Are the BC Liberals Imploding?

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by Stingray2004

Good point. Gordo is very annoying and the Liberals are centre/centre-right and you know what they stand for....

Really? If you voted for Gordo in 2001 you though he voted for keeping BC Rail. Oops! If you voted for Gordo in 2009 you thought he was against the idea of an HST. Oops!

Originally Posted by Stingray2004

...I have said it once and I will say it again. Once Gordo leaves his successor will likely be Dianne Watts (perhaps even Carole Taylor) and once that transition occurs the political dynamic is akin to a speeding freight train. It's unstoppable...

Then they'll be the next election's Rita Johnston or Kim Campbell. Carole's too smart for that, don't know about Watts.

The problem with James is that she seems like a nice lady, but she's not dynamic enough. Plus when a woman challenges the gov't she comes across as "whiney", when a man does it he comes across as "aggressive".

[twoNeurons]

Originally Posted by ozonemania

Maybe they've been in too long. Any government in power that long can't avoid perceptions of corruption, favouritism... real or not. In this kind of stable environment, you develop working, if not close, relationships with all the stakeholders that really matter. It would require extreme vigilance to make sure that everything is done purely at an arms-length, neutral manner (and as it should be).

It becomes almost impossible for a ruling party to not allow corruption to creep in. It's just a matter of how long they can go without it before it happens.

It then becomes a game of how long you can hide the corruption vs. the opposing party's ability to expose it.

Really, we should all be working on the same team... in an ideal world.

Have you EVER seen the opposition party praise the ruling party for something that they agreed with? I don't think you'll ever see that.

[whatnext]

What a difference a few months makes! According to the Globe & Mail the BC Liberals are indeed imploding. No wonder Diane Watts didn't want to be the new Rita Johnston.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/...rticle1802976/

[Spork]

Bill Bennett is clearly a crackpot. Why would he stick his neck out to bash Campbell after the fact? What is he going to gain for anybody but himself (assuming he switches to another party)?

[WarrenC12]

Welcome to BC politics. Don't worry, the NDP are about to bring out the knives and get rid of James too...

[Fairbanks]

There are now 3 Independents sitting in the Legislature. I think Bill Bennett wants to be kicked out of the Lib Party to attain "Martyr Status" in his home riding. If he is kicked out and sits as an independent and if the 4 indys decide to band together they are entitled to provincial party status and will then receive party funds. God help us all!

[Stingray2004]

BREAKING NEWS

New Public Opinion Poll (Mustel) Shows Liberals only 5% Behind NDP:

Liberal - 37%
NDP - 42%
Green - 10%
CPC - 9%

Even with the Liberals currently having a proverbial "fence post with hair" as leader and with all of their foibles, they are now only 5% behind the NDP. Incredible.

Imagine what the momentum of the leadership race will do to these Liberal numbers once the contenders get out of the starting gate.

Carole James - approval rating: 33% - disapproval rating: 45%. Ouch.

http://www.mustelgroup.com/pdf/20101119.pdf

[go_leafs_go02]

Originally Posted by Stingray2004

BREAKING NEWS

New Public Opinion Poll (Mustel) Shows Liberals only 5% Behind NDP:

Liberal - 37%
NDP - 42%
Green - 10%
CPC - 9%

Even with the Liberals currently having a proverbial "fence post with hair" as leader and with all of their foibles, they are now only 5% behind the NDP. Incredible.

Imagine what the momentum of the leadership race will do to these Liberal numbers once the contenders get out of the starting gate.

Carole James - approval rating: 33% - disapproval rating: 45%. Ouch.

http://www.mustelgroup.com/pdf/20101119.pdf

Conservative Party has grown this year by leaps and bounds. Wonder if they put forth an excellent campaign in some rural ridings could they have a chance - especially if certain recalls are successful.

[Stingray2004]

Originally Posted by go_leafs_go02

Conservative Party has grown this year by leaps and bounds. Wonder if they put forth an excellent campaign in some rural ridings could they have a chance - especially if certain recalls are successful.

Firstly, I would much prefer the Ontario political alignment with the PC's and Libs the dominant parties and the NDP taking a smaller third party role. It's makes a change in government much more palatable.

As for the BC Conservatives - they are an odd duck. They have not elected an MLA since 1978, during a by-election in Oak Bay-Gordon Head (next to Victoria), when new party leader Vic Stephens won the seat after party leader Dr. Scott Wallace stepped down.

Stephens subsequently lost the seat to the Socreds in the ensuing 1979 provincial election. Ever since then, the BC Conservatives have been moribund with their ever revolving feckless leaders.

Fast forward to 2009 and there were two BC Conservative parties with two different websites. Both went to Court to decide which one was the "real" BC Conservative Party.

Recently, BC Conservative Party leader Wilf Hanni quit to form his own BC Heritage Party. And then BC Conservative deputy leader Chris Delaney also quit to form his own BC First Party. Talk about fractured city.

The BC Conservatives don't have a leader and their "advisory group" consists of some real wingnuts like former MP Randy White and former Socred leader Rita Johnston.

The current 9% support for the BC Conservatives is more "vote parking" by Liberal voters than anything else. As an aside, in the ridings where the BC Conservatives ran candidates during the 2009 election, they took more votes away from the NDP than the Liberals (based upon 2005 election results). Imagine that. The Conservatives natural base would be in the BC interior/Fraser Valley.

BTW, recalls have a slim to none chance to succeed. The bar is set way to high and only 1 out of 20 has ever been successful.

[twoNeurons]

I don't think the plan with the recalls is to succeed. It's basically just to keep issues in the news.

[golog]

What about Vanderzalm, surely he's itching to play puppetmaster for some new party.

There was just something about the way he said he's not considering running for a seat in politics, and the way he left politics. He's obviously eager to get out there and exercise his ambition.

I think the petition is all a ruse to gain power so that he can keep a streetcar line from passing near his Coal Harbour condo.

[touraccuracy]

^ahaha, i hope that's true just for entertainment purposes.

[vanlaw]

Originally Posted by go_leafs_go02

Conservative Party has grown this year by leaps and bounds. Wonder if they put forth an excellent campaign in some rural ridings could they have a chance - especially if certain recalls are successful.

BC has a provincial conservative party? I've lived here my whole life, and always followed politics relatively closely, and wasnt even aware they existed here on a provincial level

[Stingray2004]

Now this afternoon, it looks like the NDP is collapsing/imploding internally with NDP caucus chair Katrine Conroy resigning in protest against Carole James' leadership.

Conroy also had NDP MLA's MLAs Jenny Kwan, Lana Popham and Claire Trevena supporting her against the leadership of Carole James. Other NDP MLA's are also apparently not supporting James. Does James now kick them out of caucus?

This is a train wreck in the making. The NDP is internally collapsing. Never seen anything like it.

[Yume-sama]

lol both parties are imploding and seem unfit to form a government. Let's form an SSP Party !

Hmm. Who should be our leader? jlo?

[Fairbanks]

Originally Posted by vanlaw

BC has a provincial conservative party? I've lived here my whole life, and always followed politics relatively closely, and wasnt even aware they existed here on a provincial level

If you know anything about BC political parties then you know that the Social Credit Party (Socreds) were a "small c" conservative party. The Social Credit Party was social in name only. The BC LIberal Party is the current incarnation of the Social Credit Party. Just because they call themselves Liberals they are not like the fed Liberal Party. The BC Liberal Party are "small l" Liberals in name only.

Both parties are conservative in platform.

The BC Conservative party is the BC Conservative party only because the name, "conservative" is available. If you think of the BC Conservative Party as "conservative" just look at their platform...they are the BC version of the REFORM Party. BAD NEWS.

[go_leafs_go02]

Originally Posted by Yume-sama

lol both parties are imploding and seem unfit to form a government. Let's form an SSP Party !

Hmm. Who should be our leader? jlo?

Can you imagine.

Within 5 years -

Evergreen line built
Expo line would be extended.
we'd have 10 lane highways everywhere.
every skyscraper proposal would be instantly approved

And the province would end past Abbotsford. haha.

[Yume-sama]

I don't know, with us appointing Hed Kandi to be in charge of building development I don't think ANYTHING would get built.

Unless it was twisty and shiny.

[dubsH]

Originally Posted by go_leafs_go02

Can you imagine.

Within 5 years -

Evergreen line built
Expo line would be extended.
we'd have 10 lane highways everywhere.
every skyscraper proposal would be instantly approved

And the province would end past Abbotsford. haha.

lol, everything but that I would think. There's no need for that many lanes anywhere in British Columbia. Plus, this board is split 50 for bikes, and 50 for cars. You might end up with some party members suggesting bike lanes on every street instead.

[go_leafs_go02]

Originally Posted by dubsH

lol, everything but that I would think. There's no need for that many lanes anywhere in British Columbia. Plus, this board is split 50 for bikes, and 50 for cars. You might end up with some party members suggesting bike lanes on every street instead.

Not even the Port Mann/Alex Fraser/Massey Tunnel?