January, 2014 | Political Insider

Obama: The Lame Duck is getting ready to Quack! #closethegap #yearofAction #lameduck #bcpoli #sotuinthreewords #uspoli

Were You Expecting anything different? #Lameduck

The Lame Duck President is moments away from starting is annual “Quack Off” known as the State of the Union which will contain numerous threats of executive orders and proceeding without congress etc. ( Of course We the People elected Congress but Obama doesn’t care)

He will blather on about how he needs to jack up the minimum wage to federal workers when a large portion of interns don’t even get paid.

He will say this has to be a year of action and that they have to get things done. Uniquely the Republicans will say the the same thing only with a different end game in mind.

He will talk ad nauseum about the fact that most people work longer hours for less while the 1% has gotten better off conveniently leaving out the part that this is his second term and it was him that more or less did nothing in the first ( You can’t count Obama-care because that is a screw up of Herculean proportions).

Throughout the night the pundits will slice and dice the speech and score it a win or a loss and if you stay awake through it all the Republicans will scowl and the Democrats will howl.( With the noted exception of Hilary Clinton who will wonder yet again why this knucklehead got the nomination a head of her).

The 30 million people that will tune in to watch this nonsense would more than likely be better served by watching the war of tweets unfold on Twitter.

At least there they will have some good laughs and yes they will all have one thing in common:They can all cry out that they wasted an hour and it will be 140 characters or less and look like this : #sotuinthreewords !

Enjoy the hour and Quack on Mr.President!

Frank Klees Says Good Bye! #onpoli #canpoli #bcpoli #klees

Frank Klees: Premier Wynne: Do the right thing and give Ontario a Christmas Present; Give them the gift of an election!

One of the neat things about having lived in most major cities in Canada is that you get to meet lots of interesting people.

When you follow politics as close as I do, you also meet lots of politicians both good and bad.

Frank Klees is a good one!

I first met Frank Klees when he became an MPP in 1995 and I was a fundraiser for the party with the likes of Jim Ginou,Gord Walker and John Craig Eaton.

I met him after a presentation he did for a small group of us in the Albany Club. In fact I slipped him my card and told him I would be glad to help him if he ever needed it.

For those of you that don’t know, those were the days of the Common Sense Revolution.

I watched Klees move up thought the ranks through cabinet and take a couple of runs at the leadership. ( helped him from all the way out here in BC!)

He is the consummate team player and one of the best politicians I have had the pleasure of calling my friend.

Ontario will miss Frank more than they realize. He is a tireless MPP who goes to the wall for constituents and holds the current government’s feet to the fire.

Frank ,Thank you for your years of service. I have appreciated your work and all that it has taught me.

You have been a mentor form afar.

Prime Minister Harper would be on the right track to reach out to Frank and ask him to put his retirement off a bit.

He would be a great MP.

Ontario By Elections-Good measuring sticks for all Parties! #bcpoli #onpoli #canpoli

The upcoming by elections in Ontario could be used as a fairly important measuring stick as far as a potential full-on spring election in that province goes.

There is a lot at stake for all parties.

For the Tim Hudak lead Progressive Conservatives these votes will tell the tale of the shape they are in heading into the full on election. Are Hudak’s troubles behind him? We’ll soon know.

For the Andrea Horwath lead NDP these votes provide a chance to be taken seriously. A hammering at the polls here and they are in trouble.

There is a lot of discussions when by elections are called and whether they are important to the government of the day.

With the Forum poll released today maybe the Liberals internal polling is even worse and maybe these elections are more important than we are lead to believe.

Why else would the Liberals trot out Justin Trudeau to campaign at this early stage if they weren’t?

For the Kathleen Wynne lead Ontario Liberals these byelections are all about survival. Should they get their heads handed to them in February it could be a bellwether to defeat down the road.

It won’t bode well for Trudeau either, if he can’t turn the tide!

Surrey Municipal Election : It’s time for a Change, It’s Time for Rasode! #surrey #rasode #bcpoli #canpoli

If ever there was an example of why it’s time for a change in Surrey, todays’ quick thinking action by Councilor Barinder Rasode is an example of why we need somebody like her in the Mayor’s chair.

Rsaode, who was already making plans to add lighting to the recreation centers in Surrey, is on top of the problem and has been since the unfortunate death of hockey mom Julie Paskall and responded in kind when reporter Janet Brown witnessed a drug deal outside a Surrey recreation center.

Watts on the other hand has been missing in action on the file while she has been off arguing about the transit referendum question with Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson.

Note to Watts: If you are not sure what the provincial objective is going into the referendum why not lean across the council table and ask Marvin Hunt ? He is both a councilor and a provincial MLA. You would think he could clue you in there wouldn’t you?

Barinder Rasode has her priorities right! While transit is important, it is even more vital that the good citizens of Surrey ( those visiting as well) stay alive long enough to actually board a bus or get in the car. She knows that Surrey needs to be safe.

It’s why more and more people are saying it’s time for a change, it’s time for Rasode.

I couldn’t agree more!

Rumor Du Jour-Surrey Municipal! #bcpoli #surrey #canpoli

Heard this past week in Surrey is talk of a new slate to be put together in time for the November Municipal elections.

As the story goes the new slate would be headed by mayoralty candidate Barinder Rasode.

Her slate would take on the invincible Surrey mayor Dianne Watts.

Apparently the Mayor is not so incincible with the lack of police and the recent Surrey hockey Mom Murder.

Watts has done a great job in her tenure as Mayor but so has Rasode in her role as a councilor.

I met her last week at the Surrey Women’s Center.She was excellent and would be a good mayor too!

It would also be good for the city to have some strong competition for Watts come the election as the last election was a cakewalk for her and her slate and a lot of people didn’t even bother to vote.

It also adds fuel to the fire of the other rumor drifting around Surrey.

That would be Watts leaving to run federally for the Conservative party.

Heard any rumors? Drop me a confidential line through the contact page and I’ll dig around and report what I find.

Rumour Du Jour- BCNDP Leadership Contest #bcpoli #canpoli #bcndp

Goodbye Tommy Mulcair; it was fun while it lasted!

The Rumor Mill is working over time trying to generate some interst in the BCNDP Leadership race.( Is there one? )

Today overheard more than once the rumour of Kennedy Stewart leaving federal politics and throwing his hat in the provincial ring.

In case you don’t know who Kennedy is, go here.

Kennedy could stand a few lessons in bio writing as evidenced here. ( Whoever said there is no I in team)

If true, that would add to the rumor list of defecting federal NDPers supposedly leaving.

Stories out of Toronto have already been spreading that Olivia Chow will leave to take on Toronto mayor Rob Ford.

This spells bad news for Tom Mulcair and his party who see Justin Trudeau and his crew in their rear view mirror who lock to be a lock to become official opposition in 2015.

Hearing this rumor one would imagine Christy Clark must be shaking in her boots! ( sarcasm intended)

Rumor Du Jour-Saanich Gulf Islands ! #canpoli #bcpoli #sgi

In amongst the oil pipeline demonstrators at Brentwood College in beautiful Mill Bay yesterday ( these are the tard muffins that would rather have their oil trained and trucked), a new rumor has risen from the ashes.

There is talk that Elizabeth May will cross the floor and run under the Umbrella of the I love China Justin Trudeau Liberals.

It would be a match made in heaven say some since one is a dope and the other smokes a plant of the same name.

Who knows maybe Gary Lunn will come out of retirement and make that whole thing interesting.

Only time will tell!

Stay Tuned!