No wonder people say that politics in British Columbia is crazy!

Before I begin today's Conservative Thoughts blog post, I should reiterate that while I am a member and director of the BC Conservative Party, this blog is not officially or un-officially sanctioned by the BC Conservative Party.  Now ... on with today's post.

If you're confused by politics in BC, you're not alone

The NDP hold no differentiation between the Provincial and Federal wings of their party.  In fact they clearly state they are, "... proud to be associated with the democratic socialist parties of the world"

From the Preamble of the NDP Party constitution you can read for yourself the following:

The New Democratic Party believes that social, economic and political progress in Canada can only be assured by the application of democratic socialist principles to government and the administration of public affairs ...

... the New Democratic Party is proud to be associated with the democratic socialist parties of the world and to share in the struggle for peace, international co-operation and the abolition of poverty.

ARTICLE III — Affiliated Membership and Donors

3.01.1 Affiliated organizations shall be those BC organizations affiliated to the NDP of Canada.

And exactly what countries define themselves to have a socialist government?  Well those would include China, Cuba, Vietnam, Laos, North Korea, Venezuela, and Syria.

I also sadly noted the following from the Conservative Party of Canada Constitution:

15. PROVINCIAL PARTIES

15.1 The Party shall not establish provincial political parties. The Party shall promote and maintain relationships with existing provincial conservative parties.

It seems to me that with the exception of a number of true small 'c' conservatives, it seems that Section 15.1 of the Conservative Party Constitution is ignored; at least here in British Columbia.

Now ... here is something else which is also a well known fact:
At the time of the BC Liberal leadership campaign, to replace Gordon Campbell, Christy Clark was a member of the Federal Liberal Party.  It also well know that in her youth she was also a member of the Young Liberals of Canada.

Here is what political commentator Bill Tieleman had to say back in March of 2011:

Well that didn't take long!  Premier-Designate Christy Clark has begun the process of Federal Liberalizing her new government at all levels.

Notwithstanding the use of arch-Conservative Gwyn Morgan on her Transition Team to premier for at least optics, Clark is already stacking the deck with federal Liberal operatives.

Her campaign featured a host of Paul Martin-ite and Stephane Dion-ite operatives, including  FD Element's Don Millar, federal Liberal Party spokesman Brad Zubyk, an ex-Harcourt NDP government aide, and of course Campaign Manager and now Chief of Staff Mike McDonald, who backed ex-NDP Ontario Premier Bob Rae in the 2006 federal Liberal leadership race.

And of course hidden in the backroom was her brother Bruce Clark - a longtime federal Liberal bagman and LPC BC executive member best known for the December 2003 police search of his home to find confidential BC government documents on BC Rail given to him by convicted fraudsters David Basi and Bob Virk.  That would be the BC Legislature Raid case of course.

But now the more serious work begins - transforming government into a more palatable federal Liberal look - call it LP-osuction - removing the undesirable BC Liberal & federal Conservative love handles and replacing them with more attractive Grits.

 

So it seems what we have in BC, are New Democrats, who support both federal and provincial wings of the Party.

What type of ‘democratic socialist party’ is the BC NDP? We’re not hearing the answer to that question from leader Adrian Dix. Should we wonder why?

News stories a week ago, including this excerpt from Global News BC (British Columbians think BC NDP best able to manage economy) said that:

… for the first time, British Columbians think BC NDP leader Adrian Dix is the best person to handle the provincial economy.

The Angus Reid poll, released today, shows that the public also thinks that Dix is the best person to handle health care, education and crime issues.

Dix says the BC Liberals have a very poor record on economic growth. He says the government has failed to address a large skill shortage in the economy …

Other than hard core NDP members and supporters, do those considering voting NDP in the next general election have any idea what they stand for?

Here is the preamble to the Constitution of the BC NDP Party:

The New Democratic Party believes that social, economic and political progress in Canada can only be assured by the application of democratic socialist principles to government and the administration of public affairs.

The principles of democratic socialism can be defined briefly as follows:

-          the production and distribution of goods and services shall be directed to meeting the social and individual needs of people and not for profit

-          the modification and control of the operations of monopolistic productive and distributive organizations through economic and social planning, towards these ends

-          and where necessary, the extension of the principle of social ownership.

The New Democratic Party holds firm to the belief that the dignity, freedom and equality of the individual is a basic right that must be maintained and extended.

The New Democratic Party is proud to be associated with the democratic socialist parties of the world and to share in the struggle for peace, international co-operation and the abolition of poverty.

Furthermore, Section 16.01 (page 15) states that:
Each member of the Party, including candidates for, and holders of, public office has covenanted that; “I accept and will abide by the Constitution, principles and policies of the New Democratic Party.”  Breach of this covenant is a violation of the Constitution.

So if I read this correctly, the NDP believes that economic progress can only be assured by the application of democratic socialist principles … that they believe in the modification and control of business … and that it is acceptable for them to take over private business (ie: social ownership).

So what exactly does it mean to be a Democratic Socialist Party?  Wikipedia has a definition that should be of concern.  They say: