The Day of Decision/Destruction/Disaster has finally arrived. Longtime political columnist Vaughn Palmer reviews the election campaign. BC political pundit Alex Tsakumis has published his detailed predictions. Yours truly was discussing the election with Charles Adler this afternoon.
Update: Post-election analysis request: Now that the election is over and the Liberals have won a majority, what conclusions do you feel can be drawn from the results? What policies of the Liberals and the NDP do you feel the average British Columbia voter supports and which ones do you feel they reject?
Stunned NDP supporters at their surprising loss:
h/t max
I'm getting tired of AGT's ongoing railings and rantings, don't give him much credence anymore. Reads like a champagne socialist, who also votes for PMSH.
Having said that, the Libs deserve their fate for any number of reasons, mostly, their sharp left turn, leaving a huge void in the middle and right. The BCTories are a shuffleboard club..
And for that, we get to watch another version of class warfare from the nebbish Comrade Dix and his band of shop stewards, janitors, and activists. That's the left for you, they would vote for a bag of hammers if it had the NDP brand on it.....how long will it take for the Dips to run a $4 billion deficit and blame it on Christy Clark?
I cast my vote. My choice was "I Like Mike" the Conservative or "Believe in Steve" the Liberal. I went with Mike. (Was he from Canmore?)
The Liberals are winning in my riding anyways (Kelowna) so my vote was a protest.
Adious Christy. Good riddance.
They put my polling place in just the right place to remind every voter how utterly pathetic the Liberal government has been. It was in a place cut off from the rest of the city by a highway, took me 20 minutes of sitting through traffic to get there and it wasn't rush hour. We're talking a distance of 3 kilometers here. Anyway I spoiled the ballot there was only 3 leftist to vote for.
Voted Conservative, and happy to have done so.
For me the main event is a non-event. One terrible party, the Liberals, trying to beat another equally terrible party, the NDP. It makes no difference which one wins, the province is screwed. NDP = Liberals at this point. Think of the NDP as the chemotherapy required to get rid of the cancer, namely the current crop of Liberals.
The consolation prize is more interesting. The best prize would be:
1. The Cons get a few seats.
2. The Greens get *no* seats.
3. Christy "I'm-out-of-my-depth" Clark loses her seat.
If this was a horror movie it would be very short, sort of like "Bambi meets Godzilla"
It should be in the bag for the NDP by about 8:45 maybe at the latest 9:15. Then all the truck rentals to leave BC will be booked up for weeks to come. Housing prices should take a hit as well as people leave in droves. (I've always wondered what a drove is?). I'm trying to be as negative as I can because the reality can only be better. That's the bright side of being a pessimist, being wrong can only be a good thing.
I do hope that Christie Clark is gone after this. I didn't like her in her first political incarnation. I quit listening to CKNW because of her, and I strongly dislike her as premier. Too smarmy and condescending.
mid island mike
I predict the lotus eaters will embrace political masochism again by putting an economically irresponsible socialist regime in power which will proceed to shut down the wealth engines in BC, and by extension damage AB and Sask petro-economies. BC will be a federal welfare province in 18 months. 3 insolvent welfare provinces (Ont./Que./BC) plus a prolonged US depression will turn our fragile recovery on its head - and you have no one but the ditzy left coast voter to blame.
Takes guts to spoil a ballot, and I don't blame you for doing so.
Occam, we already have an economically irresponsible socialist regime in power now. You can put lipstick on a socialist pig and call it a BC Liberal, it's still a socialist pig.
Clark has to go, and the Liberal Party desperately need new leadership. The only way it will happen is if the NDP wins. Such is life. There is a cost to everything.
Just how different would the story be had Falcon won the leadership? Here's hoping we survive the next 4 years intact. On the bright side we will be rid of Clark. She can go back to ruining CKNW's afternoon ratings.
Should be entertaining, with over 1/2 the Canadian population on the take, Ont/Que/BC, I hope we can kill the equalization programme.
Maybe Alberta will revolt and oust Alison the Red and then tell Ottawa to shove it.
That pipeline up to Norman Wells and then over to Skagway(Old Canol Pipeline route) is going to make the Yukon, NWT and Alaska right proud.
YJ
The Liberal party needs an enema, not a leadership change.
I'm hoping for a similar scenario as Quebec, where the socialists got a weak victory.
TJ
The Liberal party needs an enema, not "just" a leadership change.
Oh, and my bet for how long it takes for Sun News to call it for the NDP is 15 minutes, tops.
"Just how different would the story be had Falcon won the leadership?"
Couldn't agree more....what could have been....what could have been, my oh my.
I'm actually upbeat in a morbid sort of way. In some sick sense I want the NDP to win because I simply can't stand the sight of the Liberals anymore.
I know it's sick, but I can't help it. And I voted Conservative so my conscience is clear.
The best we BCers can hope for is a Liberal win and Clark losing her seat. I live in enemy territory where most of my neighbours have NDP signs on their lawns and don't realize what will happen to the value of their property if Dix and his band of thieves and idiots get power.
Absolutely right Dan.
When Ernie Eves was replaced by Mcuinty, I rationalized that Eves was a twit and it was not a big loss. 10 years later the Mcuinty is finally gone but it will take even more time to dump the rest of his Liberals.
When Mulroney and his Meech Lake/Charlottetown obsession was over I rationalized that it was no big loss. It took 13 years for the Reform Party movement to finally culminate with a conservative government to replace the Liberals.
So, my two cents, is that no matter how bad Clark may be, voting NDP would be a big mistake. Two wrongs don't make a right. The second wrong is sometimes worse than the first.
TJ, I agree with you. There is NO WAY that such a corrupt gov't should stay in power; Clark would take that as an affirmation of her leadership. She needs to go out like Ujjal Dosanjh did. Hey, maybe she could join the federal Liberals, too?
It appears that the Libs will take a majority. It is still early,but the polls appear to have been wrong again.
Its early, and I promised not to look because of the apparent inevitable Dipper junta, but, 42 minutes into it, the Libs lead with 43 setas.
SMALL SAMPLE SIZE WARNING.
But, quite often, election tones are set early, and does not change very much.
Given that, a near 50/50 split may happen, and might be the nest thing, neither party could go extreme. As long as Christy is punted, I can deal with that!
Was disappointed that there was no Marijuana party or Libertarian candidate in my riding. Was pondering spoiling my ballot but just got back from Florida last night and didn't have any time to print up some NOTA stickers to attach to the ballot.
Of potential significance is that the polling station I went to at hospital was close to running out of ballots and there was an actual lineup. My next door neighbor voted at a regular polling station and same situation there. Now when the turnout is large, it means that people are either voting for something or against something. I haven't found a single person I've talked to in my area of BC have a good word to say about the Lieberals big titted moonbat leader. OTOH, I've been a bit surprised at a lot of people making similar comments about the NDP. The one party that is ready to benefit from a protest vote is the BC Conservative party. That's who I voted for and will be interesting to see if this was a common decision. I disagree with a lot of their policies and would have voted for a Libertarian had the choice been available.
As DanBC has said, the results so far are based on very small samples... now at 49 seats leading for the Liberals.
Christy Clark is leading in her own seat of Point Gray / Vancouver
A couple of links from the Vancouver msm:
http://www.vancouversun.com/index.html
http://www.theprovince.com/index.html
The popular vote is holding steady 44% Libs - 38% NDP. This is looking like Alberta all over with regards to prior assumptions.
Having said that, I've no idea of the poll by poll numbers, so the NDP vote may not be in yet.
I was out with friends and just got home. This is not at all as I expected:
LIB: 49 NDP: 33 GRN: 1 IND: 1 CON: 0 OTH: 0
Elected & Leading results last published: May. 14, 2013, 8:53 PM PDT
Maybe, just maybe, the true victory might happen: The Liberals get elected with a majority but Christy Clark loses in her own riding and then the knives come out in the Liberal Party and they get a sensible leader.
Robert I'm flabbergasted, and thought the Dips had it in the bag.
Maybe, just maybe, Dix' vast promises of enriched welfare spending scared manny swing voters into the fact that keeping taxe low is better than giving a welfarian 3 more packs of smokes a month ($20) that Dix promised.
Leftist heads exploding start in 3, 2, 1................
Dan,
If the Communists do lose, I plan to head out on the streets with my camera and capture photos of their sorry faces!
Robert
From an Alberta perspective,a Liberal win is a win for the pipeline. Therefore,a Liberal win is a win for Canada.
Go Libs Go.
Voted BC Conservative, as the alternatives were back to the BC Ferries scandal and Glen Clark's sundeck or more of the same from the Liberals...and their 'balanced budget' which after the election will have a nice hole in the bucket.
In any case I'll sleep well at night...
Cheers
Hans Rupprecht, Commander in Chief
1st Saint Nicolaas Army
Army Group “True North”
I was waiting for the final tally to say the same thing.
The people of BC know not what the stakes of this election really were.
Robert, you can down to Adrian's, and buy him a warm beer......I'm stunned.......I was polled by FOCUS last week, but answered undecided to everything.
And I like the fact that Tsakumis will have 3 heaping helpings of crow tomorrow!
Dan, you can listen to Tsakumis here. He ain't happy.
No sympathy for him. He really started pandering to the NDP/ I get the whole Christy thing, but, he lost focus......that crow should be good with souvlaki style
Vancouver Point Grey ... with 38 / 147 polling stations reporting, Clark (Liberal) 2082 Eby (NDP) 1913
too early to call, but likely to hold this trend.
:) I'm pleased with the overall result so far... the alternative is odious.
Yeah I've been done with Tsakumis for quite a long time now. It's sure looking like another 5 years of liberal terrorist destruction.
I'm watching it on CBC.
I'm not positive ,but I think the commie analyst just said that if the dippers don't win at the polls they will make their views known in other ways,along the lines of protests,blockades,etc.
Anyone else catch that?
OMG on CKNW I'm now hearing Bill Not So Good talking with Paul Ramsay and asserting that if the Liberals win that "Christy Clark has the right to claim all the credit for this victory." Sooooooooo untrue!!!
Most British Columbians loathe and detest her and her policies.
Bright note: Scumbag David Eby has just pulled a little ahead of Christy Clark.
This Clark/Eby race looks close so this could be good news. The rat queen's twin could go down in flames.
Christy is still in jeopardy. We may get our ultimate wish, a Liberal win and a Christy loss, forcing a leadership review.
Adrian Dix overheard quoting Mark Twain. "The People Have Spoken, The Bastards."
wallyj.
The Dips and comrades have always been sore losers.
and Christy slowly falls behind.........a stunning win, and the premier loses.
I LOVE BC POLITICS.......
Logically a leadership review should happen if Clark loses her seat but just watch the incestuous Media Party do a full court press and lie to British Columbians that this victory is all because of Clark. This victory was IN SPITE of Clark!
One of the few times in my life that I'm hoping for an NDP win (just in Clarke's riding). That moonbat has to go.
Interesting result. BC politics has always been about trying to prevent the commies getting into power (at least during the 30 years that I've lived in BC). I thought that with 12 years of Lieberal moonbat mismanagement that the people would be fed up and try something different for a change. I really hope that the Lieberal party gets shaken up with the loss of their moonbat leader.
A more positive way of looking at this is that the people of BC don't want the commies to have another turn at running the province into the ground. However, I suspect that a lot of the people I talked to who ranted about the Lieberals being finished actually voted for this party in secret. Personally, I'd have been quite happy to let the BC Conservatives run this province as we'd get at least a few years without the crony capitalism and moonbat ideology which characterizes this province. Guess I can't use the excuse of the commies getting into power to move out of BC into a less moonbat infested area.
Now the pollster navel gazing begins. They polled up until yesterday and still got it wrong by over 10 points!
Its KATE SMITH TIME!
If she looses all they will do is by elect in a safe seat.. Can't stand her but if the N D P don't win that means BC dodged a big painfully bullet.
Well, I must say you Canadians are full of surprises. And, on the whole this seems like a good surprise, or at least a less-bad surprise.
(As I said in my post tonight, I would have voted for a BC Liberal if I had lived in one of your swing ridings, a Conservative, if possible other wise.)
It's fun for an election junkie like me to listen to the terms with no US equivalent, so far scrutineer and critic. (From context, I am guessing that a critic is roughly equivalent to a British shadow minister.)
There's no safe seat for Clark in BC. I mean I'd work for whoever runs against her. I'd even donate money to her opponent.
Dix blew it in the debates when he came out against all resource development,but promised to train young people for the trades.
John Cummins replied,"train them for jobs in Alberta and Saskatchewan"?
BC voters have done themselves proud,because four years of NDP trying to micromanage the Province would have once again been a disaster.
For the record,I voted for Liberal Steve Thomson, because he is one of the good candidates in this election, and by far the best one in this Riding.