The Michael Ignatieff Book Tour: What was the dumbest question asked so far? #canpoli #bcpoli #fireandashes #evansolomon

I can’t believe he asked him that………

These people call themselves investigative reporters.

Former Liberal Leader, Michael Ignatieff, writes a book of his experiences in Canadian Politics aptly titled Fire and Ashes and goes on the media circuit fielding questions and selling what looks like a good read.

To set the stage for the humdinger of a question and in case you have been living under a rock, Ignatieff held the top job in the Liberal Party and had his head handed to him not only in the last election by the electorate but in the aftermath by his own party.

Evan Solomon concludes his interview with this question ( forgive me I am laughing so hard I am having a hard time typing) are you considering running in the 2015 election?

This man just told you why getting involved in Liberal Party politics was one of the dumbest things he did, now you think he might want to spark up a spliff and become a flunkie in a Justin Trudeau led opposition?

You would have been better off asking him if he had considered throwing himself in front of one of those Go-Trains he lives near.

To think the CBC is our tax dollars in action.

Could there be a dumber question to ask Ignatieff?

Christy Clark: In My Heart I Want A Bridge #bcpoli #canpoli

What’s in this Premier’s heart this week?

Hot on the heels of my post last week, who is the worst premier, BC Premier Christy Clark returns to center stage with her speech saying that construction will begin in 2017 with a new bridge to replace the George Massey Tunnel.

So where will the money come from, who will pay, why do we need it and what’s in it for Clark.

When asked the cost the premier had no idea nor did she allude to how we were going to pay for it. She simply said that it will be along the same lines as the Port Mann Bridge.

No doubt there will be tolls because as we all know by now , in her heart BC Premier Clark runs a toll booth with the tolling of the Port Mann and the Golden Ears.

What else is in it for Clark? The next election is in 2017 and if shovels hit ground Clark will be able to snag votes from those commuters who will thank her in kind by reelecting or electing new BC liberal MLAs.

Those for the project go on the record and say that the bridge will be built for a couple of reasons firstly that the existing tunnel only has a life span of about 10 years and might cause a little mayhem in the event of an earthquake.

Secondly they say that replacing the tunnel with a bridge will allow for more ships to pass by.

Most people gloss right over that with a typical for sure it will.

What you should be asking and what is key to what’s in it for Clark is what will be on those ships that the new bridge will allow to pass.

If you said oil and gas you would know really what’s in it for Clark and why she will stop at nothing to get it.

Kinda like building a pipeline with the end piece first, isn’t it?

She wouldn’t do that would she?

Dix Is Done ! #bcpoli #canpoli

Will He or Won’t he?

No Shocker here. Adrian Dix has stepped down as leader of the BCNDP and will hang on until a successor is chosen.

This is the right thing to do on two fronts.

Stepping down allows the party a shot at renewal and hanging on until a successor is chosen prevents a quack from taking over as interim leader and making things worse.

This is a classy move by Dix and he is to be congratulated.

We wonder if Moe Sihota gets the message and will get out-of-the-way?

What would you do if you were Moe?

Who is the Worst Premier in Canada? #bcpoli #canpoli

This is no laughing matter!

As we head into a new week in this the silly season ( two days ago I was in shorts, today I looked for a parka, right now an ark) I thought it a good time to ask just who is the worst premier in Canada?

Could it be Christy Who? You know the premier who in her heart has vanished, shut down the legislature until spring?

Could it be Pauline, let’s have a secular treaty and see what that does for our economy and for our chances of re-election?

Could it be *Kathleen Wynne whose policies are killing the Ontario economy and who threatened the two other parties propping up her minority government with an election she would surely lose.

Tough choices to be sure.

For the time being I give the nod to Marios and Wynne two premiers who are turning Canada’s largest provinces and the supposed economic drivers into have-nots.

How about you?

* Wynne had help from a man named McGuinty but she is continuing his tradition.

Thousands Protest on Streets In Quebec, What about here in BC? #bcpoli #canpoli #bchydro

When is the BS going to Stop?

I get that thousands of people are protesting on the streets in Quebec over the secular charter, they should. They should also be screaming about the mess the Parti Quebecois made of their economy!

They are not.

Likewise here in BC.

The newly elected BC Liberal government has not learned a thing.

This week they are floating trial balloons of 26.4 % increases in Hydro costs . They also want to jam you $35 per month for opting out of the smart meter program.

They want you to think they are heroes when those increases come through at 19 or what ever incestuous number they all arrive at.

Meanwhile over at the BC Ferries the board gets fat increases and bonuses.

Privately people complain, but when are they going to do something about it?

We know you can; the HST movement proved that.

When will the people say enough is enough?

Is a Constitutional Scrap on the Horizon? #bcpoli #canpoli

Creating Winning Conditions for What?

Everybody’s favorite rich Socialist Pauline Marois is cruising for a scrap with the federal government and yes by extension the Rest Of Canada.

The doors are opened in three different areas:

1) senate reform or abolition

2) the secular bill

3) the use of the word banque or bank by the Quebec government to create their new institution.

On their own each would be no big deal,but grouped together is a different story.

The PQ could attempt to created “winning Conditions” as they have so often promised so that they can stage another referendum.

I think this is only the first stage of mayhem in Quebec and that the winning conditions that Marois and company want are the winning conditions for a provincial election.

They want to go to the people of Quebec and say that the minority government is not working and use these arguments to get a majority.

Then and only then will they be able to get tough with the government and yes by extension with the ROC.

In addition they have also helped their Federal friends because they have flushed out Trudeau and Mulcair thereby drawing a line in the sand between those two and the Bloc for the 2015 federal election.

So to call Pauline Marois ignorant of the rest of Canada as the Toronto Star did is wrong.

She knows exactly which buttons to push.

There is never a dull moment in Quebec is there?

No Fall Sitting at the Legislature in Victoria, Renewal Movement Launched in the NDP! #bcpoli #canpoli

There will be no lights on here this fall!

To no ones shock and everyone’s dismay the legislature will remain closed this fall.

The reason : to get prepared for the smoke and mirrors that is known as the Budget. ( does that sound as hollow as the house is closed to allow the new ministers to get familiar with their files?)

Once again the taxpayers get ripped off as the BC Liberal machine avoids discussion and points the spot light squarely on Adrian Dix, Forward BC and the potential mayhem that will come out of the November NDP convention.

Dix will announce his future next week ( He’s done like dinner) while the so-called Forward BC Movement wants renewal but refuses to take a position on anything.

The movement, led by spokesperson Sage Aaron refuse to get into the leadership discussion of not only Dix but also the executive of the party.( See the archives today,Sept. 10,2013 of the Bill Good show for that discussion)

Although well-intentioned, to renew the party any movement will have to get involved in the leadership area, especially with the executive which is led by NDP dinosaur Moe Sihota.

The NDP has more than leadership troubles on the horizon. I would expect fund-raising to become an Achilles heel given all the money they got before they blew thew 20% lead in the polls.

No matter how the BC Liberals implode over the next few years ( they will) the business community will be in no hurry to fill up NDP coiffures again after all the money they wasted in the run up to the May election.

Like I said in my last post silly season is here!

It’s September and Silly Season Is Here! #bcpoli #canpoli

It’s Fall and all is calm but not for long. Silly season is here!

The kids are back at school and the columnists are back at work. So are the bloggers.

News and opinion goes to the forefront as the summer bids us adieu!

Political Insider will be there to follow all the breaking stories and provide opinion as to what is BS and what is not.

We will stay on top of Obama’s ( The US Mr.Dithers) and the war on Syria.

We will cover Pauline Marois as she tries to drive Prime Minister Harper and the Conservative government nuts(banquing anyone?).

Political insider will provide analysis from the BC Conservative AGM and what it means to BC.

We will discuss the fall sitting of the BC Legislature ( if there is one)

We will report from on the implosion of the Ontario Liberal Party.

You want analysis on the Federal Throne speech and what it means to the country? You will find it here.

The new riding boundaries? Look no further than Political Insider as we go inside the campaigns.

The impact of Adrian Dix flying the BCNDP coop and the search for a new leader; it will be here too! ( Christy Clark will have the house all to herself I can hardly wait; for in her heart she will be a ? stay tuned)

Silly season is here.

So kick off your shoes, roll up a joint ( we’ll cover that too) and chill. ( Imagine the boy who would be PM might not be allowed into the US now that he has admitted blunting!)

Political Insider will have all this and more as we speed our way to Christmas and the New Year.

Thanks for reading and have a great fall!