Topic
Does her Liberal leadership bid symbolize a new kind of female candidate?
If she runs for Lib leader, she'll face tough queries about Railgate and the HST.
Why a pat on the head can be worse than a pat on the bum.
Like any good actor, Christy Clark kept us waiting before she finally raised the curtain. Her candidacy is the biggest story of the Liberal leadership race so far, though it almost lost its spotlight to a skirmish on stage left at NDP HQ over the weekend.
Sure, some of the buzz is because she has some small talk show fame, because she's a quasi-outsider with fresh blood needed by a party stale in voters' hearts while still being familiar (even though her past could haunt her, too). But I think much of the stir is because she's a woman.
We're a long way, though, from even the arrival of Carole James into the role of party leader just seven years ago. The political stage is being redrawn when it comes to female politicians as Clark steps on to it, ready to perform.
Clark's bid comes on the (high) heels of arguably the most significant election for women in the history of the world. The last U.S. presidential election saw more women run, more types of women run, and more interest in them in the U.S. and the rest of the world, including north of the border. So while Clark has been around for a decade in elected politics and another four years as a talk show host, she may be able to behave very differently as a female leader than she could have even when she was in office last.
'Big Girls Don't Cry'
In Big Girls Don't Cry: The Election that Changed Everything for American Women, Rebecca Traister writes about how a woman, Hilary Clinton, won a state presidential primary contest for the first time in U.S. history, and about how less than a year later, a candidate for vice president, Sarah Palin, concluded her appearance in a national debate by reaching for her newborn baby. More women affected the course of the election (Katie Couric, Rachel Maddow and Tina Fey, and so on). And people were riveted by that election politically, psychologically, culturally and emotionally. Traister says that the hunger to see Clinton and Palin actually compete against each other is "greater than any other political hunger this country has known for a long time. When I talk to people about their fantasy match up, that's it. There are all kinds of reasons for that, many of which are weird and fetishized," but that deep curiosity exists nonetheless.
So even though a big female match up currently isn't on the program, Clark's run for centre stage still holds a lot of fascination.
And yes, there have been female leaders before, at the provincial and national level. But until very recently, including James, female leaders tended to be older and experienced, like Margaret Thatcher and Madeleine Albright, and more recently, Nancy Pelosi and Hilary Clinton. "It had often been single, childless women or women whose children had grown and left the nest, so no one could attack them for running for office with young children," argues Traister.
But the last U.S. presidential and mid-term elections saw lots of young women run -- even ones in their 40s or 30s who had young children. There were a few women of this new type before that, of course. Belinda Stronach being one. But now, because more women have entered the ring, it feels like it's reached a kind of tipping point. And because there are more women, and more types of women, it means there's room for lots of different kinds of behavior and identity.
Putting family first, Clark style
On the Bill Good show Wednesday morning, Clark talked about how her platform will put family first. Good said, "People will challenge you on putting family first when go to a job that is going to be a 24-hour a day, 7-day a week job when you have a young family."
To which Clark responded, "Steven Harper manages to go home for dinner with his kids every night, or most nights when he's in the country, and he has breakfast with them in the morning, and he's a pretty busy guy. He does a pretty good job.
"Every family has their own circumstances and makes their own decisions. I've talked about this with my family. My son is no longer a toddler. We've had this conversation. And we can handle it." Zing.
On the one hand, I doubt Bill Good would ever ask a man about whether his family can handle his career in politics, even if the man said he was making "family" a key plank in his platform. But on the other, Clark's confident answer was enough to move the conversation to the next topic -- something that wouldn't have happened so lightly in the past.
Another reason Clark's bid holds appeal, politics aside, is because it's a chance to see what kind of role she plays as a woman in power, and see what kinds of female characteristics resonate with voters. In the U.S., the two competing female types were a young, attractive, charismatic right-wing mother, and an experienced, highly educated, and credible left wing mother. The battle never happened, of course, so we never found out which type voters prefer.
But interestingly, Clark is a synthesis of some of their key characteristics: she's a young, attractive, charismatic, right wing mother of a young child who draws on a talk radio/reality TV base (Palin), and she's highly educated, elite, connected and politically experienced (Clinton). She's not as experienced, powerful or educated as Clinton, but whatever you might think of her politics, she's not a wingnut like Palin.
Christy Clark, 45, was educated at SFU, the Sorbonne and the University of Edinburgh. She won the seat in Port Moody-Westwood for the BC Liberals in 1996 and became the opposition critic for environment, children and families; became the campaign co-chair for the 2001 election in which the party won 77 of 79 seats; then became the minister of education and deputy premier. Her husband of the time, Mark Marisson, was the campaign co-chair for the national Liberal party. She became only the second woman in Canadian history to give birth while serving as a cabinet minister. She resigned from politics in 2004, to spend more time with her family, got divorced, ran for the Vancouver NPA mayoral nomination but lost to Sam Sullivan, and became a talk show host on CKNW in 2007.
No formulas work
I asked Traister what came out of the last U.S. election about what characteristics American voters prefer when it comes to women in power, politics aside. Being tough, motherly, sexy, independent, family-minded, qualified, experienced, intellectual, qualified, ordinary, knowledgeable-about-issues or what?
She says while there are "a million hypotheses," nobody knows what voters would choose because both Palin and Clinton lost, and they didn't square off against each other. But she said both "types" resonate for people. "Palin is more appealing to one group of people. She's young, beautiful, charismatic. She's a fast mover. She's got an enormous amount of energy and power.
"And we're told all the ways that Clinton is unappealing, but Clinton is one of the most popular politicians in the country right now."
So what lessons can our female politicians take from the last two American elections? "Technically, the lesson is that nothing works...so there's no formula we've figured out yet," says Traister. But she has a few thoughts.
Traister said to be aware that beauty can be a detriment if you're seeking political power. "Culturally, it's difficult for us to take seriously women whom we find beautiful, or worse sexual. The aesthetic pleasure of looking at a woman comes with a diminished assessment of their intellectual and psychological power. We're not used to holding in our brains that a woman can be both beautiful and brilliant. It's an obstacle for women in both parties. Palin got some votes for being hot, but suffered more from being attractive, for being diminished for being a sexy librarian."
She said Palin might not in fact have got any male votes for being beautiful, as some pundits concluded. "If you look at the fact that Palin's approval ratings were higher with men than women, that could be because more men are Republicans, and therefore share her politics." She points out that in the last midterm elections, all the Republican women candidates had more favourable ratings with men than women, "and not all were babes."
Traister says that authentic femininity now works. She says in the case of Clinton, she was more popular when she was being herself. "Not like, 'I am woman, hear me roar,' but 'I'm Hilary Clinton, and by the way, that includes the fact that I'm female.'" Traister says that at the beginning of the campaign, Clinton was trying to pass for male, and trying to look like the presidents who had come before her, and that was "a terrible mistake." But by the end of her campaign, she was more confident about presenting herself in an authentic way, and that garnered a lot of support and energy.
Moms who might just slash your face
And complexity now works with voters. While in the past, women in politics were often reduced to a simple type, now those identities are becoming much more complex. Palin started out as the sexy hockey mom, but quickly brought out the pit bull in lipstick metaphor, then finally the mama grizzly bear (and coined the phrase, bull in high heels, for one of her Tea Party candidates). For the Tea Partiers, it's about taking a tough animal and mixing it with something feminine, and about reappropriating toughness as a feminine trait. As Traister puts it, "'We're moms, we're tough, we're gonna slash your face.'"
"Historically, we've never had a tolerance for a more motherly version of a politician, or for a young mother as a political leader." But in this last election, moms became tough. "We're taking ways we're used to approaching femininity, and making them more complicated."
We won't get a chance to see two different, intelligent, complex women metaphorically slash it out, since Carole James is no longer the leader of the NDP. But we now have a chance to see how a woman navigates the lead role in the new multi-colored light of this stage. Should be interesting. ![[Tyee]](http://thetyee.cachefly.net/ui/img/ico_fishie.png){kind=small}
55
Login or register to post comments
Skywalker
2 years ago
Heard her on the CBC this morning,
No impressed. Here's a woman who really does sound shrill. Aside from that she got her job as a talk show host on a pro liberal station because she was a liberal with a big mouth. Why would that qualify her or Bill Good an boring for anything else.
DPL
2 years ago
So she went to some good
So she went to some good schools, just like a lot of other people. Is she prepared to discuss her brother and ex husband and their connections to the BC Rail sellout? I rather doubt it.
sunshine coast girl
2 years ago
She resigned from politics to spend more time with her family
in 2004, got divorced and then turned around and ran for Mayor.
Uh huh....sure she wanted to spend more time with her family.
Clark has none of the positive attributes required to be Premier. In my opinion, she is a rude, shrill, [SEXIST COMMENT REMOVED HERE...], [...AND COMMENT REMOVED HERE FOR LEGAL CONCERNS.]. In other words, she ran.
And as a radio show host, she simply hit the disconnect button when someone said something she didn't want to hear.
It's amazing how British Columbians can stoop so low as to even consider someone with her lack of character as Premier.
unhappyvoter
2 years ago
Christy Clark compared to Clinton???
Apples and oranges. No comparison. But don't insult Clark with a Sarah Palin reference. That being said, never forget Clark was/is closely connected with a Liberal coalition of right wing ideologues. Railgate is still out there, and B.C.Rail figures hugely in Clark's background.
wstander
2 years ago
What does attendance mean?
I have seen numerous sources for the fact that Clark attended SFU, the Sorbonne, and Edinburgh University, but none of them goes so far as to say she ever got a degree from any of them.
danneau
2 years ago
Precedents
I don't see the name Margaret Thatcher featured prominently in this piece, a woman who, along with Gro Harlem Bruntland, Benazir Bhutto and Michele Bachelet, actually rose to the summit of power in her own nation. Thatcher's case is special, in that she showed nothing particularly feminine in her style of government, pretty much out-manning all the men in tearing apart the social fabric and going off to war. Given Clark's past and her unwavering allegiance to the neo-conservative agenda, it seems clear that there is nothing particularly novel in her being a woman candidate. In typical obfuscatory fashion, she cites the Harpers as being her model for family values, blithely skirting the fact that Harper is in the public sector, enjoys a fat pay packet, deep and rich benefits and a stay-at-home spouse to ensure that the staff get breakfast and supper on the table, among other duties of The House. Look to Clark's past to see what she would unleash on the poor citizenry of this province should she be chosen. Better to send her directly to Ottawa where, hopefully, she could find a basement office and oblivion, as unlikely as that seems.
Tommy Gunn
2 years ago
Vannessa....
Sad piece, generic terms, Christy is a quitter...A big mouth, she can`t debate anybody without the mute button.
She has lied on air and been caught...My complaint against her to the CBSC, my victory, the remedy Christy Clark provided when SHE HAD TO RETRACT ON AIR FOR HER PREVIOUS LIES...
The story will be up later this week.
God help us all if Christy was in charge!
rstillwell
2 years ago
I Like Christy
Having hated Campbell all these years and now fed up with the NDP shenanigans, it's time for something fresh and new. Even my wife, who is a card carrying NDP member, will vote for Christy. That says something.
eight
2 years ago
Because she's a woman?
So, much of the stir is because she's a woman. Just wondering, what gender is Moira Stilwell....?
Cool Hand
2 years ago
New BC Opinion Poll - Angus Reid Strategies
Liberal - 36% (+9%)
NDP - 36% (-11%)
Green - 14%
Conservative - 6%
Wow, from a 20% NDP lead last month to a dead heat, the NDP is sinking fast.
The top Liberal leadership candidate is Christy Clark at 41%.
The top NDP leadership candidate is Mike Farnworth at 34%.
http://www.angus-reid.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/2010.12.09_Politics_BC.pdf
cboo44
2 years ago
Railgate ?
"Is she prepared to discuss her brother and ex husband and their connections to the BC Rail sellout? I rather doubt it."
Did you ever pick up the phone or email her in the past 4 years and ask? Just curious.
"In my opinion, she is a rude, shrill, not-quite-honest b*tch, ......"
Good thing you're a "Sunshine girl", guys aren't allowed to call women that.
deeby
2 years ago
I don't think she symbolizes anything new
A 'new' kind of candidate....naah.
Christy has had her eyes on this prize since her Young Liberal/SFSS days. She is fundamentally a political animal, used to old-style political games and backroom shenanigans.
I wouldn't count her out of this race for a second, but there's absolutely nothing new about her.
warbler
2 years ago
Electorate sick of alpha male leaders
Before Ms. Richmond gets torched to a crisp by the usual partisan hotheads at the Tyee, I'd like to say she raises some relevant questions. You don't need to agree with Christy Clark or the BC Liberals to appreciate what Clark represents, which is a growing trend toward more women in politics.
The political climate in BC right now is toxic, cynicism at an all time high, but the climate is also potentially the most exciting political time we'll see in a generation. Much of the toxicity is due to a megalomaniac alpha male premier (Campbell) who concentrated all power in his office. Rightly or wrongly, James was accused by the Baker's Dozen of also wielding too much power and not consulting. But James was also accused of being a puppet of an unelected power broker, alpha male Moe Sihota.
The aim in electoral politics is not to win over the 10% of partisans on either end of the population, but to win a majority of that all important, vast 80% in the middle. Right now that middle is sick and tired of alpha males running the show, directly (Campbell) or by proxy (Sihota via James). They want someone who can nurture the body politic back to health, someone who can restore some motherly love to the system. Whatever you think of her, Christy brings this to the table. If the NDP elects just another alpha male to go up against Clark (who will likely win the Liberal leadership, barring a major slip-up or scandal), it's game over for the New Democrats.
verso
2 years ago
family
"On the one hand, I doubt Bill Good would ever ask a man about whether his family can handle his career in politics, even if the man said he was making "family" a key plank in his platform. "
I agree. Attacking Clark on issues of family will only win her more support as many will perceive it as sexist and/or a double-standard (note that I said perceive). Clark has a record in government and on air. There is a wealth of material there to take her to task on and it will have more milage, to boot.
TtfnJohn
2 years ago
The Good Old Poll Bounce
While the poll is interesting I have to say I expected something like this when Campbell announced his retirement.
What's happened here is the classic bounce as people go back to their previous stances once something or someone highly unpopular removed themselves.
The trick for the Grits is to maintain and increase that support by a few points to get into winning an election territory.
For now we have what's pretty much normal for both parties midterm rather than any big indicator one way or another.
Now then, back to the article. What's changed is the perception of women of all ages in politics.
As much as James supporters will complain that what's happened is all because she's a woman they haven't been any less sexist themselves in proclaiming that Jenny Kwan is some kind of puppet of those awful back room guys who are resistant to change. All I want to ask them is just, exactly, other than near dead silence did Ms James bring other than to accept Moe Shahota as party president paid by one of the big three public sector unions? The optics are terrible. Not to mention nearly fatal among memebers of unions in the private sector where the NDP isn't really all that trusted anymore. (And I say that as a proud semi-retired activist within my own Union.)
What's changed here is that the charges made about Ms Kwan and many made about Ms James are really no longer acceptable. They're as much stereotypes as the happy mom at home as seen in 1950s sitcoms and, if possible, less valid.
For all that I loathe Sarah Palin's ignorant views I have to give her credit for being herself without apology. The same for Mrs Clinton. I expect we'll see much of the same from Ms Clark like her or loathe her.
The old political stereotype of women in politics is dead and in the process of being buried. For good. It's long past time.
Ricky
2 years ago
rstillwell
It sure does, ha ha ha!
*SIGH*
Ramona777
2 years ago
Why is Always about the "Women"?
Can't we just focus on candidates who are honest, not corrupt, compassionate?
The debate about women in politics is getting tiresome.
We should be concerned about what the politician is really saying and ask them tough questions so we know where they really stand.
A Sorbonne alumni? She better be bilingual at least.
Skywalker
2 years ago
If Christy Clark is the best ...
...women of the BC can come up with in politics, and I seriously doubt that, it doesn't say much for women who would support her.
speedo
2 years ago
Christy Clark has no degree.
Christy Clark has no degree. She's unqualified for anything except being a know nothing pundit. You're stupider than she is if you vote for her.
sunshine coast girl
2 years ago
Nurture? Motherly love?
Christy Clark? You're kidding, right?
Van Isle
2 years ago
A note to all NDP MLA's.
A note to all NDP MLA's. This is your chance to after all the Liberal Premier wanna be's. C'mon people quit yer navel gazing and go after all these Liberal pricks who have sold out BC. Don't forget that Ms. Clark knows more than the average person thinks in that department. Scream from the rafters, gnash yer teeth, and light your hair on fire don't give them and inch.
Van Isle
2 years ago
Just because a person goes
Just because a person goes to university it doesn't mean that they're smart. Some of the dumbest people I've met have a university degree. Didn't Mark Twain make the comment that he "did't want schooling to get in the way of his education". If any "smarts" that Ms. Clark may have is political smarts.
jim1966
2 years ago
Her Gender Has Nothing To Do With It
Good article but I just cannot agree. Regardless of her sex, she is not a person who I would vote for. As soon I as had heard her intent on changing the HST issue, I knew nothing has changed within the BC Liberal government. Although Ms Clark is a centralist politician she has a lot of baggage that the voters don't like.
Stewart MacKenzie
2 years ago
Christy's allies
Anyone backed by Patrick Kinsella represents the same old money gang which has run the right wing parties since the old pre-Bennett coalition.
Anyone calling former Cariboo MLA and racist public disgrace Walt Cobb an ally is wallowing in the worst kind of divisive politics. Walt has made a national name for himself - again - with his asinine and bigoted comments on First Nations. Clark's
claims of wanting better relations with aboriginal people are a bad joke as long as Walt is in her camp.
Her foaming at the mouth about the NDP at her "launch" made the Palin comments valid - she is a loose cannon who cannot keep her mouth shut while her brain catches up.
She will stir up animosities among the Lieberals in ways we have yet to imagine. She got a good start yesterday! As the front runner she is the main target for the other hopefuls and we will see them provide plenty more anti Christy ammunition for the NDP to use in an election.
Meanwhile I suspect Mike Farnworth will end up leading the NDP, and that his accession will be much less a bloodletting than many expect - as a strong James supporter he will blunt the knives now out for the heads of the "13" and if he wins will have the support of most of the "dissident" members and voters who wanted a leader they could back willingly.
offended
2 years ago
Sorry but a single parent
male or female can't be premier and tend to their kid's needs.
ferncrest
2 years ago
Interesting to see the commenters are equal opportunity sexists
Reading the comments of Skywalker and Sunshine Coast Girl among others, it's interesting to see they use the same sexist, loaded language in attacking Christy Clark as they did in attacking Carole James. "Shrill" and "B**ch" being two examples of their high road critique.
I'm afraid this article was too pollyannish about women in politics in Canada. Certainly the Americans have a far superior record in terms of electing women governors and having women in prominent positions at the national level. In Canada we just got rid of the woman who had the best chance to be only the SECOND elected female provincial Premier in Canadian history. She had her party 20 points ahead in the polls, but she apparently wasn't a good enough "leader", not even for a party that pays lip service to equality. In Canada, a leader is still defined in very male terms.
tony1
2 years ago
christy clark is no mother
All this nonsense about Christy leaving politics to raise her son is false. She left because Premier Campbell was wooing Carol Taylor to come on board; and Christy was being ignored. That's why she left. She could not take being ignored and quit.
SHE IS A QUITTER.
She lasted one year away from the limelight and during that time she tried become the Mayor of Vancouver and became divorced and spent all her time as radio entertainer.. So much for leaving politics to raise her son! So much for family values! Now she is putting on the act about "Family first"? What a performance by a grasping, narcissistic and sad woman.She would be a terrible premier.
Skywalker
2 years ago
Ferncrest
Prove that I ever used those terms to describe Carole James or [OFFENSIVE COMMENT REMOVED. -MODERATOR.]!
RickW
2 years ago
Christy? Different?
Her announcement that she will stomp the NDP into the ground is "different"? I suppose that, because she left politics in 2004, she can be forgiven for living in the past.......
Bill_Horne
2 years ago
we remember Christy in Wells
She was Min. of Education when the Quesnel School District tried to close our elementary school and keep the money. Our town responded with hunger strikes, a parents' strike, guerrilla theatre, etc., and eventually succeeded in keeping our school. See http://www.claireart.ca/Picsumm.pdf
[However, we paid a high price: the District of Wells bought the school building for $1 and now maintains it; SD28 provides a teacher. Our property taxes still send the same levels of $$ to Victoria, so we have ended up paying higher taxes to keep our school.]
How can anyone say they promote "family values" while presiding over the closure of schools? Total BS.
reallife
2 years ago
Not a male/female issue
The Liberal leadership race should not be a male/female issue. The debate should be whether Liberals want Kevin Falcon to take the party even further to the right or have Christy Clarke lead the party slightly to the left.
By the way, former NDP Minister Anne Edwards has written a good book on the challenges faced by women in politics "Seeking Balance: Conversations with BC Women in Politics".
zalm
2 years ago
Christy for candidate!
This one's a first, and very hard for me to admit, but the Stopped Clock finally saw his time come round.
Yes, the prep-school crank whose strident blare continually intones the Voice of Doom at 11:59 PM, yes Alex G. Tsakumis finally struck the right time today!
Yes, Christy is bound up in the Railgate scandal tighter than a drum, and Alex even claims to have a document that specifically proves so.
So, I say to the Fiberals - go ahead. Make my day. Elect Clark as your Fearless Leader. Then click the link.
And then, stand back and let the fun begin. That, if nothing else, should be able to make this election about the BC Rail scandal, far more interesting than anything our useless mainstream media ever could invent.
crh
2 years ago
family
When Christy announced her quitting of her MLA and deputy leader jobs to spend more time with her family, I did not believe one word of it. Shortly after, she made a bid for mayor of Vancouver. So much for family! This was her first lie. What will her next one be?
KWD
2 years ago
maintaining stereotypes
"Culturally, it's difficult for us to take seriously women whom we find beautiful, or worse sexual. The aesthetic pleasure of looking at a woman comes with a diminished assessment of their intellectual and psychological power. We're not used to holding in our brains that a woman can be both beautiful and brilliant. It's an obstacle for women in both parties."
Perhaps we need to ask ourselves why those stereotypes persist.
We make a big mistake if we try to equate female with feminine and male with masculine. Surely Thatcher and Albright have made that point clear.The fact Clark is female does not mean she cares a whole lot about feminine issues or putting women on an equal footing with men.
rantnik
2 years ago
CAN YOU SAY "OPPORTUNIST"
It's a simple word, for one who is willing to take "advantage". This is a very different type of person from one making a sacrifice and stepping up to the plate to fill a need. Wearing panties rather than "jockys" is not an issue, the issue is who is she marrying to become premier. My bet is that she will be marrying Campbell's ex. And there will be no change in the power behind the throne. Hail "The Queen".
samuidave (not verified)
2 years ago
Have no doubt...
this is more distraction from what is important, and that is getting the Party out of politics and honest people into government.
How many lies must this woman tell before we deem her untrustworthy? BC seems to never learn.
samuidave (not verified)
2 years ago
Can her judgment be trusted???
To which Clark responded, "Steven Harper manages to go home for dinner with his kids every night, or most nights when he's in the country, and he has breakfast with them in the morning, and he's a pretty busy guy. He does a pretty good job.
Harper is the worst PM in my lifetime. It's hard to imagine what sort of person it would take before she'd consider his job performance to be inadequate. Welcome to the show.
MichaelT
2 years ago
this is good news if anyone
this is good news if anyone can take advantage of it on the NDP side versus the Liberal side which appear to be the only ones really attacking Clark.
http://www.theprovince.com/news/Feeble+start+weakens+Christy+Clark+advantage/3949494/story.html
sunshine coast girl
2 years ago
Ferncrest
And you will never find anywhere that I called Carole James "shrill" or a "b*tch". I don't believe she is. Christy, on the other hand......
dave49
2 years ago
Who is the real Christy?
I've heard snippets of her on the radio and she has that shrill manner many talk show hosts have or adopt. Maybe she bailed out from Campbell's fiefdom because she didn't care for the abuse, but she was interested enough in some form of political power to parachute into the Vancouver mayoralty race (and lose the nomination). Given her right-wing politics, I'm hesitant to make any opinion about what she's really like and how much of the persona we will see is an act. The reference to Stephen Harper's family life is enough to put me off.
Finally, I cannot forget the observation of an acquaintance in Victoria who went to the same gym when Christy was a cabinet minister. She talked about using some machine beside Christy and hearing constant expletives. Christy's way of letting off steam?
dave49
2 years ago
Opportunistic and ambitious
Christy is both opportunistic and ambitious. So is Sarah Palin. I would NOT want to see Palin as President of the USA. So, on precautionary principle, I would not want to see Christy as Premier of BC.
Ramona777
2 years ago
I've Interviewed Clark
And she's pushy, mouthy and a know-it-all.
The interview had to do with cuts to education and how it would affect children from poor families and special needs kids. The mug has no compassion. I doubt if she's changed
If that's want we want as Premier, and it appears that a recent poll put her as the frontrunner, then British Columbians are a pretty gullible and unsophisticated electorate.
Ooopg -- we elected Gordo how many times????
dave49
2 years ago
Zalm, Thanks for the Alex Tsukamis link
Great, but long reading. Clearly, Christy is no 'outsider'.
VivianLea Doubt
2 years ago
Not a fan of Christy Clark...
Christy Clark's brand of politics makes me physically ill, it is everything I have worked against my entire life. Never the less, calling her 'shrill' or a 'bitch' is ineffective, offensive...and sexist.
zalm
2 years ago
Pass it along, dave49
I've no love for Tsakumis at all - he is a long-winded corporatist crank, but I don't care how much he writes because I never read him.
However, this was directed my way by an individual of sound character, and I think it deserves wide distribution.
Now, I'm off to prepare the filling for my "crow" pie for dinner.
G West
2 years ago
Hmm @ Vanessa
I see you've cut and pasted much of this article from Christy's website Vanessa.
I'm curious, when people say things like this:
Christy studied at Simon Fraser University, the University of Edinburgh, and at the Université de la Sorbonne in Paris.
I'm always a little suspicious - did she actually 'graduate' from any of those institutions?
I've listened to the woman when she was on the radio from time to time and I got the impression she was actually incredibly ignorant and poorly educated.
Can you tease out the truth behind this apparent disconnect?
John Greg
2 years ago
Well now ...
G West said:
"I'm always a little suspicious - did she actually 'graduate' from any of those institutions?"
I understand what your point is, but that's a bit of a ... well, I forget the kind of logical fallacy it is, but what I mean is, well, let me give you an example:
Several years ago I undertook a challenging and very difficult two year program for professional writers. Over that two year span I completed all but two of the 20 courses. I therefore neither graduated, nor received a diploma/certificate for the course. In all other 18 courses I graded somewhere between B- and A. Would you therefore say that because I didn't gradute nor receive a diploma, I learned nothing?
Oh, listen, I am not trying to defend C. Clark. I detest her and think she would be an utter disaster in primary politics. I'm just making a rhetorical point -- or, rather, a point about rheoric.
G West
2 years ago
Fair question John, here's my rationale.
I see this article, which draws material directly from Clark’s campaign website and her legislative biography, as a kind of job application….a resume, as it were, for the top job in the province.
With me so far?
We're talking about someone who may, in fact, have padded her resume - that's all I'm talking about - I could care less whether she has ANY degrees.
As I said, one makes assumptions about a person's competence and knowledge irrespective of what their educational achievement(s) are.
I had reached my conclusions - stated above - about Clark's ability, style and delivery on the basis of what I heard while listening to her radio show.
Later on, here at Tyee, I read Vanessa's rather strange allusion to Clark 'having attended' three institutions of higher learning.
Most people, if they have a BA, a Master's degree or a PhD will mention it. It’s an ornament and a strong indication that the holder of such advanced degrees has satisfied certain strict performance and achievement requirements.
I found my own impressions of Clark to be rather at odds with my expectations for someone with even a Baccalaureate degree, let alone some one with one or even two post-graduate degrees.
Therefore I asked, seriously, for a clarification from the author of this article. Just as I’d ask a job applicant who came through my door to elaborate on a similar statement in a job application they submitted to me for a job in my firm.
Simple enough? That’s what I call due diligence.
I'm prepared to accept Christy Clark on the basis of her performance and her words too - but, when I read a frankly laudatory (not to say a puff piece) about her here at Tyee which contains the implication that she is to be valued as
"...a synthesis of some ....key characteristics: she's a young, attractive, charismatic, right wing mother of a young child who draws on a talk radio/reality TV base (Palin), and she's highly educated, elite, connected and politically experienced (Clinton). She's not as experienced, powerful or educated as Clinton, but whatever you might think of her politics, she's not a wingnut like Palin.".
...well, I think that needs some clarification.
I don’t think I'm the one playing rhetorical games here.
Not by a long shot.
Stewart MacKenzie
2 years ago
GWest on Christy
Great analysis - anyone buying Christy's "innocent outsider" act might be interested in some nice riverfront property in Bella Coola! She is doing as good a Palin act as SNL.
John Greg
2 years ago
G West
Some valid points there. Thanks for the explication.
samuidave (not verified)
2 years ago
The mere fact ...
our overlords have put the notion into our heads that an academic degree alone brings a form of legitimacy is all part and parcel of the propaganda machine serving the elite interests.
Christy Clark is a BC cutural icon, like Sarah Palin is in the USA, and both are equally unqualified to serve others except within our culturally ignorant hologram.
My gosh, Clark publicly said Stephen Harper is doing all right. That disqualifies her, from my way of interpreting life, from any job where character assessment is needed or a position of trust where ethics are required.
As Joe Bageant recented commented, which I think applies aptly to Canadians as well:
My point is this: politics, as it stands, cannot and will nnot fix our problems; only the people can.
dave49
2 years ago
"Educated at" and "earned degrees at" are very different things
I'm suspect of a 'resume' that tells where a person was educated, but fails to mention the outcome. A friend of my wife's went to the Sorbonne for a semester during her Bachelor's degree at UBC. That's a little more interesting than a plain vanilla B.Comm., but it does not mean you earned a degree at the Sorbonne.
Look, education is valued by both the left and right, so tell us what you really earned, Christy. I suspect it adds up to much less overall than the impression the wording gives.
kmdyson
2 years ago
Who cares
I don't care that she's a woman...I abhor everything she stands for ideologically (right wing corporatism) so I will not vote for her...if the only reason people vote for her is because she is a woman...then we are in deep trouble...policy...policy...policy...
Aurora
2 years ago
God help us...
Shuddering was in crder when, as expected, Falcon entered the leadership race. Maniac hysteria is truly in order though with Clark back in the fray. Frankly, it wouldn't matter if she were a male, polka-dotted rat with 6 kids in a polygamous relationship. What's important here is, the woman is, if possible, more grating, superficial, offensive and NOT knowledgeable no matter what she may spout on about, than quite possibly two Falcons 'in the bush', so to speak. The thought of this woman at the Liberal helm starts to make George W look good.
This beleagured BC citizen is maintaining hope her BC Rail scandal associations WILL take her right of any race, and she can return to NW, where she rightly belongs.
John W. Whitmore
2 years ago
19th Century Article
Folks;
A women can do the same job as a man. I cannot believe a progresive site such as the Tyee would even entertain an article like this. Well actualy I can. Tyee's job is to keep the rest of us onguard against reactionary, primitive thoughts. Such as the one I just had.
Read the article, got a tad bit bothered. Read the comments and got very much impressed. Most contributed on issues and ideas. Not the sex of the person in question. We are so moving forward!
I so hope this is representive of us BC'ers.
Incompetence is an equal opportunity employer.
I have no desire to fly the Liberal label again.
JWW