Last week, I attended a great get-together at the Polish bakery on 17th S.W..A bunch of old friends — we’ve known each other for years — were there to surprise my older brother, Jim, who joined us for lunch on a jaunt from his care home. It was a fantastic time. Best perogies and cabbage rolls in Calgary!.But I realized, very quickly, I was in NDP country. They were all pro Rachel Notley, and that kind of shocked me..It reminded me Danielle Smith has a tough road ahead of her in Calgary. These are all, educated, intelligent people all talented in what they have done in life and what they have achieved. And I love them all..That made it even tougher to take of course, so I kept my trap shut. I didn’t want to ruin the good vibes..And, making it worse today, I heard a clip of Notley’s opening salvos; how healthcare in Alberta was being destroyed and how she'd build it up..Complete hogwash, if one checks the hard facts. Danielle is doing just the opposite, trying to build it up and as far as I can see, making great progress..And then, the NDP ads. One after another..Digging up old quotes from the past and referencing them in today’s campaign..Not only incorrect, but underhanded. But that’s what Rachel Notley and the NDP are all about. Take out a two-by-four, and keep bashing..What made me think about all this was a photo I saw this week of Bobby Kennedy during the Indiana primary in 1968. My brother Jim was there, campaigning for Bobby. Going door to door in poor neighborhoods, he was studying political science at Henry Ford College in Detroit and this was part of his curriculum..He also heartily supported the Democrats in the race, 100%. He told me every one of those folks invited him in when he told them he was there for Bobby..They offered him food and drinks and wanted to learn more about RFK and his vision for America. A grand vision, one that held hope..Have a look at that photo. It shows Bobby grasping the hand of a supporter during the Indiana primary with that amazing Kennedy smile and charm..Many have called it the last campaign. Singer and songwriter John Stewart even dedicated a song to it..Why is this so?.Because every US campaign since then has not been a campaign. It changed after Nixon and his crew got in. It changed forever..Money became more important than issues. And negative campaigns rule, as in the case of our own Rachel Notley..Alberta’s biggest armchair critic who never has any ideas. Just criticism and stuff that basically is not true. Erroneous or blown right out of proportion..Her ads even knock Danny’s pants suits, for God sakes. How low is that?.I can only wonder, what mud will be slinged by the NDP in this campaign — God help us all..No, Bobby talked about the issues of the day and, once he got going, you could not stop him. He was a freight train, headed for success..A presidential candidate for just 82 days, his campaign reflected the passion and the perils of the 1968 race..Kennedy entered the contest primarily to challenge Lyndon Johnson's handling of the Vietnam War. But Kennedy's focus soon turned to domestic issues he'd long been concerned about: poverty and racial inequality..If only our candidates, would take the same path ... a bit of honesty would go a long ways..Truly, it was the last campaign..The stuff today that’s going on between Trump and DeSantis is despicable. Name calling and moronic insults — what has America become?.The “Shining City on a Hill” described by President Reagan has faded. And that’s sad to see..But getting back to the Alberta provincial election..I can only urge folks to dig deeper. Don’t drink the Kool-Aid. Do your due diligence..It’s unfortunate, but politicians with integrity are few and far between and Rachel Notley is a perfect example..She would do and say anything, stoop to the lowest level to garner a vote..It’s just awful because there is so much at stake in this election..If the NDP get back in, it would be a disaster for the province. All that Danny accomplished — her great work on health care, her planned tax cuts, her standing up to the ogres in the PMO — would be lost forever..We would be back to square one..Winner take all. Loser, lose all..Famously, RFK would confess his own role in the Vietnam nightmare as attorney general, to a packed rally at Kansas State University. A skeptical crowd, no less..He didn’t know what kind of reaction he would receive. There were no attack ads back then to help him..He was on the stump, and what he would say would be his only weapon..He explained when his brother John F. Kennedy was president, "I was involved in many of the early decisions on Vietnam, decisions which helped set us on our present path.".He went on: “It may be the effort was doomed from the start … I am willing to bear my share of the responsibility, before history and before my fellow citizens. But past error is no excuse for its own perpetration. Tragedy is a tool for the living to gain wisdom, not a guide by which to live.”.If only we had that bare honesty now..Albertans deserve that.
