Discussions

I have been blocked on twitter by Drew Caldwell when he was MLA & more recently by Wab Kinew.They want only positive comments to show up on their social media.

playing nice or being a jerk? Just curious.

First of all I don''t know that the cuts in health were handled very well by the government. However I work in health care and I don''t believe this is a problem that suddenly developed in the last 16 months I think it is the current government cleaning up the mess that was left for them by the previous government.  
As for the MLA blocking you did you even stop to consider that maybe it was not a discussion for Facebook. Maybe if you have questions or concerns you should contact his office and set up a meeting with him. It has been my experience that he is quite willing to listen to what his constituents have to say.  
 
Edited by wheatcitygirl, 2017-07-27 19:29:12

Please post your saved screenshots of deleted comments.

i too have been blocked by drew caldwell for asking questions that he refused to answer. can you say that you've never blocked anyone for disagreeing with your opinions?

On Twitter, Steve Ashton, the main NDP page and other NDP MLA''s ignores questions I throw at them when making some questionable tweets against Pallister.  
 
I also been ganged up on by fake (parody) accounts of Pallister possibly run by NDP MLA's or close friends of them.  
 
Edited by unbreakable1, 2017-07-28 06:22:53

I would say that most politicians are in the business of collecting votes and not opinions. Opinions are optional.  
 
They feel that the healthcare dollars are the property of the private (and wealthy) taxpayers.  
 
I think in a way they feel justified in the cuts. It's obvious they have no inhibitions in doing execution style firings or facility shutdowns.  
 
They are getting what they feel is due to them. It really is a sign of the times.

Seems like Len only reply to or pays attention to posts that are PC friendly. I was hoping he would have put political associations aside and represent ALL constituents in Brandon East. Drew Caldwell always represented his constituents " without fear or gavor" as he would say.i guess we will have an opportunity in the next election to show Len how we feel about his representation of Brandon East. Could be " one term Len" if things don't change.

"Fear or favor"

To all those commenting above, I didn't say anything disrespectful, obscene or worthy of removal. The comment that got me removed from the page is as follows:  
 
"Road improvements are great, but I'd like to hear more of your thoughts on the recent health cuts that are happening in our province"  
 
Is that being a "jerk"? Is that something that shouldn't be asked of an elected official?  
 
And as noted above, Len does appear to have ZERO problem interacting with his friends and supporters on Facebook, but as soon as someone raises a question he doesn't want to answer (or can't answer), he passes off some big spiel about how you need to make an appointment with his office to discuss in person. If you point out the absurdity of that, you get banned.  
 
And I don't care what Drew Caldwell or any other politician did. Len Isleifson is our MLA. I am not complaining about the PC party in this thread. Only this representative. Sounds like all the Trump lovers in the US still whining about Hillary Clinton. The election is over...  
 
All I want is for this MLA to be open to hearing EVERYONE when they talk, not just the ones who support his party unconditionally.

So what is wrong with making an appointment and discussing it with him? Why is that absurd? It isn't just pc's, it is this site, facebook business sites, everyone does it. If you want to slam Len for it so be it. You get heard better being face to face with someone instead of hiding behind a computer screen voicing your opinion. It is usually taken more seriously too.  
 
Btw.....I was in the hospital this morning for something and watched two ladies chit chat for over half an hour while waiting to be checked in. It wasn't work related either. That department was definitely not understaffed.

You're completely missing the point.  
 
If Len is willing to discuss politics online with his supporters, why shouldn't he offer his critics the same service? As an MLA, Len's actual JOB is to answer questions from his constituents, not to ignore them, belittle them or block them.  
 
And OF COURSE, Fishin Guy! You had one half-hour experience at ONE hospital on ONE day, and that makes you absolutely certain that there is nothing wrong with making all those cuts... because of course that one half-hour experience speaks for the entire province. Sorry but that's not how it works. That's like me saying traffic isn''t a problem when I only drive on one road.  
 
Edited by KenJ, 2017-07-28 10:36:00

Would not expect to be banned or blocked for the question you presented.

Here is the first article I saw when I logged in this morning:  
https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/the-picture-of-health-436653123.html  
 
So now, right here in Manitoba, you have 3rd party, untrained security guards deciding if you require treatment badly enough to enter the ER.  
 
Think about that in terms of you or your spouse or your child. What if your 6-year-old fell out of bed in the night and suffered a head injury and you rushed him to the hospital at 3am, do you want to be at the mercy of a security guard? Or do you want a triage nurse?  
 
I think I'd want my child's life in the hands of doctors and nurses, not OBO.

A lot of you are basically saying "It's okay that our elected official does this, because here are other examples of people/places that do it too." I think that is really terrible logic.  
 
Our elected officials are supposed to be beholden to their constituents, not to the party. Ken is absolutely right. I think people here are getting their backs up because Brandon is a heavily conservative area and they are taking this as an attack on their policies or ideologies. But you gotta be honest with yourself and say "If my elected official was from ((Insert party you disagree with here)) and they banned me for asking a similar question, would I feel unrepresented? Would I feel like they weren't actually doing their jobs?"  
 
I bet the answer is yes.  
 
Ken has done nothing wrong here. He has exercised his rights as a voter and constituent. He has asked his elected official a completely valid question. He has the right to expect to be treated the same as a supporter. Rather than being answered or responded to courteously, it seems as though Len Isleifson cared more about his brand than his constituents.  
 
And so, then KenJ exercises his right to voice this concern with his fellow citizens and people are acting like he's the crazy one. Like he should expect this type of treatment.  
 
The thing is...no one should expect that kind of treatment. That is the whole point. That is why we live in a democracy. Take you personal politics out of it and ask yourself how elected officials (public servants) should act. This isn't how it should be. They are supposed to be a force for positive change. Nothing about this is positive.  
 
And sure, I can already guess how some people are going to say that my views are "Naive" or that I need to "Wake up and see the world for what it is". But the reality is, that's not what politics are about. The whole idea of a democracy is about constantly changing and improving policies to make a country the best it can be. Politicians are not to be held to the status quo. They're to be held to a higher standard. They're supposed to be our leaders. And for anyone to let them off based on "This is how the world works", those people are part of the problem. Call it blind idealism or whatever, but our leaders are only going to rise to the standard that we hold them to.  
 
KenJ, thank you for bringing this up. Thank you for understanding the difference between how something is and how it should be.  
 
I would be very interested to hear this MLA's explanation as to his actions.

When Leanne Rowat represented Minnedosa, she would not reply to my e-mails. I was not being nasty, simply asking for information or stating my opinion on an issue.  
Perhaps she knew I was one of the handful of Liberals in this town???

I believe that while Len does have a few political things posted it seems like this is his PERSONAL page. Pictures of friends and family. Posts about his personal life. I see what you mean about his supporters posting and stuff but it seems like it is a pretty personal page as well. I would delete/block anyone who posted work related things on my private page...oh wait I HAVE. Like I stated earlier, make an appointment, show your face and voice your concerns. Maybe he didn''t want to get into a I said you said on Facebook. I don''t see anything wrong with that to be honest.  
 
Edited by wheatcitygirl, 2017-07-28 13:25:40

I'm sorry, but the actual title of his page is:  
"Len Isleifson - MLA Brandon East"  
 
It is not his personal page. It is his MLA page. So your post is completely irrelevant.

I don't disagree that he has the right to ask the question. I just think the forum he chose to ask it (Facebook) wasn't going to get him the answers he was looking for. Was there supposed to be 40 posts going back and forth...or would one meeting take care of the questions. Heaven forbid that someone type something that the other person took wrong or out of context. I know...that never happens. I hope he gets his answers. I don't think he should have expected them in such a public forum that is all I am saying.

I didn't realize it was an MLA page.

Furthermore, if a politician doesn't want to address his/her constituents on the internet, that's fine. But when a politician picks and chooses which of his constituents he listens to and responds to on the internet based on their political affiliations, he is failing at his job.  
 
I have posted similar questions and comments on other politicians' social media and never had anyone blatantly disrespect me and block me the way Len Isleifson has.  
 
Len also referred to me as an "obvious lefty" and "another bored NDP supporter" because I suggested removing classroom caps in schools was not good for teachers or students. Is that how any politician should respond to the concern of a constituent?!

it isn't. Sorry it has been a bad experience. I am happy to say that my experience was better than that.

just from your tone and responses to people on here i think i would block you too, like someone asked earlier lets see your screen shots of your posts if you really even have any

blewbyyou said "Seems like Len only reply to or pays attention to posts that are PC friendly. I was hoping he would have put political associations aside and represent ALL constituents in Brandon East. Drew Caldwell always represented his constituents " without fear or gavor" as he would say.i guess we will have an opportunity in the next election to show Len how we feel about his representation of Brandon East. Could be " one term Len" if things don't change. "

you getting very personal and almost harassing Len on FB before the election right?  
 
But he was good enough to go and have a coffee with you afterwards. right?

If the claim about him harassing Len is true, then I would redact my previous statement. Once anyone is harassed, they have every right to ignore/block/delete that person regardless of their position.  
 
Personally my comments were under the assumption that KenJ had been respectful and polite. If he has then I stand by my comments. If he hasn't then that is altogether different. In that case Len would have the right to ignore him.  
 
Edited by underXtheXradar, 2017-07-28 15:15:34

I hope he gets the answers he is looking for. I have a sneaky suspicion that we aren't hearing the whole story and there is more here than has been posted, maybe on both sides. Good luck Ken. I don't think you will ever get the answers you are looking for especially if you continue to use such public forums as Facebook and eBrandon. But good luck.

If that was aimed at me, I have never "harrassed" Len. And prior to his election I never uttered a word to the man. He is my MLA. His job is to address the concerns of his constituents. He failed. You can do all the typical victim blaming that conservatives love and makeme the

Phone problems.  
 
As I was saying, cons love making the victim the bad guy, so have at it. I'm not going to be blamed for the failings of Len Isleifson or credited with harrassment. The media has my screen shots, Kent.