Time To End The BC Liberal Dynasty
Oooooh, we’re so scared of the NDP and their nasty, unreformed socialist ways here in B.C. So, we hold our noses and vote, time and again, for the BC Liberals.
I’m done.
Between the HST and jacking up the MSP Premiums, the carbon tax, outright lies during the election campaign, and the blatant disregard for the people of British Columbia during a crippling global recession, I’m finished voting for them.
Let me see … higher taxes, arrogance and deception … sounds an awful lot like Federal Liberals to me.
Obviously I can’t vote for the NDP, but I will not be voting BC Liberal either.
Ever.
I can hear it now from my BC Liberal holdouts, “But Paul, you can’t split the vote and get the NDP elected.”
Too bloody bad. I’m done.
It used to be a decision between socialism or the free market. Now it’s a decision between socialism or arrogance and deception.
I hope that a new party emerges to prevent an NDP victory (or, at the very least, the NDP gets their wits about them and reforms themselves before they get elected and drive this province into the toilet … again).
But I no longer believe we are better off with the current alternative.
The most boring election in history!
Politicians always tell you that this is “the most important election”, then follow it up with something serious sounding like “in a generation” or “since the cold war” or “since James Polk declared 54’40 or fight!”
Please.
I’d like to declare this election in British Columbia “the most boring”, and follow it up with “in the history of the universe”.
This is unfortunate, and it didn’t have to be this way.
There are issues, like, oh, say, the economy. But nobody is proposing anything interesting or colourful enough to care about. The big issues are turning out to be BC Hydro and BC Rail. Wow, dams and railroads – this is cutting edge 19th century stuff people!
If the total lack of inspiration results in low voter turnout, then I hope the BC Liberals and the rest of us enjoy the next 4 years under Premier Carole James.
Because, as any politico will tell you, the NDP is very good at getting out their vote – even when things are exceedingly dull.
I suspect things won’t be that dull once Carole James and her union buddies start running things.
Maybe I’ll have to move to somewhere a little more business-friendly – I hear Venezuela is nice.
The REAL problem with BC elections
The REAL problem with BC elections is the sorry state of the NDP.
The NDP is a party stuck in 1963. They are an unreformed socialist party. As a result, they scare the hell out of anyone who isn’t a radical socialist.
If they were a fringe party, this wouldn’t be an issue at all. The problem is that they are the only potential alternative for those who are fed up with Gordon Campbell and the Liberals. One has to presume that they will eventually win again.
If they were more like the Saskatchewan NDP, or European Social Democrats, we could grumble about an NDP victory, but at least not wake up with cold sweats, wondering whether their next move is nationalizing McDonald’s through the Ministry of Fast Food (OK, maybe that wouldn’t be so bad).
The same disease afflicts the federal wing of the NDP, but they don’t have a hope of ever winning, so their presence isn’t nearly as frightening.
So, how do we fix the problem?
The truth is, we don’t. I’m a libertarian-Conservative, I can’t help matters at all. They must fix it.
Patient, Heal Thyself.
There has been the odd movement here and there toward modernizing the party, but it’s always been quashed before it got too far. Part of the problem is the voting structure of the party itself, heavily weighted to automatic voting for unions and their proxies. But the other part is a simple lack of will on the part of moderate social democrats to take on the task.
Here is my hope for the upcoming election:
First of all, heaven help us, the NDP must lose. Carole James must move on.
What else must happen is that moderate social democrats with leadership potential must win – candidates such as John Horgan. These leaders must then have balls enough to take on the union establishment. It won’t be easy, but it will certainly make the NDP a less scary proposition for the province.
It will also be good for democracy. Instead of being herded into voting for Gordon Campbell and the BC Liberals, people will be free to consider an alternative. (Of course, STV will go miles toward accomplishing this as well.)
Shouldn’t we just allow them to fester and die in their backwardness?
If STV passes, then maybe. But I don’t think it will pass. So, we’re right back where we started.
And since the NDP will eventually win again, the question isn’t do you want the NDP to form government, but what kind of NDP government do you want when they do win?
This is a double-edged sword.
If they do modernize, they would instantly become a more viable competitor, and would be far more likely to win. But the far scarier prospect is if they continue down the current path and we have a re-run of the last time they were in power.
If that happens, everyone* loses.
* Note: excluding union bosses and radical left-wing hippy protester-types.
Hargrove vs. Layton – Round 3?
The Hill Times is reporting that all is not well with Canada’s New Democrats.
Hargrove says: “Jack as a leader has developed a hell of a profile for himself, but I don’t believe he’s developed a profile for the party on the issues that are critical to Canadian families.”
Now, I don’t always agree with Buzz. But this time, I have to agree (with the statement above). In fact, I more or less said the exact same thing 10 days ago.
Seriously. The NDP website is the best party website out there (and it pains me to say that). (I was just with a bunch of web designers yesterday who agreed that “orange” is the new “green”, and had to snicker a bit when I thought of the political implications.)
Unfortunately (or, fortunately for some), they really don’t have anything useful to say. It’s completely, 100% irrelevant. The kids like the website design, but the message sounds stupid.
Is this entirely Jack’s fault? Not so much. But the NDP could’ve turned a corner if they picked a leader who could reform the party and policy a bit (like Bill Blaikie or Lorne Nystrom), rather than trying so hard to reform the image of the old message to make it more hip for the kids.
As a libertarian Conservative, it doesn’t matter too much to me. But for democracy and the greater Canadian political debate, Jack Layton’s leadership has contributed very little.
The Reactionary Left
It’s time to for the NDP to try contributing something constructive to Canadian political discourse, instead of the typical reactionary drivel they’ve been dishing up for the last few years.
I know many of their supporters are reasonable, intelligent people, with constructive ideas, but the leadership continues to dish out nonsense.
Here’s a few examples:
The Problem: Somebody gets shot during gang violence crossfire in Surrey or Toronto.
The Left’s Solution: Take hunter’s rifles away.
The Problem: Canadian soldiers die serving their country, defending Afghan people from the Taliban. The same Taliban that would sooner burn a school-aged girl than see her go to school.
The Left’s Solution: Peace talks with the Taliban.
The Problem: A recession takes hold after the longest bull market in a generation.
The Left’s Solution: Protectionism, higher taxes, and a new national holiday in February. Honestly.
These are serious problems that deserve serious solutions.
Does anybody take Jack Layton and the NDP seriously anymore?
Network
