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But when the party dug into his social media postings it “unearthed” what Harrington said were “a number of questionable posts.”

They include but are not limited to:

“Repeatedly calling the now-former premier of Ontario, who is openly gay, a ‘tranny.’”

Accusing the Edmonton Police Service (EPS) of “corruption” and claiming “the EPS are a bunch of egotistical uneducated brats.”

And stating that unions are “pure evil” and “we really should ban all unions.”

Molnar’s defence was the posts were limited to a private Facebook page shared only with a few friends.

Harrington was having none of it.

“We strongly disagree with the view that comments on one’s personal page should be ignored,” she wrote. “We would not let a candidate for the NDP off the hook for an offensive comment simply because it was said on his or her personal Facebook.”

That should have been that.

But Molnar is not going away quietly. He has posted a lengthy Facebook response where he is alternately defiant and apologetic. He accuses the UCP of taking his posts out of context but also admits, “I was young, naive, and just stupid” when using the pejorative term to describe former Ontario premier Kathleen Wynne. “I wish to apologize to everyone that my post offended.”

He has hinted at legal action against the UCP and declared of the party’s decision to remove him from the nomination race, “this process has not been democratic at all.”

What Molnar doesn’t appreciate is that the UCP, like all political parties, is not a democracy but a private club. Within some broad regulations set by Elections Alberta, parties are free to set their own rules, determine who can be members and choose party candidates for elections.