Silly

It'll just split the vote even further and just guess who that split will favour.

Political Bipolaroty and Third Parties

Given that a split on one side or the other of the political spectrum almost guarantees a victory by the faction not split, might it not be a better consideration to flood the existing opposition party with new members so as to influence decisions relating to leadership and party policy? It is also possible that the open advocacy on the part of respected high-profile individuals would combine with the distaste for the acts of the current administration to bring about the building of a more responsive and aggressive opposition ready to morph into a government that might actually govern in the interest of a broader segment of the population, and without the ideological gridlock that impedes so much of what needs to happen in the corridors of power.

Bipol what?

Sorry, bad proof reading...bipolarity, and no slight intended to those who suffer from the devastating effects of any kind of bipolarity.

Rehijack the Liberal party

Do unto Gordon Campbell as Campbell did to Gordo Wilson.

We might get a government we could hold our noses and live with. Carol Taylor, Dianne Watts help anybody!!!. I think the knives are already out in the Liberal party and with any luck the Neocons could be purged.

As many of us whiners as possible need to buy memberships, get on board and be ready to lighten the load by shoving the Neocons off the sinking ship.

A similar effort is required at the NDP but the cause there does seem hopeless without a massive effort from activists to buy memberships and boot the old guard.

Crooks or Cretins, we need to improve our choices.

Just a demockery now!

Selling of 'crown' assests to make the crinies rich.

How about the Dead Horse Party!

or, the New and Improved Party!

All parties dance around the same economic fire; they just use different vdance steps, but overall the result is the same-praying at the temple of Mammon!

Without sacrifice the future is f*%ked!

The None of the Above Party!

As if a new party will make a difference when the sheeple's voting philosophy remains the same.

Hello? Anyone home?

Lede: "If NDP can't win voters in middle, maybe someone else should try."

Clearly, Mr. Mair hasn't heard of the Green Party of BC.

cynical

I guess I've been down too many political roads to believe that a new party will be any different than the old parties. I believe I would need an attitude adjustment and a new found level of "TRUST". Trust being the key word.

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

Not new party, but a coalition of existing parties

I do recall how quickly the Socreds imploded under Zalm and morphed, via Gordon Wilson, into the BC Liberals, ready to regain power in just a couple of elections. This scenario ain't gonna happen under to the NDP - at least, it ain't gonna happen in 6 or 8 years as it did with the Socreds.

A new party vying for the centre-left against the New Democrats is a recipe for BC Liberal teflon dynasty status, the sort seen in Alberta.

Rafe, I believe you know the real root cause of our problems: the FPTP electoral system. Change this, and your new party proposition because much less a pipe dream, every bit a reality! But with the sour taste of STV still in their collective mouth, BC voter appetite for this kind of change seems unlikely. Which returns us to your proposition: This leaves about one possible scenario that could work, but it's not a new party. It would be an NDP-Green coalition, all egos and political greed checked at the door for the betterment of the issues requiring urgent action. It's a win-win scenario for the NDP. They get to keep their party in tact, and at the same time have as good a chance as ever winning the the next election. For the Greens, it's a no-brainer - the promise of actual seats, rather than a leader grinding it out for 17% of the popular vote and declaring moral victory.

Rafe, I think your airing of this frustration needs to be done because it's an accurate reflection of how many of us from centre to left feel about our current options. It's a long overdue discussion that must take place before 2013. The fact has always been in BC that the NDP has never been able to win without the help of a right-wing split or right-wing party collapse. Under FPTP electoral system, that truism will continue, which is why NDPers quietly pray from the opposition benches for the BC Conservatives to get moving and become relevant - the BC Cons may be represent the only hope the NDP has of winning a majority in 2013. And people wonder why voter turnout is at an all time cynical low.

In short the best solution right now is co-operation of existing parties, not vote-splitting division between old and new ones. Ask any Liberal strategist what he/she's prefer, and I can guarantee it the new party solution.

Robertson...

Gregor Robertson has proven a very able mayor of Vancouver. Let's not forget that Harcourt and Campbell both cut their teeth as mayor of Vancouver. Vision has come off a reasonable party not in anybody's hip pocket and if it were to run a provincial candidate, I would without reservation vote for that person.

The NDP, as Rafe has noted, has repeatedly shot itself in both feet. Jim Sinclair is not exactly the person you want as your poster boy yet he is front and centre. This is completely lost on NDPers as the following flames will attest but it has kept them out of power in elections the should have won, namedly 2005. The NDP needs to be more inclusive but as barney points out, that has proven an impossible task for them. In many ways, they have, ironically, become a party of "no" much like the GOP in the USA and every bit as "conservative" but on the opposite end of the political spectrum.

Finally, 2013 is a long way from now, Rafe, and you should know that. When Bennett won his last term, his political had been predicted right up to election day.

Interesting

I find it very interesting that all three of your choices for leader are in possession of a Y chromosome, Rafe.

I've said it before and I'll say it again - Rafe's central problem with Carole is that she's a woman, which is why he habitually describes her as "too nice" - code words for "too female."

I agree with you analysis Rafe.

I'm not sure I agree with you choice of possible successors. There really are not many shinning examples on the opposition benches. A few like Dix and Horgan stand out on occasion but for some reason nobody stands out above any of the others. Whether that is because they are worried about making Carole look incompetent, I don't know but something is lacking in the NDP benches. Once she leaves there may be others who will dominate the field at a convention. As for George Heyman, for a party now paranoid about its connection with labour, I doubt he will be the choice.

another few egos thrown in

barney has expressed my thoughts. Thank you Barney. The problem is that the Greens have a strong leader with a big ego. The NDP has a leader that is not forceful. 2 egos and split votes. I have begged the two parties in my emails to join forces at least long enough to get a fair voting system in place. The corruption in this govt. is way over the line....BC Rail, Ex Forest Minister gift to his brother....the list is endless, BC Ferries Hahn cutting service to pay for his new $1,000,000 salary, Campbell's 53% raise etc. As long the vote is split that's what we'll always have. BURY YOUR EGOS and get it together.

Good Points, manuel

Manuel, you make good points. Problem is that the NDP policy is still heavily influenced by big trade unions, notably the auto and steel workers. The are categorically against any real policy on climate change that might affect their jobs. As last year's auto bail-outs have shown, that change is coming anyway but smoke stack unions are dead set against it. This makes any coalition between the Greens and the NDP impossible. When the NDP came out against carbon taxes, something which is a cornerstone of Green policy, it drove the final nail. The carbon tax was never about anything but splitting Green voters from the NDP anyway.

Demographics also play a part. As the population has aged, so has the NDP party leadership. Dix and Horgan are hardly spring chickens. They do not appeal to the younger voters, those 25-45, who make up the Green vote. As the NDP leadership has aged they have become increasingly conservative in stance and policy and they are no longer a "big tent" party. This keeps them out of power.The great irony is that the anger I see from NDPers is very similar from the "Tea Party" types in the USA, largely anger that their world has changed so much in the last forty years.

The problem is, the problem is....

..the Campbell non liberal policy is completely influenced by the corporate interests. Not only influenced they are owned by the corp[orations, lock stock and barrel. And you whine about trade union influence. Give us a #%@&ing break!

put the blame where it belongs

New party eh?
The only party that might get the slobs out to vote would be a party that promises: "Something For Nothing!"

Every group here refuses to pay for the services they want and demand, and then blame parties and politicians when that turns out to be an impossible goal.

The NDP represents more people than any other party, even if those people do not like to admit that they are "workers".
The problem is not parties but spoiled citizens!

New party? Why?

Why bother getting a new party when people over the last twenty years or so have stopped participating in democracy, the most glaring evidence of this being the shrinking voter turnouts? Who will organize this fantasy political team from among the largely apathetic, completely disengaged masses?

People who are strongly involved in their community know that it's not just a matter of voting, but of regular participation through letter writing, joining various committees and boards, volunteering, getting together with your neighbors and friends and talking politics, joining various pressure groups, etc. This just does not happen as much anymore. Why? I don't know, but it's a problem.

Then people whine about a lack of choice, as if it's their privilege to choose from the finest, most delectable candidates without making an input into the system through volunteering, joining a party, organizing or joining a voting bloc (i.e. senior's orgs, etc), or whatever.

Garbage in, garbage out, as they say!

New BC Party YES!

Sign me up! I have said to all the present BC partys that I will vote for the first party who comes out and says they will put BC FIRST in their priorities!
We owned our own railroad, now sold by Campbell who did NOT have the right to sell OUR property, it was there to develop this huge province and SERVE those interior communities! BC Hydro is being by-passed when we've always had British Columbia management who have served us well. Now our rivers are for the profit of foreigners. Fish farms destroying what was once a huge BC fishery.
Put "BC First" as your motto and I will work, support and vote for you!

A new party will only split

A new party will only split the progressive vote further. I'd put my money behind a coalition of Greens and NDs headed up by Peter Julian.

carole james should have past the torch before last election

come on carol give it up, nobody listens to you.let a new face and new blood run the NDP.. maybe that way more working people will vote next election and the NDP will have a chance.big corporations exploiting every resource the province has does nothing for the people of this province. get lost carole.

Rafe; you are SO right!

First, we are SO sick of the NDP. No more unions in power, please. Just remember the Fastcats.

Second we are SO sick of Gordon Campbell and his drunken lies. BC Rail, BC Ferries etc.

We need a third party, and it should be somewhere in the middle, with a good tint of green. I am in utter contempt of our two main parties and it is like choosing between death by fire or drowning.

The new laws on ATV's is a good example; it will only apply on crown land. What use is that? Why does the crown deserve protection, but large logging companies like Island Timberlands do not?

There is so much wrong with BC that it beggars the imagination to even think about it. I don't trust the cops any more than I trust the politicians. Some of our cops are murderers and others are drunks, pure and simple but the badge gets them a free pass on prosecution.

It doesn't help that every generation since ancient Greece has thought that their country was going to the dogs. We now depend on government casinos and lotteries for basic program funding. They announced another one for Vancouver just over the weekend. Are they so totally bankrupt? Ths is a government that has no idea how to run a province and the lot of them genuinely deserve to see the view from the end of a rope.

hanging on

if they, the greens,ndp won't unite into a People's Party then we should have pre election elections and make a commitment to vote for the winner of that pre election.
same goes for the federal election.

Coalition

I would dearly love to see a coalition of NDP and Green with Dix as leader . The current gang would be down and out!

Frustration

I get so frustrated with the current BC Liberal Party. I am a former card carrying member and a campaign manager (twice)as well as a former party supporter for years. Finally, I couldn't stand it any longer and resigned due to the dismall record on environmental issues as well as being strangers to the truth on many issues. Yet, when I talk to others about the BC Liberal record all I receive for feedback is "remember the fast ferry controversy?" Granted, that was a financial mess but really petty cash when compared to the BC Liberal financial record on the convention centre and the giveaway of BC rail. People like me (and there are many) are waiting patiently for either a new party to emerge (not likely) or for those who normally fail to vote to get angry and turn up on voting day.

The problem with a new party for voters in the middle

There aren't any.

Time for a new BC party?

Raif!
While your article may have some good points, the title is bad.
Sure we in the NDP have some problems, but of course asking for another party to split the vote is stupid.

No new party required. The

No new party required. The BC Greens is neither left nor right and is aiming for the middle ground. It is obvious that the media are explicitly ignoring Jane Sterk to appeal to corporate supporters on the right (Canwest) and labour on the left (the Tyee). Shame on you Rafe.

cocean

Your Greens have been contesting elections for decades, if you were going to appeal to large numbers of voters like the NDP and Liberals why haven't you done it?

Rafe was right to write off the Greens.

There is no middle

Rafe Mair should read what George Lakoff has to say about the middle.

Response to VancouverPointGreen

You are correct, we don't need a new party.
The BC Greens are of course non-exisitant in the legislature already.

My comment on "The middle"

Maybe the middle is those people who never vote, and those who we should be trying to convince to be on "OUR" side of the middle.

The greens

The greens are even non-existent on environmental issues. Where has their voice been on the environmental issues:

losing BC Rail thereby allowing CN to discontinue servie and force the trucking of materials at huge environmental costs when compared to rail?

building the subway from the airport instead of servicing the city with trollies and eliminating the East West travel issue?

shipping whole logs instead of employing more people with required value added?

fish farms?

private non-green run of river?

the convention centre?

the $600,000,000 sea to sky highway instead of improving the existing railway to service Whistler and Squamish?

Where is the Green Party's vision and leadership?

Why aren't the leaders and their members here and on the blogs?

Talk about do-nothings... sheesh!

A New Coalition

Barney's suggestion of a coalition between the Green Party and NDP is a super idea. I'm a member of the Farmland Defense League of BC and a pseudo environmentalist, so I support the basic premises of both parties.
Seth's suggestion of joining the Liberal Party to subvert the Campbell oligarchy compliments the idea of an NDP/Green Party coalition.
We need to get out the young people who, I believe, are tired of being the patsies in this economy and have felt the brunt of the down trend the most.
We need a young Obama to lead us out of the wilderness but, hopefully, not into another American style fiasco.

fishcounter is dead wrong, and so is Raif

The NDP needs to do only one thing to win---put the resolutions the party voted on into policy and campaign speeches:Sustainability BC. The thing is the NDP gutless leaders must move off the yellow line in the middle of the road and not be afraid of using socialist and environmentalist words. It's time for a REAL change, an equitable change, an environmentally protective change. The Liberals have stolen from us to give to American corporations, like CN. The Greens have been co-opted by the Conservatives and, if Torporah Berman or whatever is an example of Green, then we're in a lot of trouble.

While we are dreaming

What we really need is about 4 less parties. Our system of governance is totally archaic and should be blown up. As an example just suppose that the legislature was a huge rowboat with one party in power and the other in opposition. One party rows in one direction and the other rows the opposite. Where does the boat go? In circles, which is exactly where we have been going for many years now. First we live under the will of one faction, then we are forced to live under the will of its polar opposite. It's like we are stuck in this large eddy with no escape.

My ideal system would be to have all candidates run as independents, and have those that are elected choose a premier and a cabinet from amongst themselves. Wouldn't it be a refreshing change to actually have a cabinet minister or two actually know what they are talking about. Also, the premier would not have the dictatorial powers they possess today.

I'm sure this is too radical for a number of you, so my plan B would be a new party called the Logical Party. This party would neither right nor left. Their allegiance would be to the electorate they represent, not the party. If this party won a majority, the leader would be compelled to form his cabinet from members of all parties based on their supposed competence. This party would also be free to vote as they perceive their constituents wish they should vote on various legislation without sanctions from their leader or party. It would take a few elections for this party to take hold, most likely, but once the electorate was exposed to a true democracy I'm sure that there would be no stopping them.

If the voters actually thought they were being listened to, they may actually take an interest and get involved. What we have now does not and the declining participation from election to election proves it.

The "political party" entity itself....

needs to be removed from the landscape as it clearly usurps 'representative democracy' from the individuals.

Of course our Constitutional 'freedom of assembly' is the obvious sticking point.

Thus we need to better reflect the votes cast, so proportional representation would be a start (to keep it simple).

From here, the first step would be to buttress the representative process with effective and timely recall legislation to give it teeth. Couple this with a free/secret vote on all matters, and everyone in office will be beholden to both the party and the constituents.

Now no elected official would feel too safe to stray from ideology or from his or her representative duties.

As for a new party, I agree there is a void but I think honest & trusted leadership is the larger chasm on the BC political landscape.

New Party

It would seem oxymoronic to put "law and order" alongside "NDP." But if the Dippers had the good sense to choose Mike Farnworth as leader, they could exploit one of the surprisingly weak links in the Liberals' chain. From Day 1, Campbell closed courts, shortchanged Crown Counsel and cavalierly ignored growing gang violence. Farnworth talks the talk about cleaning up Dodge.

If both parties pay only cursory attention to justice files, a Reform/Wild Rose-type alternative will surely rise in the hinterland if, as I suspect, relations with First Nations deteriorate. So far, neither young aboriginals nor many of their leaders are buying into Campbell's enticements of jobs if they back independent power projects. Young aboriginals are also realizing that the much-vaunted "interim" land deals being signed by elders contain only modest amounts of cash once legal fees are subtracted.

This Ain't No Party

Almost right Rafe, but we don't need another Party; we need the Un-Party.

Our voting system is horribly flawed. Too often the vote is split between two groups of similar orientations (i.e. left or right) and a government is elected that is actually the third runner.

The system of allowing candidates and parties to take “donations” (read “graft”) for their campaign fund results in the expected appointments and contracts (read “pay-back”) that allows big business to effectively run the government. The only people who are allowed to play in this arena are the already privileged and rich. This does not give ordinary average Canadians any say or representation.

The answer is a three stage set of changes; encourage candidates to run independently, then Vote Independent, to weaken the official parties and gain a say for the people in parliament; table legislation outlawing party campaign contributions, to strip the power big business holds over the government; and set up a government funded and run system of disseminating campaign information to replace expensive political campaigns.

For more information on the This Ain't No Party, please visit my new FaceBook group;
Common Interests / Politics / The This Ain't No Party.

I can see the light

I agree wholeheartedly, take the party out of politics.

I am sick and tired (literaly) of being a host to the political and corporate parasites.

James Tainted by Past NDP Losses

The problem with Carole James is that no one bets on a losing horse!

Sadly, although I have always voted NDP, I strongly believe that Carole James would lose yet another election for the NDP. Her best efforts were insufficient in the last three elections, as they will be in the next; British Columbians now have a strong preconceived notion of Carole James.

James is the election loser who complains about cut-throat and unethical Liberal policies, but can't seem to do anything about them. Regardless of whether or not this is a justified perception of James is immaterial, if no one can see her as a strong and successful Premiere, no one will vote for her.

I sincerely hope that Carole James realizes that it would be best for BC if she stepped down, and vocally supported a strong new candidate for the next election.

Finally, I want to see a set of policy suggestions that repair at least some significant portion of the damage that the Liberals have done to BC. The past election's strategy of trying to appeal to the base of Liberal supporters through a Liberl-like policy platform is doomed to fail. NDP "business as usual" won't work:
- reduce the HST's impact on families
- freeze post-secondary tuition, and improve loans
- produce a budget that improves healthcare
- improve environmental standards
If these things could be accomplished I think that the NDP would be a no-brainer for a strong majority in the next election... unless James is leading.

it is not about James, stupid!

Again a lot of blame heaped on James!
I agree she is not very good at public speaking and lack the talent to get time on MSM.
However, what counts in the end is how many seats the NDP gathers in the legislature!

You can scream at Question Period, but unless you have the numbers at the following vote all the screaming is wasted.

Consequently. like James or not, the only way to get rid of Gordo is to vote NDP.

If you waffle and vote green, you are causing yet one more term for Gordo, or whoever gets his position.

What is so hard about this, to understand?

New parties become "old" very fast.

New leaders, not new parties are needed to inspire the political scene in BC.
We have a long history of engaging a melange of political organizations and I'm old enough now to see how none of them differed from the standard centre-left or right choices we have now.
You all know the "lip stick on a pig" metaphor.

Rafe, I know you are no fan of Campbell, and while I agree that Ms.James was MIA in the last campaign; you fail to mention how dismal the liberal leader was.

Turn-out fell to a modern low of 55% of reg'd voters--only 50% of eligible voters---a drop of 115000 ballots from '05. Campbell lost 55000+; James fell 40000+; even the greens were down by 27000+, aren't they a new "party"?

Carole James appears to send mixed messages too often, but she tries to bring a more pragmatic approach to NDP policy on business and taxes.
Those on the far left don't agree, but they should note that in her two campaigns, Carole had the highest popular vote of any previous NDP leader.

Despite media lies that Campbell would crush her, she trailed by only 4% in '05 and 3% in '09; just 60000 votes last May. I think her party was as much to blame as she was in running a poor ground game.

If the NDP turns to it's labour base, they will be lucky to manage a third of the vote. A new leader may be needed, but don't turn over the gains that this one has compiled.

Gwest...a very good point.

Gwest, your post says a lot; in the 13 years that the NDP governed in BC they have left some major legacies that despite the knee-jerk reaction from the far right wing most of them remain.
There are too many to post here but my favourite is the agricultural land reserve. I grew up in the Fraser valley and remember the developers and farmers and so many others that failed to see the long term benefits.

I wonder what a drive in the valley would be like if they had won the day. If it was such a big bad commie plan, why has it never been repealed after nearly 40 years?
We should be careful in how AGR land is released to developers.
Thanks Mr. Barrett for looking beyond the quick return and investing in what is now a better future.

brg61

"Those on the far left don't agree, but they should note that in her two campaigns, Carole had the highest popular vote of any previous NDP leader."

Actually I have noted that when it comes to the popular vote Carole's made a very good showing. And I agree with you that Carole shouldn't be taking all the blame for her lacklustre campaign, in fact I would lay most of the blame at the feet of the party itself. You'd think that after winning only 3 elections since WW2 the NDP would have got over the belief that being the 2nd party means power will come its way every few years.

And although I'm certainly far to the left of Ms James it seems I've supported her much more than centrists have. Which is kinda strange.

I'd have been quite happy with a centrist government in 2005 or 2009 but as time goes on that's no longer good enough. I want to see the NDP actually roll back much of what Campbell has wrought. And so far the NDP is not giving off those signals which means they're losing left-wing supporters, not centrists.

Frank

Hey Frank....I have empathy for what you are saying; there is a catch 22 that won't be replaced easily.

Campbell has been a disaster; I've always thought he was a flake. The sad thing is that I hear this from friends who vote for his party----or they decided not to vote.
The NDP must develop a plan to win.
Either they identify non-voters who agree with their policy OR try to attract moderates.
The problem in convincing moderates is getting them to hear a message amidst the spin from MSM in BC.
I agree about replacing Campbell's policies. I care for my mother who is 83 and has parkinsons; the claw backs to her benefits are disgraceful. Her deductable grows each yr. and the paper work to maintain any aid that is available pisses me off. How many elderly people lose much needed care by not re-registering? Campbell sees a saving in dropping people--even temporarily---the same way a private insurance company does.

I want a new gov't just as much as you Frank, I'm worried about which path to choose as we approach the fork in the road.

plenty of voters

brg61
Sorry to butt in here, the NDP's policies would benefit a large majority of voters.
There is no need to alter anything to attract "middle of the road" voters
The problem is to make those same voters quit listening to MSN and instead use their brains.

Gee Willie Ol' Boy!

And what is the qualitative difference between what you say and: Problem is that the Liberal policy is still heavily influenced by big business....

The March of Folly

Rafe and the NDP simply keep repeating past mistakes and fail to understand the inability of the NDP to win elections. Because nutty and ill disciplined factions stir the pot at NDP conventions, the entire party comes across as a political movement rather than a disciplined party that can actually run a gov't.

Rafe is right on one observation. The Liberals aren't stupid enough to allow Peter Brown or Jim Pattison to give high profile speeches at conventions. Jim Sinclair is no different than the corrupt CEOs that the NDP whines about. Except that Sinclair is well paid to lead self-interested unions. Whenever Sinclair speaks, the general public prepares to vote Liberal.

The NDP's stubborness to reject and alliance with business or to admit that businesses are behind the growth of jobs dooms it to loss after loss. After all, many working families depend on jobs from business not government, so an anti-business platform is political suicide.

The reality, to answer RickW, is that the voters want pro-business not pro-union policies. But, the NDP elite refuse to budge from their aged "Workers of the world unite" chant. I'm sure that only a generational change of party leaders will end this ideological war.

Blaming Carol James, a thoroughly decent leader, misses the heart of the problem: the NDP needs to purge itself of its pernicious, far left radicals. The Liberals may be down in the polls, but by election time, they will be up enough to win. It happens over and over again. Yet the NDP faithful can't learn.

Or maybe they don't want to learn. The NDP followers love being a movement rather than a party. It's more fun to spew the same invective against the Liberals and Campbell than to come up with genuine policies that make sense and win elections. By personalizing issues and ceaselessly calling Campbell arrogant, blah, blah, the NDP followers only show their hollowness. Time to change the message and the party elite. In another 10 years a younger, hipper NDP leadership should emerge.

And Rafe, you consider Adrian Dix, Glenn Clark's crony a suitable leader? There's enough stink from Clark to doom alot of NDP candidates. The enemy isn't the Liberals, it's the NDP itself.

NDP in general is a very tough sell.

I don't think Carol James is the problem here. The NDP in general is a very tough sell. They are too far to the left and that scares business owners and a relatively right wing population.

You are right. We do need a new party. I'm certainly looking for a place that represents my views to park my vote. I can safely say that none of the current parties that are there now really do it for me. In fact none of them even come close. I often wonder whats the use in voting at all. They are all the same and will do what they want and not what the rest of us wants.

brg61

Well, for what its worth I'll back any path to the Left of Gordon the Hun.

Any day now I expect him to lower corporate taxes and make up the revenue with a tax on poor people's use of gravity. (And then he'll tell us the way to lower our gravity costs is to let the private sector run it)

pneves

"I don't think Carol James is the problem here. The NDP in general is a very tough sell. They are too far to the left and that scares business owners and a relatively right wing population."

I think you're a perfect example of what we've been talking about for three years. Carol James publicly made an explicit promise after her 2005 election to woo business at the expense of her labour constitutency - she ran the rubber chicken circuit for two whole years, visiting every chamber of commerce from Golden to Atlin, talking to every right-wing rag from BC Business to The Northern Miner, until even the CanWest rags were compelled to admit that this kinder, gentler NDP gave business nothing to fear.

And still they (and you) failed to vote for her. They did not vote according to logic, they voted according to.... what? Mantra? Prejudice? The wearing of tin-foil hats in the presence of leftish thoughts of fair play and contribution to society?

And the fact that you actually believe that the NDP is a very left-wing sell indicates to me a general gap in believability here. Only I don't think it's with the NDP - I think it's with the populace including yourself. I would dearly welcome your thoughts on what part of Carol James speeches and actions from late 2005 to early 2008 you found unbelievable, leftist, radical or otherwise 'unsafe in any race'.

Seriously. You're not alone - I've heard from several people who feel like you do. And though you're wrong, your beliefs are deeply held, so I would love to examine them to get a window on the BC electorate. Not that I would vote NDP in any guise, but to do nothing guarantees a vote for BC Fiberals, which is the same as pointing a gun at yourself, taking out your wallet, holding the money in it out to any passer-by, and then shooting yourself anyway. A genuine low-value strategy for personal success.

The NDP Needs to Go Back to Being the People's Party

I get tired of the stereotypical characterisations of the NDP,apparently unable to attract "the middle" and supposedly populated by radicals and fringe types...pahleez. My lifelong support for the party has been based on their stand on the issues and the ability to deliver when in power.
The Liberals are like the Greens inasmuch as they seem to have no social policy or for that matter any coherent policy at all..the Liberals say one thing and do the other with a complete disregard bodering on contempt for working people and anyone not connected to big business. The Greens have sat by,as "green" has been mainstreamed and all parties and corporation have mastered the art of green-washing.
The NDP's cynical move (to take a page from the liberals and conservatives) and run an election on taxes (axe the tax) rather than on sound policy was their downfall and the election was theirs to lose.Carol was obviously getting some very bad advice.
Listening to Suzuki and other "green leaders" rising up against the only viable alternative to the Libs in defense of a useless tax, was crazy-making and the legacy is 4 years of reaching new lows in BC. The NDP stupidly took the bait and the greens managed 8% of the popular vote, spoilers in several ridings.
What's needed is a party that articulates clear policy and a vision to lead us out of the wilderness.
The sheer madness of the the lying libs must be stopped and it won't happen by manufacturing a new party. It's time to set old stereotypes aside and get involved. The NDP needs to stop worrying about the old labels, trying to find the middle, and get busy reaching out and going back to it's core values. The libs are delivering issue after issue to their doorstep and nearly all of their cruel cuts and bad decsions have victims. Aside from screaming in outrage in the house, the NDP should be out in the communities,and in the trenches working to help the people affected at the grassroots by all these bad decsions, telling their stories. Go back to being thought of as a better more compassionate alternative.
The support is out there and social issues are what gets people to the polls, the NDP can reinvigorate itself but not without presenting a clear alternative.