Copy and paste post from Jordon Kosik (the original Admin from the Holding MLA’s Accountable Facebook Page):
“I NEVER THOUGHT I’D SAY THIS, BUT SOMETIMES I THINK COVID WAS EASIER THAN THIS POLITICAL CIRCUS.

At least back then, we knew what we were fighting for.

There’s a reason I’ve largely stayed out of the Alberta independence movement. And it’s not because I don’t believe in Alberta or its future. It’s because I’m exhausted watching conservatives fight conservatives, watching the constant division, the accusations, the vote-splitting arguments, and the never-ending political games.

It’s the same circus, different clowns.

Let me take you back a few years.

When I first got involved in activism during COVID, before the vaccine mandates, my goal was actually pretty simple: GET PEOPLE ENGAGED WITH THEIR ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES.

You’d be surprised how many people didn’t know what an MLA was, what an MP was, or who actually represented them.

People were sitting in Facebook groups, arguing with one another, preaching to the same echo chambers, while the politicians responsible for making decisions were getting off scot-free.

So we changed that.

I started a Facebook group focused on holding MLAs accountable. We encouraged people to pick up the phone, write emails, ask questions, and demand answers.

And wouldn’t you know it? It didn’t take long before politicians started noticing.

Why are our phones suddenly ringing? Why are we getting all these emails? Why are people demanding answers?

BECAUSE THE PEOPLE FINALLY STARTED HOLDING YOU ACCOUNTABLE!

That’s what grassroots activism was supposed to be about.

Not worshipping politicians. Not blindly defending political parties. Not attacking your neighbour because they disagree with you.

ACCOUNTABILITY.

Then came the mandates, the convoy, the leadership battles, and eventually the end of Jason Kenney’s premiership.

I was there. I was involved.

When the next leadership race came around, I certainly didn’t want Travis Toews taking over. Danielle Smith appeared to be our best option.

She said a lot of the right things. She understood the language of grassroots movements. She talked about freedom, accountability, individual rights, and standing up for Albertans.

And I believed there was an opportunity for real change.

But here’s something I’ve learned over the years.

Danielle Smith is VERY, VERY good at reaching out to grassroots people.

She’s good at making people feel heard. She’s good at bringing activists into her circle, making them feel important, and convincing them they’re part of something bigger.

I’ve experienced that outreach myself.

But I’ve also watched what happens afterward.

In my opinion, she has a remarkable ability to rope grassroots people in, use their enthusiasm and influence for her political benefit, and then move on when they’re no longer useful.

Over and over and over again.

I’m genuinely curious who her next group of loyal defenders will be.

Because from where I’m standing, she seems to be running out of people willing to play that role.

And that’s unfortunate. Very unfortunate.

Now I watch her press conferences, and I see the very political behaviour we once claimed we were fighting against.

Justin Trudeau. Mark Carney. Pierre Poilievre. Rachel Notley. Danielle Smith.

Different parties. Different slogans. Different promises.

BUT THE SAME POLITICAL GAME.

Power. Party loyalty. Political survival. Blame somebody else.

And when things start falling apart, who gets blamed?

The people.

The grassroots.

The voters.

The very people who put these politicians in their positions of power.

Now we’re being told to toe the party line. Don’t divide the movement. Don’t split the vote. Don’t challenge the leadership. Don’t jeopardize the political strategy.

Does any of this sound familiar?

Apparently, democracy is wonderful right up until the people decide they want something different from what their political leaders have planned.

And here’s the part I want every Albertan to understand:

Danielle Smith’s political problems are NOT our problems.

Her party’s internal divisions are NOT our responsibility.

Her political future is NOT our responsibility.

And we certainly do not owe any politician our loyalty simply because they once told us what we wanted to hear.

THIS IS HER PROBLEM. NOT OURS.

I’m tired of watching good people get manipulated into fighting one another while the politicians sit comfortably in their offices, collecting their salaries, protecting their positions, and watching the chaos unfold.

We did this during COVID. We did it during the mandates. We did it during leadership races. And now we’re doing it all over again with Alberta independence.

Around and around we go.

And somehow the people who are supposed to work FOR US keep convincing us that WE are the problem.

Think about that.

I never thought I’d look back at the COVID years and say things seemed simpler.

But at least back then, we had a clear objective. We wanted our freedoms respected, our voices heard, and our elected representatives held accountable.

Today, we’re so consumed with political infighting that we’ve forgotten who actually holds the power.

WE DO. THE PEOPLE.

Not Danielle Smith. Not the UCP. Not any political party or its leader.

And until we stop allowing politicians to dictate which opinions we’re allowed to have, which movements we’re allowed to support, and who we’re supposed to vote for, nothing will ever change.

We’ll just keep replacing one political master with another and calling it democracy.

We’ve become modern-day slaves to a political system that is supposed to serve us.

And perhaps the saddest part of all?

We’ve become so accustomed to it that we’re now fighting each other to protect the very system we complain about.

I didn’t get involved in grassroots activism to become somebody’s political minion.

I got involved because I believed the people deserved better.

I STILL BELIEVE THAT.

But I no longer believe another politician, another party, or another carefully rehearsed press conference is going to deliver it.

STOP FIGHTING EACH OTHER. START HOLDING THEM ACCOUNTABLE.

Because politicians aren’t supposed to control the people.

THE PEOPLE ARE SUPPOSED TO CONTROL THE POLITICIANS.”