So ... BC Liberal MLA, and former Finance Minister Colin Hansen, says it’s time for his party to change its name. What did he have to say this past weekend in Penticton??
“In the minds of a lot of voters, I think there is a confusion between the federal Liberal Party and the BC Liberal Party, which have no connection at all. And yet, in the minds of a lot of voters, they believe there is a connection.”
According the Hansen, the BC Liberals have no connection to the federal Liberal Party, although as most of us are well aware of, BC Premier and Liberal party leader Christy Clark is very much a federal Liberal supporter.
I think the actual ongoing lack of support of the federal party, by the BC Liberals, very much parallels the decline of the federal Liberal Party. Given the past few federal elections, especially this past one only a week ago would give one to believe that the LAST thing anyone in the BC Liberals would want to happen is to be confused with their federal counterparts.
What does Colin Hansen say the real reason is however” "If the BC Liberal Party had its own unique name that was purely British Columbia, I think it would help us to reinforce in the public's mind that first of all we are a coalition and that we are here basically to represent the best interests and future of British Columbia.”
Yeah right ... and how many people believe that? Is it any wonder then that Kootenay MLA Bill Bennett has been calling for this change for a couple of years now, a change that previously was tantamount to mutiny.
According to news reports over the weekend, Liberal MLA Bill Bennett says he believes the debate on changing the name of the BC Liberal Party is "very timely, perhaps long overdue". He said running under the BC Liberal banner in many rural ridings is "like running a race with a bag of cement tied around your waist."
Anyone suggesting this idea however, and that would include Bennett, should be aware of how much newly elected MLA / Premier Christy Clark values the Liberal MLA's who stuck it out after she bailed on the party a few years back.
“The B.C. Liberals have never had a policy of protecting incumbents, and we are not going to start doing that now. But I hope that a lot of our caucus members will choose to run again; I know some of them are thinking about whether or not they will.”
Oh really??? Well that must be news for my own Kamloops South Liberal MLA Kevin Krueger. Here's what he had to say on Sunday in the Globe and Mail;
“In the past, if people desired to pursue a nomination, they were encouraged to pick one of our non-held ridings” who went on to say that when he served as the caucus whip, it was his job to enforce that rule. “It was not ‘open season’ and it won’t be ‘open season’ this time either.”
Wow ... I wonder how confident some Liberal MLA's are that they will have the opportunity to even run again as Liberals, never mind be elected? It's an interesting policy for Clark to take if you think about it for a moment. At every opportunity she has indicated that, “...her party has work to do to restore voters’ confidence before she will call that election”
Maybe ... ensuring a number of current Liberal MLAs don't have the opportunity to run again is in keeping with “improvements” she wants to make. Here's what she said ... “We are looking at a number of improvements – they will be bold, they will be smart ...”
I don't think it's a great time to be a Liberal MLA in BC --- at least for the ones that I believe Christy Clark does not want to have in her government. I think she will be doing everything she can to see a number of them do not get past the nomination process.
Oh before I forget, I have a possible new name for the BC Liberal Party ... the P.O.P. Party; it stand for the Political Opportunist Party.
I'm Alan Forseth in Kamloops, and those are the thoughts of one conservative.
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