Go Christy!

Forward to the election and sure defeat! By the way Sarah, can you see Russia from your living room window? As soon as this [SEXIST CHARACTERIZATION REMOVED. -MODERATOR.] starts opening her mouth the people of BC will see just exactly what she stands for. I doubt her handlers can contain her if the proper questions are asked.

No she will win as the right

No she will win as the right wing media in this province will flood the airwaves with anti NDP propaganda like fast Ferries etc...

Tieleman: Always Worth Reading

Tieleleman has been a tireless voice for transparency and truth in BC politics. He reflects the same concern that thousands and thousands of BC citizens share about corruption in the Liberal party that goes back for years. Everyone you talk to knows this, but the MSM (Mainstream Media) ensures not a peep of this is covered.

Thanks to Mr. Tielemen (and BC Mary) along with our courageous independent media like the Tyee and Public Eye who have dared to keep reporting on these systemic failures with our rulers.

p.s. And I feel obliged to also mention that even right wing conservatives journalists have been deeply unhappy with the conduct of Christy Clark & Co in the Railgate scandal, including the conservative writer Alex Tsukumis. So it's not just us progressives who are outraged.

This story just isn't going to go away!

[LINK REMOVED. -MODERATOR]

guilt by association now?

While I'm not a fan of our new premier (and joined the crown booing her at the Whitecaps opener...), this article is all guilt by association. Check *any* politician's staff and you'll find lots of skeletons.
Half of the article (part called "The Gun Lobbyist") talks about one guy's tie to the *defense industry* (which is not the gun lobby). And guess what the province's defence budget is? Zero. That's federal. So what's the point of repeating the lobby groups website info here? How is that relevant ?
Please stick to what is relevant, or else this is just empty propaganda.

Don't fret about about the spokes. Focus on the hub.

Royals, Popes & Politicians need surround themselves with the able-bodied. The measures they command and the methods they condone are the threads that weave the tapestry of their reign. Let Clark put together the best team possible for the challenges that lay ahead. I advise a cold hard look at what's called the POG clause of the Canadian constitution; Peace, Order and Good Government. We enjoy ample measures of the first and a dearth of the last. Let this government focus on delivery the essential services within provincial jurisdiction to her people on budget and in a timely fashion. It's as dull as dirt and as simple as that. Let Premier Clark surrounds herself with sensible, effective courtiers and get to work.

well if Horgan wins I will

well if Horgan wins I will vote w/the BC Libs.

that guy is a loon.

Subversive Christy

What this article means is that Christy Clark is turning out to be the ultimate example of a subversive in B.C. Politics--somebody who actually wants to turn the Liberal Party into the Liberal Party!

(for a good discussion about the NDP leadership contest, check out http://markcrawford.blogspot.com/ !)

Bill, great column...

You doing this really speaks volumes about your lack of faith in the BCNDP. Genuinely.

Right now, they need to rebrand. Seriously.

MichaelT

I think your previous comments convinces me that Horgan is a fine choice. Compared to Christy he's great. Then of course any of the other two front runners would be great as well. Anybody but Christy.

Christy is no centrist and she's barely a liberal except in name. She wants all the power and influence catering to the conservative can give her but wraps herself in liberal clothing to have greater appeal. Only some people are fooled.

ChriswtyFan

That's pretty twisted logic. Using your logic I guess means that your attacks on the NDP say a lot about your lack of faith in the Liberals?

Seriously, the Liberals just tried to rebrand themselves as being different from who they've been for the last 15 years. You supported who they were and yet they're now saying they don't like who they were.

Says a lot about you doesn't it?

BC Liberals Widen Lead Over NDP

Just released from Angus Reid Strategies:

Liberal: 43%
NDP: 38%
Green: 10%
BCCP: 5%
Other: 4%

The trendline with ARS has the Liberals continuing to gain strength and this is just the 8th day of the new Clark gov't.

As for the NDP leadership candidates and who would make a "Good Choice" as NDP leader with BC'ers:

Farnworth: 43%
Dix: 27%
Horgan: 15%

The NDP better pick Farnworth as their next leader (they won't). With both Dix and Horgan you will see them on a downhill slide from hereon in.

Haha - Horgan just makes more irrational and silly statements by the day.

Slim Liberal lead.....

.....considering the media honeymoon for Clark and the fact the NDP has not chosen a leader yet nor had any media coverage.

The problems of dealing with disgruntled right wingers eager to back John Cummins or whoever as a BC Conservative alternative to Clark, and ambitious rivals who may not mind seeing her go down in flames, will bedevil Xisty, who will no longer be able to silence all dissent with the flick of a microphone switch.

Her ability to operate under pressure has never been tested and her tightly wound persona may soon seem more nasty than perky.

It doesn't take much imagination to see Kevin Falcon as a politician self serving enough to subtly undermine Clark, watch her lose an early election, and then blame all the troubles of the next four years on the NDP - though they will be the result of his government's idiocies of the past decade!

There were many powerful interests backing Falcon, who are unlikely to be overjoyed about Clark's victory, and may give her lukewarm support at best.

Who's next?

Tieleman will want to subpoena her newspaper carrier next at this rate. After all...they're part of the "far right" media too.

No one in BC is interested in the NDP race, so let's continue with his tired McCarthyist witch hunt, shall we?

Skywalker, Horgan is a

Skywalker, Horgan is a religious whackjob, as I replied to the Paul Walker email robot "support horgan" earlier today, here are my remarks to him/it:

"Why should we vote for someone who is a religious whackjob who wants to force everyone else to adhere to his personal beliefs?

I speak of his insane rant against casinos.

No one is forcing anyone to attend these gaming houses but Horgan is on his High Horse espousing some sort of tyrannical christian ideology be imposed upon EVERYONE.

Have you no shame? Are you really down with a dictator?

Christy Clark is looking better and better everyday and the NDP has only themselves to blame, especially tin-pot dictators like Horgan and I guess yourself."

ahem, skywalker, ahem.

there is no difference between his position and conservative anti-abortionists. none, only the target of their religious-inspired bans.

Christy fans must be disappointed

The usual spin aside, those poll results are pretty bad if you're a Liberal.

Christy hasn't had to back anything up yet as she basks in the glow of a friendly media and a leaderless opposition and yet the Liberals are only polling 2% higher than they were with no leader at all.

Meanwhile the NDP has risen 2% since December (after falling 11% from 47% when Carole James was tossed) in spite of not having a leader and with the Liberals getting all the good press.

If I was a Liberal I'd be asking how can that be.

Look for Christy's advisers to throw out lots of new policy ideas that will distance herself from Campbell. Otherwise she won't be premier long.

Just to add

Looking over Mustel and ARS polls for the last 9 months its pretty obvious that even with a new leader the Liberals just don't look very good to most voters.

All the NDP has to do is find a way to bring back those they lost when Carole James was ousted and they'll win. Farnworth has a chance at doing that. Unfortunately Dix doesn't.

The NDP still have the lead among women in spite of the Libs selecting a female leader. Just not as big a lead as they had with CJ as leader.

Can't resist

Look at it this way, Christy Clark during her honeymoon period is 3% less popular than Gordon Campbell was when he won the last election.

distancing herself from Campbell

means distancing from Falcon, Colin Hansen, and other key Campbell henchmen.

I think I read in Tieleman's blog that there is some thought that Gordo resigned as MLA so quickly in order to put Xisty on the spot - she may have a tough go in his riding if she runs there but will look like a wimp if she declines.

Oh that is rich MichaelT.

A lot of people are fundamentally against casinos and using gaming to replace taxation. Government's are suppose to tax fairly and make prudent use of tax dollars not rely on the dreams of riches by poor people to encourage them to gamblel away their money just so the rich don't have to pay their fair share. That makes one a religious whack job? It makes one PRINCIPLED. I guess thta is something a Christy fan or liberal would never understand.

Frank

Also that honeymoon will be over as soon as the NDP has a leader. Right now Christy is worried about how things will work out when he has to sit up in gallery while the debate is going on in the legislature.

The southern media will attempt to do their usual thing but these days most people rely on other sources like the Tyee for their news.

Another religious whack job.

Promise 4 in the BC LIberal New Era document of 2000: "No expansion of gambling. Stop the expansion of gambling that has increased gambling addiction and put new strains on families."

Christy Clark ran on that platform. I guess she is a "whack job" as well.

Responses to MSM online articles.....

.....are often tilted more towards being critical of Clark and the Liberals than supporting them, which hints the general public is pretty fed up, and that the right wing cheerleaders are having a hard time keeping up with the rest of us in terms of sheer quantity of words sent to the Sun and Province, CBC, or wherever.

There are many articulate and thoughtful voices among the poorly edited and the abusive name callers. Most of the informed voices see through Clark and the rest.

Many honest if anonymous commentators and other seekers after truth are waiting to be inspired to want to vote FOR the NDP as opposed to against the Libs.

The NDP leadership race has brought much more attention to issues many have wanted to see addressed persistently, such as Run of the River projects, Prosperity Mine, agricultural issues, and more, in the belief that as with the HST, public opinion on many issues is very different from Big Corporate/Liberal opinion. The NDP will be elected by stressing those issues and offering positive alternatives, as leadership hopefuls are now doing.

Principled or Hypocrite?

Horgan? With principled positions? The same Horgan who acted as a paid lobbyist in 2004, with a sophisticated campaign to convince Vancouver city council, to lift a moratorium for 600 slot machines for Paragon Gaming in downtown Vancouver?

http://www.straight.com/article/ndpers-campaigned-for-slots

The same Horgan who is now calling for IPP/PPP contracts to be "broken"? Hasn't he learned from the damages arising out of the broken HEU contracts? That's a pittance compared to the tens of $billions$ that the BC taxpayer would have to cough up for broken IPP/PPP contracts.

The same Horgan who today said that "the 1990's should be a selling point for the NDP"? Huh? I guess perhaps he's not aware of the 77 - 2 wipeout in the 2001 election.

The same Horgan who is espousing no more mines but hihger taxes?

The same Horgan who last week stated that "sustainable, family jobs will come from picking salal and mushrooms"?

This is NON-mainstream stuff.

This Horagn character is "wayyyyy out there" and it shows with only 15% public support for his NDP leadership asperations. I actually hope the guy wins.

IPP contracts

Good to see more acknowledgement of the fact that IPP contracts are worth tens of Billions of dollars.....and equally good to acknowledge that these tens of Billions are not in the taxpayers hands in the first place.....not that any multiple of a billion dollars would repair the havoc created in our wilderness areas.

"This is NON-mainstream stuff."

Actually more people oppose the new casino than support it so maybe Horgan is more "mainstream" than his opposition?

Or perhaps more truthfully its that your "mainstream" is a minority.

Is that a "mainstream" in your pocket or...

51% oppose the new Edgewater Casino.

31% support it.

Other non-mainstream types seem to include Vancouver medical health officer John Carsley and of course all the Liberals that ran for election in 2001.

Partisan Rantings

Bill, is that the best you can come up with? Everybody who's ever been in politics has baggage. I wonder what kind of skeletons we could find in your closet.

Clark's first act was to raise the minimum wage - hardly the sign of a rabid neoconservative.

Tyee editors: you have much better contributors than this guy.

Hey Cool Hand PAB.............

..........me thinks you are smoking something illegal.

A 5 point lead in a Liberal poll translates into even numbers or worse for the Liberals.

Horgan has 15% because he is a political unknown at this time, while Farnsworth has been around for a long time. What is surprising is the Cluck-cluck Clark has has five years of radio promotion and a slow pitch Liberal convention behind her and she can only manage a 5% lead?!

Me thinks some Liberals are peeing their pants.

Just wait until the new NDP premier goes full throttle with BC Rail allegations and a host of other Liberal scandals and that 5% lead will evaporate quickly.

As for the 1990's, bring it back, it was a whole lot better than Campbell's last nine years! The Liberal owned mainstream media have made a myth about the 90's. What has relay happened is the wealthy got wealthier as Campbell cut the taxes for the rich, while downloading massive user fees onto the poor!

In the 90's, people had money to spend locally - the Campbell decade saw the wealthy spend their money in Hawaii!

Grumpy has a point

It seems to be substantiated by the undertone (all be it not that under of a tone) of some comments in this particular thread..even though they were not prompted by the subject matter of the article. The prospect of facing Horgan in public debate appears to have members of the present governing party stocking up on one of the products heavily advertised on a local radio station...the ones that help curb those nocturnal trips to the loo. Always good to support ones advertisers.

michael T

"Christy Clark is looking better and better everyday and the NDP has only themselves to blame, especially tin-pot dictators like Horgan and I guess yourself"

Well, if you really don't like him that much, why don't you turn yourself into a Mohammed Bouazizi? Honestly, I may not think much of Horgan, but religious wackjob is the last think that comes to mind when I think about the kind of name I want to call him.

You, on the other hand....