New attitudes wanted here

So, what you are telling us is that Crusty Clark was the underdog coming into that race.

Since the members of that party voted her in, that should tell us this was a rejection of the party and how it had governed in the past.

Perhaps much like how the members rejected Carole James for her performance?

Should this not be an incentive for aspiring politicians to refuse to follow the established pattern, to do what they preach and let the chips fall where they may?

New attitudes?

The notion that Christy Clark brings new attitudes was probably dispelled in the way she appointed her cabinet. She followed the age old practice of vindictiveness in her selection. Ministers take direction from their leader and she as been more than forgiving of the Campbell administration on her talk show over the years so it comes across as a bit phony now. Rafe has it right. Hell hath no fury like a loyal politician scorned by a newcomer.

Why Clark will be a Disaster

I actually prefer a system that turns MLAs into ciphers over a system that leaves them wide open to a corporate lobbying system, but we can leave that broader debate for the moment.

Clark could have done the statesmanlike thing and embraced Stillwell and McDiarmid in the name of gender equality as well as basic competence. But she couldn't help being herself. An equally short-sighted move was her lobbying of the federal government to reverse the Fish lake decision on behalf of Vancouver-based Taseko mines Ltd. Does this city gal not know that getting into a war with the Chilcotin Indians might mean war in a literal sense?

These are both early signs that I was right on my blog to predict that Clark will be a self-immolating disaster of near Glen-Clarkian and near-Vander Zalmian proportions.

It is true that shallow people CAN make decent premiers and prime ministers, because they can have the virtues of flexibility and responsiveness--Mulroney negotiated Free Trade and Meech Lake, fought apartheid, apologized to the japanese canadians and signed the acid rain treaty. But that requires a willingness to listen to others, especially the most talented people in your caucus, even if they didn't support your leadership.

I see Clark going the other way, because she doesn't seem to be aware of her limitations. Like Vander Zalm and Clark, she just can't help being herself. And that spells disaster. I elaborate on my blog:

http://markcrawford.blogspot.com/2011/02/todays-leadership-contest-in-nutshell.html

and here:

http://markcrawford.blogspot.com/2011/02/1.html

Post Script

P.S. Christy Clark was obviously the best media performer of the leadership candidates, but so what? The best debaters and natural politicians in the recent history of BC premiers--Dave barrett, Bill Vander Zalm and Glen Clark--all flamed out within 3 or 4 years.
Meanwhile Bill Bennett and Gordon Campbell--both rather dull and uninspiring personalities--won three elections apiece.

P.S. As I stated in my own blog, Clark creates opportunities for the Conservative Party, just as Kevin Falcon would have created opportunities for the NDP to pick off centrist progressive voters. The more workmanlike and competent Mike De Jong and George Abbott would have held the centre.

those discounting Clark will

those discounting Clark will basically give the election to the BC Libs.

Horgan, Farnsworth and Dix should just give up now.

they have nothing and she is already outflanking them on the issues that matter to NDP voters.

who wants to put money on a

who wants to put money on a Clark win? I will.

Where's Will?

Fill in the blanks here, Will. Flesh out the stuff Rafe left out: how Liberal MLAs can be unavoidably absent during votes despite the whip's calls; how their new-found independence may lead some to vote with the opposition if Christy gets too high-handed on certain issues; how this may lead to some sitting as independents; how Christy hasn't the ammo to expel anyone from caucus now; how some may just pack it in once their pensions are vested, etc., etc.
Go for it, Will.

Skywalker

I agree with you.

It doesn't take a pennyworth of courage to wager a plugged nickel if you're not courageous enough to post your own name on a comment board.

Michael T has a long and ignoble tradition here at Tyee of contributing little more than the odd and always ill-aimed sniper shot from time to time.

I notice Ms Clark is out in Surrey today re-announcing the same spending decisions already made and budgeted as promised by the Campbell gang for Surrey Memorial.

The one thing Ms Clark seems to have forgotten in her years of bloviating from the CKNW echo chamber is that there are now a whole lot of people who haven't drunk the Kool-Aid in this province.

In fact, CKNW gets barely 12% of the ears in metro Vancouver these days...so what the dittoheads who make up that demographic think (of Ms Clark or anything else) really doesn't matter much anyway.

Premiere Clark

What a shame that Uncle Wiggly isn't still published. Brer Rabbit and the briar patch comes to mind.

Issues

I heard the most amazing comments on the radio March 20, 2011. I believe it was M. Smyth (I missed the first part) who said that BC journalists were not covering any of the issues that the NDP leadership candidates were discussing. And they most likely would not in the future. And he wasn't too concerned. They will just write some dribble in the future as that is their job. He was not concerned that they are incompetent. This is what we have to deal with.
Frank Lee said, "It is true that shallow people CAN make decent premiers and prime ministers, because they can have the virtues of flexibility and responsiveness--Mulroney negotiated Free Trade and Meech Lake, fought apartheid, apologized to the japanese canadians and signed the acid rain treaty. But that requires a willingness to listen to others, especially the most talented people in your caucus, even if they didn't support your leadership."
It is true that Mulroney is shallow but he did it because he listened to his advisors, not the people. He did it so he could spin a positive image. He helped destroy this country by gutting the National Energy Plan. That a country does not have an energy plan is extremely short-sighted or maybe someone was filling his back pocket. And when he gave away the patent for insulin, he put the lives of many diabetics in danger. But then some companies made a lot of money with those stupid decisions.

North of Hope

I think you have identified the real issue in BC politics. When the Media is part of the problem it makes you wonder how democracy is ever going to survive. Except for the Tyee, I really can't find any media worth listening to or watching. Somehow the message has to get to M. Smyth and his ilk that they are part of the problem.

Mind you that because the NDP is now without a leader we will have to see if that all changes when the new leader takes on Christy and her restaged photo opportunities. She hasn't been getting any recognition outside of the lower mainland.

One of either John Horgan or Adrian Dix will eat her alive in a debate. Farnworth I don't know much about.

Don't get fooled again...

I would attribute both the bungled HST file and the increased deficit to Hansen's penchant for misrepresenting the facts rather than his lack of coordination and visual impairment. Regardless, I would have thought Hansen's willingness to take one (or two or three) for the team and spout untruths would have been invaluable for a serial prevaricator such as Clark.

Don't get fooled again
No, no!

Meet the new boss
Same as the old boss

So when will Crusty Clark and the Fiberals

implode?

After the HST vote?

When Crusty loses the buy-election?