The past decade of relative stability in BC Politics appears to be returning to old form: corruption & never ending scandals.
The Liberals: Former solicitor general Kash Heed is alleged to have improperly used $6,000 in public funds to pay campaign workers. More here from Kim Bolan.
The NDP: Leadership candidate Adrian Dix is accused of violating party membership rules, with application forms entering in one box and money coming in another.
CKNW’s Gord MacDonald & Sean Leslie discuss the latest.
None of the above is certainly a choice I’d vote.
Especially if it resulted in a responsible citizen being drafted at random.
Ah yes, politics as usual in B.C. A close second to Quebec.
The NDP will always have its core socialist and union supporters, around 20-25%, no matter how screwy, stupid, or backward their leadership is. It causes one to stop and pause regarding the intelligence of such people.
Then you have the Liberals, who appear to be more and more Liberal all the time. A party that was mostly a split center-right coalition, with broad appeal, has shifted to the left in the second part of its term.
If Christy Clark gets elected, take a turn left. She is a dyed in the wool Lefty Federal Liberal, and will be the end of any responsible government in BC (and the current version, frankly, has drifted in that direction since 2005 anyways)
Sure signs of dissatisfaction is the resurgence, and activity amongst name players in the BC Conservative party. A lot of heavyweights and old war horses are throwing their expertise behind that movement, due to the dumbing down of the Liberals……thanks Gordo……great job…….
Still wonder what happened to the post 2005 version of Gordo. He turned into a watermelon
A None Of The Above box would do wonders for our system.
Picture this…
A majority of none of the above, causing the incumbent to be acclaimed, but, and here’s the rub, said incumbent has no legislative power, no power to raise taxes, no power to introduce legislation, essentially they would be managers, keep everything running, pay the bills…period.
They would be reduced to doing the job they were originally hired for …to manage!
NOT to promote their own personal pet peeves with my tax dollars!
For the duration of their mandate.
REAL problems will identify themselves, some government departments will actually have to manage their budgets, seeing as no politician has the power to increase their budget until the next election.
I know it needs work…
But knowing what “none of the above” would mean to John Q. Public, would bring out the silent majority in droves.
British California……….
Kash Heed? That name is so perfect for a politician involved in a money scandal that I had to check the link to be sure you weren’t joking.
Like choosing between lethal injection and the electric chair.
I’ve plugged my nose and voted Liberal provincially since Gordon Campbell first ran. His municipal background with balanced budgets gave me a comfort level. Interesting that the Fraser Institute recently ranked him #1 in the country as a head of province. Most fiscally prudent and having done the best job of lowering the cost of government.
So what does Christy Clark do when she talks about winning the leadership? Will have to have a provincial election to gain a mandate under new leadership! Why a by-election wouldn’t do the same thing heaven knows. It allows the cancellation of 4 year terms which I am sure any sitting government would love.
Neither the Libeerals or quasi Conservatives who are hiding in the bushes are grassroots orgs. Consequently I respect neither. The NDPers and Greenies are what they are, and who I am sure receive their inspiration from Twilight Zone reruns.
I wish I knew more about George Abbott.
BC is now run on the whims of whiny lefties on bicycles, the growing gang of homeless druggies on the East Side let by the ho-so caring socialists whose careers are based non solutions, various interests of the large ethnic groups in the greater Vancouver area and a cadre of commies who run the various, mostly government unions.
Conservatives hide their identities here for good reason.
I don’t bother voting anymore, it’s pointless.
The political machinations in BC are not even entertaining anymore, they are predictable and no funny.
Oh Lord help us all.
Dan BC @ 9:53. Re what happened to Gordon Campbell. I think we witnessed a 4 year audition for acceptance into that great transnational progressive cadre that supports itself and ferries itself around the world by using organizations/movements such as the IOC and AGW
Kevin Falcon is my MLA and I have met with him a couple of times, primarily Re AGW fraud and this provinces ridiculous Carbon Tax (the colder it gets the more tax I pay on my heating bill to stop Global Warming).
If he is successful in gaining the leadership look for the BC Libs to take a firm right turn.
I was raised on a Saskatchewan farm. When I see such stories, it always reminds me of the sandpiers that nested along the many sloughs and marches.
When a tractor, a fox or a coyote approaches the nest, the mother feigns injury, pretending to have a broken wing. The fox or coyote etc. is led into the gumbo along the shore, and the mother flys away.
Now you know why Jack Layton and Iggy are always whining about election funding.
Sorry–that should read “sandpipers.”
What happened to Gordo??? He was a good premier until that day in Hawaii when he got the DUI. Came back with his tail between his legs, promising to be a better, kinder man. Subsequently went to hell in a handbasket falling for the global warming scam, sucking up to Swarzenegger and THAT was the beginning of his downfall….
A little OT but a few days ago someone posted that the recall initiative underway in BC was being misused re Ida Chong. I suspect the commentater hasn’t been following the changes that have taken place in BC over the last ten or twenty years. The NDP and the LIBs had no mandate for what they’ve done to BC and the recall is our only way of correcting this situation. I didn’t vote for a carbon tax, BC rail give-away, casinos in every shopping plaza, forest licence forgiveness, fast ferries fiasco or a host of other ills that these two parties have endowed on this province in perpetuity. Recall them all now, fire them all now, and rescind all their pensions.
The crazy thing is, the common narrative is that the HST kerfuffle is what did the Liberals in. They lost my support when they brought in the carbon tax. That’s the one that probably angers most people (except the lefties, because they love this idea)
Heed’s scandal is small change compared to the B.C.Rail scandal that Christy Clark is involved in up to her neck. Surf over to “Rebel With a Cause” blog for all the details.
To those of us following B.C. politics,because we’re directly affected by it, Abbott or Falcon are the choices for Liberal Leader.
The NDP back in charge is unthinkable to any but an ardent socialist with a short memory.
Fraudulent party memberships in the BC NDP? Adrian Dix’s name coming up? How shocking…..not!!
It’s what we have come to expect from the NDP and their Union owners, who are paying the salary of at least one of the NDP party’s executive.
Wonder which union provided the money to pay for the “free” memberships that people signed up for?
So what does Christy Clark do when she talks about winning the leadership? Will have to have a provincial election to gain a mandate under new leadership! Why a by-election wouldn’t do the same thing heaven knows. It allows the cancellation of 4 year terms which I am sure any sitting government would love.
Posted by: ct at January 20, 2011 10:43 AM
Back in 2004, I attended a luncheon in New Westminster (where I worked at the time) where Gordon Campbell was the keynote speaker. At my table sat, amongst others, Christie Clark.
Somehow I got to talking with her about the fixed election law, expressing my support for the law. Christie admitted she was one of a few in the Liberal caucus that wasn’t a fan of the law. Assuming her position hasn’t changed, the fixed election date law wouldn’t be something she would hesitate to get around based on this conversation.
Abbott or Falcon are the choices for Liberal Leader.
Posted by: dmorris at January 20, 2011 12:35 PM
I don’t know much about Abbott, but I have followed Falcon pretty closely. I agree he would make a fine choice for leader. He has a bit of a Chris Christie (NJ Governor) edge to him — a straight shooter, not afraid to tell it like it is, and doesn’t suffer fools gladly.
Can we have a “None of the Above” option on Federal ballots, too?
Joking aside, I have always thought that “None of the Above” should be on every ballot. And it should be counted and reported as a result in any election.
Can’t we just put placards around their necks with the words ‘HORSE THIEF’ on them or something?
This reminds me of the shadow campaign for the US Presidency for an anteater. The campaign slogan was F.Y. I’m an anteater.
I wonder if the anteater had write in votes and how many.
I already miss Gordon Campbell. He brought stability and competence to politics in BC that we have not seen before. The best policy that he brought in was “No Business Subsidies”. This policy should be adopted by all governments because business always subsidies lead to financing of losers or worse; corruption.
Sorry. S/B “business subsidies always lead”
I have heard people advocate for “none of the above” many times and from both sides of the political spectrum. Please don’t fall for this. You must be discriminating (not in the racial sense) with your vote. Even if you can’t listen to or read all of the candidates platforms (who can?), you can make a difference by choosing and voting. Pick one hot issue if you must, but please choose.
My hot issue for BC. I will choose to vote for an adult. This eliminates all the NDP and many Liberals.
The 800 lbs gorilla in this room is the BC rail scandal but carry on pretending BC politic have been clean and stable under Campbell.
It’s easy to be cynical about politicians and the process but we live in an imperfect world. If you are waiting for the right party or the right candidate to come along before getting involved you will be waiting a long time.
I finally got off my smug, superior butt a few years ago and joined the parties and candidates that are closest to my leanings at all 3 levels of government. In BC that meant joining the Liberals which is a coalition of federal libs and conservatives. (There is a BC Conservative Party but it has no chance of doing anything more than splitting the vote in few ridings to help the NDP get elected. Even if the BC Conservative Party got an A1 leader it could never get more than 20 to 25% of the vote.)
My riding before the leadership race started had 50 members. If conservative leaning people want to take over the BC Liberal Party it does not require a lot of people. Get yourself and few dozen of your conservative family and friends to join and presto you control the local riding association. If just the SDA readers in BC joined the BC Libs it would have a huge impact in the direction of the party.
In the coming leadership race every riding has an equal say in determining the leader. A riding with 1,000 members has the same vote as one with 100 members. If 60 people of a 100 person rural riding vote for the most conservative candidate that has the same impact as 600 people for the most liberal candidate in a 1000 member urban riding.
My suggestion to BC conservative SDA readers is join the party at bcliberals.com – it only cost $10. Vote for the most conservative candidate which is generally considered to be Kevin Falcon with George Abbott as your second choice. You can join the party online and vote online. It will take you less time than writing one thoughtful comment and you can have a big impact in who will be the next premiere of the third largest province. Its just about as easy as gaming one of those stupid CBC polls but the results will be much more substantial for promoting your conservative values.
At least you *could* have a “none of the above” candidate. In the UK the use of this name is specifically banned by act of parliament. This is what we call “democracy”.
Fritz, probably makes the most logical sense, but I have an aversion to the word “liberal”. I’ve never voted for the BC Lieberals and in the next provincial election will vote either Libertarian or Conservative. Right now I can’t see what difference, if any, there is between the current BC Lieberal government or the BC communist party.
I support Vanderzalm’s recall initiative and would like to see all the MLA’s recalled. BC needs a TEA party and hopefully one will come about as a result of the anti-HST petition drive. While it’s nice living in BC, I have the option of moving to Alberta should things get too strange here as it seems there’s a shortage of doctors everywhere.
Loki, I get your frustration – I felt the same way for a long time. It always feels like one step forward, two steps back. For all of Gordo’s many faults he did get the top mark from the Fraser Institute for fiscal management, better than Alberta. Ten years of the NDP left this province in ruins and if they get back in we will be on our way to becoming a have-not province again. I want to prevent this. Sadly voting libertarian or conservatives just helps the NDP.
The only way we will ever get a Tea Party is if people like you lead it. It won’t come from the likes of Vanderzalm who has had his chance and failed miserably.
Gray, re: 800 lb gorilla, BC Rail
Don’t confuse a couple of slimy small time liberal operatives convincing Omnitrax that they had some say over who would get the BC Rail prize with the rest of the party.
Most of the BC Liberal Party are “adults” and do what is right for BC. Those two jokers were in it for themselves. Politics does attract slimeballs, but Campbell rightly turfed them promptly.
In the 90’s I worked for a private manufacturer that went union right after the NDP loosened the union rules. A thriving employer of 200 become a struggling employer of 40 in two years and shut down altogether in five years.
I am also uneasy voting for a party named “Liberal”, however I will vote for any party that can keep the socialist hordes away from the levers of power.
Soccermom, re:Carbon Tax
There is one key difference between Campbell’s carbon tax and every other one proposed or implemented. Campbell’s carbon tax was correctly imposed on the end user … out in the open where every tax should be. It also came with reductions in income taxes. Dione’s and every other jurisdictions were all just a another hidden job-killing tax on business.
One benefit is that now, no-one is proposing a carbon tax.
Ward
Agreed Falcon is the only real hope of anything resembling fiscally prudent government. He is the only true choice amongst the rest of the LIBERAL(!) candidates. I think he wins out in an “ABC” scenario.
Abbott is similar to Clark, but not as prone to foot in mouth disease, and a nicer all around person. But still too left.
De Jong is just too weird. I don’t trust him at all.
Loki
You speak of an ideological world, that most of us can relate to.
However, in our real world, we have to make the best of bad choices. If Gordo had not stepped down, I agree, no way to vote for him anymore, and we would see a landslide election, much like the demise of Kim Campbell and Commander U!
And our M.O. here is BC is to keep the NDP out of office, at almost any cost.
The challenge, is the record of the Campbell Liberals reads like a LibLefty policy statement since 2005. And that sickens those of us on this board, who desire a rightwing government. Center-right is tolerable, center left is not, and feels like we’re being ruled by Iggy or Dionky, given the Carbon Tax policy.
It’s a pyhrric choice. You might dislike voting Liberal, but you will hate the NDP….nice choice, eh wot?
Is it Robbie Burns day yet? Or do I break out the Talisker early?
BC Conservatives, the only party for me.
BC NDP = Fast ferries. Anyone with any memory at all will never vote them in again. The BC Conservatives is an option, however if they re running someone in my riding, they certainly are not publicizing it.
Fritz, I’ve gotten away from direct involvement with politics (aside from voting and sending money to causes I’m in favor of). The Reform Party was the last time I joined a political party and was active at the riding level.
What I learned from this experience was that politics is primarily the game of individuals seeking personal power and jettisoning principles that get in the way of their personal advancement. I know that elections are an exercise in chosing the lesser of a number of evils, but what I’d like as a choice is none of the above — randomly selecting a voter from the riding should “none of the above” win a majority of votes, as suggested by Fred2, is one way of dealing with the problems caused by politicians. I’d like political offices to be held by people who didn’t want that job rather than by career politicians who eventually are preoccupied solely with the goal of winning personal re-election.
As DanBC notes, my view is idealistic. It is questionable whether or not people would be able to put personal advancement issues aside when they enter politics. The ability to recall politicians hasn’t been used enough and I’d love to see most if not all BC politicians face re-election after being recalled. While seeking re-election they wouldn’t have much time to introduce and pass legislation which would vastly improve things.
One of the problems in BC is that the primary issue during every BC election is whether the communists get into power or not. The BC Lieberal party has been taken over by watermelons and, below the surface, they are the same as the BC communist party. So, if the BC Lieberal party gets a new leader who makes som obvious moves to reform a party which should really be called watermelon-light, I might vote for the Liberal candidate in my riding. Otherwise, Conservative it is.
DanBC Robbie Burns day is 25/1/2011 and have a bottle of Laphroaig awaiting the occasion.
Fritz & Loki,
Fritz, I did as you suggested and was involved with Reform and later the transition into the CPC. What became apparent to me at the riding level was that leadership does not trust the grassroots and in fact actively undercuts their authority and scope of operation. The federal leadership hated the red neck utterances from the boondocks as the MSM used it against them. Rather than educate the riding leadership they basically disenfranchised it. When I started hearing ‘brand’ concerns I knew it was time to leave. Perhaps I should have fought harder and might have if more support existed on the Board. A big problem is leadership is a full time paid position and volunteers are just that. They have other lives to live. The failure of Reform was the grassroots never devised a method of defending themselves from their leadership. I suspect the other parties aren’t much different.
That riding that we took from the PCs and turned Reform and now CPC for the past 17 years has a retiring MP. Fritz suggested a $10 membership would allow a choice in leadership. DOn’t you see a problem with that? $10 is a cheap price to influence the philisophical direction of a riding or a party leader. The 3 who are contesting succession in our riding have no long term history with the party! One is a blatant opportunist. My argument is that an engaged riding membership would never have succombed to this. An activated riding membership produces leadership grounded in grassroots concerns and does not allow ‘opportunists’ to walk in and take over.