the past

Geez old battles; how many times have I had to listen to the fast ferry deal in the last 10 years, or Clarks sundeck…who is it that drags out the dirty laundry. Could it be both sides? This is the kind of playground politics that the general public find repellent in their lives.
Most of B C is just waiting for one of the current cabinet members or a previous cabinet member to tie themselves to the whipping post. I don’t think the name is going to matter too much.
Got my cat of nine tails ready for any one of them.

What a hypocrite the woman is....

Nearly as many people signed the petition as voted for the Lieberals and she called us "Taliban". Now she wants us to vote for her in a general election? And she hates everyone and everything and doesn't mind telling anyone who will listen. Watch for the lists to start popping up if she does decide to run. Sheesh! The woman has nerve, I'll give her that.

Not With My Vote

None of them deserve a single vote from any of us. They all endorse and or support the HST. The BC Liberals are finished (with these guys running), The lies, corruption and arrogance are still within this group of politicians. They still don't see the core issues that face British Columbians each and every single day, like, the minimum wage issue, schools closing, the unacceptable levels of both poverty and homelessness, high taxes and fees not to mention the complete and utter destruction of other key ministries in BC. The last 10 years should be remnamed Campbellgate and nothing more. And Christy Clark as leader?, Like duh......

six of one ....

Too bad that the wikileaks does not include the activities of the BC government during the Gordo period!
Christy as a leader? she is as tainted as the other candidates, so what is the difference?

Nice to have you back Bill.

Nice to have you back Bill. I don't know who you had writing your column for you while you were away, but I didn't like the guy.

Someone is scared. It's R/man

You can always trust a liberal to tell that you are "living in the past" whenever you question their record. R/man's first post is a classic. They simply run from their record but that is not a practice permitted for the NDP. Well Bill puts it plain and simply. Run Christy by all means and if the liberals choose you, there are a whole lot of questions you will have to answer without your finger on the mute button. Watching Christy bluster and obfuscate will be the entertainment of the day.

"But the only likely reason

"But the only likely reason she wouldn't jump into the race is if contenders like George Abbott and Kevin Falcon have already sewn up too much of the BC Liberal caucus support and business community money needed to win"

Howe Street/Fraser Institute will decide who is the most capable of hiding the truth and continuing the sell out.

Christy's always been a game-player....

....she loves the game itself, as much as governance, going right back to her Young Liberal days.

Game players make enemies, especially when they end careers. Better hope those boxes of Railgate emails, memos and briefing notes are being well cared for.

Please, no.

Please, no.

I was with Bill right up until...

The article was great right up until the end, and then Bill had to go and drop the STV bomb. Let's run a straw poll here and see how many people think Bill's cheerleading against electoral reform and in favour of propping up our beleaguered two-party "electoral dictatorship" is more popular than Christy Clark's support for the more representative and democratic STV system. Leads me to think that that she's more capable of getting past the knee-jerk partisanship all too endemic on both sides of the aisle.

With all due respect, Mr. Tieleman, methinks you should leave that one alone on your Liberal head-hunting exercises. Supporting open and fair dialogue on electoral system is one of the few things the Liberals can be proud of in the past 10 years.

So the hot line gal is

So the hot line gal is possibly coming in to replace her old Boss Gordo. You know the one, who she agreed with for so long. The Liberal stew is a pretty bad lot. None are worth considering as a leader of anything. My God, this gang would make Dumbo the clown look like a real leader

Heaven forbids Christy Clark

Heaven forbids Christy Clark runs. She is way too close to the Basi/Virk affair, which in my opinion is the worst scandal of the B.C. Liberals (that we know of anyway). There's a reason why she quit politics suddenly. It wasn't to look after her son. Stay where you are Christy. At least you can insult your callers without fear of reprisal. And I'm not a rabid NDPer, I'm a disappointed Liberal.

Carole vs. Christy (dream for libs, nightmare for NDP)

As much it pains me to agree with realisticman, this article does come off as a defencive, NPD preemptive strike by Tieleman.

What you're going to read in this comments section is a lot of preaching to the converted, but outside of this forum the truth is that the NDP brass fear and loathe a Carole vs Christy match up because they know Clark would wipe the floor with James in addition to stealing the centrist liberal and female votes.

I wonder why the Young Liberals of BC were so quick to endorse Abbott before the full field of candidates were revealed. I would think that if Christy throws her hat in the ring, she'd have the youth vote locked up. I think she would be much more appealing to the youth, with all her pink shirt days under her pant-suit belt.

Otherwise, Tieleman's strategy is a good one: dissuade Clark from running. After that, start writing articles on how tolerable and respectable Kevin Falcon actually is, then pray like hell he wins so that the NDP's albatross, Carole James, has a fighting chance.

Carole James will do just fine

Against Christy Clark - the only idiots who say otherwise are the people in the CKNW echo chamber - and they haven't done anything but drink their own BC Liberal bathwater for years.

In fact, CKNW doesn't even lead CBC Vancouver The 2009 Winter radio ratings showed that Canada's public broadcaster, the CBC, has emerged as the top-rated radio station in the market, besting long-time market leader CKNW by almost a full percentage point.

Just a few years ago CBC Radio One scored a paltry 5 percentage points, behind eight other stations. CBC Vancouver is number one and CKNW is basically an also-ran.

As for Tieleman firing preemptive shots for the NDP - I don't think that has much credence in the current political climate on the left either.

The NDP are, very wisely, going to keep on letting the Campbell liberals continue to shred themselves in public and there's no one better at being a shrill fishwife than Christy Clark - bring her on by all means.

Warbler and R/man dreaming.

I say let her run and I hope she wins. I for one will be happy to see Christy answer to all the old Liberal baggage she has so far dodged. Talk shows are a real phoney insulated forum. Once she's out there it will be like her race for the Vancouver mayoralty. She couldn't cut it there and she will put her foot in her mouth more often than Bill Vander Zalm ever did. Run Christy! We want you exposed.

Whenever I'm in a bit of a

Whenever I'm in a bit of a funk I'll tune into CKNW and listen to some of the spue from either Bill G. or Christy. Either one has a great knack at getting me all pissed-off on whatever topic they're on about. Before you know it my heart rate has shot up, steam starts venting out of my ears, I start yelling and cursing back at the radio, spittle is trickling down my chin, and my wife's yelling at me "to calm down". But what really pisses me off is that I know that these bone heads have loyal and true followers who think the sun rises and sets on them.

Likely Scenario - How Things Will Play Out

1. Campbell steps down and opinion polls (Mustel) already show a rebound in Liberal support with Campbell taking his negatives with him;

2. We are on the eve of the leadership campaign, which will further change and enhance that dynamic when, with the MSM, it will be all Liberal leadership all the time;

3. Right now, an 800 sample size Gandolf opinion poll already shows that the leading contenders are tied with the NDP. With Christy Clark at the helm the current decided vote shows the Libs ahead of the NDP by a 12% margin as follows:

Lib: 43%
NDP: 31%
Green: 19%
Other/Ind.: 7%

4. Carole James's personal approval numbers are plummeting and will probably continue to do so;

5. The NDP caucus might even potentially implode/ break-up resulting in NDP freefall;

6. We'll probably see at least another 5 opinion polls before the Liberal leadership vote next spring;

7. Liberal voting delegates will likely vote for the candidate who will best be able to defeat the NDP based upon these opinion polls; Christy probably will remain ahead;

8. If Christy is crowned, the media will fawn all over her like a movie star akin to the crowning of Vander Zalm in '86 and Clark in '96;

9. The Liberal political momentum will be akin to a speeding freight train that could potentially leave the NDP in the dust;

10. More opinion polls thereafter will likely show the Liberals ahead of the NDP in the 50% - 35% range;

11. The legislature will be reconvened to move up the date of the election from May 12, 2013 to May 12, 2011 in order for the new Premier to seek a new mandate from the people; (again Vander Zalm and Clark)

12. The budget will also include a decrease in the HST rate from 12% to either 11% or 10% (mechanics of that to be worked out);

13. The Liberals win a landslide victory and Carole James will resign (if she hasn't already done so beforehand should the NDP caucus implode);

And life in BC will continue on as usual. :D

bottled up

I recently saw a fluff piece in one of the Vancouver tabloids asking certain B.C. celebrities their preferences in T.V. viewing.
Christy Clark mentioned how much she enjoyed "Spike T.V." and especially liked an episode where men would fart into bottles and then cork them..later opening the bottles to sense how much "oomph" remained with the contents.
She`d make a great premier for B.C. Really..Jackass press is gonna love her!
Perrrfect.
Golf courses...mining..tourism. real estate.... fishfarms and bottled farts..and absolutely NO bullying!
Oh B.C. ...B.C. what ever have you become.

Gandalf

You're now quoting US pay by the call phone polling companies.

Even those figures show Clark has little or no room for growth and that the NDP support is incredibly solid.

You might also take note that the 800 sample size is not consistent over all the responses - a sure sign that this bunch is into push polling and not real statistical analysis.

The total of 'certain Liberal voters' is actually less than one quarter of the sample polled by 'interactive' phone polling.

You know what most sane individuals do when they get a robocall from these Gandalf trolls, they hang up!

G West got it right. BCNDP support still high.

Fundraising for BCNDP with members and supporters over last year has gotten over 80% support for Carole James. Which is the same as the vote of support received at Prov. Council last weekend.

BC Liberals are desperately trying to stir the BCNDP pot.

yoo hoo, realistic man...

you are not being very realistic mister realistic man.
it is not an, 'old battle,' until a victor has been declared.
the battle rages on. my money is on tieleman. this clark is lugging way too much baggage. besides, we don't need no stinkin' polls.
some liberals seem to think because they have gotten away with murder for so long, that their good luck will continue.
i know what you are thinking christie, did they fire six shots or only five? go ahead make our day.

The libs?

I would venture it's the Gang of 13 who are stirring the pot, wouldn't you?

Top Radio

We don't know where Westie obtains his radio station rankings but the standard is and always has been the BBM. The numbers are all here:

http://www.bbm.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=88&Itemid=71

Latest, July 26, 2010 - October 24, 2010:
Monday - Sunday 2am-2am.
CBU (CBC Radio 1) Share 8.9%
CKNW Share 11.4

CKNW has the highest market-share number in the list of 19 stations.

If you don't like Gandalf perhaps you like the Globe and Mail. You like the CBC and Stephen Quinn, he also writes for the Globe. The Globe poll shows Christy Clark at 68% by far today's favourite, followed by George Abbott at 11%.

Not scientific but 3,600 interested people have voted.

As 'warbler' astutely points out above, Bill's attack does come across as a preemptive strike that comes across as a bit desperate. We shall see. It will be interesting.

The MSM and those who believe.

I always find these folks who quote various MSM organs as a bit naive. The media usually never investigate, they regurgitate. It is cheaper and they don't have to pay journalists. So a figure quoted by one organ just gets passed along as fact without anyone ever seriously checking the methodology used. It makes you wonder if it is by accident or whether they just like the result and want to manipulate the readers. I think it is the latter and it's why I never read any of the rags I mean really what would an eastern corporate rag know about B.C.

Also please don't tell me the CBC is much better. The CBC has not done any serious investigative reporting at the provincial levels for years. Most of their programing is useless fluff and when they have a story that might be relevant they ask silly questions a fool could answer. Most of the time it turns out to be a repeat of what is carried on the other networks.

Good Times

I can't wait to see her as leader: I'll have a full tape of her quotes, in her voice, off her radio show, supporting the HST and deriding the initiative against, every single time I go out to campaign against her. I mean, written quotes are always suspect, but when you have her voice, and sometimes video, there's no denying it.

Thanks Christy, you twonk!

No wonder people are

No wonder people are reluctant to run for office in BC. Clark has not even declared and already the smear campaign has started - this article has lots of innuendoes but does not contain one proven allegation (shame).

BTW, the Liberals will get creamed in the next election if they pick Falcon as a leader and will lose (but not quite so badly) if they chose DeJong, Stillwell or Abbott. They may have a chance to win if they pick Clark simply because she appears so much more dynamic than the NDP leader.

Shill

Many folk think this gal is smart but whenever I heard her speak all I heard was the party line, no personality, no analysis, no insight, nothing original. . Smart, OK, but a shill.

What "smear campaign" ?

What "smear campaign" ? She's well known and has a well known record which should be disclosed if she wants to run for the top office.

Ed Deak.

Christy Palin

Why should we not have a Sarah Palin here in BC?

alive

We already do! Carole James usurped that moniker along time ago.

Let's see what the latest "Gang of 13" has to say today. NDP MLA Lana Popham on Carole James:

"Lana Popham says the current B.C. NDP leader is sending “a bad message” to the province about how her party would do business as a government."

"Popham cited the “same-old, same-old” politics that led to the October expulsion of MLA Bob Simpson, who had been critical of James."

http://www.bclocalnews.com/vancouver_island_south/saanichnews/news/111076904.html

With internal NDP caucus friends like these, who needs political enemies?

Where there is smoke

Where there is smoke there is fire!

If Crusty Clark runs for the leadership of the BC Liberals, any criticism of her past actions or non-actions should be aggressively addressed by main steam media. Her past behaviour is not innuendo, but will MSM challenge her? Not likely, because she is now part of the incumbent brotherhood.

As "The Mouth that Roared", Clark still carries a lot of baggage from her roles during Campbell's first term.

Cool Hand

You really have to stop grasping at straws. Sarah Palin more closely resembles Christy. All the characteristics are there, a big mouth, opinionated but without much thought, shrill, a know-it-all without justification and she cooks up her own facts. Her only claim to fame is that she is one of the IN crowd and that is how she got the present job. They needed a mouth piece besides Bill Boring. Now if she gets the nomination it will be between a person involved in the Sale of BC Rail and all the crap that went with that and a nice lady by all accounts who does not shoot off her mouth just to hear herself think out loud. It may even be that there will be another leader for the NDP and it is a whole new scenario where honesty will triumph over Liberal sleaze.

Dream on my friend. First it was Taylor, then Watts, then Clark and on and on they are all Campbell liberals who sat with him and did squat but his bidding.

For the rest

Isn't it interesting that every Liberal who wants Campbell's job admits that the HST was "poorly introduced and poorly explained". Not a single one will admit that shifting costs from business to consumers was part of the strategy and that it is what folks are made about. There was no reduction in costs, it was not revenue neutral and it was a lie. Not one will go that far and that means they are all part of the same evil lot; all part of the lie. It is all about the end justifying the means for them.

Ida Chong in the Saanich news admits they had a massive hole in their budget after the election. That is the hole everyone said was there but the Campbell Liberals ridiculed the suggestion. This for her is justification for introducing the HST? It is pathetic from her and all the rest and the apologists who post here and make excuses for them

These clowns just don't get it and nothing short aof a real drubbing in recall or at the subsequent polls will restore any integrity to the political process in BC.