One One hand you have a premier who undoubtedly thinks that in her heart she is a Bollywood actress and on the other hand you have a simpleton NDPer who after his party slams the BC Liberals for the sham that is known as the “faux” Bollywood awards, cozys up right next to her proving once and for all he ( Moe Sihota) is politically inept .
Of course Sihota is no garden variety NDPer, he is the President and he should know better.
This is also no climb up the IQ scale for Clark as she once again demonstrates that she is clueless as she hitches herself up to Sihota and his checkered past.
Lets be clear, this is not a case of two parties working together, this picture is an example of the kind of rank opportunism that both Clark and Sihota are famous for.
If Adrian Dix and his team had been thinking election 2013 would be a cake walk, Sihota linking himself up with the Faux Premier at the Faux Bollywood awards will remind the public how similar and sleazy these two parties are.
It’s just another reason why it’s time for a change as the two so called main parties continue to show a mirror image of themselves.
Kinda makes the BC Conservatives and the Green Party look appealing doesn’t it?
The election is a little over a week away and already the fun has begun. Stay tuned.
Through out Election 2013 I will bring you bloopers from the wonderful world of social media. I will discuss their impact, if any, on the campaign. After the campaign is over I will compile a list and you the reader can vote on which one was the worst or best. ( depending on which side of the tweet you sit)
Kevin Krueger’s recent email to the Conservative party and it’s members will be ruled ineligible because it would probably win and heck email is not what everybody thinks of when they think of social media.
Twitter on the other hand is a social media vehicle widely used, perfected by Obama ( yes I gave credit to a Liberal) that will most likely land a number of users in hot water.
I read the tweet from Minister Bennett during a caucus gathering last night and could not believe he would say that the NDP were turds, election hutzpah or not .
This is wrong on more than one front.
Firstly, to refer to anybody as a turd on twitter is a basic Politics social media 101 faux pas that not even a backbencher would dare do that let alone somebody who is a Minister and party Campaign Manager.
The Campaign Manager part is important in that it is the role model that 85 other Today’s BC Liberal campaign managers will look up to.
With Bennett filling that role look for a fairly exciting campaign with lots of faux pas blogs from me and other bloggers.
Secondly and even more telling on the tweet to me was the phrase ” strange that everyone is getting along” because this statement in itself confirms what blogger Alex Tsakumis and others have been saying all along, namely that there is dissension in the Today’s BC Liberal Caucus.
With one tweet we now know that is true. ( Remember Bennett said he was joking about the turds not the dissension).
With a little over a month to go before the writ is dropped to kick off election 2013 the faux pas contest is off to a flying start!
Today’s released Angus Reid poll shows Adrian Dix at the top of the list ( tied with Nova Scotia Liberal Leader Stephen McNeil) as the best opposition leader.
Perhaps then since Dix has played the role so well he should be returned there after the next election to continue.
After all if you are good at something you should play to your strengths, correct?
In the who would make the best premier list Brad Wall finished first while Ontario’s Dalton McGuinty
finished last.
This is after McGuinty saw the writing on the wall and announced his resignation.
That would therefore imply that our Premier, Christy Clark,who finished second last would actually be the last once McGuinty leaves.
Had the folks in budget planning read at least until they got to page 6 they would have seen that natural gas was trading even lower in 2011 than it was in 2010.
We know from the last economic update a few weeks back that that figure is even worse now and took a lot of the blame for the increase in the deficit from our fearless Finance Minister Mike ( Don’t worry I will still balance the budget within two months) de Jong.
If you are familiar with the expression bullshit baffles brains; be prepared for the Liberals to do everything they can ( Including having Suhk Dhaliwal say he supports the BC Liberal Government‘s Economic record ) to henceforth pull out all the stops to,well, baffle your brain.
This all happened, by the way while the house was not in session ,because the BC Liberal retreaded Ministers had to spend that time getting familiar with their files?
Next thing you know, they will tell the house in the spring they need more time to get the budget in order when they put through legislation to change the fixed election date.
Former Federal Liberal Sukh Dhaliwal Joins the BC Liberal Team!
Below you can read the email from Sukh Dhaliwal introducing himself as the BC Liberal Candidate for the riding of Surrey- Panoramma .
He says he is not prepared to sit on the sidelines and be an observer during the next election.
Lets be clear: Sukh is on the sidelines because the voters in his federal Electoral District handed him his head on a silver platter in the last federal election.
His email proves he hasn’t learned the lesson the voters sent him.
This course includes bringing in the HST,taking her sweet time getting rid of it once the people by referendum directed her to, adding an extra holiday, raising the minimum wage all at great cost to the very same small business people that Sukh claims to be a part of.
They have raised just about every rate you can name and at the same time say they have a family first agenda.
We have been gouged with gas,carbon and toll taxes in the BC Liberals continuing war in the car.
We have watched as they tried to sell of the Liquor Distribution Branch in their latest attempt at a cash grab necessary to balance the budget.
Dhaliwal will fit right in with this BC Liberal crew given the pointers he probably picked up from his formal federal Liberal mates during the tail end of the sponsorship scandal.
I expect that come election night Sukh will find out there is still a place for him on the side lines as I am sure the voters haven’t forgotten.
Maybe while he is waiting he can help the Premier figure out why the women don’t support her in the polls.
While we are all getting prepared for the upcoming holiday season, I am also excited to be getting back on the campaign trail.
I have decided to accept the nomination to run in the next provincial election May 14 to represent my riding of Surrey-Panorama. My current MLA, Hon. Stephanie Cadieux, will be moving to Surrey-Cloverdale, where she lives, to take the place of the retiring Kevin Falcon.
I want to thank Kevin for his exceptional service to this province and especially to Surrey. While I was a Member of Parliament, Mr. Falcon was a great help to me on a number of issues. I wish Kevin and his family the best in their future.
The next election is a very critical one for our province. We are at a crossroads. I have made this decision to run because I am not prepared to sit on the sidelines.
I have lived in Surrey-Panorama for the past 15 years, raised my family here, built my business, and of course represented part of this riding as a Member of Parliament from 2006 to 2011.
As a small business owner with 12 employees, I am responsible for the incomes that support 12 families. The prospect of an NDP government is very concerning to me, and to many small business owners who I have spoken to throughout the riding.
It is very important that we have a government that believes in free enterprise and a competitive economic climate.
Premier Clark and the BC Liberals are the best choice to protect our economy, and I am proud to join the team to defend these principles.
As I always have, I believe in governance that is balanced – sound fiscal management with a social conscience. I believe that a thriving economy allows for strong investments in health care, in education, in social services, etc.
I also want to help the Premier keep taxes low, and make life more affordable for families and seniors. This is a fundamental principle that the NDP has seemed to forgotten – that the middle class will be squeezed out, and that they need relief, not extra tax burdens in order to pay for the basic services we deserve as British Columbians.
The future of our province is at stake, and my candidacy is my way of standing up for the people and the interests of Surrey-Panorama.
What do you mean Polak said our Goals are “Aspira-tional”? That was supposed to be kept secret!
I didn’t make that up. Those words came from the mouth of Transportation Minister Mary Polak when she was describing the targets set by her department and questioned by auditor general John Doyle.
This is the same Mary Polak that told us during the HST discussion that BC had the lowest provincial sales tax rate in Canada conveniently leaving out the fact that Alberta has zero.
“Aspira-tional goals she said will be kept on the books to what; fire up the staff who know they don’t have a hope of hitting them.
What about setting some realistic goals with a realistic budget that we can all review and evaluate?
Speaking of budgets,I wonder if balancing the budget is “Aspira-tional” to this BC Liberal Government?
One can only imagine the ” aspira-tional” smoke and mirrors that will come out of Polak’s colleague Finance Minister Mike de Jong when that document is released.
What next? Maybe having an election in May will be “Aspira-tional” and that date will be changed when the house reconvenes in the New Year.
According to current Finance Minister Mike De Jong is a delay in the closing of the sale of Little Mountain housing project. Dejong said he does not expect that to close until June.
DeJong then followed in Clark’s footsteps and said no matter, we will balance the budget next year as in February.
unbelievable.
Here are a few things glossed over by both Premier Clark and Finance Manager de Jong.
2) Whether you were for or against the privatization of the Liquor Distribution Branch,getting caught with their hand in the cookie jar cost the Liberals $700 million which the previous Finance Minister had used in last years budget to project a balanced budget this year.
Lets be clear about this too: As you are reading this thinking they are wasting your money, it’s beyond that. They are into your credit cards ( we don’t have any money) so it’s a lot worse.
To give this some context for you.Yesterday Toronto Mayor Rob Ford lost his job for using his letterhead to raise $3,100 for needy children while the BC Liberals used their letterhead to not only blow another $15 million to raise votes for themselves, but also sink you are your family $328 million further in debt.
A monster horror show of a day by anybody’s standards is just another day at the office for the BC Liberals.
To Wit : The Christy Clark team, as they were winding down their night yesterday were digesting the news that they were once again caught with their hand in the cookie jar regarding the Anti-Dix web-site. Likely as they were tucking themselves in, blackberries went off with the news that BC Liberal-South Abbotsford Abbotsford executive had resigned en masse over the forced nomination of candidate Daryl Plecas.
After tossing and turning all night I would imagine they awoke wondering what next.
What next would have been more stunning news from the land of BC Liberal booze where Gary Mason exposed the Rich Coleman collect a donation for a tax refund scheme.
Think that was the worst news of the day? Think again.
For Premier Christy Clark and her party who have spent her entire leadership career strumming the ole banjo and singing families first comes the news that BC owns a 14.3 per cent child poverty rate, the second worst in Canada.
The report says to cure child poverty the BC Liberal government must attack child poverty with the same gusto that they attack jobs.
I have been listening to discussions a lot lately about what issue or issues the BC 2013 election will be fought over.
One pundit says the economy ( I guess that’s fashionable since James Carville coined the phrase ‘it’s the Economy Stupid!”),another says the election will be fought over BC Rail,another says it will be all about getting rid of the BC Liberals.
Some people even say that this election will revolve around the environment or post secondary education.
What about fracking?
One thing they all seem to agree on is that the government should be framing the ballot box issue.
In truth and in fact they are all wrong.
These are not issues they are files within a mandate.
Elections are about Leadership!
You don’t vote on the economy you vote on who best to lead you through a rough patch or who to lead and manage a good economy.
BC Rail? You are not voting on that, you are voting on who best to lead the legislature to make sure that never happens again?
The environment? Post secondary education? Those are not issues; the issue is who best to lead the province in the right direction and manage those two files.
The pipeline? Just another file. You vote on who best to handle the file.
The Government frames the issue right?
They should be. Gordon Campbell ( no matter what you think of him) was very good at framing the leadership issue. He won three elections. He also left when he realised he could no longer frame this as his issue.
Today the government is no longer setting the pace on the main issue for the upcoming general election.
If you believe the polls the BCNDP are framing the issue of leadership for the government.
Adrian Dix is waging a very calculated and to this point successful campaign showing himself to be the best leader.
He is including everybody in the discussion and is not afraid to release bits of his platform.
A case in point: His recent speech at the Vancouver Board of Trade. he told a largely pro business audience that if successful in the election he would raise corporate taxes back to levels of 2008.
He is showing extreme confidence and speaks with out emotion.
He lays claim to wanting to do politics differently and backs it up with statements like” If the Federal government changes their mind and does not close the Vancouver Coast Guard I will be the first one to issue a press release applauding the government and that decision.
Contrast that with the premier who, when asked on a radio show ( Bill Good to give credit where it’s due),to comment on the polls showing the women’s vote is going to the NDP said after a few callers phoned in, it’s early,people are not paying attention and I plan to run on my record.
What the premier should have said was’ those polls are on me, I am the leader and I have seven months to work hard and prove that I am the right person for the job.
So as of right now the she is right, she will be running on her record.It is a record of not taking simple leadership of a simple question.
Likewise the optics from the recent BC Conservative AGM and dissident fiasco were not good for the party and when contrasted against the backdrop of Adrian Dix’s handling of George’s Heyman’s position on fracking ( George is entitled to his opinion we welcome discussion here) once again gave the voting public something to compare them to.
There are seven months to go until the election.
To be successful the BCNDP needs to continue what they are doing, the other parties have to catch up.
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