THIS WEEK … BC political news

Cost savings measures for BC Ferries … a new political poll … unemployment … balancing the budget … John Martin nominated for the BC Conservatives … the garbage wars … Christy Clark trying to change political stripes … negotiations on the teachers’ contract. 

All this and more took center stage this week in BC political news.  Here’s a round-up of some of the stories in case you missed them …

BC Liberals Going Right? Riiiight.

... the remarkable thing about the steady decline of the BC Liberals is that the party remains stubbornly unable to distinguish a branding problem from a content problem ... the province's ruling party has been steadily hemorrhaging center-right votes ... to the long-dormant provincial Tories ... the response from Premier Christy Clark and her supporters has simply been to double-down on superficial right-wing marketing gimmicks while remaining blissfully oblivious to the idea that conservative voters might actually be motivated by anything more substantial ...

EDITORIAL: Latest poll confirms the obvious

… we need yet another poll to state the obvious?  From the moment former premier Gordon Campbell signed his political death warrant by foisting the hated HST upon voters mere weeks after winning an election, the BC Liberals have been bound for the afterlife now inhabited by the Social Credit, Progressive Conservative and Progressive Democratic Alliance parties … does not appear anything will change the party’s fate in time to avoid an unpleasant reckoning when voters go to the polls  …

Martin acclaimed, comes out swinging

… it didn’t take long for John Martin to be assigned duties in the BC Conservative’s shadow cabinet …the party’s candidate in the upcoming Chilliwack-Hope by-election, was named justice critic … “This Liberal government has failed British Columbians on the justice file. They have starved the justice system and now thousands of criminal prosecutions could be thrown out.”

FOLLOW UP: Government has ripped off million$ that should have gone to community charities

On January 12th I wrote a blog piece entitled, “Government has ripped off million$ that should have gone to community charities ---on Wednesday Christy verbalized they plan to continue”.  Today I received a comment on it from a reader who stated:

Alan, as you can see, I am a little behind on my reading, but I agree with you in this matter of gambling and government. Like women going back to work, first out of desire and then inevitably out of necessity, so gambling revenues have created their own need within money hungry government without providing the return to the grass roots promised.

 I have said repeatedly, if government tried to secure this amount of extra money by raising taxes, the populace would be up in arms. But because there is a hope held forth of windfall gains, (plus as you said, slick advertising) people stand in lines to give the government their money. It is robbery, pure and simple, and those robbed are foolish enough to buy into the lie and pay the piper.

There is no slogan on TV so hypocritical as the famous "Know your limit and play within it."

Now you have heard my rant.  Question: How would a conservative government extricate itself from this lie, or will the easy money win conservative allegiance also?

I thought about these words for a while, and then wrote them back saying;

Help the private sector, and then leave the job creation to them. So … what’s taking so long?

The first three workers begin employment
on the much announced Evergreen Line

Finally --- Christy Clark's Jobs program has people employed in the Evergreen Line project. Trouble is they are only the people hired to install the "See what we are doing for you" signs that are re-re-re-re-announcing this project.

I know I am being cynical, however, given how long this on-going re-announced project is taking; the signs going up will likely be long faded before any actual work begins.

On another quick note today, the Province Newspaper has a story “Premier Christy Clark promises to cut red tape for mining firms”, which began by saying:

B.C.'s mineral developers can count on the government to cut red tape and clear the way for mining expansion, Premier Christy Clark told the Association of Mineral Exploration (B.C.) on Wednesday.

Speaking at the association's annual roundup, Clark stressed the link between making it easier for mining companies to expand and the creation of good-paying jobs, the primary goal of government's so-called jobs plan.

QUESTION: “Didn't Christy already announce this during her photo-op tour in the late Fall?”

Hmmm ... I was just on Liberal MLA Bill Bennett’s website, where on September 22, 2011 he posted the following comments from Christy Clark:

Another day … another poll. What does it mean?

Yesterday saw the release of a new poll that shows the BC Liberals, led by Christy Clark, are in deep trouble and headed for defeat in the next provincial general election in 2013.  That is however nearly 16 months away, and a lot can change between now and then … it does however show a strong trend that has been developing over 6 consecutive polls by 3 different polling companies.

The following is a story by CKWX New Radio 1130, from this morning, which gives a brief overview of the results of that poll:

Yet another poll is showing the BC NDP could form a majority government after the next provincial election. One political analyst feels there's not much the premier can do to buck this trend.

"This isn't just one poll showing them behind the NDP; this is multiple polls showing them behind the NDP," explains Sean Holman.  While he believes any seat predictions at this point are premature, he believes the New Democrats are going to be very well-positioned going into an election.

Holman feels the Christy Clark government is having all sorts of problems associated with an  administration in its third term. "And is currently led by a leader who is new but has not been able to capitalize on that 'newness' in a way in which she probably would have liked."

"She rolled out her jobs plan late last year. That was supposed to give her some kind of traction with British Columbians -- that hasn't seemed to have worked," he adds.

The Forum Research numbers suggest 57 seats for the NDP, 20 for the Liberals, seven for the Conservatives, and Independent Vicki Huntington keeping her seat. Clark’s disapproval rating is at 46 per cent with Adrian Dix at 35.

I have been saying for some time now that the BC Liberals were NOT going to win the next election, and that the only hope to see the NDP NOT win, or at least be held to a minority, was to have the BC Conservatives on the ballot, and elected to the legislature. 

Until now, no poll had shown the BC Conservative electing ANY members, that is now beginning to change however, and I believe that numbers will continue to show the Conservatives gaining in strength, and with the likelihood of electing more members, the closer we get to the next election.

THAT HOWEVER is not based on any of the recent polls.  No ... the reason I say this is because of information that comes from a BC Stats study that was done in January 2010 entitled, “Motivations and Barriers: Exploring Voters Behaviour in British Columbia”

Here are a few things that I noted in this report:

You cannot fool all of the people all of the time

Tom Flanagan -- hired as Wildrose Party campaign manager

Here’s the headline from a story in today’s Globe and Mail; “Tom Flanagan to run Wildrose campaign in Alberta election”

In part, the story says:

"Former Conservative national campaign manager Tom Flanagan will be running the spring election campaign for Alberta’s Wildrose Party, the latest sign that the allegiances of federal Conservatives are split in the party’s home base.

His hiring shows how Wildrose continues to tap into the Conservative base in its bid to dethrone the more centrist PCs."

I reading this story, I have to look at the situation here in British Columbia and say, much the same thing happening.   

In Alberta, as this story indicates, small "c" conservatives are moving to the Wildrose Party ... while in BC small 'c' conservatives are moving to the re-invigorated BC Conservative Party led by former Reform and Conservative MP John Cummins. 

Momentum seems to be in favor of the BC Conservative Party, as poll after poll in the past year has shown the party growing in strength.  Growing to a point where the last poll conducted had the BC Conservative Party now tied at 23% with the Liberals.

As the old saying goes, "You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time."

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

What I see in those headlines is shifting values, shifting beliefs, and shifting principles.

“bc liberals, christy clark, shift to right”

Type those words into your nearest Google Search Engine, and immediately you will get a number of media releases and story titles pop up. 

If you weren’t already aware, here’s one thing you should know.  With the search engines -- like Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc -- things don’t just ‘pop up’ without there being the written word.  And for there to be the written word, there has to be change, or a spark of something different, being talked about and discussed.

BC Premier Clark, with Prime Minister Stephen Harper

For example, the Globe and Mail on January 15th had a story headlined, “Clark flirtation with the right predictable, dangerous”.

A couple days earlier a story came out in the Vancouver Sun; “Hockey game helps Clark punctuate a right-wing shift”

Three days ago the Globe and Mail had another story that came up using the same search ingredients … “For BC's Liberal Premier, Harper conservatism the key to success”

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Here’s another one, this time from Yahoo News Canada … “Stephen Harper helps BC's Christy Clark appear more conservative”

What I see in those headlines is shifting values, shifting beliefs, and shifting principles.  I have to say, given that; I would find it a bit disconcerting to be a member of the BC Liberal Party right now.  After all how would you know, from one week to the next, what direction the party is taking?

When the BC Liberals emerged from the political desert, led by Gordon Wilson, they seemed to have a tilt to the lift of the political spectrum.  When Gordon Campbell ousted Wilson from the leadership of the party, the Liberals took a swing in the other direction, and for several years became what many would consider to be a fiscally conservative party and government.

About Open Information BC

If you were not aware, the government of BC has a website entitled "Open Information".  The purpose of the website, as stated in the "About" page, and the Home page, is as follows:

In an effort to become more open and transparent, the government is proactively working to provide citizens with access to the information that matters most to them – no closed doors or hidden agendas. It’s felt that this candid disclosure will create opportunities for citizens to participate in government and collaborate on decisions being made.

This type of information sharing is governed by legislation and policy that makes provision for the release of public information. These releases have been completed on a case-by-case basis – until now.  

Open Information provides access to the routine release of public information that has been most commonly requested (i.e. travel expenses for Ministers and Deputy Ministers). Additionally, individual requests for specific government information that are processed will also be released for general public viewing on this site.

This service will not only improve awareness, understanding and dialogue; it will create efficiencies that modernize and open up government. We invite you to take a look and get to know your government better – you may like what you find.

Access government facts and figures that matter most to you, like:

• What's driving the government's decision to implement a new tax?
• Are policy changes going to impact health care spending?
• What are the current high school graduation rates in B.C.?
• How effective has the pine beetle strategy been?
• What treaties does the province have with First Nations' communities?
• How much is spent on government business trips?

Information releases can be found by clicking HERE

ASK … then ask again

Over the weekend, I was in a discussion with a fellow that is planning to run as a candidate, for the BC Liberal Party, in the next general election.  I guess in a nutshell, our discussion came down to the fact that both of us believe that the parties we support are both small “c” conservative.

I respect this person’s position; however I feel that given the direction of the BC Liberal party over the past few years, and my own experiences, they are not.

A portion of our discussion also came down to who were becoming members.  That one I know we both can agree on, its people that support the position and principles that each party takes.

My feeling is that the BC Liberal party has taken the direction of their federal counterparts… which is big government, big spending, and a we know best attitude … while the BC Conservative Party, led by John Cummins,  has taken the direction of smaller government, more government accountability, and less intrusion into people’s lives.

Come the next election, support of the people of BC will be the telling tale in which option is the one people choose. 

If more people believe in the Liberals idea, they will join the party, support it, and work to see their candidates are elected.

If more people believe in the ideas and principles of the BC Conservative Party – they will join it and work towards seeing BC Conservatives elected to the legislature.

It’s as simple as that!   

Which leads me to the title of today’s blog posting … “ASK, and then ask again”