The Hook

Well I guess 2017 before we

Well I guess 2017 before we will get rid of liberals. The NDP just kissed the 2013 election away.

I will not be voting for the NDP next election if she is leader. End of story. I will not vote Liberal either. So my vote will go to one of the smaller parties (Green, Marijuana, Communist) or an Independent.

Carole James needs to step down. That is doing the right thing. I do not know anyone that likes her as leader. She is BC's Michael Ignatiuff.

I am so so disappointed.

Nicholas Simons

If what Baldrey is correct in reporting that Nicholas Simons threatened to HIT Mable Elmore (per the Saturday's Noon News), he needs to be expelled from caucus, with cause, NOW.

Nick doesn't look like the

Nick doesn't look like the kind of fellow who would threaten anyone. Wonder if a number of NDP MLA's will decide to join Simpson and form another party? Sad day all round for the progressive members of the caucus. Should see a few more critics position shift as soon as Moe decides who to cover what. The Liberals must be laughing their heads off right now

DPL

Palmer just posted what you have inferred.

http://communities.canada.com/vancouversun/blogs/viewfromtheledge/default.aspx

Brutal turn of events that started yesterday afternoon.

A group of about 13 of her

A group of about 13 of her MLA's sat mostly stone faced, refusing to show any signs of support.

MLAs who have refused to indicate support or signaled their dissatisfaction with James' leadership are Doug Routley, Katrine Conroy, Mike Sather, Harry Lali, Lana Popham, Leonard Krog, Claire Trevena, Norm Macdonald, Robin Austin, Gary Coons, Jenny Kwan, Nicholas Simons and Guy Gentner.

http://www.bclocalnews.com/surrey_area/surreyleader/news/109502389.html

She needs to step down before the party is destroyed.

Disgusted.

It really surprises me that at a Council Meeting where only Council Delegates have a vote that rather than have a rational debate about James' leadership, the pro James forces get out their stupid yellow scarves and buttons in an attempt to intimidate any others. I have not seen anything like this since I watched some clips of the Chinese, North Korean and Stalinist governments all clap and cheer like robots when their leader spoke. My goodness, we can't have a rational debate but we have to get out the hooplah. Real substance folk! My sympathy to the poor delegates who had to put up with this crap.

Just another example of the tactics used by the Ujjalites back in 2000. When I look at some of the video clips of the Council Meeting on another site, I see the very same people still doing their work.

It is not about the people folks. It is about making history and gender politics and has nothing to do with reality just as 2000 had nothing to do with reality and then it was ethnic politics.

If Bob Simpson or any other group forms another party I will support it with my money. The NDP will get squat.

Skywalker

I've got to admit that the yellow scarves look real stupid and do seem strangely evocative of North Korea. But the color IS symbolic of cowardice so I guess it may be appropriate.

I do think BC could use an alternative to the Liberals and NDP. I imagine that Simpson will stay out of the NDP and it would be very advantageous to form a third party caucus, just so the press has someone intelligent to turn to respond to the missteps of the provincial Liberals.

Carole James is a total wet noodle as far as having anything of substance to say on any issue.

You make me laugh

Intimidated by a yellow scarf? That's something a two year old would say.

TIme to wave goodbye

Home many people have to write that they will no longer vote NDP if Carole James is the NDP leader. My wife quit last election and I will quit next. By quit I mean holding my nose and voting NDP.
In a recent poll in Kelowna BC (opt in poll, not telephone) the question was asked
"Is Carole James Premier material?"
The result was staggering even for a right wing hotbed like Kelowna. 1483 said no she was not and only 275 said yes. Numbers like that will not get the NDP in power in anyones lifetime.

Baldrey's Report

Sad really. A grown man behaving that way. Reminds me of Harry Lali and Leonard Krog - both recently forced to apologise after Glenn Beck style rants. Hopefully Nicolas finds a way to put this behind him. Strange bunch, these dissenters.

Gentner and Austin with Carole

Vaughn Palmer's update on the count of dissidents:

Note from later Saturday: MLA Robin Austin asked to be removed from the list. He'd held off saying anything until after the council had voted because his riding executive was calling for a leadership vote. But he supports James. Also, Guy Gentner gave James a big hug and declared himself a supporter after the vote was over. So that would drop the count to 11.

P. Markunas

The key MLAs to watch are:

1. Lana Popham
2. Norm Macdonald
3. Katrine Conroy

whom, aside from Bob Simpson, could be categorized as part of the centrist "federal Liberal" crowd of the BC NDP caucus.

If these are the MLA'a that jump to Simpson to form a new party as Palmer states, then the NDP has lost its so-called right-wing caucus.

Jenny Kwan, while not part of those MLA's ideologically, seems to have also attached her allegiance to same.

Frankly, if they jumped to Simpson and the other 3 Independents join them - and some moderate Lib MLA's also join them, I'm also in.

I'm fed up with this dysfunctional political mess that goes for BC politics and I'd wager that they would have a MUCH larger groundswell of support than Wilson did in 1991 who almost won that election out of nowhere.

A much larger political vacuum exists in BC right now than in 1991 IMHO.

archer2006 and Markunas

Funny that is probably what someone once said about the "brown shirts" worn in Italy. What's intimidating about a brown shirt? You can almost hear it now. They are however worn by people and their intent is clear. Get on the bandwagon or else. Really funny how that works.

The quality of leadership is the willingness of people to follow. Force them to by threats of firing and you have the leadership shown by tyrants like Campbell. Carole has a really great role model and that will get her far eh?

As for rants, you don't even know what a Glenn Beck rant looks like or you would not make such a silly comment. So Guy who and Robin Who want to keep their jobs and they'll toady up to Carole even though their members don't have confidence in her leadership. These are really good examples of the spinelessness of most of the MLAs. It is enough to get out the barf bags.

Them liberals must be laughing. All they have to do now is reduce the amount of the HST from 12% to say 10 5 and you guys jsut elected the Liberals to give away more of BC again. Really nice.

Unbelievable! Drowning

Unbelievable! Drowning person going down for the third time. Shameful ,this will bring the party and it's progress down with her.

Step aside, fall on the sword and let another person lead. Jenny Kwan would be good. She and Joy McPhail held the fort down whilst the others regrouped. Carol James has tried and failed twice. Let it go.......... for the betterment of BC.

Jenny Kwan?

YOU must be KIDDING!

If British Columbians won't support Carole James you actually think they'd support Jenny Kwan?

The wheels on bus go round and round

Until they fall off.

This weekend marks the time when the wheels fell of the bus of the two party system in BC.

The BCNDP will never again see government and we may be see a minority laden house forced to coalesce on the issues of the day to get any business done.

Which might be a good thing considering the competence on display amongst government these days.

@cool hand

Follow the link I posted to Palmer and you'll find his assessment of the MLAs you think could form government:

"They are also, in combination, an amateurish and evasive lot, whose clumsy interactions with the news media Friday and Saturday left the impression that either they don't know what they are doing or aren't prepared to share their intentions with anyone other than their own cult-like supporters. Try to imagine a political party run by boggers [sic] and you'd have some sense of the challenge of making sense of the group and its agenda -- presuming it is a group and it does have an agenda."

Perhaps you've been spending too much time at The Tyee?

@Skywalker

Leonard Krog called someone a Nazi and was compelled to apologise. Harry Lali falsely accused someone of racism and was compelled to apologise.

Vaughn Palmer

So Vaughn Palmer is calling 40% of caucus rank amateurs? What does he think about the remaining 60% of caucus? With that sort of endorsement we're really in the dumps with or without Carole.

Vaughn Palmer?

The guy who wrote that the NDP should keep James now want to stereotype those who don't> Boy that is effing rich! As for Markunas, I am convinced you still don't know what a Glenn Beck rant sounds like. Making any kind of an observation without any histrionics is not a Glenn Beck rant. Otherwise almost every time the Liberals respond to a question in QP they would be accused of a Glenn Beck rant. Nice try at denigrating people you don't like and don't agree with. Just like Vaughn Palmer. I guess that is the New NDP eh?

@ GWest

Frankly, anyone would be better than Carole James. Jenny shows a lot more fire than Carole ever did. The interesting thing is that before Carole ever ran for the job who had ever heard of her. It was a gamble as it always is. If Carole goes there will be a person who steps into the breech and they will learn quickly. Carole has not learned much in 6 years and two elections. That's much too long.

Farnworth has better skills although he is probably unelectable Province wide. People will step forward. It is not as though it is Carole or nobody. Sometimes I wonder if there is any vision at all in the NNDP.

Say it ain't so

Some speculate that the MLA's who oppose James might form a more centrist party?

That is too bad, what we need is a party that reflects what the NDP stood for, before it got twisted to suck up to business.

Anyway if such a centrist party happens may I suggest it be called the "New Libecrats"

Brown Shirts?

Comparing wearing yellow scarves to the brownshirts only tells us about the character of the person making the comparison.

The brown shirts were a fascist para-military that intimidated through brutality and murder, not the colour of their shirts. Skywalkers comparison is deeply offensive.