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Get Your Act Together, Carole
NDP leader must hammer a theme. Here's one.
James: Democracy's the issue
This an open letter to Carole James, who, last we heard of was leader of the B.C. New Democratic Party.
Dear Carole,
I hope I can be so bold as to call you by your first name but after all, we have dated -- at lunch and, as I recall, you bought.
I'm going to be brutally frank with you. The NDP is in bad shape and perfectly positioned for a substantial thumping in 2009 and that is mostly your fault either because you don't understand the system and the B.C. voter or you do understand and don't want to play the game.
Why do I care?
Because under our multi-flawed system, the Opposition ought always to be a government-in-waiting.
Too nice
Let's first dispose of the notion that the legislature ought to behave like a town meeting where everybody politely hears the debates then quietly votes. Perhaps in your reveries you see an extension of the Youth Parliament where oh so earnest speakers declaim their views with one hand gesticulating with the other behind their back, never raising their voices nor allowing anger to rear its ugly head.
The legislature does not work that way and until the system changes, it never will.
It isn't a debating chamber because, with a majority government, the decision has already been made by cabinet. It is a place where the Opposition does have a chance to question the government, and even though the answer is always "no," properly done, the opposition can shine a little bit of light into that darkened chamber called the cabinet room.
Past lessons
Let's talk real politics and especially those of your party.
Have you considered, Carole, that the NDP has only won one election, namely that of 1996?
In 1972, the tired old government of tired old W.A.C. Bennett simply imploded. In 1991, a fencepost with hair could have beaten the already beaten Socreds and the real story of that election was that the middle-of-the-roaders went Liberal, not NDP. In 1983 -- and note this for later, Carole -- Bob Skelly made a deal with Bill Bennett that the legislature would become acceptable to visiting school children. I remember at the time having a drink with Bud Smith, a "pol" if God ever created one, and he was nearly overcome with glee that the NDP opposition was going to be nice to the Socreds. The only election the NDP won in a real contest was in 1996 under Glen Clark.
Let's take this another step. With the exception of Clark, the NDP has never had a strong leader so perceived by the public.
Dave Barrett, was a clever personality boy who, in the three real elections he fought -- 1975, 1979 and 1983 -- got second prize being beaten each time by Bill Bennett who was a strong leader. (Bennett used to say that he didn't know which Marx he was fighting, Karl or Groucho.) Mike Harcourt, a thoroughly decent man, was, in spite of his experience, unable to take the heat over a scandal in which he had played no part. Dan Miller was a stopgap premier and Dosanjh was anything but politically tough.
Power of a strong theme
What would a tough NDP leader be doing at this stage, two years from an election? He or she would find a theme and hammer it home at every possibility. Harken back to the Barrett regime and what Bill Bennett did as opposition leader. The Socred theme was that the NDP, in Bennett Sr.'s phrase, couldn't manage a peanut stand. Bill Bennett focused on that and played a neat trick.
The NDP had brought in a very sensible 135 hour limit for all the budget "estimates" debate. Cleverly and deliberately running out the 135 hours as the Minister of Finance's estimates came so, the Speaker passed the remaining estimates without debate. It was a phony, contrived issue but Bennett stormed the hustings crying "not a dime without debate!" It worked, oh how it worked! Especially after the NDP cut off Bennett's legislative stipend because he wasn't in the legislature, thus making the multi-millionaire Bennett into a saintly martyr in sackcloth.
The theme that the NDP was shoveling money off the back of a truck stuck and the rest is history.
Was this a fair tactic? Of course not, for we're talking politics in a two-party system with the "first past the post" voting system that rewards tough leadership over policy every time out.
Hammer on 'democracy'
Here's what you must do, Carole. This is not a school board we're dealing with here but politics big time, which in our province is a blood sport. You really have to toughen up and not leave the fighting to Adrian Dix and one or two others. Then -- and this is critical -- you must find a theme and stick to it. The old themes of poverty, disease and other social problems are of number one importance for a good government -- except I'm not talking about government but how to get elected. Obviously you can't legislate for the public weal if you don't win.
Let me tell you what that theme is: democracy. In 25 years of listening to the public this is the real number one issue. Don't be fooled by polls or what your members tell you, The public is not yet prepared to tell you what's wrong if only because the term "democracy deficit" hasn't hit the pollsters' list of questions. You'll not hear the "democracy deficit" bandied about in the pool hall or the pub but take my word for it, the public feels utterly disconnected from their political masters. They know that there's something very wrong when a system confers absolute power on one person.
Missed opportunities
Let's look at the Bill Bennett "not a dime without debate" crusade. His issue was, as I said, phony but the public believed that the NDP was lobbing taxpayers' dough down a rat hole. Bennett graphically and deftly, in speeches to service clubs, chambers of commerce and other groups all over the province, harped away at the NDP's inability to properly handle public money. And he achieved the result sought. On December 12, 1975 the NDP were driven from office.
Here are two recent areas where you personally, as well as colleagues, ought to have been rallying forces to fight with you. The first was when the Liberals refused to call a fall sitting and the second was and remains the Gateway project. Let's deal with the latter point.
Where were you when the Eagleridge group had a money raiser to cover their legal expenses? You should have been there, Carole, demanding a right to the floor which would have cheerfully been granted I'm sure. Never mind that it's Liberal territory -- you would have been well received and your message would have made its debut and been all the more remarkable because West Vancouver would have been quietly astonished at your appearance.
Where were you at the Gateway rally attended by people of all political stripes? Your opposition critic was there but you should have been there too, demanding a chance to speak which I know would have been granted.
Get your act together
Why these latter two protests?
Because the absence of democracy is at the root of both events. The Iron Curtain-like process where the decision is taken first and the public consulted last is precisely what people are pissed off about.
My suggested theme might not be the right one (though I firmly think it is). But I can tell you as sure as God made little green apples you'll never beat the Liberals with passionate pleas for the poor. Perhaps in a better world that would be good enough but not in the world where British Columbians vote.
Get your act together Ms. James, or you will join the ranks of failed New Democratic Party leaders.
Related Tyee stories:
- Campbell, James, Swim for the Centre
But does going for the middle just muddle their politics? - Tough Questions for Carole James
As the election comes down to the wire, some hard questions for James and the NDP. - The Mysterious Carole James
That's how nearly half of British Columbians saw NDP leader in 2004.
![[Tyee]](http://thetyee.cachefly.net/ui/img/ico_fishie.png){kind=small}
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74
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G West
5 years ago
I hope Carole's listening
For all our sakes.
If for no other reason than what you've pointed out in your cogent reaction to Joan Hesketh's disingenuous spin in another story that's just been posted here at Tyee.
SharingIsGood
5 years ago
issues related to Mr. Mair's point
Thank you Mr. Mair,
I couldn't agree more. I have made a short list of debate-free changes that have transpired over the last five or six years. I am sure others can add more.
Sale of provincial resources and services: generally to businesses based outside of BC, often outside of Canada - without open debate and against what the Liberals said they would do.
Shortening of question period.
TILMA without debate.
Purchasing of ferries outside of the country - while not even accepting bids from BC ship-builders, some of the most skilled and capable builders in the world - without debate.
Firing hospital cleaning staffs, so that we now have filthy hospitals where we must train the cleaning contrators' employees how to was their filthy hands! - without debate!
Increasing the export of whole logs, when value-added production adds maintains 3.2 jobs for every logging job. Without debate! This is especially crucial when one views the reduction of loggers needed because of mechanization in the industry.
Changes to the the way mining claims are staked and granting them to foreign corporations - without debate!
Allowing BC Ferries to hide it's books though the people of the province are still liable for everything they do - without debate!
It goes on and on, Ms James. Further, you were not to be seen when the government tried to trample the rights of some of its finest citizens - BC teachers. Even if the major media is not giving you the time of day, where are the fliers? Why don't I see my MLA in the streets fighting to get the truth out. The recent MLA pay raises went down without a hitch - and I think it was without debate, yet again!
Yammer
5 years ago
But Rafe...
Does the left really WANT to win an election? (Assuming that the NDP is the left.)
The problem we have, I think, is that we are very sensitive to the problems of abuse of authority. Consequently, when anyone tries to speak authoritatively, he or she is immediately chopped down.
This explains the selection of meek and timid looking individuals like Carole James or Audrey McLaughlin. There is no sense of authority coming from them -- why the very idea of them forming a government seems far-fetched at best.
I think the left is much more comfortable and arguably more effective sniping from the sidelines rather than sitting in the driver's seat.
As for CJ herself, wasn't the problem that nobody wanted to run against the drunk? She's a placeholder while Gregor Robertson learns public speaking.
BC Mary
5 years ago
Rafe, if you join the Opposition party, I will too!
Gosh, it's great to hear passion, good sense and hope in a conversation about a B.C. political party.
Our homeland is in such terrible trouble. People know it. They just don't know what to do about it when the biggest betrayals are a fait accompli before we even hear about them.
Then there's the CanWest prescription where, when a former premier (the one you mentioned kindly, Rafe) offered information about ferry accident reports -- the first 1/2 of CanWest's description of it is all about "bad Clark, bad ba-a-ad Clark" until, if you didn't work that stuff out for yourself, you'd think that exercising your right to vote for a New Democrat is a terrible sin. You might even pull back from thinking that B.C. Ferries Inc. oughta be telling us what happened to one of our ships because bad, ba-a-ad premiers had said so. And 3 new B.C.-built ships remain tied up in North Vancouver because they were built during a New Democratic government. Jeez. Partisan madness.
So I really mean it, Rafe. If you join the Opposition, I will too.
doggone
5 years ago
I bitched about living in Socred BC
Until the same bonehead populus elected the current "Liberal" barely recycled Socred "government by the will of God"
There is nothing wrong with the province itself.
There must be something seriously wrong with the populus
Elliot
5 years ago
'There must be something
'There must be something seriously wrong with the populus' i'll give you that one doggone. after all, they did give glennocchio and his gang of bingo stealing fools 10 years in power, did they not?
Dale Jackaman
5 years ago
Carol James in the wings
I think it's a bit too early for the BC NDP to be cranking out the broadsides Rafe, but you could be right. You did make a good point on democracy, or the lack thereof, by the Gordon Campbell Liberal government. Ask any "real" Liberal MLA you know well enough to read between the furrowed brows, and those concerns are clear enough to see. Ask and NDP MLA and he will outright tell you what's going on.
Read up on what the NDP did this last couple of weeks in the House as regards to TILMA, not that you can find any mention at all in any of the CANWEST publications. See below.
http://www.bcndpcaucus.ca/en/ndp_introduces_bill_to_force_debate_on_tilma
Since when has an opposition party ever brought forward a government Bill it outright opposes? And where is the media?
Liberal MLA's are nothing more than seat warmers who, when they get a chance to speak at all, are as scripted as a daytime soap. This isn't a democratic government, but as close to an outright parliamentary dictatorship as you can get.
That little of this is on the public's radar screen is more a matter of our heavily pro-Liberal major news sources, the horrifically effective Liberal PR campaigns, and the sorry fact that many voters either don't care, don't have time to care, or are just plain too sick and tired of politics and polititions to care.
alive
5 years ago
why Carole plays the game
You are right Rafe!
It is too bad that the voters are so stupid that they cannot see through the circus that is played out every day by the media and the "strong leaders"!
We talk about third world countries as if they are backward, what could be more backward than electing the kind of people we tend to elect?
I have waited all my life for the population to wake up and realize that the poor people are the majority!
All they have to do is to get out and vote for the only party that has a platform with poor peoples right in mind.
Now, because voters are so stupid, the NDP tries very hard to be what is should not be!
It is a labour party and should not be ashamed of that fact, neither should working people be ashamed of standing up for their rights when they vote NDP!
Frank
5 years ago
Naive
Rafe, I've read some pretty naive editorials on here but this one is in the top ten. Did "working man" write this? Sounds like his view of BC political history.
This is a Socred province. That's why they always win. Its not because the NDP does this or that wrong, its because the population is already predisposed to vote Socred.
Politicos love finding little sound bites they can point to and say so and so is a genius, the election was won there and then. Well that's not true.
That was a fluke, they even lost the popular vote. The real fact of the matter is you're almost right, there have been no real elections in BC. Because the result is never in doubt.
Sure it would be nice if the NDP and the Socreds took turns getting 60% support in opinion polls but that doesn't happen. Polls instead only show the NDP either about to get clobbered or coming close. To think that its going to change if the NDP campaign really really well is laughable.
As long as what is hilariously called a contest is between the Socreds and NDP in a FPTP "race" the Socreds will win 9 out of 10 times and beat themselves the other time. The NDP could dissolve as a party and the Socreds would lose just as often.
Martin
5 years ago
Carole's problem
Old Bill Bennett's tactics worked, Rafe, because they were accurate, and the people cared about the problem. The Barrett government hugely mismanaged the public treasury. (Remember Norm Levi's $100 million overrun? Those were long before the gun registry and the fast ferries).
Somehow, I don't think the public would rally behind an opposition leader who threw herself in front of bulldozers near Horseshoe Bay. The only people who would rally behind that, are a small group of nutbars and also gin-and-tonic environmentalists from West Van and er, Lions Bay.
I know what: why doesn't she come out with a pledge NOT to raise her own salary till, say, she stops driving an SUV and conquers globsl warming. Then we'd all rally benind her, fer sher.
The brain
5 years ago
Excellent points, Rafe!
You've stated it better than I could, fer sure. Missed op's. Where is Carole James?
Where is she? If there is a time to start building momentum into an election, you're right Rafe, its right now and a while ago and we all know it and where is she? Why is she unavailable for comment?
Where is Carol James?
Maybe its time to get out the Socred banner and start flag waving Socred style!!
Socreds are the best! Go Socreds, Go!
Vote Social Credit! Self sufficient... more government... childcare... education... healthcare... justice... economical platform... rebuilding crown corps... and above all, transparency. Due process. Socred style.
Socreds rock!! You're the best, Social Credit, whoever you are!!!
There, that mindless cheerleading wasn't so bad. O_O
The brain
5 years ago
Whoopie!
Socreds rock!
(.)Y(.)
Frank
5 years ago
Alberta
Our next door neighbour has the same problem. The Socred-Conservatives just keep winning one election after another for 70 years, making Alberta a one-party state, not because the populace are idiots. Its because the NDP lacks the intelligence to cash in on Socred-Conservative mistakes. Because all those voters from Grande Prairie to Medicine Hat really really want to vote NDP but they can't because the NDP never puts forward cool soundbites.
Anyone else notice a pattern here?
That right-wingers blame the NDP for our lack of democracy in addition to everything else.
Grumpy
5 years ago
Cromwell had it right!
Someone in the NDP should have the moral fortitude to say this to the supreme we noodle -
"Depart, I say, for you have sat here too long for what good you have done. Depart I say, in the name of god go!"
Carole James, the school-marm she is, has played into Campbell's hands wonderfully. For all the Liberal boondoggles, that all she can say to the media is "Let's raise the minimum wage to $10.00", speaks volumes of her intellect or lack there of!
God, let's hope someone in the NDP will rid of this disaster in waiting!
rockyvoids
5 years ago
Theme
Do you want an election theme Raif? How about, "BC Tax Dollars into BC pockets only."
switek
5 years ago
Typical Rafe
This is typical Rafe Mair. Agree with what I agree with and disagree with what I disagree with and you will go far. Or so says Rafe. Unfortunately this formula has not worked so well for Rafe either. With his unrelenting and stubborn points of view Rafe has basically talked himself off the air and he is now relegated to being an online columnist for the Tyee.
Rafe seems to forget that roughly 40% of the Province will vote for whatever right wing poster child of the day is running regardless of who that is. Perhaps Rafe is naïve enough to think that in his day things were different. Hardly. It seems Rafe is mostly pissed because Carole will not be an ass like he often is.
Carole James has done many of the things that Rafe has suggested; the problem is the media, and that includes Rafe does not seem to notice or care. Any left wing party and candidate is going to face the same problems that Carole James is; that is simply how things work here in BC and Rafe can kid himself if he thinks otherwise.
Capitalism
5 years ago
Foolish
Great Points! This Gateway project is another example. People want it!!
What many people fail to realize is that BC is a Conservative province. It always has been. He pointed it out himself, the NDP has won one election - and it took perhaps the biggest lie in our political history to do so - the "fudge-it budget".
Carole is tied-up between a rock and a hard place. Things have never been better in BC. Our economy is vital, our health care system is improving, we are leading the nation in growth, our productivity is improving, our relationship with First Nations has NEVER been better, we've seen taxes come down, tax revenues go up, high business and consumer confidence.
I'm willing to bet the silent majority (most people that always vote for the right wing party) wants the gateway project and is sick and tired of public squabbling. Outside of the Tyee, the Sea-to-Sky project got little play, because nobody cares! There will be very minimal impact on the environment and everybody knows it.
Nobody cares about transparency, because people generally favour these project, and don't want to debate it. I for one have been listening to debate over the Port Mann congestion for 20 years!?!?!
Carole has done a fine job in opposition. She's seen the Liberals adopt several of her parties initiatives. Now, she's working on getting the minimum wage increased....
People don't want to hear complaints at this point in time. Simply, things are too good.
Capitalism
5 years ago
Switek
What he's asking is that Carole James adopt his way of communicating. Where she adopt two themes, that don't resonate with the public, and hammer them home.
Much like his game. Well, you're right. He talked his way out of two radio stations. People stopped listening to him.
SharingIsGood
5 years ago
TILMA still without debate, Mr. Jackaman
TILMA never really hit the news (outside The TYEE. If the populous doesn't know about it, it wasn't really debated.
When one googles TILMA, little more than a mention can be found in the Lower Mainland, Victoria and Nanaimo area. Something this big should have been front page and prime-time news. http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/news/letters/story.html?id=3e2acca0-f489-4562-81fa-5f3c295f1487
kl
5 years ago
I hope she's reading
I sure hope Carole James is reading this article. It's a good one. I'm also glad to see Rafe is now on TV.
BC would vote NDP again, or for any other party if it could capitalize on highlighting the theft of democracy. I don't think BC voters are stupid, ignorant yes, stupid no. People just don't have to time to move beyond reading their CAN WEST rags and watching Simi Sara and Dave Gerry on Breakfast TV. We are in a sad state in this province.
Another issue the NDP needs to become vocal about is the Liberals declaring resort status upon projects which would normally fall under regional laws, such as the Jumbo Pass ski area and this new proposed development on the Sunshine Coast. http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=5b325d0e-2a0d-4117-a620-befa77437dd2
When the Liberals don't like what the locals have to say, the just take away their rights.
Skywalker
5 years ago
Notwithstanding the babbling
Notwithstanding the babbling of Capitalism here Rafe has raised what is a major problem with the NDP leadership. Please don't even try to suggest that the current crop, including Gregor Robertson, has anything like the qualities needed to be the next leader. If there is such a person we have not seen him/her.
The problem with CanWest is very real but it is not an excuse for ineffective performances in the House. You have to say something worth reporting. Endless academic debate called constructive criticism will not carry outside of the legislature. Where is the "rat pack" whose job it is to get the daily headlines from question period. They could shame the CanWest organization just by being very effective. I don't know very many people who get their information from the CanWest bird cage floors.
As for the naysayers of Clark, Glen was not perfect but infinitely better than this band of thugs selling off the province to everyone outside. For your information he had nothing to do with bingo, nor did Harcourt, and if all you can find is a few fast ferries, well the Liberals have squandered a lot more than that and a few fast ferries look pretty good to moast people compared to the shananigans in Victoria these days.
DPL
5 years ago
Gosh all the experts have
Gosh all the experts have showed up. Who doesn't know that the present government isn't really liberals might look at the pictures of their team and see some tired old faces. Business liked the government presently in place because by gosh if they want something Gordon will deliver. Get rid of unions, no problem says Gordon, build everything by private companies no matter what the cost, preferably witht tender. No problem. There used to be some Liberals in the team until Gordon took over and either banished them or they became team players. As long as the money flows, who really cares is the folks in poverty numbers go up? Who cares if many social programs get scuttled? Gordon went wild with power when the citizens crushed the NDP for the melt down in Asia and the NDP's refusal to drop the social programs then in place.Some body mentioned the new at the time ,ministry run by Norm Levi. My God the convention center overruns right now is over 300 millions( Oops cost of doing business) The folks were convinced the socialists were doing bad deeds so voted them out Gordo took over then put the boots to a lot of folks. James came along and managed to rebuild the NDP with of course the help of the citizens who didn't like his methods. But he still is in position and doing his best to support thsoe who pay his party big bucks and expect big returns. To hear little folks attempt to stratigize issuse is weird. Lower salaried folks spend most of their times trying to scrape by, some of us seem to have the time to bitch about most anything. Sure I'm one of the idle ones . Rafe is trying to rock the boat, but that's his job. Since Bennet , the feloow who was charged with inside trading is such a fine fellow, maybe someone could did up the slight overruns on the Coq. highway or the mess at Tumbler Ridge. Each elected person has a few clangers to their name. I see to recall Campbell running a mens clothing store that went out of business, or his business expertize when buying into a hotel directly across from BC place that went bust. Hell no lets shite all over James. Has she ever been convicted of drunk driving? I think not. But Gordo did and got off the hook by crying sorry on TV
clo3
5 years ago
Frank, I hope you're joking...
I’m assuming that you are being sarcastic here Frank, because I am from Alberta and I can’t name 10 people who “really really want to vote NDP.”
I think the current Socred/Liberal thing is similar here in BC, they win elections because people like them better. If people don’t agree with the main tenants of the NDP, they probably won’t vote for them no matter how strong a leader they have. Take Jack Layton for example. Of all the leaders in the Federal Parliament, I respect him the most and think he is one of the strongest leaders in the House. However, I disagree with the NDP on so many things that I can’t bring myself to vote for him and his party.
That being said, it would definitely be nice to hear a lot more public debate about what the current BC Liberals are doing. I never read or hear much about them in the mainstream media and it seems too many of their policies are flying under the radar. A good opposition is as important as a good government. So Carol, get out there more and let us know what our government is up to, even if it doesn’t win you an election!!
G West
5 years ago
for example
says clo3
I don't think Frank was joking - being satirical perhaps, but not joking.
Alberta lost its way in the 30s when it wandered off into the wilderness with Bill Aberhart and the Gospel Hour, or whatever it was they called it in those days.
That was before my time of course but I have many older relatives who listened to Earnest Manning's preaching on the radio all the time. Why that wasn't an improper conflation of politics and religion I'll never know?
clo3
5 years ago
Not following you Gwest...
Your disagreement with the old Alberta Socred party doesn't mean that most Albertans actually want to vote NDP. Besides, the Socred party that you are talking about is pretty much non-existent anymore and the PCs don't have any religious ties.
Capitalism
5 years ago
Few WANT to vote for the NDP
I don't know why we are arguing about this. The NDP does not hold consistent values with the rest of society. Its not a bad thing - its true.
Generally, they side with unions, public and private - and are constantly at odds with business.
The Liberals, on the other had, are a pro business party and constantly at odds with organized labour.
The difference here is that the Liberals give BCers things we can touch. They give us tax cuts, roads, highways, etc. etc.
Tax and spend doesn't sit well with most hard-working Canadians...which is precisely why the left is seldom in control.
I'm not trying to argue right or wrong. I'm just saying, for whatever reason, people are not aligned with the NDP.
mcdull
5 years ago
Politics
Well you righties must be happy. Our major news players ignore whatever the left says by dumping it into the middle of the paper or the end of the news. Meanwhile the Fraser institute will dominate the headlines with no rebuttal printed except maybe a few days later hidden away. Biased reporting, yes extremely. I find the NDP too quiet but part of that is our news gatherers fault as they treat anything not from the right as a fools message, We have highways yes and they are the dirtiest and in the worst shape the have been in years but all our money is going to the Olympics or Lower Mainland Highways. There is more to the province than just the Fraser Valley -Whistler Corridor. Its nice to see you are blind to the dislike this government has for truth you call Clark Glennocio but Campbell is the Lying Brian of our era and it just gets ignored by the Media He has broken way more promises than any other Premier.
McDull A proud Vancouver Island Separatist. Leave BC . Gladly
Frank
5 years ago
clo3
Yes, I was.
The point being that as DPL put it the NDP have to be perfect in every way whereas those they run against can go drunk driving, drop in drunk to a homeless shelter, get charged with insider trading etc and people will still vote for them.
If life in politics was so simple that all Carole had to do to get elected was jump up and down on the legislature lawn more yelling about what Campbell gets away with and hope someone puts her on camera then that would be great. But it just ain't so.
Alberta is the same sort of thing but even more lopsided. I lived in Edmonton for awhile. Not too many Albertans want change.
So to repeat, ex-rightwingers like Rafe sitting around complaining about how the democratic deficit in this country is the NDP's fault and not the electorate's is naive.
G West
5 years ago
clo3
I was just making the point that the social gospel in Alberta has been, since the earliest days of Aberhart and Socred funny money, fundamentalist and right wing.
All Lougheed did was inherit the mantle and change the god they were meant to bow down to from an fundamentalist evangelical one to an American/southern Baptist one.
Without oil revenue and the transplanted Americans who came to Alberta it wouldn't be much different from Saskatchewan. In fact, it was rescued from bankruptcy by the Federal Government. Something today's Albertans have either forgotten or never knew about in the first place.
DPL
5 years ago
OOps. In a cooment I raised
OOps. In a cooment I raised awhile back I mentioned tenders for contracts. I accidentally left out the word as in "without tenders." Hopefully noone might have thught I figured that was the way to operate.By the way folks, how much over budget is the transport links now gbeing built. Not shown was Olypmic costs of course. New hospital extension to The Jubilee here in Victoria that the CRD is expected to pay abut 50 percent of thge costs, yet members of the CRD claim they don't really know just what the plan is al about. Nasty folks upset some one in VIHA who now tell us the CRD is fully informed. So who do we believe, some hack approved bt Gord's crew or elected municipal councillors on the CRD. If one believes the current governemtn is always right, I have a deal for them sort of like a 12 year old ferry boat, which the team says is a couple of years old. a bunch of fibbers and a lot of folks believe anyhting Gordos and his mulititude of PR folks say. Any one know who got the massage deals paid for by us all?
G West
5 years ago
a little evidence please
writes Cappy.
What part of the NDP platform do you not agree with?
I think it's right wingers like you who are out of step with the 80% of families who are falling further and further behind under the Liberals.
The biggest problem with changing the ethos in BC is the manipulation of information and an undemocratic electoral system.
If right wingers are so closely aligned with public opinion then I guess Gordon will be bringing in a bill to move to STV or MMP elections in 2009, eh?
aorangi
5 years ago
BC Mary,
You mentioned BC Ferries which Carole James seems not to be interersted in although she has a sitting target in the way the Premier handles that company since he made it "private" with the only share belonging to the Govt. It's a sore point with me that he now has to borrow the money at a much higher rate of interest because of the privatization. Initially I read $30m a year (who knows about this?) which is a hell of a lot of money needed elsewhere and a point that could have been blown up to be noticed. And what of the jobs lost in Vancouver? How many? This could have been calculated and hammered home and the media would have had to pay attention.
Then Campbell tried to do away altogether with Deas Dock in the Fraser River (where the ferries are refitted and repaired every spring) and this would be the beginning of the privatization of the whole fleet, selling pieces off bit by bit, but he didn't win that one due to the tenacity and smarts of Jackie Miller, BCFWU Pres. The ruling was that Deas Dock is on BC Ferries land, the work done with BC Ferries equipment under BC Ferries authority with BC Ferries workers. There's lots more.
Carole has a mine here that could yield nuggets but it's not on her radar. She, as the two late Federal Audreys demonstrated can't lead without force, personality and bombast galore, none of which they have and that's why we never get ahead. Too bloody bad.
Working Man
5 years ago
I couldn't have said it better myself...
Well done Rafe. You are only restating what I have been saying here for the last couple of years: "Where's Carole?" I don't see her. All I ever see is Adrian with his silly indignant look on his face.
Rafe is 100% correct in his analysis yet his points are absolutely lost on the posters here. Herein lies the problem: The Faithful are so convinced in the correctness of their Cause, they can't alter their platform to get elected. And as Rafe so correctly stated (and I have stated numerous times here) you can't implement your policy, no matter how wonderful it is, if you don't hold power.
And Rafe, I believe that W.A.C also said "The socialists couldn't run a lemonade stand in the desert.
Anyway, Rafe's and my points will be completely lost on the Faithful; they will indeed get flummoxed in the 2009 election and then blame everyone but themselves for it.
kl
5 years ago
Yes that's right the NDP is so at odds with BC society
If one takes just a quick look at the NDP website ane what they are trying to accomplish, gee, they are so way off of what average British Columbians care about.
I mean how dare they try to ban poisenous antifreee?
Or how dare they try and raise the wages of thousands of British Columbians earning minimum wage? Topped with a tax cut for small businesses. The nerve. Most British Columbians, nay, all British Columbians will never go for this.
Campaign finance reform? Come on, let's get real here James.
Trying to debate TILMA? What nerve. Totally at odds with what British Columbians need and deserve.
Demanding answers on BC Rail? This is almost treasonous.
Calling out Campbell and his buddies for issuing bogus college degrees? Man, the NDP do not support education at all.
Calling for a reversal of BC child care cuts? Here we go again with trying to look after our children. I mean what do kids do for society? Is it really that important we look after them? Shouldn't we instead be offering more tax cuts to big business? That's what is really important in society.
Now, don't get me wrong, I am very disapointed with the NDP right now. To say that they don't have anything in common with BC society is just plain stupid. Cappy, you never cease to amaze me. Just when I thought I'd read the dumbest thing ever posted on the tyee and you pull another zinger out of nowhere. It's great! I love it! You provide endless entertainment.
Elliot
5 years ago
to simplify: the ndp is
to simplify: the ndp is outdated and irrelevant, at least according to most. how else can you explain the feds consistently winning no more than 20-30 seats out of 308? if the green gains popularity over the next 10 years the ndp will be reduced to fringe party status. i voted for harcourt's gang in '91 and will never do so again b/c the 90's was such a bloody disaster.
clo3
5 years ago
Kl, nicely written
Well Kl, I think we all know BC would be a much better place if there was never any debate about government policies and degrees were handed out freely! Plus, raising minimum wage to a whopping $10/hour is insane. I mean really, that’s $80/day to pay for rent, food, transportation, health needs, clothes, taxes, incidentals and entertainment. Seems like an excessive wage to me! [Note the dripping sarcasm in that last paragraph].
Sure these values aren’t completely out of step with people in BC (or hopefully anywhere for that matter), but that doesn’t mean that the only reason the NDP are not in power is because of our Single Member Plurality electoral system and the media-as G West claims. In the last election, more people voted Liberal than any other party, hence them forming the government. Even if the NDP steps up and starts getting their message out, there is a chance that the Liberals will still get more votes and stay in power. That’s not to say that everyone who votes Liberal disagrees with the NDP on everything, it just means that they agree most often with the Liberals.
It is possible for the electorate in BC to agree with the Liberals without being deceived.
anne cameron
5 years ago
If the Second Coming of
If the Second Coming of Christ happens tomorrow the Savior might be able to breathe life into the NDP, the way he did with Lazarus. Anything less than that won't work.
The LiEbrals aren't Liberal and they sure as hell aren't liberal, they're a pack of recycled hacks from Socred and Reform and have hidden agendas. The NDP isn't new, isn't democratic and is barely a party and while they once in a blue moon make a fair to middling opposition they suck goats bigtime when it comes to actually running the province.
The only hope we have for anything even remotely resembling democracy is to push for REfederation, get a half decent deal which involves less Ottawa and more BC and maybe even a chance to get rid of "regional disparity" which all too often becomes despair.
When people do not go to the polls to vote it is a mistake to blame "apathy". When it comes to politics in this province nobody is apathetic. Staying home is the only way we have of letting them know they are ALL unacceptable. It's how people proclaim "none of the above".
That isn't apathy. It's disgust.
G West
5 years ago
clo3
Thanks for putting words in my mouth - this is what I actually wrote:
DO you agree or not?
clo3
5 years ago
G West
Sorry G, I've re-read your statement and do not understand how it is different than what I said.
Are you not saying that misinformation and an undemocratic electoral system (referring to the one we have now) are a block to changing the ethos of BC (shifting it away from the Liberal ethos towards the NDP ethos)?
Sorry if I am misunderstanding. I may need you to unpack your statement a bit more for me to understand what you mean.
RickW
5 years ago
Yammer
And the problem is, the rightistas know this, and can blithly ignore the left, paying lipservice to social policies, all the while milking the provincial coffers. It's a sweet setup, and one is inclined to wonder if the game is rigged..........
Working Man
5 years ago
Quote:If one takes just a
Great ideas for certain but what the Faithful consistantly miss is that you can have the best policies in the world but they ain't worth a fiddler's fart if you can get yerself elected. Hell, they won't even entertain the thought of them doing something wrong on the hustings or as an opposition.
What is even more pathetic is that Jenny Qwan and Joy McPhail were a better opposition than this bunch of losers we have now. Campbell is getting a free ride and will sail back into power in 2009. In 2005 Muffy the Poodle could have beat Campbell but Carole snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. Any soul searching? Nope, because only the NDP can call increasing your number of seats a victory, even when you don't form the government. Go figure.
Another poster above was 100% correct when he stated that the NDP is doomed because of the Green Party. Big polluting unions like the PPWC and the IWA bankroll the NDP in BC and I don't see that changing any time soon, taking the enviornmental vote away. Meanwhile, their lunch bucket carrying core is dropping like flies.
As an aside, why don't we see any more pieces here on the Tyee about how the foreign labourers are making $3.00 an hour? Because it wasn't true. We also haven't anything here about the leader of said protest, Perley Edmund Holmes, having been arrested by US border officials for allegedly trying to import US$4m worth cocaine into Canada on Jan 25. Scuttlebutt in the building trade is he used membership money to buy the sh*t. Only a few days before he was standing next to Sinclair with his wild allegations about the foreign labour being ripped off, for which he had absolutely no proof.
Since then there hasn't been a peep about the aforementioned issue but I will tell you one thing: nobody in the construction business will have anything to do with the Ironwokers if they can absolutely avoid it. It is pretty obvious why and the arrest of Holmes is only the tip of the iceberg. Check what is going on in the Toronto local.
pender paul
5 years ago
right on rafe
You've hit several nails squarely on the head, but I doubt that CJ is listening, or even cares. Ms Prem is happy in her own little world, believing that appearing to be 'nice' will win votes. The NDP is doomed because it has publicly stated its desire to occupy the 'middle'. Every politician wants that coveted place in the 'middle'. What utter nonsense. What I want is a 'fire and brimstone' approach to the real issues in this province from a leader willing to call a spade a shovel, not a namby-pamby wannabee politico who changes her hair colour with the phases of the moon.
Skywalker
5 years ago
Check out the legislative
Check out the legislative channel as I do sometimes and the performance of the opposition is underwhelming. They are unfocused and all over the map on issues rather than on the key issues of mismanagement of BC resources and the giveaways to those who pay into the liberal election fund. Carole got all worked up about labour affiliation when business is up Gordon's behind so far they can speak for him. No one says a thing about the conflict of interest when these corporations get massive tax breaks or get access to taxpayer fund through P 3's and the sell off of assets.
It is true that the media is clearly determined to never make th mistake they did in 1991 by being critical of the Socred/Liberals so as to get the NDP elected. The Socreds had two balanced budgets in the 80's and left the province with a operating budget deficit of 2.5 billion which the NDP had to clean up. Then the NDP left with two balanced budgets and a third projected. Talk about who is not able to run a peanut stand! Now that the world commodity prices have almost tripled and Campbell has jacked up every fee we pay propped up the southern economy with Olympic construction projects they have the gall to claim that they alone are responsible for the current BC surplus and the improvement in the economy!
It is not that most people are ignorant. They just do not connect the cause and effect of any political decision because the media which is the Lieberal cheerleader has been bought and paid for by the corporations. Even the CBC is a shell of what it once was and relies mostly on the wire service and the southern media for the stories of the day. Trying to get any in-depth analysis of any story is useless with the mainstream media.
Carole James does not have what it takes to take the battle straight to the Socred/liberals. She lacks in communication skills, can't fire up a crowd and uses the same worn out cliches when she finally gets a sound bite. To go one step further, she handed Campbell his victory last time. He should have been down the road for the meanness and broken promises. He got away with stuff that Clark would have been lynched for had he done half of it.
Rafe is right on and all you lieberal fans on this site have just left all your thinking to the Lieberal/spin machine. Pity the future of BC.
Grumpy
5 years ago
Carole must go!
The problem with the NDP, is that it isn't relevant with the vast majority of the public. Carole James isn't relevant with the public. Why pitch a $10 minimum wage, when there is so many other 'bulls-eyes' she can score with.
The Liberals only will remain elected if the NDP is so weak. Campbell is detested by the voters and with massive help from Global/Asper media and CORUS radio, he will be reelected.
Many think that the provinces economy id going 'great guns', I think not. Except for the North, BC's economy is propelled by inflated house prices, underground economy (there is a massive one here), which included the multi billion dollar drug industry.
Tourism is collapsing and if global warming curtails the winter's ski season, will be the coup de gras!
Gambling and other nefarious activities are keeping BC afloat and Campbell knows this.
If the media actually reported the real truth, instead of pap, there would be a popular uprising. As it stands now, everyone scrambling to keep afloat.
Wait till after the Olympics, the province will collapse as Campbell would have turned us into eunuchs, forever beholden to his US masters.
Where is Carole?, Where is the NDP? F****** useless the lot of them!
Carole must go1
Frank
5 years ago
Carole
Why is Carole James the alternative? For all the anti-NDP hysteria prompted by the old Socred, Rafe, why blame the NDP for Campbell? If people don't want Campbell don't vote for him, and don't whine that he's the premier because people would rather vote for drunks and crooks than the NDP.
Last time I checked the Right and the Middle could always start a new party. But we all know why that doesn't happen. It would go nowhere. Even the hapless Carole James would get more votes. So apparently James is really really bad but better than anybody's alternatives to Campbell.
G West
5 years ago
Perley Edmund Holmes
Is a Liberal Working Man.
He's also innocent until proved guilty.
G West
5 years ago
AND
Perley Edmund Holmes is a major supporter of Stephane Dion.
Now there's a guy who can't do much right. He's now less popular in his home province than Jack Layton.
realisticman
5 years ago
Anne Cameron writes
The only hope we have for anything even remotely resembling democracy is to push for REfederation, get a half decent deal which involves less Ottawa and more BC and maybe even a chance to get rid of "regional disparity" which all too often becomes despair.
There's much division within all political sympathies as to whether more, or less centralization is a good idea. This is surely a debate that will become more heard since the devolution-inclined Mario Dumont's rise will probably bring this question to the fore. Mario is considered a right-winger and there are certainly many left-wingers that also would like Ottawa to devolve powers. When the areas being discussed with Quebec come up there might be some unusual alliances expressing agreement and asking for more than just bi-lateral deals. Worth following and debating.
BobJeffries
5 years ago
Forget about all of the
Forget about all of the above subjective commentary.
The numbers tell everything.
Latest Ipsos-Reid poll from Global News:
Liberal - 49% [+4%]
NDP - 32% [-4%]
Green - 15% [-1%]
Frankly, with that 17% gap, the NDP would be lucky to hold onto around 20 out of 75 seats if an election were held today.
Working Man
5 years ago
Georgetti, too.
Gerogetti got off, too. Some people might call it witness tampering. Same union, same local.
Working Man
5 years ago
G West, Did you read my post?
G West, I used the word "allegedly."
Maybe if the key witness disappears, a la Gerogetti, he'll get off, too, but things have changed a lot since 1983 in the terms of law enforcement in the USA anyway.
But apparently not in that particular Iroworkers local.
G West
5 years ago
Of course I read your post
I think you were trying to conflate an accused man with your attitudes toward both unionized labour and the NDP. This wouldn’t be too surprising given what I’ve seen you post before in similar circumstances. It was you that constructed a comment that brought the NDP and your unproven allegations about Union involvement into the mix, not me.
Remember, this is what you wrote:
Since then there hasn't been a peep about the aforementioned issue but I will tell you one thing: nobody in the construction business will have anything to do with the Ironworkers if they can absolutely avoid it. It is pretty obvious why and the arrest of Holmes is only the tip of the iceberg.
If I were a union member I'd have been upset.
Just like you'd would have been if I suggested that every major contractor involved in the 2010 Olympics was "required" to kick back a certain percentage of their related construction contracts to the BC Liberals on an annualized basis.
I might even have written that it's only the tip of the iceberg.
Skywalker
5 years ago
Back to Rafe
Here is a test for any of you. In six seconds name six NDP MLA's that come to mind besides Carole. Rafe's point is well taken.
DPL
5 years ago
Hey skywalker. Name six
Hey skywalker. Name six liberal socreds in six seconds.GUys like ding dong who lost his job as farning boss. Or Stan Hagen who was so awful he had to get shifted when the general public started laughing at him.
Look at them during question period and wonder why we are paying so much money for a large majority that do nohing beyond bang their table lids. Many of those who ended up as ministers are a motley crew. I watched ol Stand hagen trying to answer questions to day about a convention center yhat he is supposed to be in charge of building. Stan stumbled a lot and even with a script he couldn't show his understanding of the questions, let alone form an answer.
With all these complaing about James, posters one wonders if the right of center folks are a bit nervous. Mid term polls really don't prove a whole lot
Skywalker
5 years ago
Yes DPL you are probably right but...
It is very unusual for an opposition to be lower in the polls and a governing party to be higher in mid-term. The opposition's role is to oppose and no holes bared. If they do that the government could hardly be looking so good to so many. I have a hard time naming six opposition MLA who come to mind in six seconds. The liberals have been in their jobs longer so it is easier to name a dozen in six seconds and I can do that. That is not the point.
Whenever I watch them perform, and I will admit those times getting fewer, it is as though the opposition are all just happy to have jobs and they would do what they are doing even though at the current rate, half of them will be gone in the next election. Locally you don't even see the MLA unless you happen to be a memeber and go to constituency meeting. That is a very small group. THey don't give the impression that they want to be doing anything other than be in oppposition for the next decade. Imagine putting up with the Campbell gang for another term.
kl
5 years ago
Quote:Forget about all of
Yes, but, 49% could also be 45% and 32% could be 36% factoring in the plus/minus factor. Suddenly 17% becomes 9% which is not an unsurmountable lead especially if the housing prices start to crash, people finally clue into how the Liberals are curtailing powers of local Governments, the true costs of the Olympics are finally revealed, or the Virk/Basi trail turns into something.
As an aside, as DPL has discussed above me regarding MLA incompetence, did anyone notice Harmony Airways is no longer? I guess Gary Collins, before he bailed ship did wonders for them. But then again, how does someone who was merely a flight instructor become finance minister, and then CEO of an airline? As they say, it's not what you know...
The brain
5 years ago
Yah... the polls
Its the Liberals to lose. But you know what? They could lose.
Scandal!!! Too bad Canwest doesn't print real news anymore.
IAMC
5 years ago
NDP past their best before date
I always like a conservative vs. liberal battle.
The BC Liberal Party is liberal. They don't have a conservative adversary.
I would rather see a conservative, separative, libertarian Party come into the mix.
One that would privatise everything that moves. One that reduces the size of government.
One that would eliminate barriers and regulations. Dismantle the Egg Marketing Board, The Dairy Marketing Board, ICBC, BC Ferries,, all those stupid government run ripoffs.
Give me some red meat, this is extremely boring.
Grumpy
5 years ago
The night of the long knives
It seems the recent polls -
Liberal - 49% [+4%]
NDP - 32% [-4%]
Green - 15% [-1%]
Will have the NDP try to commit a public execution of James. The problem, there are to many 'party' people afraid of the blood bath, but one NDP insider has told me that he would be surprised to see James as head of the NDP in six months.
For the Liberals, the CN/BC Rail court case may prove very embarrassing for Campbell, but not enough to loose the next election, but CanWest/Global and the CORUS networks will work hard preventing real new from reaching the populace.
Frank
5 years ago
BC Rail
If Campbell is found to have personally ordered the whole Basi/Virk thing and he and other Libs personally profited the worst that would happen is the Libs might lose 1% of their support temporarily.
Oh, and everyone will blame the NDP when the Libs are re-elected.
SharingIsGood
5 years ago
Post Something, Ms. James
Ms. James,
You have the perfect opportunity to post something on this page. I'm not goading you; but gee, if you are not being seen on TV, heard on the Radio, or read in the CanWest papers, here is a pulpit. I am all eyes. Tell us what you think of this government. I am sure the NDP has been making a list of the atrocities. Writers and readers, right here, daily wring their hands about the shameless way this government has operated - and we don't have a budget!
kl
5 years ago
IAMC
Yes, I agree, let's privatize everything. Here's what I'm thinking:
Roads: let's sell off every road. Then private operators will be able to charge what they fell is fair value to use them. I'm thinking say $10 per road. We'll implant chips into our cars that track our travel. So, if on our journey to the grocery store we happen to travel on 10 different roads, that will be $100. Bridges and tunnels should be extra, say $20.Oh yeah, let's sell our sidewalks too so we can nail pedestrians as well.
Ferries: Sell them off and allow competition. We could utilize the ferry terminals more efficiently than we are now. We could have say 10 different operators. Ferries could leave every 10 minutes or so. Never mind we couldn't load them that fast, we'll worry about that later. I'm thinking $300 per car is market value to make the crossing. That's what you pay in a car to cross from Scotland to Northern Ireland, a crossing which takes roughly the same amount of time it does to go from the mainland to Van. Island.
Busses: Same thing, let's have as many private operators as possible. I love the way Manchester does it: 5-6 different bus companies, they all pull up at your stop at the same time, it's so chaotic it's brilliant. I especially love it when the company you've bought a pass from decides not to pull in at your stop because it's already full. Serves transit users right.
Parks: Let's sell our trails. That we we can charge those dirty hikers to use them. I think $20-$30 is fair. A hockey game is way more expensive than this and why should hikers get free entertainment?
Air: I think we should privatize air. Every time you walk out of your house you should be billed say $30-$40.
Frank Lee
5 years ago
A Measure of Defiance
Carole reminds me so much of Mike Harcourt and Dix reminds me so much of Glen Clark, that I worry about history repeating itself.
If she fails, the "no more Mr. Nice Guy" philosophy could easily lead to a return of Clark-Dix-Gunton. Especially when you look who has the most friends in the trade union movement and in the Harry Lali and Moe Sihota-led "ethnic blocs".
To repeat: I am not just worried about losing the next election, which with the state of the economy would be a fairly likely occurrence anyways. I am worried about the knock-on consequences for the party in 2010 and 2011.
Clark was the only leader who was actually ruthless enough to win a close election, as Rafe has said. But I would also argue that Harcourt led a better government than Clark, one that used its strong roots in both labour and the environment to hammer out the compromises needed for the Treaty process, CORE and land-use plans, park creation, FOI, and generally the most moderate and decent government this province has ever seen.
Carole may need to become more media-savvy and aggressive, but if she fails, let's not make the mistake once again of throwing the baby out with the bath-water!
Skywalker
5 years ago
Nice but not political savy
Carole may be nice but does not have the political savy of even Harcourt. Worry less about history repeating itself because it already is with the Socred/Liberals in charge. Nothing has changed from the days of Bill Bennett.
If Carole goes and I hope it is soon, then the next person will have to show some fire and be able to counter much of the myth around what happened in the 90's and put the whole Liberal phoney claims of a success into proper perspective.
It has always been the lot for the NDP to be governing when the right wing has gutted the coffers and their is a massive social deficit. It will happen again because the neglect of the less fortunate and the working poor will eventually be the Liberals undoing. Then when the NDP take over there will once again be the expectation to everything for everyone overnight.
Elliot
5 years ago
'Then when the NDP take over
'Then when the NDP take over there will once again be the expectation to everything for everyone overnight.' don't worry too much about that sky. it's never going to happen again. they're done.
RickW
5 years ago
Grumpy
Perhaps you have stated the very reasons why no sane person would want to run this province..............
ChrisB
5 years ago
demokratia
Whether or not there is any hope that the NDP (under the current or any leader) will recognize the merit in Rafe’s suggestion, I think he may be right that “democratic deficit” is an issue for our times. I have just read “Democracy” by John Dunn, an excellent and recent book that explains the origins and evolution of the word, the concept, and the (purported) practice. It was an eye-opener for me. Democracy is neither a precise nor an easily defined concept. In practice it is currently at best a work-in-progress (and in B.C. a work-in-regress).
My hope is that the public is becoming more informed, and as a result, less tolerant of a system that makes a mockery of any reasonable definition of “democracy”. We, the people, have our work cut out for us. It is time we started to assert ourselves. We now have the means literally at our fingertips, so there is no excuse any longer for allowing ourselves to be exploited by a self-anointed oligarchy.
G West
5 years ago
Just heard Carole James
I listened to the CBC free-time Wednesday lunch speech just a few minutes ago. Delivered by Carole James.
She doesn't "get" it.
Maybe the double-digit advantage the BC Liberals have in the latest polls will wake her. If it doesn't, well, the province is toast - If Campbell gets 4 more years in '09 he'll have sold the whole thing to his friends before 2013.
Time to wake up Carole or the Green Party will get more seats in the next election.
thomas49
5 years ago
TOAST
yes ,thats right...the NDP is TOAST in this province.
one need only look to the polls and as around to your peers ...who are you supporting...and in doing this,all i hear is not these KLOWNS/KAMPBELL/JAMES
we gotta support the greens or a new party going...maybe a coalition of some sort,etc,etc,etc...
DPL
5 years ago
Wathced Question Period
Wathced Question Period again today. A deputy Minister under investigation. Doebell a lobyist with a load oc contracts with the Premiers blessing,is supposed to be in conflict. The finance minister who seems to be unable to answer questions and we musn't forget Wally Oppel stone walling.Stan dancing around as he seems to have no idea as to the costs of the Convention Center now 100 percent over budget. These folks are supposed to be good amagers of our resources and cash.
I figure James and crew are asking the good questons and being stonewalled most of the time So what should they be doing? setting fire to the place?
Elliot
5 years ago
man, did i ever enjoy this
man, did i ever enjoy this thread.
G West
5 years ago
DPL
Well, for a start, they should be screaming for some indication of when the Premier will actually stand in his place and answer a question. His office is clearly in disarray and this is the time to start hitting him hard.
The ceo of the province, the man who said everything from the appointment of ADMs up, was going to be his baliwick and his alone, has to be called to account.
Ms James can't ask those questions in the House if Campbell isn't there so she needs to haunt his trail outside the house and stop talking about a 'balanced approach'.
The fact of the matter is that the BC Liberals are not a party at all - it is just a vehicle for the Premier's obsessive control and a way to reward his friends - nothing more. All he has ever been interested in is power and now's the time to drive the stake home.
Politics is a blood sport and Ms James thinks it's a tea party. Time to fish or cut bait.
Skywalker
5 years ago
Hey Elliot.
Let me whisper this in your ear. Did you see anything in this thread praising Campbell and his thugs? Unlike all of you that are repeating the Liberal message, some of us actually connect the dots to see the whole picture. Dare to start with a piece on Campbell's performance and see the reaction? No, I didn't think so.
anarcho
5 years ago
BC is not a right-wing
BC is not a right-wing province. It is merely that the authoritarian first-past-the-post system allows the large right-wing minority to govern. I cannot remember any Socred or Gliberal govt actually getting more than 50% of the vote. Furthermore, this system invites ethical corruption as left-wing parties attempt to pander to the so-called middle voter in order to get power. I think we should forget about electoral politics, since the system is rigged against the people and go to where the real power is - in the streets. A dual-power strategy such as practiced by the APPO in Oaxaca is worth looking at. Then we can take back the province from the criminals that are running (and ruining) it.