108 Replies to ““It’s time for a new person to lead the province,””

  1. Yes it’s time….but they better pick someone leaning conservative and bring some common sense back. Repeal the carbon tax and I would be very happy. The HST thingy didn’t resonate with me as much as the dang carbon tax. That pisses me off. As it is right now, all the choices to vote for are godawful.
    Just. Not. Carol. James. For the love of God! NO!

  2. I agree, it’s too bad the HST has to be the public issue to bring down this leader, and not the much more ill-advised carbon tax policies and the misguided belief that the B.C. government could change the weather by raising taxes.
    Campbell was always a big-time control freak, but controlling the weather? C’mon, give your head a shake, dude.
    This could be a good thing for the provincial conservative party, especially if the Libs go to their left-wing for new leadership. That would leave a big vacuum on the political right which was already becoming apparent in recent years.
    If the BC Liberals swing to the right, we might get a break on the gasoline taxes. Then the NDP will be cast in the role of chief carbon taxers, which might help push them out of the lead in public opinion where they have been for the past year.

  3. I’m going to leave the analysis to the commentors on this one. It takes days for the mules to carry news over the mountains, so I don’t know very much about politics in BC other than to assume they’re all various shades of orange – some of them in jumpsuits.

  4. Kate, WestJet is flying to Abbotsford now.
    Soccermom, I feel sorry for you, Peter and for our son and his family who live in the left coast. Hopefully a real non progressive conservative party gets some legs there soon.
    BTW, please get someone to triple lane the #1 highway from Chilliwack to Vancouver.

  6. A selfless decision, one that allows the BC Liberal party a chance to re-brand with a new leader well in advance of the next election, scheduled for 2013. He obviously recognized his continued leadership was going to kill the party in the next election.
    (Note to non-B.C. residents, the B.C. Liberal party is a centre-right coalition party. It has no affiliation with the federal party of the same name).

  7. Any thoughts on the new BC Conservative Party? I received an email from them this week with a list of principles…looked alright.

  8. Never mind triple laning from Chilliwack to Vancouver lets get the Trans Canada triple laned from Vancouver to Calgary and from Calgary to Halifax.

  9. Pongo, my thoughts:
    BC Conservative party = NDP election victory.
    It would be 1996 redux, when BC Liberals and BC Reform split the right, and the NDP won the legislature despite having lower popular support than the BC Libs.
    Don’t get me wrong, I wish B.C. had a bona fide conservative party provincially, but I do not want to see a repeat of 1996.

  10. Pongo, my feelings on the BC Conservative party is that, unless they get a high-profile leader (someone who is well-known and respected)pronto, and get some press they aren’t going anywhere….in fact, right now, the Greens way outpoll the BC Conservatives, yikes.

  11. and Kate, yes, you are correct about the jumpsuits, hahaha, only I think some are orange AND green and come with lovely tinfoil helmets…LOL

  12. I’d love to see a good leader for the B.C. Conservatives, but to date there’s no sign of one. The problem the Liberals have is that they said, prior to the election, that the HST was not on their radar; and then brought it in right after the election. In other words, a blatant lie. Taxes are somewhat inevitable, but I’d have felt better if they hadn’t lied.

  14. I wonder, what plum job position has dear Gordo been promised after his political career? Nothing less that $400K I’ll wager. What a list of “accomplishments” he has on his CV now.

  15. Good riddance of the chief moonbat in BC.
    The BC Lieberals do have links with the federal lieberals and in some ridings they share offices (info from a former patient who used to work for the lieberal party).
    The only solution to BC’s problems is for the section of the province from Abbotsford east to split away and join up with Alberta. Let the coastal moonbats carbon tax themselves into the primitive existence they desire.
    I refuse to vote for a lieberal politician and where I live the Conservative party polled quite respectable numbers. If the NDP gets in, well there’s also a shortage of doctors in Alberta.

  16. When the right get a great, well spoken, articulate and passionate small “c” conservative, they will sweep the dust and garbage out of the left coast.
    We are ripe and ready for a move to the right!

  17. Gordo has a plumb job waiting for him at the international level, I see UN type postings in his future. He was at the latest Bilderberger meeting, his ability to ram through the HST without a shot being fired has proven his political worth, he has done his duty and the powers that be have given him the nod.
    Lets see what happens!!!

  18. I certainly was not happy about the carbon tax! But the HST thing was waaaay overblown.
    That said, over all he’s been a pretty good premier, and definitely got this province back on track after the NDP kicked the everlovin’ hell out of the place…God forbid they ever get another chance!!!
    I’m hoping, with the right leader to take his place, hopefully someone with “conservative” leanings, they can get it together again and put to rest the possibility of the NDP winning power. Those clowns get in power, we’re right back to square one again. Makes me cringe just thinking about it…

  19. *
    “colin announces… A selfless decision”
    and, all too evidently… at a 9% approval rating…
    one that could have been made months ago by
    a brain-dead dung beetle.
    *

  20. I view the BC Liberals as the United Fascist Party, heirs of Mussolini, Wacky Bennett, vander Zalm and Trudeau, with all the disadvantages of capitalism, communism and fascism and none of the advantages. Removing one moonbat loon won’t change anything, it’ll be the same old extravagant nanny state.

  21. I have lived in BC since 1971 and I can tell you that BC has enjoyed prosperity when other regions in Canada were languishing. It is to the credit of Gordon Campbell and the Liberal coalition he held together for nine years that we have enjoyed such prosperity. The implementation of the HST was and is a good thing for the businesses of the province and all people. This government from it’s inception in 2001 has done exactly what it was mandated to do. In the last two years, there have been problems and there have been decisions I have disagreed with. Carbon Tax. -for one. ( though even THAT was tied to a reduction in income tax) The HST represented a decrease in taxes because the provincial tax was eliminated at all multiple levels of implementation in manufacturing , but the people of the province did not see that nor did Vander Zalm allow them to see what good this would do for the province. Mr. Vander Zalm has a vendetta and he implemented it to his eternal shame. Mr. Campbell has been an excellent premier. He was an excellent steward of the province and the city of Vancouver before that. And this is the thanks he gets. I hear there were 17 in his caucus champing at the bit for him to go. Maybe so, but it will allow the NDP an opening they do not need. They stand at 42% in the polls. A testament to the damage Vander Zalm has done and how the NDP has been able to ride in on the coat tails of that duplicity. Since there will be no election until 2013 I had hoped Campbell would stay on. We do not often enjoy a center right political stewardship in any province for so long.
    Of course, not everything Campbell did was popular with all of us, and I had my issues with some of the decisions made. However, we have to take into account the entire picture and that picture was of economic health and prosperity for 9 years. Not many parties can claim that victory and it is due in the main to Gordon Campbell’s leadership. The NDP, no matter who heads it cannot get it’s hands on this province, for we have seen before what they do when they are in power. The media, as always, has played a part in this event and they deserve a good slap up the side of the head collectively for that participation. I am disappointed that Gordon felt he had to step aside. From his colleagues speaking on CKNW this afternoon, they were all full of high praise and let us all know that Gordon Campbell has never done anything but put the Province of British Columbia ahead of everything. And it has showed in the policies and the economic health of the province.
    And now?- The libs better get their act together and join up with those who are playing around with a conservative party out here because if they do not solidify behind ‘a common sense conservative’ we are going to go the way of California with a Jerry Brown in Victoria toking up and playing it cool while the province goes straight down the tubes and all of us along with it.

  22. I wish we were like Alberta in the sence that we would just throw the whole lot out for a new right of center party. Economically Campbell has been good but i could never trust completly anybody who worships at the global warming alter. I work with a lot of stupid people that would, like californian’s vote for some left wing economic illiterates!

  23. Can’t argue with much of what SB just said. I’ve lived here most of my 56 years, and I can remember well how the NDP savaged this province every chance they got, starting with that bozo Dave Barrett!
    The very best premier this province, indeed this whole damn country, ever saw was WAC Bennett! And if they ever figure out a way to clone him, I’d vote for him in a heartbeat!!!
    In any event, kind of a sad ending for Campbell, who took over one God forsaken mess left behind by the NDP, and straightened it all out in pretty short order. Even the Fraser Institute ranked him first among all premiers in Canada for steering this province through the last couple years of economic chaos.

  24. There’s a government in BeeCee? I thought it was, y’know, an anarcho-capitalistic syndicate of ex-hippies?

  25. i first met Gordoo back in 1968……haven’t seen him in 40 years but even if he was a child molester and a charter member of NAMBLA he’d still get my vote….over the opposition….
    over there…over in the opposition ranks are some rank primo dipshits…
    sometimes you gotta hold your nose to keep moving incrementally for’ard.

  26. First, the NDP showed us already in spades that they will never be trusted to govern, and not sink the province again.
    But, that said, the catering to a carbon tax and then the HST, when they said they would not, has a lot of us losing all respect for this bunch.
    The connections to the Federal Libs are still in evidence. No doubt Christy Clark, now on a radio talk show host, but formerly a Deputy Premier under Campbell, would look at embellishing her goals with taking a run at it.
    Her connections to the Federal Liberals through her husband cannot be taken lightly. They are all in the same stewpot, as far as we are concerned.
    Any ties to Campbell’s cabinet, with the BC Rail story, still leave a bad taste in many voters’ mouths.
    The worst problem for voters is that the other pickles in the political jar are muddling their way through organizing, and there does seem to be in-fighting, which is never a good sign.
    Yes, the province has not tanked, but some sectors have been hit, and are looking to have their government stay far away from the ridiculous prospect of man being able to change climates.
    Another thing on the HST….for those in the service business, the hit was not without serious consequences to the bottom line. The only way to cover those additonal employee costs was to increase cost to the consumer. And we are the ones on the front line taking that grumbling, once again.
    Who is there in the cabinet waiting to take over from Campbell? Just do not see that person yet that speaks to us.
    UGH!
    Maybe Campbell’s brother, Michael, would consider it. And I doubt he would. But, we would have a chance to keep the province sound if he did.

  27. I think no matter who gets chosen as a new leader the next election goes to the NDP unfortunately, and if nothing else that makes me very glad that I moved away last year ( but I feel sorry for those will have to put up with another disaster for the province).
    You can try remind people about the carnage left by Harcourt, Clark and Dosangh but too many have short memories.

  28. Oh, I thought you were throwing Brad protectionism Wall under the bus for a sec there. 😉

  29. “The connections to the Federal Libs are still in evidence.”
    Think about it, who would call themselves a Liberal in Western Canada who was not one?
    Alberta Liberals were trying to claim they had no connection to the LPC last election too and will, no doubt, again.
    Why cling to a brand that is despised?

  30. Although I do not always agree with Campbell, like George Bush and Stephen Harper, his heart is in the right place and we will come to miss his competence. He deserves much credit for fiscally turning BC from a have not province with people and businesses leaving in droves. He also united the center-right coalition keeping the socialist hoards away from power. I hope whoever replaces him has the same success.
    Note to all BC conservatives. Now is your chance. Join the BC Liberal party and vote for your candidates. As the Tea Party has shown its much easier to take over an existing party than to start one from scratch. If Campbell’s replacement is some squishy centrist like Christy Clarke you have no one to blame but yourselves.
    http://www.bcliberals.com

  31. Campbell is about as good as it gets in politics.
    I see Harper in a similar light, notwithstanding my many frustrations as discussed here in great detail.
    He has always had the Mulroney problem: the general public’s visceral dislike of the man.
    I will never forget that extremely bold move, dropping personal income taxes about a quarter the day after he was sworn in.
    His wife is reported to have said, “he likes governing but hates politics”. That’s true I think. He was a good manager, a good administrator. And he was a good mayor.
    True the carbon-tax thingee is a mystery, but NO, “moonbat” is not an apt label for the man.
    Credit where credit is due. The province flourished under Campbell.

  32. Gordon Campbell had a much better first half than second half, he tended to stray from what worked well once he got things going in the right direction, and some of his later political moves were either badly planned or ill-advised. So he really has nobody to blame for his demise, it was a self-inflicted wound breaking the only firm rule of politics, don’t tax when you just finished saying you wouldn’t tax. Even in BeeCee people notice stuff like that. The ferries may be bouncing off the sides of islands, the bridges may be like amusement park rides, and the squeegee kids may be running crown corporations, and that’s all okay, but if you tax without asking, then the ghost of Vanderzalm will rise from the netherworld (or the netherlands) to exact a terrible revenge (plus 12% of course).
    Who knows with Gordon Campbell, he may be first to announce a leadership bid now, and people might actually be relieved.

  33. Thx Colin and Soccermom, I’m going to have to read up on some political history out here…

  34. glacierman at 4:46 PM: “a great, well spoken, articulate and passionate small “c” conservative”
    ===================
    Speaking of which, I’m listening to the one we have in Saskatchewan right now. Tony Clement just declared the BPH deal for Potash Corp. dead, and Wall is responding with praise and gratitude.
    Brad Wall for PM, but not just now. We want to keep him for a while longer.

  36. Living on the “Left Coast” this certainly affects me. I would hate to see the NDP get anywhere near the treasury ever again. Campbell, unfortunately swung further and further towards leftist idiocy with each election. I joined the BC Liberals to ensure a right-wing candidate got in in my riding and I resigned in protest over the carbon tax. The way I see it, the only way the BC Liberals can survive now is (a) Replace Campbell with a solidly right of centre (ie., Fiscally responsible) individual; (b) Replace the finance minister who is now tainted; (c) drop the HST ro ten percent as soon as legally possible and (d) kill the hated carbon tax.
    Heaven forbid Carol James ever gets near the premier’e seat.

  38. Posted by: neo at November 3, 2010 5:02 PM
    Any particular reason for the unsolicited insult, neo?

  40. loki, and others. I stand by my comments — there is no affiliation between the BC Liberals and the federal Liberals. Party affiliation was formally, and officially severed in 1987 by Gordon Wilson, when he assumed control of the BC Liberals.
    Of course, there are “links” between the two parties. Some BC Liberals are also closely involved with the federal Liberals and are members of same. Conversely, however, the same can be said of the federal Tories. As I stated, the BC Liberals are a coalition party — after the collapse of Social Credit in the early 90s, the centre-right coalesced under the BC Liberal banner.

  41. And so it’s come to this. So long, Gordo.
    For all those living in BC, please visit http://www.conservativesbc.com and consider getting joining or getting involved. Open nominations and allowing individual MLAs to represent their constituents as opposed to whipped votes are but two of the policies in their book, available at that site.
    They are the only true conservative party in BC and, (full disclosure) I’ve been involved for some time in helping guide them to this point. I’ve been in BC for 15 years or so, off and on, and will be able to finally vote for a conservative in 2013.
    If anyone would like to get in touch with me, click on my name (I think that pops up e-mail) and we can discuss this without taking up space and bandwidth on Kate’s server or abusing her comments section.
    For those outside of BC, the BC Conservative Party is akin to the Wildrose Alliance in AB, the Sask Party in SK, etc.

  42. Can BC please, pretty please elect a REAL human being or a close facsimile. You have the richest Province in the Dominion along with the biggest crazies in Canada.
    Just hold back the inclination to vote the Hippie vote dance.
    IS there anyone in BC who is sane enough to run the Province into prosperity. I mean considering B C’s wealth. It takes a lot of work to stay poor.
    Just look at Saskatchewan. They got rid of their hippies & now they have money. It will be the same in Alberta once Eddy has been bounced.
    Vote someone from the interior. Vancouver isn’t even a Canadian city anymore.
    JMO

  43. i dunno why TROC consider us BCers such flakes…
    i’m not…i’ll grant you we have a good number of weirdos but certainly NOTHING like Ontario…
    nor do we have a culture of defeat like the Maritmes….nor have we been in thrall for decades to the Socialists as in Sask….
    we’s jus’ folks….and compared to the puzzle factory in TROC we’re level headed for the most part.
    like not everywhere can be like Alta.
    so back off before you get me pissed.

  44. Me No Dhimmi
    True the carbon-tax thingee is a mystery,
    He did it for IGGY. So that he could point to one Province, who believes as he does.
    Gordon Campbell became the Liberal Goat for federalism. Those liberal ties you talked about.
    We all know what happens then.
    IGGY of course only cares about Ontario or Quebec.
    BC is expendable.
    JMO

  45. I left BC for Alberta in around 2001. The Liberals were emerging as the “Anyone-but-the-NDP Party”, and the choice of name and wishy-washiness of the local candidate let me know that yes, they were going to look at things the same way as the federal Liberals.
    Vancouver might have done OK over the last 10 years but my hometown over 12 hours drive away (beyond Hope, for the lower mainland folks) has been decimated. There is something like 50% unemployment there and any young (ie under 50) folks have left for the cities or other (ie out of province) regions. Just remember that as the economies of the rural areas are gutted you’ll lose the population and skill base that keep the place running. I’m in mining and the lack of certainty about who owns the land (is 105% of the province still claimed by Indian bands?) and how evenly the applicable laws will be applied mean that I’m not confident of my industry’s survival there. BC is following the path of becoming the Vancouver area, and the park that they play in, and the outlying feudal regions. Keep electing the next-to-worst choice and you’ll get there faster.

  46. Snowbunnie at 5:24 has got it exactly right!
    Posted by: RCGZ at November 3, 2010 6:45 PM
    YES, s/he does. Exactly right, especially the line “and that’s the thanks he gets.” I do wish, however, that Snowbunnie would do some paragraphing!
    AND, what gives with the snark about the probability of Campbell having some $400K job lined up. Wouldn’t that low-end CEO pay be commensurate with his past experience?
    That sounds like liberal-style envy to my ears!
    Quibble: I just don’t get the praise over the HST. I’m cynical enough to believe there’s no such thing as a revenue-neutral tax. I favour Murray Rothbard’s view: don’t focus on the kind of tax but the general level of taxation. For this reason I find all debate about consumption vs. income tax to be a red herring.

  47. Colin (from Mission),
    Voting for the BCC does not equal a win for the NDP. I can’t reveal on here why this is so, however we could exchange phone numbers via e-mail if you’d like an explanation.
    Suffice it to say, on here, that extensive long-term polling says otherwise.

  48. Aviator
    Spot on, you are.
    Who knows what aliens kidnapped Campbell and brainwashed him with the envirnutter point of view, from the pinko Carbon Tax, to the ‘Great bear rainforest’ (a fabrication of the Suzukster and his minions), the approaching Tariff plan for IPP (which has paid exorbitant rates in Ontario for power, and likely to happen here too), to the increased bureaucracy and regulatory authority that they railed against when they forst came to power.
    I find it very hard to trust this coalition, it has swung far too hard to the left, leaving a huge vacuum to the right.
    And agreed, a split vote results in the Horde taking over, running things from a dogmatic unionist perspective.
    Heard her highness Carole James on the way home today, who was railing against, “….the high standard of living, the lowest minimum wage, and child poverty under the Liberals…..” to which I thought, Is she stupid or insane? Raising minimum wage, and paying more welfare (and pay more taxes) only results in a more expensive standard of living……NDP economics for ya!
    At least Gordo left nice and early, allowing 2 1/2 years of damage control and renewal to happen. They need to get back to their core values, the ones that they ruled by in their first term, which pissed off the unions constantly…life was good!

  50. I am also in agreement with everything that Snowbunnie posted at 5:24 PM.
    Since moving to B.C. from Manitoba 25 years ago, I’ve seen the good (Campbell), the bad (Clark), and the ugly (Harcourt).
    The NDP were reduced to just 2 seats in the 2001 election after their utter destruction of the province in the 1990’s. Unfortunately, that still wasn’t enough to kill them off for good.
    I favour the Tea Party idea of changing the B.C. Liberal Party from within to move it farther to the right. Any splitting of the right-of-centre vote is folly IMO.

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