Letter: If Barnes wants back in he’ll need to prove he’s a member of the team
By Letter to the Editor on June 11, 2021.
Dear editor, As a retired member of the Armed Forces, and past president and CEO of several corporations, I fully understand the need and value of loyalty, however, in this case I opine that the UCP’s local board has misplaced their loyalty as a board and expressed “personal” bias in wanting the UCP to take Drew Barnes back in. The board, I believe, was not elected to act as Mr. Barnes’ board, but the local UCP board! Mr. Barnes, in my view, displayed disloyalty to his fellow elected colleagues when he openly defied his own government’s attempts to fight COVID. Disloyalty to the leader of the UCPÂ and the party as a whole was only one reason the caucus voted to oust Mr. Barnes. As a member of any organization, one should feel free to disagree, offer alternative courses of action in all situations, however once the organization, not just the leader, makes a plan and then a decision, that member must support the plan even in disagreement. The local UCP board should fully understand this as how would it function if even one member openly defies any decisions made by the board? Should Mr. Barnes wish to be reinstated in caucus, he should be aware he needs to regain the trust and loyalty of that caucus; he does not have to “cowtail” to any one member of the UCP or even its leader; he just has to become a member of the team and work hard to ensure all his constituents are represented, not just those who agree with him! He must, by his actions, show he is a United Conservative and then the UCP should welcome him back with open arms. Ron Noel, CD, Warrant Officer Retired Medicine Hat 8-7
I agree 100%, the local UCP board has lost touch with reality and its loyalty is misplaced by endorsing Drew Barnes. His actions during the pandemic have been terrible. He could not even come out and definitively support vaccinations which is the only thing that will get us out of this. By objecting to the party’s reasonable actions to keep things under control until enough people have been vaccinated, Barnes is not looking out for his constituents but is only speaking for himself and his friends. The incoming UCP board may have a different opinion regarding support for Barnes and I look forward to the nomination process for a new UCP candidate. If Barnes wants to throw his hat back in the ring then that is his right, but if he wins the nomination then the UCP will not be getting my vote the next time, that’s for sure.
None of my conservative friends and I have any intention of voting for these phony conservatives. Reformers who have deliberately tried to destroy everything our conservative hero Peter Lougheed created for us.
None of them are smart enough to suggest they follow in Lougheeds footsteps by collecting proper royalties and taxes, like Notley was trying to do. She would have gotten us out of this financial mess we are in, Kenney, Barnes and company are only making it a lot worse, while they look after themselves and their rich friends. .