The Enlightened Savage: August 2012

Friday, August 31, 2012

Fresh Air

Hello, Nation.

I have to confess, I don't really know how I want to begin this blog post. After all, I'm a little out of practice. The provincial election was held 130 days ago, and I've written one - one - political blog post since.

It's not as though I haven't been paying attention. I have been. I've been talking politics with friends - though not nearly as much as I used to. I've been getting together with the #yycpolitweet crew now and again for wing nights, or just to poke and prod each other a bit. But to sit down and actually write has been very hard for me.

The truth is, I think I needed a break from it all. I didn't really take the break that I needed after running in the Calgary-Fish Creek PC nomination and finishing 2nd. There wasn't time... races needed covering, I was trying to provide analysis and content for 3 political websites, I was volunteering on multiple campaigns (all of them winners, incidentally)... I didn't have the time I needed to step back, and fall back in love with politics again on my own terms.

After the low of losing the nomination, and the high of helping some good people get elected, and the exhaustion of trying to cover all the races I wasn't actively a part of, I needed to take some time to focus on myself. One of the questions I had to ask myself was, "is this something you can still get excited about?".

So there I was: Joey Oberhoffner, The Enlightened Savage, the eternal political optimist... trying to find his mojo. Trying to figure out if I still had a passion for this thing that has driven me since I was a teenager, dreaming of having a chance to respectfully debate a worthy opponent about an issue of local importance in front of a room of my fellow engaged and open-minded citizens.

I still had opinions... but did I have the passion?

A lot of long walks and quiet contemplation later, I have the answer.

Emphatically, it's a YES.

I will stay involved.

I will keep writing.

I will keep holding these people to account - these people who I tried to serve alongside - because dammit, we DO deserve better than we've been getting from the people we elect.

And if I seem a bit more Savage than you've gotten used to... blame it on the fresh air.

Who Is The Enlightened Savage?

The Enlightened Savage (Joey Oberhoffner) is a 40 year-old, life-long Albertan with one foot in each of the private (small business owner) and public (provincial public service) sectors. He is a self-confessed political junkie/policy wonk, with a sometimes disturbing affinity for Montreal Smoked Meat, gadgets, and well-written television.

Joey began blogging in late 2006 under the nom de plume of "The Enlightened Savage", and rapidly became well-known as an even-handed analyst of municipal and provincial political issues. He offered in-studio commentary on CBC Radio One for Municipal Election Night 2007, did analysis for the 2010 Municipal Election and the 2011 Federal Election, and appeared in-studio on CityTV for analysis of the results on Provincial Election Night 2008.

Joey also writes at and is a founding contributor for CalgaryPolitics.com.

Hate-mail, love letters, and offers of support for his campaign to change politics for the better can be sent to amishbuggyracing (at) gmail (dot) com.

All opinions expressed on this blog are those of the author himself, and are not meant in any way to reflect the opinions of any organization for which he either works or volunteers.

Joey O's Policy Points

"This guy is obviously a raging leftist - how can he possibly call himself a conservative?"

THIS is how. Because the public policies I advocate for are conservative - and I don't have to support your chosen right-wing politician or pet issue to be allowed to use the name "conservative".

- Fixed Provincial Election Dates (I'm leaning towards the second Monday of May, every 4 years. Would VERY rarely come into contact with a late Easter, otherwise it's smooth sailing...)

- Full Disclosure of Donors and their Contribution amounts at all levels of elected office, including internal party races, BEFORE the votes are cast - we deserve to know who's funding the war chests of our would-be leaders. And none of this "numbered corporation" crap either.

- A fully funded and independent Auditor General

- Economic diversification. Even a five-year old knows it's a bad idea to carry all your eggs in one basket.

- Making Alberta's Oilsands the standard bearer for environmental sensitivity while also making them the most sought-after business opportunity for large and mid-size operators in North America.

- Getting our energy products to market and getting a global price for them by working with our neighbours, rather than throwing tantrums and accomplishing nothing.

- Promotion of eco-tourism as a way to showcase the unique character of Alberta's landscape and people and boosting local economies.

- Capping government program spending increases from year to year at the rate of inflation plus population growth.

- Making the MLA "Tax-Free Allowance" just that - an allowance. Anything that isn't spent on expenses related to their work (e.g. rent in Edmonton, vehicular or transportation costs, hospitality) should be returned to the provincial treasury, or taxed as income.

- More recorded votes and fewer in camera sessions at all levels of government. The work of our governments should be public and indexable unless there is a clear reason why it shouldn't be.

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Friday, August 31, 2012

Fresh Air