April XVIIth, MMXIX
Hon. Dave Eggen, B. Ed., MLA-Elect, Minister of Education, New Democratic, Edmonton-North West
Dear Dave:
On my 2,112th visit to the Alberta Legislature Bvilding on this the 55th Birthday of your caucus colleague Hon. Premier Rachel Notley, MLA-Elect, New Democratic, Edmonton-Strathcona, Premier & President of the Executive Council, I brought her a most appropriate gift to the Alberta Legislature mail room as per proper Legislature Assembly security protocols & arranged for drop off to said Assembly in advance by phone calls to Alberta Sheriffs security detail & pre-arranged a parking spot in advance on the north east legislature grounds parking lot by contacting parking staff by phone in advance & showing proper photo identification per my arrival as well as providing my proper license plate. A book called "Tricky Dick & The Pink Lady" on the MCML United States Senate race in California between Congressman Richard Nixon, Republican (identified as a "liberal" Republican) & Actress Helen Gahagan Douglas, Democratic. 69 years later the parallels are exact, we have a right wing hard ass candidate in both situations seeking power Richard Nixon/Hon. Premier-Designate Jason Kenney, PC, MLA-Elect, United Conservative, Calgary-Lougheed (a 1 time staffer for Hon. Ralph Goodale, PC, MP & a Federal Liberal like Ralph) versus a Communist (Helen)/Socialist (Rachel) female candidate, it is to a degree a battle of gender & sexual politics. Mrs. Douglas got her revenge when she lived to see "Tricky Dick" resign as US Prez due to the Watergate scandal.
In both situations Candidates Nixon & Kenney never called their female opponents a "communist." Nixon just had staffers release his campaign flyers mention her attending American Communist Party meetings on pink sheets of paper, which she did & fully admitted to. Nor did he call Candidate Douglas, a "pinko", just "the pink lady" or "Mrs. Douglas" And Candidate Kenney never called Candidate Notley anything but "Premier" or "Madam Premier" or "Ms. Notley" or "Premier Notley." I give kudos to both for being extremely respectful of their female opponents personally. I have mentioned this book here before, but the comparison here is absolutely fair.
Here it like anything in life it once again even in modern times comes down to Richard Nixon, as him name lives on in this election with II Nixon's, Jason Nixon, MLA-Elect, United Conservative, Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre (rural) & Jeremy Nixon, MLA-Elect, United Conservative, Calgary-Klein (urban.) And the irony here, Jer got elected from a riding named after Alberta's last IV term Tory Premier! Thus bringing attention to the urban/rural divide!
As for my pal Rachel, she is like her dear late dad Grant a person of class. I believe she'll pull a "Harry Strom" & stay on for a full term as Harry did in Opposition as Leader. Harry having a tough act to follow as Premier Ernest Manning stayed on far to long at seven straight terms as Socred Leader. I'd like to meet Rachel & her husband Lu's kids Sophie & Ethan: Ethan being autistic like me so I feel that I can truly understand where he is coming from!
As for Strathcona which I believe was its own city at the time but the first Premier to represent it was Alberta's Ist Premier, Alexander Rutherford, Liberal. The second being the aforementioned VIIIth Premier Ernest Manning, Social Credit (Strathcona-East), this ties in with the fact that both XIth Premier Don Getty, Progressive Conservative (who was the third as he represented Strathcona-West in the early Lougheed years) & XVth Premier Dave Hancock, Progressive Conservative represented Edmonton-Whitemud. & the fourth "Strathconian" being Rachel who is XVIIth Premier. Just as XIIth Premier Ralph Klein, Progresive Conservative & XIVth Premier Alison Redford, Progressive Conservative represented Calgary-Elbow.
Tricia Nixon Cox & Julie Nixon Eisenhower,
Rory
Source: "Tricky Dick & The Pink Lady", C. MCMXCVIII, Random House (All Rights Reserved.)
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