Interesting isn’t, how the human mind thinks? Or … venom and hate the order of the day.

This is me, the big scarey BC Conservative. Hmmm ... maybe Petrosa
and Pierre are right; women, children, and those in need beware.

Those who get the Kamloops Daily News will have seen a Letter to the Editor that I submitted, and which ran in Saturday’s paper.  It was actually an edited version of a blog post I did.  The letter went as follows:

After winning the leadership of the B.C. Liberal Party Christy Clark stated: "I want you to be my partners in change in Victoria. I want you to be my partners in bringing open government. You can count on me to listen, you can count on me to engage, and you can count on me to make sure government really does include you. I have specific ideas on how to do these things but I also need to hear from you," she said.

"My top priority will be to put families first. In British Columbia we are blessed with families of all shapes and sizes, families as diverse as our great province. This is the foundation of our communities. This is the building block of our future."

What a difference a little over a year makes.

Since then her government has gone from one crisis to another … she has watched as people who last election voted Liberal, have moved to both the B.C. Conservative Party, and the NDP … saw a former Liberal cabinet Minister (John van Dongen) switch to the Conservatives… and she’s seen one story after the other saying the Liberals may actually come third in the upcoming byelections.

She has also watched as both her approval rating and the fortunes of the B.C. Liberals have fallen in poll after poll.

Now, from all sides of the political spectrum, people are beginning to question if she can even survive as leader of the party before the next general election to be held in May 2013.

When Clark announced she planned to seek the leadership of the B.C. Liberal Party, these are the opening and closing words which she spoke: “I am running for leader of the B.C. Liberals – and to lead us to an election victory over the NDP – to bring new leadership to our province. That means more than simply a new premier, it means a new way of doing business for our government.”

 “… with me you can count on a leader who is direct, responsive, and committed to bringing positive, prosperous change to B.C.”

Again, what a difference a little over a year can make; which is why people are asking, “How long can Christy Clark last?”

It didn’t take long for the responses to roll in one of which stated:

And what are you ALAN FORSETH and your party, going to bring to the table? Just by reading the many posts on the KDN blogs made by "conservatives" & “sympathizers" I would not want your party to lead this province. The fact is that the so-called "liberals" are nothing but "de-facto" "conservatives". It would be nice to find someone that really understand the value of the "middle ground". Your party does not understand that and that is another fact. Then, of course, we can just look at our present federal government to really get turned off by any remaining notion of "conservative". Here in Kamloops, between the up-coming "mine of horrors" and the "party of horrors" we are in for some really gloomy climate.

My response was as follows:

With all due respect Pierre, I have to believe you really are unaware of what our party actually stands for, and our policies.  Whether you support us, or another party, it's always good to know the facts and not base your comments on hearsay.  Our grassroots MEMBERS have put together as a policy document to take to the people of BC, and it is one I believe is fiscally responsible, socially responsible, and looks to encourage job growth while protecting our environment.  You don't even have to take me at my 'word' ... get yourself a coffee and spend a few minutes at http://www.bcconservative.ca/media/2012/02/BCCP_Policy_adopted_Sept_24_2011_final.pdf

This is the reply I received:

Where do I see your guidelines regarding special interest groups, i.e. "lobbying"?What about your take on the "royalties" paid on natural resources? Where can I see that? And last: Explain John van Dongen.

Well that was easy to have a response to, and so I said:

To "lobbying" ... we have stated that our MLA's will be responsible to represent the interests of their Constituents.  We have also clearly stated that we believe in getting ‘big money’ out of BC politics. We believe political parties should be supported by the people – not special interest groups.

We have also stated that we believe first and foremost that a competitive free enterprise system is the basis for prosperity and growth.  We are also committed to protect and manage our environment and natural resources to optimize benefits now and in the future.  That would include a fair share of royalties / taxes to the government to provide the services we need and desire.

Our policy document, as with other parties, is NOT draft legislation.  It is simply meant to provide an understanding of the direction we would take as government.

As to John van Dogen ... I like the guy and I feel confident his constituents will return him to the legislature in the next general election.

Petrosa had a few comments to make to the conversation, and began by saying:

ALAN  the Liberal two headed snake is shedding its skin,  the Conservative Party which is in a withdrawal from reality, experiencing illogical patterns of thinking, suffering delusions, and hallucinations.  What you offer Alan, as an alternative is even worse than the Liberal illness. A snake sheds its skin but it's still the same snake.

Wow Petrosa ... tell me how you really feel was what I thought:

I am a member and proud supporters of the BC Conservative Party ... and I can certainly assure you there is none of wild and crazy accusations, you are making, in the party I support.  We are however putting together a common sense platform of ideas from the grassroots --- the people of BC.  BEFORE you offer rash comments such as you have posted, may I suggest you actually take 15 or 20 minutes to read through our party policy.

Petosa:

I read the Liberal Platform in 2000 and I have read yours. You don't seem to remember the party that won the 2001 election was the conservative conveniently renamed Liberal. You can try and escape your responsibility for the economic fiasco of the past eleven years and blame it on commodity prices which are the highest ever all you want, but you cannot escape the fact that it was conservative supply side economic policies that took the BC economy into the tank.

Here is why I will not vote conservative: You don't believe in employment protection laws. You allow children as young as 12 years of age to hold jobs flipping burgers while they should be concentrating on education. You believe in the power of money over labour, thus no unions, no environmental protection, no quality education, no quality healthcare unless you can pay for it, and no progressive taxation.  You want a police state where you build more jails than hospitals, where you have more police than nurses, more jets without telling us who those jets are going to kill next.  You believe in moralizing in terms of sexuality, religion, and other human behaviors while you do exactly the opposite and at every turn you do it at the expense of law abiding, taxpaying citizens.   The problem with conservatives they think that they are the natural ruling class and the legal system does not apply to them. I said once before if Al Capone was alive he would be the first one to join the conservative party.

Wow … Genghis Khan would have felt right at home in the political party he describes … however he chose Al Capone instead.  Somehow even trying to rationalize what he said, it makes no sense at all to me.  My response?

I must begin by saying you have absolutely no idea of what I think and support --- and your narrow mindedness show you have no intention of even understanding what policies and principles the BC Conservative Party have. 

Those who do actually know me, know I would never be part of anything that has the beliefs you misguidedly seem to think are part of what BC Conservatives stand for. 

That should come as no surprise as you obviously have not looked at what our policies are.  In reading the corrosive anger in what you post, I know I would certainly not attach myself to anything you would support.

Here’s Pierre again:

You wrote about the "corrosive anger". Yes now the more I think about these two words, the more I think of all the posts made by our "conservative bloggers" on this site. By association, "corrosive anger" and SBNP, Vuse, Tinfoil_Hat and all their followers. That is exactly why you guys scare me.

Wow I thought … how the heck do you respond to someone that refuses to have a rational and logical debate?  Well let’s give it another shot, I thought:

I speak only for myself Petosa ... those you have included in your reply can stand for themselves if they choose too. 

I did notice that you neatly sidestepped that I question your ability to "know" me and what I stand for.  I speak exactly what I believe ... and have stated it clearly.  You on the other hand have chosen to sling mud at me & members of the BC Conservative Party who are concerned about the issues that affect our community, and the province.

You can be as offensive as you choose too -- it's your choice.

Now there were other comments, and commentators, being made, but farther down in the string Petrosa came back to say.  I have added Bold to certain sections:

I absolutely know what you support if you support the conservative party. The conservative party seems to me that everyone knows, except you was the BC Social Credit party. When the Social Credit lost everyone knows except you that they took over a progressive Liberal party and made it into a Conservative clone that raped and pillaged this province under Campbell and continues to pillage it under Christie Clark to this day. 

 In 2005 your party polled less than one percent (.55% to be exact). In 2009 your party polled 10%. Who do you think the "clones" supported but the Liberals that you now want to blame for all the ills in this province when your support base (all of it) aided abetted and financed this criminality.

Everyone except you knows that what is happening in this Liberal -Conservative coalition is a family feud.  Now like a criminal on death row you come here accusing me or others of bad language, and crazy accusations, while telling us you are born again with "common sense platform of ideas from the grassroots" and that you support what “is fiscally responsible, socially responsible, and looks to encourage job growth while protecting our environment". This is a joke in light of what your political base has supported for the last eleven years.

You write that you believe “that a competitive free enterprise system is the basis for prosperity and growth”. Your ignorance is appalling, what do you think that the NDP represents but free enterprise. The Cold War straw man that you bamboozled people with for decades will not play again. Every economic indicator was better under the NDP than under your coalition. Talk about needing to read. Yes I can explain things to you but I cannot understand it for you.

 You support a free ride for a select few while you impoverish, and dummy down the many. What you have are policies that don't reform but just cut and starve government — a strategy that pays little attention to history or best practices from around the world and is based instead on a theory that is dead and has been dead since Reagan and Margret Thatcher contracted dementia.

Again, it seems I, and those who support the BC Conservative Party, are being lumped in with every ill that has taken place across the globe from the cold war to being criminals: 

Arghhhhh ... you refuse to even be rational in your arguments ... refuse to accept that what I say could even possibly be sincere and accurate ... blame me and others for the ills of the BC Liberal party (in fact I was never a Socred ... and even ran as a candidate against the Liberals).  Enough said; this is simply a waste of time.

Of course there had to be a response … here it is … and again rather than constructive comments, it is … well you decide what it is:

Absolutely, agreed, you are a waste of time but I do not see conservative policies as irrational I see them as criminal. Yes I see your policies as rational, not stupid, from the profit perspective. If conservatives can smash working people, through elimination of unions, dummy down education, privatize collective assets it opens the entire economic door up for your backers, and on their terms.

The destruction of workers' rights is a rational policy and bonanza for profit and at the same time criminal since it forces our young people to scramble to make ends meet with part time jobs and no benefits.  Yes, your policy of selling our assets, factories and plants for a fraction of their value, taking out our resources paying very little in royalties and shipping them overseas which the taxpayer subsidizes in order to get a few jobs, is criminal.  The conservative policy of militarizing Canada is profit driven and rational since it creates jobs for the military industrial complex while at the same time it brings in a large pool of well-educated cheap labor from our wars in Europe and elsewhere but the effect is criminal since it drives down wages of Canadian workers and makes them more expendable.

Yes your policy is intelligent, albeit completely morally and physically criminal. Why settle for consensus and partnership with the working people, when your policies can continue to rob this province as usual. You think by changing your name one more time and saying we were married to that Liberal woman but we did not sleep with her will wash one more time? Give me a break.

From this little exchange with Pierre and Petrosa, one would think there was nothing really of any value made as comment … but kudos to Dorite who asked:

Big Biz has been pushing the right-wing parties to unite.  I hope the BC Conservatives have the smarts and good judgement to not allow the Liberals (socreds) to hijack their party, the way the Socreds highjacked the Wilson Liberal party. That remains a real threat in the Kamloops ridings.

Philip Hockstein, Prez of the Independent Contractors & Business Assoc (the ones who bankroll the Liberals) is reported by G & M as saying his group will not ALLOW the division (vote splitting) to continue. Sounded like a threat.

Alan Forseth and Kevin Kreuger - 1) Who controls the government in Victoria??  2) Your comments on Hockstein's threat??

I haven’t seen a response from Kevin, but here is what I had to say:

Dorite ... I do not support big biz or big labor controlling parties, or having any special access to government.  Our party support MLA's being responsible to the people in the riding where they have been elected. 

As to the split ... I left as a member of the BC Liberal Party many years ago ... and would never have voted for them again. I am not in favor of what Hockstein says ... and it flies in the face of why so many people have left the Liberal Party. 

They have not given us any reason to support them ... and in fact have driven out small 'c' conservatives because of policies of big spending, higher taxes and fees, and a carbon tax (that until recent sinking polls) was robing much needed financial resources from schools and hospitals.  That's the short list, I could go on, but I think you get the picture.

Sponge Bob No Pants (love the name) also stated:

Maybe instead of mindlessly trashing a party you have no intention of voting for, perhaps other people want an alternative to the Liberals and for those who will NEVER vote NDP.  (like me ) Also, I find it interesting that you want to know what the Cons will bring to the table. That's easy...just go to their website but I think that's too much work for some people. BTW, has ANYONE actually heard what King Adrian's platform is? Glass houses, Wally, glass houses...

Was this a waste of time?  Probably … and that’s likely why I called this post “Interesting isn’t, how the human mind thinks?  Or … venom and hate the order of the day.”

I’m Alan Forseth in Kamloops … with the thoughts of one conservative.