The Hook

hmmm my understanding is the

hmmm my understanding is the B.C. Liberal party has even more debt than the dippers, Luke.

So, you might want to consider removing the beam from your own eye before worrying about the mote in your neighbour's eye.

Well truth be told

I'm a fairly heavy contributor to the NDP. The past few years a fair bit of dough has gone to the Federal wing of the party. I like to contribute directly to the candidate that I know will actually work for my issues, Not just the party or whoever might be running in my riding.

But let me tell you. In the last provincial election I did not make an official contribution. I did buy pizza for campaign workers in one riding. But I will not officially contribute to the provincial wing of the party until they actually stand for something sensible to working people. I suspect I will still be waiting on on election eve in 2013.

The present direction of the party does not represent my aspirations as a worker and citizen. The party gets to decide and so do I.

And believe me. I'm not exactly a raving radical. I can however tell this party is not qualified to have my donations. A few people maybe, but not the party.

Have a good convention.

The money I normally give to

The money I normally give to the BC NDP has been cut off for over a year and that won't change until they get their act together including a new leader.

I have nothing against Ms. James personally, but she had two kicks at the can and even the latest polls show the NDP is only at what they received on election night but the Libs are way down and double digits behind the NDP but the NDP never picked up any of that at all. The libs lose all that support but the NDP never gained any. That is not good.

But the federal NDP benefit. Jack Layton rules. He inspires confidence.

I am just going to spend my time campaigning and donating money on the federal NDP until the BC NDP figures out what it is doing.

Ironic isn't it.

The BC liberals may be flush with cash but remember where they get theirs from. Remember what good things they have done for the same sector that delivers the cash. So the general taxpayer now bears the brunt of the Provincial cash shortage through the HST and increased fees on almost anything you need to live and the cuts to services continue.

At least the NDP cash crunch is not going to cost me. Nowhere is there any admission that they are having trouble raising money because of their leader. All contributions are shared with the BC NDP. If you could contribute to a few good candidates exclusively I might contribute.

From a subsequent Tyee story

From a subsequent Tyee story on BC NDP finances:

That indicates that the fundraising/financial period that the BC NDP is currently telling its members at the convention ends around December, 2008. NOT AFTER. Why?

The BC NDP won't tell their current members that they actually have a debt of $2 million. In fact, NDP constituency associations that ran debt-free campaigns in May, 2009 are now being forced into debt by the BC NDP provincial office.

As one BC NDP executive constituency member recently stated about the financial chaos within the BC NDP:

http://www.rabble.ca/babble/western-provinces/financial-chaos-within-bcndp

Those financial figures for that period ending December, 2008 have already been filed with Elections BC.

Liberals: $7.88 million
NDP: $2.86 million

In other words, the Liberals achieved a fundraising amount of $5 million in excess of the BC NDP and the Liberals even raised more money from individuals than the NDP. Go figure.

http://communities.canada.com/vancouversun/blogs/capitaldiary/archive/2009/04/06/liberal-fundraising-continues-to-outpace-ndp.aspx

The BC NDP won't even be honest to its own membership at the convention. How do BC'ers expect them to be honest if they ever form government? Really.

Brad

Man, those polls are making you desperate.

Business bankrolls your party and yet you attack the NDP for contesting an election against the same business sector.

As you've said before, you wish the NDP didn't exist so that a copy of the BC Liberals could be created and everyone would have to vote for one or the other and neither would ever campaign for change or care about social programs.

Newsflash, if the NDP didn't exist voter turnout would be 25%.

When James goes , the

When James goes , the contributions will go up

NDP fundraising problems

I still vote NDP provincially and federally, but thanks to Glen Clark, I stopped giving money to the provincial party when I let my membership lapse in 1996. I will donate to individual candidates if I know and trust them, but until I see some improvement in the quality of the leadership and its strategic thinking, I have lots of better things to do with my money.

I just sat on my hands (and chequebook) during the last provincial campaign. Yes, the carbon tax was a hokey gimmick, and Suzuki, Pembina Institute etc. were totally played by the Liberals. And in that respect, the NDP was right to oppose it. But to go no farther than a superficial anti-tax campaign, continued during the current anti-HST campaign, does nothing for the larger atmosphere of public debate.

Eventually, Canadians have to realize that if they want adequate public services, they have to pay for them. We can't have both U.S.-style tax rates and European-style public service levels. If we want Medicare, post-secondary education, reductions in child poverty - all things that the NDP fought for - we have to pay for them. For the BC NDP to run opportunistic anti-tax crusades - that don't even work politically! - just poisons the well of public debate. Why sound like a surrogate for the Taxpayers' Federation? Eventually, once they're back in government, they'll have to manage the provincial finances, and this will be all the harder from having reinforced the anti-tax syndrome while in opposition.

We must Pay Up!

As all progressives know, the only way to get out of debt is to raise taxes. The cost of party membership must be immediately raised - substantially.

if only

Hmm, If only business would give us $5 million too.

Learning from the Liberals we could just promise to lower the minimum wage to $3 an hour, put no restrictions on foreign workers, and shift the burden of taxes onto average joe's. Then I bet Jock and his buddies would start writing those cheques.

Of course, another path would be to simply not accept donations and not spend money on campaigns and conventions. No income, no expenditures. Nobody likes political ads anyway.

The Progressive solution

The party has to practice what it preaches. Rich members must pay more. Why should a single mom pay the same as a university professor? It's time for members to submit their tax returns with their membership applications.

Realisticman

This is why nobody takes you seriously. The NDP already has a very low membership fee for the less fortunate. Troll on dude.

Skywalker

There's other reasons too :-)

He should take solace in the fact that a few of us still read his posts hoping he'll get better.