maplesyrup Posted March 9, 2004 Report Posted March 9, 2004 Another wheel has fallen off the Gordon Campbell BC Liberal wagon. Liberal MLA quits, slams premier VICTORIA - Liberal MLA Elayne Brenzinger has resigned from the B.C. Liberal caucus – accusing Premier Gordon Campbell of showing a complete and utter disregard for the opinions of elected members. Instead, says the Surrey-Whalley MLA, Campbell has pressed ahead with his own "secretive mandate." She says as a result, "community dreams and goals are being crushed" by the Liberal government. http://vancouver.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/V...=bc_mla20040308 This is quite a devastating indictment for the Premier of BC, and probably couldn't have come at a worse time as well. Campbell has to call an election in 2005 as BC now has a 4 year term fixed date elections. Hard to believe as the Liberals won by such a massive majority in the last election, in 2001, but the Campbell Liberals have been in freefall, and now the NDP, with their new leader Carole James, are now tied with the Liberals in the polls. Will this be the final straw that topples Gordon Campbell from the leadership of his party? Quote An education isn't how much you have committed to memory, or even how much you know. It's being able to differentiate between what you do know and what you don't. Anatole France
BigGunner Posted March 9, 2004 Report Posted March 9, 2004 Another wheel has fallen off the Gordon Campbell BC Liberal wagon.Liberal MLA quits, slams premier VICTORIA - Liberal MLA Elayne Brenzinger has resigned from the B.C. Liberal caucus – accusing Premier Gordon Campbell of showing a complete and utter disregard for the opinions of elected members. Instead, says the Surrey-Whalley MLA, Campbell has pressed ahead with his own "secretive mandate." She says as a result, "community dreams and goals are being crushed" by the Liberal government. http://vancouver.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/V...=bc_mla20040308 This is quite a devastating indictment for the Premier of BC, and probably couldn't have come at a worse time as well. Campbell has to call an election in 2005 as BC now has a 4 year term fixed date elections. Hard to believe as the Liberals won by such a massive majority in the last election, in 2001, but the Campbell Liberals have been in freefall, and now the NDP, with their new leader Carole James, are now tied with the Liberals in the polls. Will this be the final straw that topples Gordon Campbell from the leadership of his party? Campbell is going nowhere. Campbell is the BC Liberal party. All of his inner circle people and high ranking officials are "yes-men"...hand picked to support his agenda no matter what. More perhaps than the corrupt federal liberals in Ottawa. Dissent, when it does occur, brings a quick smackdown. Already the party has dismissed this MLA is someone who just wanted inside the cabinet and the payraise that went with it....as if the Liberal cabinet isn't big enough already. Toppling Campbell will destroy the party too. They, like Social Credit before them, are a coalition of 'liberals' and conservatives to keep the NDP at bay. They are strong when they have a iron-fisted centrist that runs the show, such as Bennett in the 80's and now Campbell. But the instant that one faction gets ahold of the party machinery, the whole thing collapses. When Zalm took over the leadership, he represented the conservatives - the 'liberals' bolted. If a real "Liberal" takes over the party, the conservatives will flee to the Unity party or what is left of ReformBC. If the conservatives take over the party, the liberals are likely to flee and resurrect the old PDA party (which is in the process of happening). Bad news on all counts for the BC Liberals. Good news for BC. Quote
willy Posted March 9, 2004 Report Posted March 9, 2004 The BC Liberals are governing with the largest majority in provincial history. Good news for them. If they slip they are still in power. They have one more year left before an election. This is the good news side of the mandate and minds are short in politics. Look for a little more noise and then a strong team closer to the election. All these Liberals want to be reelected and a second in command is not nibbling at Gordon’s feet. I am thankful they are doing the tough work of undoing the mess 10 years of NDP rule left. I wish it could be done quickly but it is much easier to destroy than it is to build. They have restructured the health regions. They have eliminated needless regulations. They have cut personal income taxes and replaced them with user fees. They have cut the size of government. They have maintained a steady economy during SARS, BSE, Fires, Floods, softwood lumber, and a world wide downturn. I wish them the best success because our province needs it. It is easy to be a critic but it is hard to govern. Quote
BigGunner Posted March 9, 2004 Report Posted March 9, 2004 The BC Liberals are governing with the largest majority in provincial history.Good news for them. If they slip they are still in power. They have one more year left before an election. This is the good news side of the mandate and minds are short in politics. Look for a little more noise and then a strong team closer to the election. All these Liberals want to be reelected and a second in command is not nibbling at Gordon’s feet. I am thankful they are doing the tough work of undoing the mess 10 years of NDP rule left. I wish it could be done quickly but it is much easier to destroy than it is to build. They have restructured the health regions. They have eliminated needless regulations. They have cut personal income taxes and replaced them with user fees. They have cut the size of government. They have maintained a steady economy during SARS, BSE, Fires, Floods, softwood lumber, and a world wide downturn. I wish them the best success because our province needs it. It is easy to be a critic but it is hard to govern. Campbell is BC's version of George Bush. They both inherited growing economies with record budget surpluses and turned it into record deficits. Massive tax cuts by both autocratic rulers didn't create jobs, it created massive debt. Tax cuts have been taken away by both Bush and Campbell from the low and middle class by sneaky tax increases. Neither Bush nor Campbell deserve to be re-elected...but perhaps they should be in prison. Quote
Pellaken Posted March 9, 2004 Report Posted March 9, 2004 Campbell wants PR. expect to see a minority government... and many more to follow. but yes, this does hurt the BC libs. They are almost skrewing up as bad as the federal libs. Quote
willy Posted March 9, 2004 Report Posted March 9, 2004 Why one position must vilify the other is beyond me. I trust my friends that take a socialist view on the world do it because they think it will do good in society. It is a shame that a number of socialists don’t realize that it is not greed and corruption that make up the conservative political ideology but a belief that the world works in certain ways. The government has a role to facilitate a better life for everyone but it is not in the power of government to demand compliance to an ideology. Having individual responsibility for ones life is not evil. A pluralistic democracy should respect all political points of view that are base on social good. Campbell and Bush are very different and don’t need comparing. I could do the same and compare Layton to Castro but it would not be fair to either. We have Canadian politicians in a Canadian context. Even the Reform Party stood for universal health care! Be realistic and pragmatic. I don’t believe that my ability to pay taxes is limitless. One also has to realize that the businesses that occupy our province don’t need to be here. Focus on out comes. I believe that the NDP and the Liberals probably would agree on a number of those. And we need a healthy debate on what might bring about some of those shared values. (E.g. universal education, access to quality health care, equality, jobs, freedom of religion, public safety, a healthy environment.) Gordon Campbell is a good man and has been a public servant for many years. You might not like his policy but you have a choice. You can be political and sell your ideas and get elected or get someone else elected to carry those ideas forward. This is a democracy and it is a flawed system, but it is the best system we have and the second best system is much worse. I am first a populist then a conservative. It is not just about holding power. One should want to do something with it. Quote
maplesyrup Posted March 9, 2004 Author Report Posted March 9, 2004 BC politics is hilarious. The NDP picked what they thought was going to be a caretaker leader in Carole James, because no one expected the Liberals to crash and burn the way they have. Campbell is dragging their party down first with DUI last year, this year the BC raids on the BC Legislature, MLAs quitting, etc. Look for the liberals to replace Campbell this year, and look for Carole James to become premier in 2005. The NDP and the Liberals are now tied in the latest polls. My, how times have changed Quote An education isn't how much you have committed to memory, or even how much you know. It's being able to differentiate between what you do know and what you don't. Anatole France
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