British Columbia's Dilemma

What a hell of a mess to be in. A province saddled with an incompetent, corrupt government that stays in power because few voters see an acceptable choice in the opposition party.

In a word, the NDP "suck." In the last election, NDP leader Adrian Dix was pushing on an open door and he tripped over his own feet. It wasn't the scandal-ridden government of Christy Clark that brought down the NDP. It didn't have to with an opposition that was so effectively cutting its own throat.

When the ballots were counted and Christy Clark was returned with another big majority a lot of those who had voted for change were furious with the NDP for losing the election they should have had in the bag.

We've got another election coming up next year and it's going to be tougher for the NDP than it was last time. A lot of people wrote them off after the last election and they've done little to lure those votes back.

Our venerated political oracle, Rafe Mair, warns that Clark's Liberal-in-name-only government is cruising for yet another win. Once again the NDP doesn't seem to be able to lay a glove on them.

The Liberals won’t be talking about things like missing and redacted emails, freedom of information, scandals and death in the Health ministry, incompetence, death and despair in Children and Families, neglect sufficient for a decent minister to resign in the Ministry of Energy and Mines, economic policy built around a non-existent LNG market which has become a worldwide embarrassment, an environmental policy which takes us back to the 1890s, the premier’s own corrupt ethics, or any other matters. She and her government will simply tell all who will listen that they have handled the economy brilliantly and that British Columbia is prospering because of that.

This is where you cover-up this article from all but mature eyes because that statement is pure unadulterated horseshit.

It is not difficult to understand. Take your own family budget. Now remove your mortgage from that budget – call it a self-liquidating asset or some such nonsense – and, poof! – now see your budget balance!

That’s just what the BC government does. Essentially, they run a budget that is minus BC Hydro, the equivalent, and then some, of your family mortgage. They would like to call it a “self-liquidating asset” but unfortunately, due to unbelievable negligence, starting with Gordon Campbell, BC Hydro is in an ever-worsening financial wreck and one can only shudder in horror when one thinks of adding $9-10 billion for Site C (or likely much more than that).

...Into the foregoing, the government throws lots of long words and meaningless phrases but, sad to say, it’s the big lie technique and wouldn’t survive 30 seconds of cross-examination by anyone with half a brain. The good news for Christy is that there’s no opposition around with half a brain. To knock down this fiscal sham would be a slam dunk for any opposition leader who knew anything about his job, and, while it may still happen, it’s pretty late in the game for leader of the opposition to start criticizing an obvious con game that’s gone on since 2001 without him apparently noticing.
This puts into perspective the jam the NDP is in. It should not be they who are fighting their way out of a corner but the government. Yet while Campbell and Clark have been demolishing our finances and ruining BC Hydro, our crown jewel, the NDP has been helping! Because of John Horgan’s amazing doctrine that he can’t be against everything, he’s not been against anything of any consequence.

If the NDP opposition fails us in yet another election then they're worse than having no opposition at all. As Mair points out they've spent this term enabling Christy Clark, aiding and abetting her incompetence. Who needs that from an opposition party?