Thread by @PaulDechene, To carry on from yesterday… Shortly after exec comm decided to add [...]

To carry on from yesterday…
Shortly after exec comm decided to add fossil fuel companies to their sponsorship policy restricted list, Scott Moe took to social media to express his displeasure.

This behaviour is despicable. Scott Moe is a bully. #yqrcc /1

I mean, I rolled my eyes when I saw this & was like, "Of course, he did," b/c that's the kind of hell world we live in now. But the more I reflected the more cross I got. I don't know how to express how wrong I feel his actions were w/out a lot of swearing. /2 #yqrcc

Scott Moe's tweet was very shitty.
(That's just a little swearing. That's me being restrained.) /3 #yqrcc

Murray Mandryk sums things up better than I can, calling Moe's post a "twitter fatwa." That's good columnisting. #yqrcc /4

The oil exec who Mandryk mentions demanded the premier end funding to the City Of Regina is this guy… He was one of the main organizers of the Regina Rally Against the Carbon Tax back in the spring of 2019. Cugnet and Moe were on stage together at that event. #yqrcc /5

I went to (& kept a very low profile at) that Rally. Was eye-opening seeing Moe there. He wandered through the crowd smiling. People clapped him on the back. It was like he was arriving at a family reunion. Or he'd just scored a touchdown in a highschool football game. #yqrcc /6

I don't think I'm being mean by noting Moe is not an electrifying orator. But the Rally crowd hung on his every word. Everything that came out of his mouth was completely in synch w/ what the crowd was thinking & feeling. /7 #yqrcc

Point being, nobody in the oil industry gave Moe marching orders on Wed. They didn't have to. Moe would've been 10 steps ahead of them. While Cugnet was writing his tweet, Moe'd probably already drafted his statement & was searching for the right border jpg on his hard drive. /8

An aside about the Rally… this wasn't some gathering of hard done by, down on their luck folk. The other organizer was the Sask Heavy Construction Assn. The attendees arrived in trucks worth more than my house, their doors emblazoned w/ last names. /9 #yqrcc

I've been to rallies of down-on-their-luck folk. The premier doesn't attend those. #yqrcc /10

So, Moe, the Rally types, this is the hornets' nest council kicked w/ their fossil fuel exclusion. And having seen those hornets in action, I'm not really surprised they took to the skies, buzzing loudly, stingers out. /11 #yqrcc

Oh christ, and gormley. You can almost taste the glee in this tweet.

Is this conservatism? Only happy when talking about causing pain? #yqrcc /12

Apparently, this angry swarm has grown quite large & it isn't comprised merely of city council watchers or even #YQR residents. Councillor inboxes are overflowing. /13 #yqrcc

This has become a SK-wide news story. The City Of Estevan issued a rebuke.

I HAVE A JOKE HERE LOADED UP AND READY TO GO BUT I AM HOLDING IT BACK B/C I DON'T WANT TO BE INSULTING TO THE PEOPLE OF ESTEVAN! THIS IS VERY HARD FOR ME! BUT THE PROVINCE NEEDS HEALING! #yqrcc /14

Thing is, considering the massive issues Sask is facing right now — COVID crap, crappered resource markets, ding dong the keystone's dead — this is SUCH an insignificant thing for the oil & gas hornets to get their knickers in a twist over. #yqrcc /15

Estevan Mercury website right now has a story on the front page reassuring the oil industry that they're welcome in Estevan. Well, they were never unwelcome in Regina. #yqrcc /16

The fossil fuel exclusion was a line in a sponsorship policy that would effect advertising and naming opportunities w/ City of Regina facilities & events. This would limit oil company advertising in a small number of areas. This does not gouge into their profit margins /17 #yqrcc

There are no contracts w/ oil companies being torn up. No money is being returned. There isn't even money on the table. The policy hasn't been passed. Council still has to vote on it. Nothing tangible has happened but people are flipping out. /18 #yqrcc

What is happening is council is considering saying "we'd rather you didn't pay us to put the name of your oil company on our arena or advertise your … I don't know, upgrader?… on the boards of our outdoor hockey." That's it. /19 #Yqrcc

And yet Scott Moe & oil industry boosters have mobilized a province-wide (possibly nation wide) mob to shout this recommendation down and crush it in the dust b/c they feel insulted.

That's what all this is over: A perceived insult.
Who's the snowflake again? /20 #yqrcc

But you know what? This is all fine. A pain for the councillors, I'm sure. But as I said yesterday: exec makes a recommendation, people freak out, council votes another way, that's how this is supposed to work. https://twitter.com/PaulDechene/status/1352408204022476802?s=20 #yqrcc /21

https://twitter.com/PaulDechene/status/1352408204022476802?s=20

Where Moe crosses the line from stakeholder to douchebag is when he threatens to pull the City's funding. On Twitter. This is not how a provincial premier resolves a disagreement w/ a municipality. This is how Trump bullied advisors who'd lost his favour into resigning #yqrcc /22

There is a way for premiers to interact with cities. There is a Minister of Government Relations who can facilitate a dialogue. You can voice your concern to the head of Sask Municipalities. You call up the new mayor & council. I'm sure they'd take your call! /23 #yqrcc

Time stamp on Moe's tweet is 3:04pm on Wed Jan 20. The vote on the amendment happened at about 11am on Jan 20. How many other communication channels do you think Moe tried in those 4 hours before going full Trump on social media? I'm going to guess zero. #yqrcc /24

Moe has shown no desire to build bridges w Sk's urban centres. He doesn't need to widen his circle of support. He has all the support he needs at Stop The Carbon Tax rallies where people smile and clap his back.

What he does seem to need — seems to long for — are enemies. /25

Justin Trudeau is an enemy. Joe Biden is an enemy. The current NDP is too weak and ineffectual to be an enemy so he rails against the NDP of 15, 20 years ago. And now he has found in Regina city council some new enemies. /26 #yqrcc

We've learned a lot over the last 4 years about the type of men who need enemies. It is not a sign of strength. Or competence. They're the sort of people w/ nothing to offer their supporters apart from fresh meat cut from the bodies of their enemies. #yqrcc /27

Moe has no charm (beyond a very particular audience). He has no plan (apart from doubling down on a twilighting industry). And Saskatchewan, believe it or not, is really small. So Moe also has no leverage. No wonder he has to peddle in umbrage and anger. #yqrcc /28

I'm sorry. I said Moe has no leverage. Not quite true. On a national & global stage, he's insignificant. But here at home? He can always push around Regina city council. Like a small dog in a big dogpark, he only bites smaller dogs.

Bullies punch down, Scott. Not leaders /29

What's Regina city council to do next week? Based off some councillor social media feeds, looks like the vote is going to flip.

I think they have to. This is not the hill to die on. But I think there is a way to change course from a position of strength. /30 #yqrcc

I see no reason to mince around the truth here: that council HAS to change course b/c the premier is dangling the threat of funding cuts to bully them into doing as he says. Name and shame. /31 #yqrcc

The entire province & beyond is watching. If they see council change course b/c they're being armtwisted, they don't look weak. Moe does. He is revealed as the type of person incapable of leading by inspiring people. He can only lead by threatening pain. /32 #yqrcc

God, this is all so small! The sponsorship policy??? This is about the sponsorship policy?! That's the kind of council item we save for the final minutes of the show in the "quickly, last couple things" segment. NEVER thought this would be The THING Of The Week #yqrcc /33

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