"... politics is too serious a matter to be left to the politicians"

Charles de Gaulle once said, "I have come to the conclusion that politics is too serious a matter to be left to the politicians" … and I am inclined to agree.  Given the proliferation of political parties in BC in recent years, here is something else that he said that seems to fit with our provincial politics, “How can you govern a country which has two hundred and forty-six varieties of cheese?”

Before I continue today though, I have to anonymously give credit to a friend who sparked the idea of finding those quotes.  Thanks “D”

Okay, back to politics is too serious to be left to the politicians; isn’t that the very reason why over a decade and a half ago the provincial and federal Reform Parties said that elected representatives had to actually be accountable to the people that had elected them, or be subject to being fired by the voters.

I want to say that I do not agree with how recall is currently being used in BC given the fact that we are going to have opportunity to vote on whether the HST is going to be dumped -– and also because the BC NDP seem to be heavily involved in the Fight HST process. 

Having the opportunity, and a process in place, to initiate recall however is valuable to voters in BC (and should be available elsewhere) because politicians and political parties are inclined to say almost anything to get elected.  I believe that between elections, and when there is no other way to stop government and MLA actions that the majority of voters disagree with, recall is a valuable tool that should be used.

Like many people I speak with, or hear from, I had almost given up on the political process.  Last year I had pretty much come to the conclusion that when the next provincial election rolled around, my ballot would have a big “X” marked across it to signify my dissatisfaction with all political parties.

That changed however when I found out there actually were people in BC committed to being both “responsive” AND “accountable” to voters – that was when I heard about the BC Conservative Party.  Even now the party is soliciting input and direction on existing, and new, policy ideas that can be developed by the entire membership of the party.

John Cummins, Randy White, Brian Peckford and others have been hammering home a specific point lately; that the BC Conservative party is “committed to providing the new home for common sense British Columbians”.  I believe that is a message many British Columbians have been waiting to hear, because the alternative was to walk away from the political process and not vote – or to destroy their ballot in protest of what we have been offered in recent years by the NDP and the Liberals.

Now, after all that, if you still insist on supporting the NDP in their leadership vote, you’ll have to join the party by Monday January 17^th … and if there are any Liberal supporters reading this, you have until Friday February 4^th to take out membership.

Those are my conservative thoughts … I’m Alan Forseth

Given recent news of the shooting in the US, a disturbing story has appeared in the Victoria Times Colonist, since I posted this story last night.  You can click the link in the story title to read to full article:  “Elections boss gets flood of 'vile' email -- Fight HST supporters blamed for letters, some calling for his death”