divine truth, then that's great. If people go to the site, and decide that they don't want Anders speaking for them in the House, that's great too.
But either way, there's no reason why you shouldn't vote on June 28.
2) How many of us are there?
We have an executive comprised of around 5 members, and around 20 volunteers. We're all undergraduate students at different universities and colleges.
3) Can I order a sign if I'm not in Calgary West?
We really appreciate your support. Because of budgetary constraints (both the fact that we don't have a lot of money, and that according to Elections Canada guidelines we aren't allowed to spend a lot of money), we're trying to concentrate our signs in Calgary West proper. However, one thing you could do is print a sign off of the website (from the Downloads section), and put it up in your window, on your lawn, etc.
4) How can we help?
We're looking for volunteers to help put up signs, escort our "Full Nelson" banner to different locations around the riding. It's actually quite fun to get people's reactions; a lot of people respond really well, some people get confused and tell the other people in the car that Rob Anders looks suspiciously South African, and other people... well, we've only had a couple of fingers so far.
We're looking for contributors to help cover the costs of our ad blitz
We're looking for people to put up signs on their lawn once our signs have arrived
We're looking for a new MP.
I think that just about covers it.
Vote Out Anders Campain Responds To Anders' Allegations (Press Release)
Posted at 2:01 PM
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Vote Out Anders Campaign Responds To Anders' Allegations
Calgary, AB -- June 1, 2004 -- Concerned Citizens of Calgary West responded today to Calgary West MP Rob Anders' allegations that their independent campaign is secretly affiliated with the Liberal party.
On a statement released this afternoon on their website (www.voteoutanders.com), Concerned Citizens of Calgary West said: "Concerned Citizens of Calgary West is a nonpartisan, independent organization. We are not affiliated with any major political party. We will not be endorsing any specific candidate in the federal election, and no candidate will be endorsing us. "
"Anders's campaign slogan tells the constituents of Calgary West to 'demand better,'" says Concerned Citizens of Calgary West President Josh Kertzer. "It's a shame that when they do, he responds by concocting a vast left-wing conspiracy theory."
"On the bright side," says Vice President Erin Runnalls, "Anders has probably spoken more frequently today than he has this past session of Parliament. Now we know why his party doesn't let him get out too much." According to Hansard, the official record of Parliament, Anders spoke only four times in the House of Commons during the past session.
"Taxpayers paid him nearly $44,000 this session to say a grand total of 470 words. That works out to $93 a word," says Kertzer. "No wonder he's telling us to 'demand better.'"
Members of the Vote Out Anders campaign will be making an appearance from 4:00 PM to 5:30 PM this afternoon on the overpass over Crowchild Trail between the Banff Trail LRT station and McMahon stadium, encouraging voters to give Anders "the Full Nelson." Kertzer and Runnalls will be available for comment.
Concerned Citizens of Calgary West
University of Calgary, P.O. Box 66010,
Calgary, AB T2N 4T7
www.voteoutanders.com
Giant Liberal Conspiracy
Posted at 12:07 PM
Well that didn't take long.
Rob Anders has already decided that this site is part of a grand conspiracy by a desperate Liberal party.
Although this tactic is understandable (after all, strategically, what else can he say?), we here at Vote Out Anders! would like to officially state, for the record, what we've been telling reporters all day:
Concerned Citizens of Calgary West is a nonpartisan, independent organization. We are not affiliated with any major political party. We will not be endorsing any specific candidate in the federal election, and no candidate will be endorsing us.
Now that that's out of the way, we're looking forward to him explaining all of the positive responses we've received from traditional Alliance and Conservative supporters.
And so it begins...
Posted at 11:39 AM
Well, that's quite a start.
"The Full Nelson" was flying proudly over Bow Trail this morning, entertaining rush hour traffic. The banner features a giant picture of Mr. Mandela, along side the address of the website.
It was pretty funny to watch people's reactions to it. We started to count the number of appreciative honks and waves we were receiving, but then we lost track. Only one person gave us the thumbs down, however, but judging from the look of consternation on her face, we have reason to suspect that she's probably Mr. Anders' great aunt.
The best part of the day was watching the faces of the drivers who look at the sign, and then start to laugh hysterically and pick up their cell phone to tell their friends to drive by.
The big event, however, is this afternoon...
Vote Out Anders! Press Release
Posted at 12:37 AM
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nonpartisan Vote Out Anders Campaign Launched Today
Calgary, AB -- June 1, 2004 -- With the launching of the www.voteoutanders.com website and the unveiling of the campaign banner over Bow Trail this morning, Concerned Citizens of Calgary West officially launched its Vote Out Anders! campaign.
The Vote Out Anders! campaign is a nonpartisan, independent attempt at helping Mr. Anders quit his day job. Spearheaded by two Queen's University politics undergraduate students, Josh Kertzer, 19, and Erin Runnalls, 21, the campaign aims to educate the constituents of Calgary West about their MP's extreme social views and lackluster public record. Anders, who has served two terms in Parliament, was first elected as an MP for the Reform Party in 1997.
"Mr. Anders is completely out of touch with the views of most young people of Calgary West," says Concerned Citizens of Calgary West President Josh Kertzer. "Calgarians deserve better. We want to turn this election into a referendum on Rob. If you agree with him, vote for him. But if you don't, then don't let him be your representative in Ottawa."
The web-based campaign aims to increase voter turnout, particularly among younger voters. On the website visitors can read the campaign blog, send electronic postcards, order lawn signs, and more. The center of the site is the Anders Awareness Quiz, which tests visitors' knowledge of Rob Anders' policy positions.
The campaign banner, nicknamed "The Full Nelson" because of its giant artistic representation of Nelson Mandela, will be appearing at various landmarks in the riding throughout the election period. Anders was the only member of Parliament to vote against giving Mandela honorary Canadian citizenship, calling the distinguished South African statesman a terrorist.
The "Full Nelson" will be making an appearance from 4:00 PM to 5:30 PM this afternoon, and Kertzer and Runnalls will be available for comment. For security purposes, the location of the event will be confirmed at 2:00 PM in a second press release, which will be emailed to media outlets and available on the website.
Concerned Citizens of Calgary West
University of Calgary, P.O. Box 66010,
Calgary, AB T2N 4T7
www.voteoutanders.com
Welcome to Vote Out Anders!
Posted at 12:00 AM
Welcome to www.voteoutanders.com! Although this blog looks somewhat spartan at this point, it will be updated several times a day as the campaign heats up. We'd love to hear your feedback -- if you have something to say, please let us know!
Concerned Citizens of Calgary West is pleased to be hosting an All-Party Block Party on Thursday, June 24, 2004, from 6-8 PM in Signal Hill.