King Ralph ......RIP ....

[Newellknik]

It is the 3rd anniversary of the death of the Greatest premier
This province has ever seen . If that is true it's worth reflection .
In this video I love the analogy made by Ralph in 1990 about
Edmonton , mosquitos and socialists . It was a warning we didn't
Heed .


http://www.therebel.media/remembering_ralph_klein_through_his_most_colourful _quotes


Have a beer in commemoration!

[Talking moose]

Have a beer in commemoration!

Cheers!:happy0180:

[Big Grey Wolf]

Sorry, I always believed he was one of the worst premiers we ever had in this province.

[rugatika]

http://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/welcome-to-ralph-s-world-10-of-ralph-klein-s-most-colourful-quotes-1.1216791

Woops...my bad...just started a similar thread. Here's his top ten quotes in memoriam.


And I agree completely. Best leader this country has ever, or likely will ever see.

[gevarm guy]

Cheers Ralph!!!!
you were the best...We never knew how good we had it!!
And how BAD it could get here now...:(

[creeky]

Cheers!:happy0180:


x2 RIP Ralph Klein

[3blade]

One of the funniest politicians ever.

But albertas current predicament is largely on him. Spending like a drunken sailor on his friends, while cutting services in a booming province. Making AHS the soft landing place for political friends. Essentially turning over Albertas resource wealth to foreign companies. Allowing said eastern bums and creeps to overrun the province. Uncountable pizz-poor decisions regarding wildlife and habitat. I could go on, but it's sorta like being mad at last years weather.

Methinks there are a lot of rose colored glasses around here.

[wellpastcold]

One of the funniest politicians ever.

But albertas current predicament is largely on him. Spending like a drunken sailor on his friends, while cutting services in a booming province. Making AHS the soft landing place for political friends. Essentially turning over Albertas resource wealth to foreign companies. Allowing said eastern bums and creeps to overrun the province. Uncountable pizz-poor decisions regarding wildlife and habitat. I could go on, but it's sorta like being mad at last years weather.

Methinks there are a lot of rose colored glasses around here.

X2.

[Newellknik]

Most Albertans would have him back today ......the best of a bad
Lot really ...ergo I repeated what Miss Gunn stated ....
She nor I stated that he did a good job....of his counterparts
He was the best .....

My now departed father in law , a Bassano area farmer stated
when Ralph was leader .....that....

Alberta had so much money .....that a trained Jack €#%^<
Could run this province . And thank God we found one !

They both made me laugh ....Ralph's rant at the drop in centre
Is the all time best in leadership you will ever see here .

Rug ....irony and sardonic wit , wasted here ....

[KegRiver]

What a lot of Ralph haters don't seem to get is that his supporters never claimed he was perfect.

We loved him because he did as we asked and because he admitted his mistakes.

Were all of his decisions the best possible decision. No they were not. No politician ever has or ever will make prefect decisions every time.

Alberta prospered under Ralph's leadership, that is undeniable. Some pretend it was all about high oil prices and a booming economy but they fail to recognize that we had had those factors happen before but had not gained from them.

What really made the difference was that the province stopped spending more then it took in in taxes and fees.
It's as simple as that.

That's all we were asking for and it's the one thing no politician before or after Ralph, would do.

You have to live within your means. Nothing else is sustainable.

Forests will grow back, alternate energies will be found, but debt has to be paid or your creditors will seize what you have.

Did Ralph spend our money on his buddies ? I sure never heard of that before. If it's true, that would be a criminal offense. If anyone has evidence to show this to be true they owe it to this country to bring such evidence to the attention of the authorities.

As for foreign investment in Alberta. That's nothing new. It was no more when Ralph was premier then it was for any other Premiers terms.
What was different was that more of our resources became available to Alberta based businesses. Logging for example.

Mills like MDFP were 100 percent locally owned and operated, until this year. Under this government it sold out to foreign investors just a few month ago.

For those who forgot, Alberta's oil fields have always been dominated by foreign interests. That is what the NEP of 1982 was supposed to end.
What it actually did was add yet another tax to the cost of our fuels.

Make all the false claims about Ralph that you wish. The fact remains, he was the best leader this country has ever seen and very likely the best we will ever see.

He took us from nearly bankrupt to out of debt in his time in office. His replacements too us right back to where we had been.

Sooner or later we will have to pay the piper and this government is feeding the rats, and inviting more to come feed off our hard work.

[dodger]

What a lot of Ralph haters don't seem to get is that his supporters never claimed he was perfect.

We loved him because he did as we asked and because he admitted his mistakes.

Were all of his decisions the best possible decision. No they were not. No politician ever has or ever will make prefect decisions every time.

Alberta prospered under Ralph's leadership, that is undeniable. Some pretend it was all about high oil prices and a booming economy but they fail to recognize that we had had those factors happen before but had not gained from them.

What really made the difference was that the province stopped spending more then it took in in taxes and fees.
It's as simple as that.

That's all we were asking for and it's the one thing no politician before or after Ralph, would do.

You have to live within your means. Nothing else is sustainable.

Forests will grow back, alternate energies will be found, but debt has to be paid or your creditors will seize what you have.

Did Ralph spend our money on his buddies ? I sure never heard of that before. If it's true, that would be a criminal offense. If anyone has evidence to show this to be true they owe it to this country to bring such evidence to the attention of the authorities.

As for foreign investment in Alberta. That's nothing new. It was no more when Ralph was premier then it was for any other Premiers terms.
What was different was that more of our resources became available to Alberta based businesses. Logging for example.

Mills like MDFP were 100 percent locally owned and operated, until this year. Under this government it sold out to foreign investors just a few month ago.

For those who forgot, Alberta's oil fields have always been dominated by foreign interests. That is what the NEP of 1982 was supposed to end.
What it actually did was add yet another tax to the cost of our fuels.

Make all the false claims about Ralph that you wish. The fact remains, he was the best leader this country has ever seen and very likely the best we will ever see.

He took us from nearly bankrupt to out of debt in his time in office. His replacements too us right back to where we had been.

Sooner or later we will have to pay the piper and this government is feeding the rats, and inviting more to come feed off our hard work.


Thanks for the post Keg. No rose coloured glasses here, this is just the way it was.

Dodger.

[Headdamage]

I didn't like him, largely due to his privatization provincial campgrounds. I also thought he made a mess of the health care system in Calgary and Alberta accrued a large infrastructure debt under his leadership. I don't much like drunks either but at least he told the East where to go ;)

[Full Curl Earl]

Self preserving saucer and shady as a Weeping Willow!
Its when money was pulled from conservation, Fish and Wildlife, closing of campgrounds, etc. if you lived in Calgary or around, they were fat days!
Just my view though!

[rugatika]

Compare and contrast. Interesting.

[JimPS]

He had a disease but he still managed to meet minimum expectations.

Quite an accomplishment for an untreated alcoholic.

I was always amazed that he could function as well as he did.

Overall, I don't think he made much of a positive contribution to the province.

[JohninAB]

He benefitted from natural gas revenues that following premiers did not.

MLA severance packages. Ralph.

Insane abuse of government aircraft. Ralph (Redford couldn't hold a candle to Ralph)

Metis Harvest Agreement. Ralph.

Energy deregulation. Ralph.

Just a few more highlights from his time in office.

Sorry but he does not rate as great in my eyes.

[Xbolt7mm]

Sorry, I always believed he was one of the worst premiers we ever had in this province.

Move back to Ontario then

[traderal]

Ralph was just an entertaining mouthpiece for the corporate kitchen cabinet that ran the province. Rod Love kept him in line and coached him on what to say. When Rod left Ralph became incoherent. Yes Ralph made cutbacks which looked good on paper but those cutbacks are costing us now. You can only kick the can so far down the road.Too bad he didn't get to enjoy the fishing lodge bought for him.

[BBT]

Too bad he didn't get to enjoy the fishing lodge bought for him.

Someone bought him a whole fishing lodge? Wow I'd like to see proof of this.
I'll stay online while you dig this up Big Daddy Badger or traderal whatever your name is.

[mac1983]

I know Martha and Henry miss him...

[raised by wolves]

Kline's following at tne provincial level, and currently Trump's in the USA, kinda remind me of the sequence of events in the movie Idiocracy.

[KegRiver]

Reading this thread one might think that Ralph was hated by most Albertains.

Election results from that time show the opposite is true.

I wonder, if people were honest, how many of these Ralph haters came from Ontario. That would be very interesting information.

But this is the internet and we all know that here one can be whatever one wants to be.

Still, those election results can not be denied.

[mac1983]

Reading this thread one might think that Ralph was hated by most Albertains.

Election results from that time show the opposite is true.

I wonder, if people were honest, how many of these Ralph haters came from Ontario. That would be very interesting information.

But this is the internet and we all know that here one can be whatever one wants to be.

Still, those election results can not be denied.

Just so ya know I agree with M & H:) would still vote for him.

[JimPS]

Reading this thread one might think that Ralph was hated by most Albertains.

Election results from that time show the opposite is true.

I wonder, if people were honest, how many of these Ralph haters came from Ontario. That would be very interesting information.

But this is the internet and we all know that here one can be whatever one wants to be.

Still, those election results can not be denied.

People get tired and fed up with greasy, lying sleazy, entitled and corrupt politicians.

Ralph with all his warts was viewed as a breath of fresh air by voters wanting change - and those election results and voter anger can not be denied either.

Look what happened to Prentice and Harper and is about to happen next in the US. Trump with all his warts, to many voters, is a breath of fresh air, similar to what Ralphie was.

I'm not a Ralph hater and I was born in Alberta. I knew him and some of his antics prior to his fame.

It never ceased to amaze me how he did what he did and how he managed, for the most part, to get away with it and how he managed to have a fairly remarkable political career.

[KegRiver]

People get tired and fed up with greasy, lying sleazy, entitled and corrupt politicians.

Ralph with all his warts was viewed as a breath of fresh air by voters wanting change - and those election results and voter anger can not be denied either.


Clearly that is what won him the job, what kept him there was that he was real.

He was different, He didn't pretend to be something he was not.
But the biggest single thing behind his success was that he lead us out of debt.

We don't care how he did it. The point is, he did what others had promised again and again to do yet once elected they did the opposite.

Most of his haters are too young to remember life before Ralph, I suspect that most of the rest are holding a grudge for what they think was a slur against them.

That's sad because had they been living here when those words were spoken, they would have understood, we had a problem and Ralph was simply telling it as it really was.

There is no doubt that he had no intention of insulting Eastern folk. I know I sure don't. The majority of my kin folk live on the east coast and family is important to me. I cherish each and every one of them. Yet I could well have made the same remark at the time.

It's unfortunate that so many can not let the past go.
That is what led to the formation of ISIS.

That's not a road I wish to travel.

[JimPS]

Clearly that is what won him the job, what kept him there was that he was real.

He was different, He didn't pretend to be something he was not.
But the biggest single thing behind his success was that he lead us out of debt.

We don't care how he did it. The point is, he did what others had promised again and again to do yet once elected they did the opposite.

Most of his haters are too young to remember life before Ralph, I suspect that most of the rest are holding a grudge for what they think was a slur against them.

That's sad because had they been living here when those words were spoken, they would have understood, we had a problem and Ralph was simply telling it as it really was.

There is no doubt that he had no intention of insulting Eastern folk. I know I sure don't. The majority of my kin folk live on the east coast and family is important to me. I cherish each and every one of them. Yet I could well have made the same remark at the time.

It's unfortunate that so many can not let the past go.
That is what led to the formation of ISIS.

That's not a road I wish to travel.

I think the road I wish to travel is bedtime and drift off tuned into George Noory - and - not worry anymore about the dear departed Raphie, Eastern folk and least of all, bizarre machinations about how Ralph is implicated in the formation ISIS.

[bb356]

rip

[shep dog]

As a premier, he traded a financial deficit for an infrastructure deficit, nothing more.

Personally, he was a boor.

[KegRiver]

I think the road I wish to travel is bedtime and drift off tuned into George Noory - and - not worry anymore about the dear departed Raphie, Eastern folk and least of all, bizarre machinations about how Ralph is implicated in the formation ISIS.

WOW I am impressed.

I've never seen anyone twist someone else's words so skillfully or so thoroughly!

[Big Grey Wolf]

Any fool can be the premier of Alberta when oil prices are high and that is what we got.

[hal53]

Any fool can be the premier of Alberta when oil prices are high and that is what we got.
What was the average price of oil when he was Premier?

[rugatika]

What was the average price of oil when he was Premier?

I would be surprised if oil prices topped $35 during Klein's entire time as premier. (I think right at the end of his premiership they might have been on their way up)

People think $40 is low now...1998 oil was down to almost $10. (when Klein was premier)

Funny how many people think oil has been at $100 forever.

[hal53]

I would be surprised if oil prices topped $35 during Klein's entire time as premier. (I think right at the end of his premiership they might have been on their way up)

People think $40 is low now...1998 oil was down to almost $10. (when Klein was premier)

Funny how many people think oil has been at $100 forever.
Exactly... I was using the Lawyer 101 mantra with that comment..."never ask a question that you don't know the answer to", lol

[JimPS]

What was the average price of oil when he was Premier?

The price and easy availability of beer and wine was of more importance to some people back in the day.

[mich]

Ralph was Ralph. He was an average Joe that loved Alberta and the people of Alberta. The entitlement people didn't like him, as like Peter did he called them out. Ralph and Rod Love were good people, they did what they said they were going to do and what was in the best interest of Albertans. It is hard to respect a man that tells the truth, after all.... don't budgets balance themselves?????????

Rest In Peace Ralph and Rod.