We’re gonna do what they say can't be done

Last night, while having a chat with a former member of the BC Conservative Party, I was reminded of the theme song from the 1977 Burt Reynolds movie “Smokie and the Bandit”.  For those who don’t recall, the basic plot of the story is as follows:

Bandit and Cledus are two truck-driving southerners who accept a dare from big-shots Big and Little Enos to pick up a truckload of beer from Texas and return it to them within a specified amount of time. Picking it up is simple enough, but as they are leaving Texas, Bandit unwittingly picks up Carrie, a hitchhiking bride-to-be who just left her groom, Junior, at the altar. Junior, however, is the son of Sheriff Buford T. Justice. And when Buford and Junior discover what has happened, they go on a "high-speed pursuit" across the Southeast to catch the bandit.

The movie as many will remember was just a lighthearted, laugh a minute, comedy as Bandit and Cledus attempt to do ‘what can’t be done’, and the obstacles they encounter along the way.

In a way, it reminds me somewhat of what the BC Conservative Party has gone through over the past couple of years as it has come from obscurity, to become a contender on the political map. And in doing that, they have dared to do what others have said could not be done.

Going from a couple hundred members – to several thousand – I'm sure has created interesting dynamics as new people have brought new ideas to the table, and have mixed and merged them with the foundation that was there to start with.

I have been pleased to see the growth of the party; and how in most cases the old are working with the new, and new with the old, to create a broad based common sense political movement that the people of BC can relate too, and be supportive of.

I’m sure it has not been easy on some occasions … and on other occasions I expect there has been a real sense of satisfaction as hick-ups have been worked on, and resolved.  That I believe has been one of the major reasons and factors for the continued growth of the party, and its increasing popularity across all age groups and demographics.

The next months ahead will be a test for the party, and its members, to create and put together a clear common sense platform to take to the electorate in the 2013 general election … and to have all hands on deck that are ready, willing, and able to see many BC Conservatives MLA’s elected to the BC legislature on election day.

A small snapshot of how that will happen is underway now in the two riding's of Chilliwack – Hope … and Port Moody – Coquitlam, where hardworking teams are in place to support and encourage BC Conservative Party candidates John Martin and Christine Clarke.

And as the theme song from the movie Smokie and the Bandit says:

Eastbound and Down loaded up and truckin

We’re gonna do what they say can't be done

We've got a long way to go and a short time to get there

I'm eastbound just watch old bandit run.

I’m looking forward to the next 13 to 14 months.  With everyone on board working towards a common goal of becoming government … it will be a great time for the BC Conservative Party … and the people of BC.

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