Two UCP MLAs take credit for the same op-ed

There seems to have some sort of mix up over at United Conservative Party HQ…

Two MLAs from Alberta’s Official Opposition apparently think so alike that they’ve even taken to writing the same words. The exact same words, it would seem.

Last Friday morning, Jason Nixon of Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre published an op-ed entitled “The biggest political lie in Alberta history” in local paper the Eckville Echo.

Nixon shared the piece on his Twitter account, and party leader Jason Kenney posted it on Facebook.

The biggest political lie in Alberta history. Read all about it in my column this week: https://t.co/PMGDwFHJRG The NDP’s deception on their carbon tax is not only the biggest tax increase in the history of Alberta, it’s also the biggest political lie told to Albertans. #ableg pic.twitter.com/eWmZ5EIYp1

— Jason Nixon MLA (@JasonNixonAB) January 9, 2018

The following morning, Rick Strankman, MLA for Drumheller-Stettler, published an op-ed with the same title in the Stettler Independent.

Its opening paragraph reads:

“Here’s a fact: the NDP never mentioned their job-killing carbon tax during the 2015 provincial campaign. There was no reference to the carbon tax in their platform, and they never told Albertans they were going to slam the province that would raise the price of nearly everything: groceries for your family, utility bills to heat your home, and gas to drive your kids to hockey practice.”

Now, compare this to the first paragraph of the op-ed published under Nixon’s name the previous day:

“Here’s a fact: the NDP never mentioned their job-killing carbon tax during the 2015 provincial campaign. There was no reference to the carbon tax in their platform, and they never told Albertans they were going to slam the province in a way that would raise the price of nearly everything: groceries for your family, utility bills to heat your home, and gas to drive your kids to hockey practice.”

Sound familiar?

Apart from a few slightly different paragraph breaks, the two op-eds are the same word-for-word .

An anonymous Twitter user pointed out the similarity and was apparently blocked by Nixon as a result.

OfJason disputes the premise that different UCP MLAs posting the exact same article (as their own) is disingenuous & shows a lack of independent thought. It is not just parroting the party line repeatedly. #Ableg #Abpoli pic.twitter.com/ro2HvbCa1v

— Handmaids For Kenney (@HandmaidAlberta) January 9, 2018

What’s even stranger is that the first few paragraphs of both op-ed are themselves identical to words posted by a third UCP MLA – Mark Smith – on his Facebook page in late December.

Yikes.

Photos: Facebook, Eckville Echo, The Stettler Independent