give gordo the boot

To bad Bill is more interested in restoring NDP fortunes sans leadership review with his 100K signatures than saving BC from its unfortunate decision to relect the Gordo.

A referendum is a great idea but getting 10% of BC's out of touch disinterested voters out in every riding is an almost impossible challenge.

If he instead recommended that committed progressive visitors to his site join the mass movement to retake the BCLiberal party back from its Neocon usurpers by buying BCLiberal memberships and voting them out, we could indeed stop all of the Gordon odious plans in their tracks and do it within the year.

I see Christy Clark is already lining up her troops for an attack.

Seth

Your strategy would accomplish nothing more than help finance the Liberals next election. They do not hold a leadership review every week. I agree that Campbell and his entourage have gotta go but your plan is just unworkable. You better start working on a plan "B".

Vander Zalm?

Paper bag Bill? Fantasy Gardens. Faye Leung. Peter Toigo. Lillians headbands. That Vander Zalm?
It must be true. Politics makes strange bedfellows. But then in VZ's case I don't think politics has a thing to do with it, does it. Just ask yourself "Whats in it for him?"

Sorry Bill

Your electoral system; your legislature; your government.

peasant43, seth, happy

Peasant its your government as well mate! Seth, you hobby horse won't ride so give it a rest. happy, politics has always been about people in agreement on something mobilizing for change. Which part of that don't you understand. Of course if you want Gordo to stay in the game you got to attach the agents of change.

Impaired driving Gordon? Railgate, Lies, Election fraud, Kinsella, Payoffs to friends and insiders. What's in it for him?

Washington State Tax Exemption

Washington state offers a state tax exemption for goods being taken out of the state to all states and provinces with a provincial tax of less than 3%. These savings are applied at the point of sale along with your ID. The HST will be a federally managed tax with the PST effectively being 0%. That means that BC becomes eligible for this exemption just like the maritime provinces are. (Alberta is, obviously, also exempt).

If the HST does happen, simply do your shopping south of the border and enjoy the savings. A well budgeted trip saves me as much as $200 a month on groceries and basic necessities. Oh, and don't forget to time these trips with when you have to fill up for gas for the most savings!

Way to go Gordo! You'll be helping businesses in another COUNTRY with the HST. Didn't think you'd screw it up that bad.

Enough is Enough Seth

Your plan is ridiculous. Do you honestly think the Liberal party is so unorganized that a group of new delegates could waltz into their convention and pass numerous motions causing the party to change their platform?
At the latest Federal NDP convention, the party loyal stacked the microphones to prevent the motion regarding a name change from ever hitting the convention floor. Your plan simply won’t work and is the wrong strategy anyway.
More viable strategies are;
• Promote and participate in the Initiative process with the aim of supporting a Recall drive
• Promote and participate in Recall campaigns in eight provincial ridings
• Join the NDP party in mass, attend their convention, force a leadership review and make the party work for you
• Create a new party and start from scratch.
Liberals, Conservatives, Reformers, they all have the same agenda, all are bought and paid for by Corporations, and nothing is going to change regardless of who you elect.
The NDP doesn’t give one much reason to stand behind them and cheer, but at least they aren’t sponsored by millions of dollars of Corporate money. Like I said above, if you can’t support them, than start a new party. This idea that staying at home and not voting is somehow a honorable form of protest is just as ludicrous as your plan. Do you think the ruling party gives a damn if they have the support of 25% of the people or even 5%, all that matters to them is power and they don’t give a damn how they get it, or who they piss off.

Use Seniors to fight HST

The problem is effective organization. Every community has a Sunshine Club made up of folks who are older, probably have experience in grassroots community action, and many of whom are retired. I suggest a provincial steering committe contact each and every Sunshine Club for volunteers to get these petitions completed asap. I am sure these Clubs would rise to the challenge and continue to be very active in this fight.

On Future Effectiveness...

Sorry, but I agree with the Peasants. It ain't my government. It's my enemy. Do your best NDP, but there are other strategies out there that have as good (I think better.) likelihood of producing "real" societal, including economic change as yours. And the more power to you, if you prove us wrong. (And where folks like myself, outside the ruling class manipulated electoral process, can work with NDPers or anyone else, to defeat the HST, for example, and other ruling class serving legislation, we should. (Though when it comes to the bs voting system, you're on your own hook. I don't put the value on it that you folks do.)

It's like I've said here before of course... But then you folks do a lot of repeating yourselves as well. ...nearly half of us don't participate in the rigged voting system anymore, so we need to develop a quite different strategy for mobilizing this element of society. And for me, watching what has produced real and major change in societies everywhere, is more about what happens "on the streets" than in the voting booth, frankly. The voting booth process is more about maintaining a working status quo than being about really changing anything. (And so long as a status quo is more or less effectively and equally functioning, it works more or less well.)

But we are again approaching a time and place in the history of capitalism, as occurred historically in other socio-economic orders, where what needs to be secured is increasingly beyond the means of the status quo electoral system to deliver. And this is especially true when we start talking about deep rooted economic change to democratize the economy, its plant and institutions, as part of changing the content of ownership and management rights over it. This, once the implications of the growing economic malaise of current capitalism sink in, in fights around such as the HST and unemployment insurance access, is going to take a movement of people of much greater depth and content than marking an X on a ballot, as the begin and end all, for this or that status quo system politician... including Her Majesty's LOYAL Opposition.

Give Gordo the boot - Part Deux

Obviously you folks haven't worked at or been an active member of a local riding association that has been a victim of a hijack.

I saw how mine was taken over by Harpo's crew years ago, watching our sitting MP get the boot from a religious conservative nobody had ever heard off. I worked at Seattles 7th Congressional district delegate selection meeting when the usual 10 or so regular members mostly Hillary supporters were overwhelmed by hundreds of enthusiastic Obama fans. Every delegate seat went to Obama.

Perhaps you folks might want to go back and study how Campbell took over the Liberal party in the first place. How did a radical lefty like David Orcard almost beat Joe Clark for the Progressive Conservative leadership. How did Harper get his first nomination as a MP candidate. How did Mary Polak's religious cronies steal incumbent moderate MLA Lynn Steven's seat How did a Sikh activist send popular MP Chuck Cadman packing.

Answer - by selling memberships and then getting the faithful out, stacking party meetings, committees, nominations and conventions with their homeys.

Every riding association regardless of party has at least annually, a membership meeting where local party executives are elected. Every political party elects delegates to annual conventions. Local Policy committee seats are filled by the small number of party activists who actually attend meetings.If progressives did a David Orchard on BCLiberal party riding associations and conventions they would control the party.

That isn't to say efforts and recall and referendum can't work. However. with the disaffected electorate, Neocon media, and a depressing lack of charismatic telegenic leadership on the progressive side we don't have much more chance than a snowball in hell.

Party hijack's have been shown to work numerous times. I've only listed a few. They work especially well when the electorate is so disaffected. In my riding represented by a liberal BCLiberal, unfortunately a yes man, the riding association can barely get enough folks out to form a quorum. Only relatively small numbers of committed progressives are required. Bill's one hundred thousand would do nicely.

Progressive's shouldn't just walk in and buy a membership. They join up and partipate. Y'all forget there are already fair numbers of real but very discouraged liberals in the BCLiberal party - they need help.

The NDP convention name change is an absurd example as it was a motion brought by only two riding associations.

For the next five years, in BC's antiquated undemocratic legislature, one that Bill here worked so hard to keep, the Gordo can open and close sessions at will allowing the NDP no time to cause trouble. The Neocon media might offer the NDP a word or two all negative to ten praising the Gordo. The NDP is a lost cause until we get close to the next election even with new leadership, and we can't wait 5 years to do something about the Gordo.

FUNNY HST VIDEO - Travolta discusses the HST

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atiLnxSKmec

#4 comedy video in Canada yesterday - pulp fiction parody.

Dave Obee Times Colonist columnist is

Urging everyone to fight the goverment,he makes comparisans to third world countries....Lets go folks......."LETS ROLL"

http://www.timescolonist.com/opinion/programs+silence+deafens/1899011.html

Cheers-Eyes Wide Open

Oops...here is the link address

Dave Obee writes a great column in the times colonist.

http://www.timescolonist.com/opinion/programs+silence+deafens/1899011/story.html

"Lets roll"

Showing Their True Colours At Last

Seth said: "If he instead recommended that committed progressive visitors to his site join the mass movement to retake the BCLiberal party back from its Neocon usurpers ...

What in heaven's name are you talking about?? "Retake" the party from "Neocon usurpers"? The BC Liberal Party was created by neo-conservatives, has been controlled by them since Day One, and is nothing more than a front for conservative ideology.

Please don't try to paint the BC Liberals as a party that has simply lost its way - it is pursuing the same path now as it always has. The only difference is that they have become emboldened by their third election victory and believe that now is the time to take even more decisive action in order to achieve their ideological aims.

There will be no "party revolt", there will be no "caucus revolt". Although some party members and MLAs are clearly nervous, few of them disagree fundamentally with the direction Campbell is heading.

What you call "usurpers", the BC Liberals call "leaders".

Stoning

Can we all just agree to stone the man?

Really, the only decent option to consider is a right good stoning of the man. I don't see a reason to respond with polite niceties.

The BIGGEST problem is that most of us are decent law abidding citizens who for some odd resason police ourselves far too much.

I see no ethical problem with this. He is a sociopath who evidently views the people of BC as quite literally stupid.

Let'em have it......

If this was 1776 in Boston, we would have marched up to his house - tossed him {..and Im sure his horrific furniture} out, and burned the bloody joint to ground.

Perhaps Campbell is afraid of a public stoning,he`s been hiding

I noticed that Campbell was with the press gallery and VIP invitees at the opening of the Canada line.....He left well before the public arrived!

The NDP did it?

Grow up, its no excuse to say that other governments have also been caught up in corruption to make it okay. Yes other governments have been caught and paid the price as former Conservatives where wiped off the Federal map when the truth be know. And its for that very reason Government needs to be held accountable as lobbying is where it all started going wrong. Accountability don't count on it when you have Can west news in room or the province as its what kept Klein in office as opposition talked of media going after the opposition while having a love affair with premier Klein. Its something Can west does media manipulation like no other as its what former media giant had also built a career on as Black stays in stripes for ripping off investors.

Its like saying "Others have murdered, so why bother making anyone accountable for murder?" Children have died because of Campbell's lies and cuts to services while BC children are left without hope wishing the abuse would end or at least their lives are left with little hope for their futures.
So saying its okay because others have done it is a poor argument and is foolish and childish as its what the premier has based his political career on openness and accountability. And if that isn't ironic as Campbell has created nothing but secrets and lies and dirty dealing as he runs the province's finances into the ground along with residents in need of care. The Olympics is already a disaster as residents find it the focus of their discontent as governments says needs money for Olympics because of recession yet government talks of recession being over and Olympics being great, not likely as skiers are equipped with downhill umbrellas.

Now the H(ei)ST is all about the children, and the sick.....

http://www.timescolonist.com/Premier+defends/1904365/story.html

And you can bet the "it's for the kids" shtick wasn't on the radar either until he saw how quickly the opposition is mounting.

Sent this letter to the papers tonight.

Wonder if they will print it?

Watched you on TV last night, Mr. Premier. How about answering a very straight-forward question for us? Will the 1.6 billion dollars from the Feds that you will receive to implement the HST be put directly towards healthcare and education programs and reverse the cuts or, will it be used towards shrinking the budget deficit for this year so that you can come closer to the $495 million that you guaranteed the voters during the election?

BCLiberal's always been Neocon's

@tangler

Have you heard of Gordon Wilson, Gordon Gibson? Those were the founders of the modern party - neocons both for sure.

It wasn't until the real neocons went south with Rita Johnson that the hijack plot was hatched and implemented with the help of our fascist friends at Canwest/Gordo.

Remember the press hounding Judy Tyabji's kids. Gordon Campbell pontificating about the decay in moral fibre of party leadership.

For you Tangler my friend from Edmund Burke

“Those who don't know history are destined to repeat it.”

Yup!

The man is in deep trouble. He is in the process of taking back every tax break he thinks he given us by implementing the 'revenue neutral' HST. He's also going to get a huge whack of money from the Feds and he still has to cut program funding. This should be really interesting to watch how the next budget is white washed.

Whats in it for Gordo, you

Whats in it for Gordo, you ask Skywalker? Oh probably Corporate Directorships and other such "elite" soft langings that politicians reglarly are offered once they leave the Public realm. The NDP's no slouch in that department either, what with very well paid seat warming rewards at the Fed and other

Damn

must have hit "Post" by mistake...

To continue - and other such institutions. Criminal records aren't a problem, just ask Svend.

So, I answered your question, answer mine. Whats in it for VZ? Do you honestly believe that he, of all people, is being upfront about his intentions?

@Happy

Happy the HST is a fraud plain and simple,it`s a tax grab,a tax grab because Campbell has squandered and spent like a "Drunken sailor"

Over priced P3s,energy contracts,hidden debt etc etc etc.....if 193 members of the PAB can`t sell it,big business can`t sell,the bullshiters in goverment can`t sell,then it won`t be sold or bought, because it`s a fraud!

Check out my more detailed take on the HST at

http://powellriverpersuader.blogspot.com/2009/08/great-canadian-mythssasquatchoogo.html

Stampy

Of course its a tax grab. I'm not defending it or Gordo.
Nor the way it was introduced, but we've all seen that movie before too, haven't we.
That isn't what I brought up originally though. My post was about Vander Zalm. Just a tiny bit of baggage, wouldn't you say? Do you think the Public is actually going to look to him for leadership?
I think not.
Glen would have a better chance of making a comeback - now that he's been rehabilitated.

Happy

Everybody has a stake in it.....My stake is about 1500.00$ per year,every year, or more if I buy a big ticket item....Like a home or a funeral.....

Although I would gladly pay HST on a certain politicians funeral....

Cheers

Party Politics

The political party is about as relevant as the pet rock. They are nothing more than a gang with only one objective, which is to attain power. They don't give a tinker's damn about you or anyone else. They espouse a platform which has a best before date which usually precedes the election it is written for.

We need to revolutionize how and why we elect who we do. We do not elect representatives of the constituents, but representatives of a party. They are not accountable to us but to the party. During an election they will tell you that they will represent you, but once elected they will capitulate to the whims and follies of their leader.

Each party has its leader and the backroom strategists who call all the shots. The rest of the candidates are just there to carry out their bidding. You do not vote for the best candidate, but for the party that presents itself in the best light. We just end up with an elected leader and a bunch of butt kissers. All this accomplishes is that we elect a dictator with a flock of toties. Each individual MLA is reduced to nothing more than a yes vote for the party. Their opinions on anything relating to their constituency takes a back seat to the bigger picture, whatever that may be.

I suggest it would be much more democratic if we shunned all political parties and just voted for those that put their names forward unfettered. We would finally have MLAs that are answerable to us, the electorate rather than to a gang.

This would be real reform.

Happy!

You might want to compare the "directorships and soft landings " offered to politicians of the NDP persuasion an those offered to the politicians of the "right" persuasion. I watch this even at local levels and there is no comparison. The corporate sector looks after its own in ways that pale the other side.

Sorry about that North

That was a feeble attempt at neocon homour on my part.

I meant he'd been "rehabilitated" by Jimmy and has now seen the "right" way forward.

You gotta admit he's good at it.

Now come on Skywalker. You always excuse anything that Left politicians are found guilty of as "less" offensive than if it was a neocon.
How about we just say its wrong no matter who it is.
I suppose you feel Constance Barnes just had a bad day when she "pulled a Gordo". No harm done, lets move on folks.

Just Heard Colin Hansen on the 6.00pm Glowball news.....

Get ready for the TOXIC FUDGE....Fudget Budget from hell......
Remember Gordon Campbell during the election....

"495 million dollar deficit maximum,read my lips,495 million dollar deficit maximum"

Would like like to take that back premier bold faced liar?

According to Colin Hansen on the 6.00 pm news and I quote.....

"Revenues have plummeted,just in the last 3 months alone,over 1 billion$$$ drop in corporate and personal income tax,just in the last 3 months,500 million$$ drop in natural gas revenue,just in the last 3 months an extra 100 million is social service speding and a decline of 300 million in social service tax,and all other revenue sources are down in the last 3 months,and we are now forcsating spending over 400 million$$ on fighting forest fires"
And Keith Baldrey didn`t ask Hansen the obvious question,and you didn`t know this during the election?
Baldrey went on to say that you can expect when the budget is brought in september 1st the budget deficit is going to be well north of 3 billion dollars.....SAY WHAT?

My guess is the deficit will be 3 billion plus,and thats counting the 1.6 billion dollar bribe......
Gordon Campbell couldn`t run a lemonade stand....

The P3s, energy contracts,cost over-runs (like the convention center 1/2 billion over budget)Canada line..1.4 billion over budget...Golden ears bridge,400 million over budget...Abbotsford hospital,a bad deal for the tax-payer...

And Keith Baldrey today in the burnaby mentioned that the sea to sky highway cost is 2 billion,not the quoted 800 million$$$$

Cheers-Eyes Wide Open