Sorry Dix but I call BS on that

In two weeks (April 17^th), the BC NDP will be holding a leadership vote at the Vancouver Convention Centre.

In a media release NDP Provincial Secretary Jan O'Brien said that, "British Columbian's are ready for a change from the reckless policies of the BC Liberals... and we're looking forward to a competitive leadership election ... we will ensure that this leadership election is run in a fair, transparent, and accessible manner."

To that end, the NDP have appointed former BC Chief Electoral Officer Harry Neufeld as an independent third party auditor. Neufeld is BC's former Chief Electoral Officer and head of Elections BC.

About the NDP themselves, political scientist Norman Ruff says, "They have to get British Columbian's to trust them with the reins of power ... but they realize the Liberals are once again trying to continue that branding (trust) and the three major contenders (Dix, Farnworth, and Horgan) realize to some extent they are vulnerable if that branding continues to be successful."

In an interview last December, former New democrat Corky Williams, talked about the process of leadership elections in parties. He said that politicians keep their mouths shut until the “Centre”, as he called it, tells them what to think. “This is ironic, given that elected people are essentially in the business of ideas,” he noted.

Evans who twice ran for the NDP leadership ('96 losing to Glenn Clark – and in 2000 losing to Ujjal Dosanjh says the exception to this is when political parties hold leadership campaigns. Then he said, people do expect the candidates to let members know what they think ... even candidates with no chance of winning are expected to be honest about their thoughts on a myriad of subjects.”

The three perceived to be the front runners in the NDP leadership race are Adrian Dix ... Mike Farnworth ...and John Horgan. It appears that Mike Farnworth wants to move the NDP more to the centre so they can broaden their appeal to voters who may not have traditionally been their supporters. Adrian Dix seems to want the party to maintain it's traditionally viewpoints and positions ... while John Horgan is thought to want to try to have a mix of both viewpoints.

Personally I feel the role the NDP should be headed for is the traditional view presented by Adrian Dix. Trying to mix traditional NDP policies, with a more liberal viewpoint, seems like a near impossible task; while moving the party more to the centre of the political spectrum totally negates the need to have an NDP Party in the first place, doesn't it?

Speaking as a small 'c' conservative however, I hope that the viewpoint being present by Mike Farnsworth is the direction they end up going. Often times it seems there is not really a whole lot of difference between the NDP and true Liberals, so perhaps the time has finally come for them to kiss and make up, and become perhaps something called the Liberal Democrats.

That would leave the BC Conservative Party as the provinces true conservative party, and no Liberal political party that is Liberal in name only. Voters could then clearly understand the positions being presented by both sides as they determined where to cast their vote, and who to support.

I think the fact there is so much confusion in the politics currently being presented by the NDP and Liberal parties is one of the very reasons why voter turnout has continued to decline for election after election --- and for the sudden rise of the new BC Conservative party after years of dormancy.

"One million, three hundred and forty-four thousand. That's the number of registered voters who didn't vote in the 2009 general election," Dix said recently. "Who are they? Disproportionately young, disproportionately out of the workforce, disproportionately in high unemployment communities.”

Sorry Dix but I call BS on that. The young are less likely to vote, however that is nothing new -– people out of the workforce -– those unemployed?? Those already are the very people more likely to vote for the NDP, but if they weren't already then why not? I'll leave that for you to decide.

So if those recently not voting any longer, are not from the ranks Adrian Dix says they are from, then where are they coming from? People that have traditionally taken the time to vote in the past, have become disillusioned with the whole process, and those people come from the ranks of both the NDP and the Liberals.

Again that is good news for the BC Conservative Party, because they appear to be the only ones that are speaking directly to the need for government accountability --- and the need for MLA's to be responsive – AND responsible to the people that have elected them.

A public opinion poll in mid-March found that 43 per cent of BC residents, and 54 per cent of NDP voters, support Farnworth in the leadership race. In two weeks we'll find out if the NDP go for power by compromising their traditional beliefs and policies – or if they stay true and elect Adrian Dix as their new leader.

I'm Alan Forseth in Kamloops, and those are the thoughts of one conservative.