Project Derek

My personal interest is in public policy making. Specifically, I beleive by adhereing to the center of the political spectrum. Centrism provides the best opportunity to put forth ideas from all parties. This site has been designed as my way to connect with friends and former coworkers a like, and do my part to promote change for the better. I beleive it is possible to do so from the center, as a progressive, Conservative. I hope you will too.

Updates over the Course of late 2023 to 2024:

Update below posted on April 29, 2024, and updated last on April 29, 2024 

The focus of Project Derek moved beyond Danielle Smith. I looked at some of the strength behind the international conservative parties branding here in our UK colony. In Britain, the strong stewardship of Oxford University is the primary source of strength that defines the UK Conservatives. A long list of Cameronites occupy the house of commons, and have spent the last several years since Theresea May delivered Brexit, utilizing the various top performing ministers from the coalition, then Cameron Majority governments.  Riski Sunak has had a uniquely difficult time in national UK polls, however retains the top job as Prime Minister, while having  appointed David Cameron to the house of Lords. The UK labour had gone most resently towards looking slightly weakened by the ghost of Tony Blair replacing the energetic Jeremy Corybyn. The discussion of senseless reform of whom sits where and for how long, was brought back as the New York Times reported a return of the former prime minister to UK's Labour party. Unlike the conservatives, Blair was not able to return to the government benches. David Cameron, on the other hand, returned as one of the most respected ministers in modern British history.

When looking at Canada's CPC, there are two defining features. There is one, a slowly dissapearing full cabinet of Harperite ministers. The Harperite minsiters were already electorally popular, having shown no decline in voter popularity for a full decade since last forming government. The cabinet, without a reshuffle, leaves any Canadian conservative capable of taking the reins from Justin Trudeau. The CPC then has the next round of conservatives. Ben Harper, worked for Jason Kenney in Alberta,in the conservative heartland of Alberta. Here he worked for a government that largely is just a continuation of Alberta's conservative 40 year dynasty that had ended durring a political crisis, until the top conservative in the country stepped in to help. Ben Harper is the future of the CPC, and is no doubt the future of the conservative party and grassroots conservative movement (small people that give small donations but still matter to the CPC). 

Ontario's PC Party revealed its plan to tackle cellphone use in schools. This was embarassing. Try pick up a dictionary while your teacher is talking.. durring the lecture component of class. Yikes. Why don't you bbm me, and I will read what your perspective is on the matter. Use of "Technology for Good", is how my highschool had described cellphone use. You can use it as an educational aid, or an educational hinderance. Somehow that same tone of rational, tempered approach to policy was not replicated by the Ontario's conservative party. This kind of nitpicky policy can look like there is a Liberal government comming in Ontario again. The hard work of governing looks set to come to a close, as the party now looks to regulate areas of societal life for lack of better words. Societal life regulation instead of Economic managment, makes the Ontario Government look oddly vulnurable electorally. I would assume this is cleaned up by the next provincial election. 

The CPC will have another major hurdle.  When will Justin Trudeau's kids join federal politics? As a conservative, it is hard to dismiss the Progessive Conservative Background of the Trudeau Family. Hope and hard work, is the remaining adjective collection that the family continues to bring forth from their time within the PC's. We are watching a PC, governing after crossing the floor at present. The Democatic Party, in Alberta is something to take notice of, regardless of Neenshi collapsing the party. Despite Nennshi being the Prentice that could.... The NDP Alberta, has a way of explaining itself. We are unappologetically democrats. To explain this to a conservative less familliar with the matter, that means NDP Alberta is actually an unappologetically conservative party too. They are not a Republican party, and I would refrain from broad associations with the US Republicans in general. David Cameron mentions in his book For the Record, that Obama had said Cameron would be a Democrat as an American. David Cameron, agreed, stating he thought Obama was more than less, correct.  When in junior high, durring government departmental examination year 9, I had learned that the republicans and democrats were both to the right of the conservatives, beleiving in private heath care. The Democrats were to the right of the CPC, but to the left of the Republicans. I felt a sense of optimism, and hope, hearing that true private heath care could be insitutued here in Canada one day. 

The NDP federally are not a conservative party at present. They are a party that is largely jockying with the Albertan NDP, regarding what they actually are. Their front runner, in my view is Heather McPherson, for leader of the federal NDP. To be quite frank, to demonize the Alberta NDP as being the oil sands adverse nightmare that Rachel Notley Combatted, would not be good for the conservatives. Somehow Rachel Notley had set up a PC Party to replace the most incapble minister from the old PC Party of Canada and helped govern from the center to center right. They picked up where Alison Redford left off, and largely just ignored Prentice in general. I will personally refrain from detracting the conversation towards Prentice. That is a matter for another time. If Alberta were viewed as being governed by conservatives with a conservative opposition, that would mean that 100 percent almost of the province, had cast a vote for Albertan British Tory style governance. Albertans Lead. We compromise where we can, and share the same values that create provinicial prosperity. Our set of values could change. Theoretically. They will not. We value our young and old populations relatively equally, making the future something we all share in. As the EU describes politics, we have a common, shared future. I am Austrian, this shared future explaination, is more german sounding, and a bit more clear cut  than using single words like "together". Who is together? Who is the all? My Grandfather spoke German. I don't, but still find a german politician speaking english, a bit easier on the ears. 

So, where would that leave the summation of conservsatism without Danielle Smith. Overwhelmingly, it is a positive summation. Conservatism orientated towards the progression to a higher standard of living is comming. It is inevitable. It could even be described as a "conservative movement." With Danielle Smith, and many capable conservatives governing and ready to keep governing, we are even better off. We replaced Alberta Liberals with a 'New Conservative', and  'Democrat Party' that is taking it's fight to Ottawa, and not Danielle Smith. What does that mean for the UCP. Well, they are in government. Do a good job. You are in the same position as Alison Redford. There are two legitimate conservative options, assuming that Neenshi's takeover of the NDP does not truely equate to civil war..... Nice. Ummmm.... next time Prentice tries to run the PC dynasty, think of stepping in and governing when asked by media interviews about the possibility of stepping in to do so. 

Vision for a Progressive Future