The Campbell era................

..............will be known as the grand deceit, where government thought itself above the law and the the poor mere serfs, who's meager incomes were to be plundered at will.

The wealthy elite have installed one of the most deceitful, evil, and disturbed premiers BC has ever seen, who with a Pandora's Box of myopic, yet cunning cabinet have set out to enrich the very few.

The era of the Grand Deceit, will also show that the mainstream media became right wing propagandists and the two Vancouver dailies devolved into party rags, with fascist ties to the dirtiest government in BC's short history. Only time will tell if BC becomes a fascist state, run by the few, including the police and the courts, where the populace suffer under one indignity after another.

Campbells Legacy

Hopefully his and the LIbERalS legacy will become important in BC's history books and required reading by students. If there ever was a way to NOT run a province this governments legacy is the prime contender. If there ever was a way to demonstrate how fascists can manupilated policy under the guise of openess and freedom, this is the prime contenter. If there ever is a way to demonstrate how the elite few can maneouver the government to have the rest of the population as slaves to the system, SCampbell/Fiberal's are the example.

We are all to blame

So, Bill, how did the guy get away with it for nine years? Because we put up with it. Ya, you and mean. Did we harangue our asleep-at-the-switch media with our attention (and our dollars)? Nope, we all went shopping.

Bill - you forgot to add

Bill - you forgot to add some 'nuance'.

How'd he get away with it?

Well I still think it was the Southern Media. People still don't think critically when they hear and read stuff on the MSM. It sometimes takes work and effort to sift through the garbage that passes for propaganda presented as news and not many do that. It's to easy to just continue watching football or hockey. Day after day we get the same slanted coverage even from the talk shows how can we expect anything other than a moron like Campbell screwing us over all in the name of "I always did what I thought was best for BC." Yeah right it never occurred to him that maybe he was just padding his own nest and that of his friends in high places.

MJK

The media wasn't asleep. They actively supported Campbell and now that he's going to leave they are trying to write the history of the last decade as a rosy one.

"Ya, you and me"

Why did Gordon Campbell get away with the smoke and mirrors kind of management of the province for 9 years? Well MJK, the mainstream media never put a whisper or even questioned what was going on!!! If it was not for journalist/bloggers like Bill Tieleman, who never fell asleep at the watch, that the general public began to have a peek at the strange goings on of the Basi Virk business after the Leg. Raid at Christmastime 2003. I always wondered why there seemed to be an ice wall around that business for so long as far as the MSM was concerned.
The HST hot revolt in which so many of the population took part began to melt through it all. Ya, you and me have to take more responsibility to keep the elected gov'ts more accountable. Proportional representation almost was accepted a while back. I taught Gr.5 at the time of that referendum and studying this possibility for government(social studies/critical thinking); my students were required to teach their parents about how it would work by taking their parents to the website set up to explain the concept. Admittedly, my students understood it better than most as WE TALKED ABOUT IT IN CLASS.
God bless the bloggers; they're getting us to talk about what's really happening. Except for a few articles in the Globe and Mail, the other newspapers don't.

Right on! Hypocrisy is the legacy

On the day following his resignation, Campbell went wining in front of the media about how hard politics had been on his family. And while I am sure it was hard, all I could think of while reading this bleat was the tens of thousands of BC families and children who have had their lives ruined by his politics -- a value system that most citizens do not subscribe to.

Campbell had help

He couldn't have done it without a willing bunch of followers. The Liberals now lusting after his job either agreed with everything he did, or were too spineless to speak out as he went about running his one-man show. Either way they are culpable and we shouldn't forget it.

All empires in history have

All empires in history have gone that one fatal step too far and self destructed. As The USA is on that way right now.

Campbell, and his party, among all others, are only the servants of the imperialist, neoclassical capitalist theory, that has caused the biggest crime wave in history, in the name of "wealth creating globalization".

"Wealth can not be created, only taken from others, the environment and future generations"

Until this simple fact is understood by humanity, there's no hope for change. The universities will keep on teaching the fraud that gives the politician pimps of the multinational corporate mafia their legalized, destructive powers.

Besides, a string of very profitable directorships are waiting for Campbell, laughing his way to the bank.

Ed Deak.

Campbell runs a coalition government

Campbell's so called Liberal government is actually a coalition of right wing has beens from the old Socred party, Conservatives that knew they could never get elected as Conservatives and some Liberals that would sell their soul rather than see an NDP government in charge of the province. So why does Harper approve of Campbell and his coalition? He's on record condemning coalitions yet he admires Campbell's coalition.

Remember all the hypocrisy around MLA pensions.

Campbell even had all his candidates sign a declaration that they would not accept the MLA pension. He made speeches in the Legislature as to how "gold-plated" it was. Harcourt repealed it in 1995. Campbell reintroduced it more gold-plated as soon as he was in power. Never mind whether a pension is required or not but the hypocrisy he showed on this simple issue was enough to make one barf.

insanity

I see this as a type of mass insanity/hysteria that has gripped society...the desire to believe in certain ideologies makes average people vote for these minions of corporatism over and over...do they really think if they vote for them that they will miraculously become like them...

Faith conquers

Faith conquers all........especially logical thought.

Just wait what the corporate mafia's propaganda/blackmail campaign will force on people before the next elections. to make certain their pimps will conquer again, so they can buy up all that's left of BC.

Ed Deak.

Let's not forget taxes and productivity

Campbell, right up to his tax cut speech, has always promoted tax cuts to enhance competitiveness and productivity. The problem is, these tax cuts have not led to increased productivity.

Here's what the Chartered Accountants of BC [no friends of progressive politics] and their 2010 BC Check-Up have to say:

"... Despite the infusion of investment and human capital in the past five years, BC’s labour force productivity stagnated. All of Canada suffers from a labour productivity gap with the US, but BC’s productivity has remained below the national average for many years. To a large degree, poor productivity explains the lower real wage in BC, as a less productive workforce affects profit margins and decreases the amount of capital that can be reinvested. This deterrent to investment, over the long-term, could erode BC’s ability to compete against the US. One of the more notable results in this year’s BC Check-Up was BC’s productivity gain of 2.1%, the best result in our comparison. However, to some extent, this gain was the result of rationalization in the forest industry, which means that BC’s turnaround in this critical indicator was linked to the loss of many jobs in a vulnerable sector, rather than increased investment in machinery and equipment and human capital.

Labour productivity rests not only on capital investment, but also the quality of the labour force itself. BC’s labour force
educational attainment is still lower (63.1%) when compared to Alberta, Ontario, and Canada as a whole (64.3%, 68%, and 66.4% respectively); it also grew slowly during the past five years (3.8% compared to the national average growth rate of 4.7%). And employment in the sciences declined in 2009, by 0.6 ppt, as layoffs occurred across many sectors where these skills are needed...."

[http://www.bccheckup.com/]

I wonder where all of these tax cuts - tax cuts that disproportionally benefit the upper class and corporate sector - have gone?

Oh, that's right... BC is the most unequal province in Canada:

[http://www4.hrsdc.gc.ca/.3ndic.1t.4r@-eng.jsp?iid=22]

Fiat

Indeed. And buries the rest of us in its foul detritus.

Legacy?, Don't We Give Legacies To Folks Who Have Earned Them?

That's what I thought but this government as a whole is a disgrace and we all have to pay for it, which sucks. Whomever wins power in the next election,they will have a huge issue to deal with. Honesty. It will take a few years to move on from the Gordon Campbell and the BC Liberal parties policies and idealogies. I honestly don't think Campbell deserves a decent legacy for what it's worth he simply didn't earn it.

Luck: Use of Capitalization

I agree with John Greg.

In addition, when excessive capitalization is used your opinions are lost in the format.

The general rule of thumb is to use capitalization only when some specific convention requires it.

For example:
a) The first word in a salutation.
b) The first letter in a title, name, place etc.
c) The First letter of the first word in a complete sentence, etc.

Sorry for the lecture, but besides being hard to read, using all block letters results in loss of context, spelling errors and bad grammar.

Use of all small case letters provides greater readability than all capitals. Small case also allows you to use Spellcheck, if you choose.

Regards,
Fabw

Unpardonable

"The media wasn't asleep. They actively supported Campbell and now that he's going to leave they are trying to write the history of the last decade as a rosy one."

Well said, Frank.

They actively, often enthusiastically, provided the clear conscience for Campbell and the BC Liberal wrecking crew year after year after year.... and continue to do so.

Is there anything more reprehensible?

Add to this

By adding to this we could come up quickly with an assessment of Gordon Campbell's premiership while the eulogies for it are still warm.
For starters--from the 2005 five goals.
The healthiest province, but with poverty, homelessness, greater access to alcohol and gambling, and continuing alarms about the rising cost of medical care.
Best fisheries management, but disregard for a government committee's findings.
Please continue.

WE NEED TO START AT THE BOTTOM.....

The necessity of voting in the right people starts at the local level. It seems that we can only get our democratic system to work if we get the right mayor and councillors into office in our towns and cities. These are the people who can put the pressure on our provincial government to do the right thing….. the right thing for our education system, our health system, our social and welfare systems. If the residents of every community begin to understand just how important this part of the process is, and how much influence they have, even in small towns, by electing representatives who won’t kowtow to provincial governments--no matter of what stripe---then we can start working towards a democratic system at the provincial level. Until that happens we will continue to have voter participation at the 25% level.

The only

The only people that are lauding Gordon Campbell's performance as the Premier of BC are those that profited either directly or indirectly from his legislation and actions. I guess if I were one of them, I would as well.

What amazes me is how many of those that were treated as nothing more than collateral damage have been so brainwashed that they can defend his record. I guess the old saying that "BS baffles brains" came about for a reason.

Okanagan Orchardist

I'm not so sure that those that we elect on the municipal level can exert much pressure on senior governments for the simple fact that said senior governments not only control the purse strings, but also the ability to alter the powers of municipal governments.

In my opinion, what we need is a mainstream media that uses the powers they are afforded, as the fourth estate, to investigate and report facts as they find them rather than accepting government spin as gospel. It is difficult for the masses to make informed decisions about anything when they are being fed doctored information.

I also think that it is time for the electorate to quit buying into the mantra of voting for a political party instead of the candidate they feel will best represent them. I happen to live in a riding that is represented by a member of the BC NDP. She is now a two-term MLA, and so far, her second term is underwhelming, to say the least. In her first term, she was in the news a fair bit, but this term, nada. In my opinion, if she should choose to run in the next election, she should be shunned by the voters. Even though her party is not in power, she should not be rewarded for being a wallflower.

Nine years of hypocrisy and you know what...

...it isn't over yet with these financial wizards who couldn't run a peanut stand without continually coming back to the bank (that's us) to bail them out.

Municipalities, towns and cities

Are creatures of the Provincial Crown, they have no power except what the Provincial Government gives them...they can be ignored and that's why THEY ARE ignored.

In fact, what little influence they once had has been, under Campbell, diluted and almost eliminated.

As to municipal government as a breeding ground for provincial politicians...it already is.

Look at several of our recent premiers - Campbell, Harcourt, Vander Zalm ....we all know where they 'cut' their political teeth.

The culpability of the press

Democracy as a world political movement has chosen various forms of Capitalism as it's financial underpinning, This choice has been taken in different directions in different circumstances, but the problem has always been control. Money is power, and those who control money can exercise it in whatever way best suits their natures

Even Karl Marx was really only arguing that the predominant form had gone corrupt and should be replaced by one with stronger social safeguards. His argument was sound, but only resulted in a change of controllers, the new no less corrupt than the old.

That probably says something about human nature I suppose, how easily power corrupts us. The only real effective safeguards we have had have been independent oversight provided by protected watchdogs. Courts and police are supposed to be independent, The auditors, the ombudsmen, and most particularly the free press.

That one has been key, because it had no relationship with the powerful. For many decades the principle of independence was protected by regulations limiting ownership and allowing all points of view scope to express itself publically, and provide investigators with an interest in exposing the truth about any misbehaviour by any side.

Those regulations, and the principle that drove it are gone, destroyed by successive majority governments. The Mainstream Media are effectively in the hands of the ruling party, all types, and we will not save Democracy without getting it back into many different hands again.

Of course, we do have the advent of new technologies that are harder to nobble, and those are beginning to have an effect on public awareness (thank you very much, Mr. Beers), but there are big efforts underway to nobble the internet already, and in places where the corruption is stronger, it is already nearly done. So how long the internet will be able to perform the function of free press in Democracy all by itself is not at all clear.

My point is that if the undermining of Democracy in a Democratic state is a crime, and one could easily argue that it is several, then those who contribute to this prevention of the public's need to be informed are in fact key conspirators in a truly massive treason plot.

And so, no matter who gets elected in the future, unless they force the redistribution of public media into diverse hands and mandate the strong prohibition of any single interest controlling any more than one outlet in each media type in any market, they will never be anything but more of the same.

I think this is so crucial that we could take it as a sign. Actual evidence of the true nature of whatever new bunch gets in. If they do it, they are real. If not, not.

I'm sorry this rant came so late, it missed Guy Faulkes day by a week. Still, maybe worth a penny.

Wow!

And he can just walk away like none of it happened. How nice and accountable our politicians are. Anyone this fraudulent in any other walk of life would be hanging from the yardarm would they not?

@bailey

"And so, no matter who gets elected in the future, unless they force the redistribution of public media into diverse hands and mandate the strong prohibition of any single interest controlling any more than one outlet in each media type in any market, they will never be anything but more of the same."

Bailey, I enjoyed your entire post, not merely the conclusion at which you arrived. Perhaps you could repost this tame "rant" (or a modified version) on the new article about the death of MSM due to lost advertising revenue.

Thank you for your compliment

I have less time than I'd like lately to follow this Tyee.

I find that I enjoy the editor's sensibilities and choices. They seem to show a certain fine perception of the critical element, which I also appreciate.

And this brings some very fine, passionate thinkers and results in excellent high quality debate, usually. Self policed with both grace and humour.

I will be pleased to repost this at the other place. Least I can do after your kind comment.

Quote from the Vancouver SUN...

"Today we've taken a major step to modernize our constitution to ensure every member of our party not only has a vote in selecting our next leader, but also give every region of the province an equal say," party president Mickey Patryluk said in a statement."

Her's another option---let all the dissidents join the Liberal Party of BC in time for the next big meet.

OK. Just a suggestion :)