05.13.2013 08:51 PM

In Tuesday’s Sun: a victory for Dix (but not the Leafs)

Tuesday is voting day in British Columbia. And, by provincial standards, it’s been a pretty staid affair.

For example, the Mounties didn’t raid the legislature — although, they did do that back in 2003, in a criminal probe of bribery and influence peddling involving senior B.C. Liberal staff.

Nor were there any fisticuffs between politicians — like “The Brawl in the Hall,” when Liberal Rick Thorpe threatened to beat up NDP Premier Glen Clark, who then instead chose discretion over valour.

Nor was there any sighting of oddly monikered politicians — such as (we kid you not) Amor de Cosmos, whose name meant “Lover of the Universe.”

Cosmos, born William Smith, was premier of B.C. and had been the leading advocate for joining Confederation.

(Later, however, there was Bill Vander Zalm, who was also premier, and ran a theme park called Fantasy Gardens — and made de Cosmos seem like Winston Churchill.)

This, and more, has long been the stuff of B.C. politics. Politically, it is a place that bears out one of my beloved mother’s favourite maxims: “All the nuts roll to the corners, dear.”

But this time, in B.C., it’s been a comparatively stolid affair. No police raids, no fistfights, no lunatics in the premier’s chair.

After a month of politicking, British Columbians head to polling stations Tuesday, and they are going to vote for an NDP government, led by a rather dry fellow named Adrian Dix. They are doing this for three reasons:

n Dix is — as noted — kind of unexciting. He is no socialist firebrand like his former boss, the aforementioned Glen Clark. He is a shy, well-read sort, one who quotes sports trivia and is adverse to class-war rhetoric. British Columbians have had quite enough excitement, thank you very much, and Dix’s strength is the very thing that B.C. Liberal strategists wrongly thought would be his weakness: He isn’t a showoff.

He isn’t a phony. He isn’t a performer. He’s the kind of guy who, if he lived next door to you, would mow your lawn while you were away, and without being asked.

n The second reason Adrian Dix and his new New Democrats are going to win, and deserve to, is because his main opponent is everything he isn’t: A phony, a show-offy performer, and one who is possibly one of the most inauthentic politicians to ever grace a podium in B.C. (and that’s saying something). Christy Clark has variously depicted herself as a Paul Martin Liberal and Stephen Harper/Preston Manning Conservative. She’s a chameleon, and I don’t mean that as a compliment.

One of the most revealing insights into Clark’s ethos came when B.C. Liberals actually ran ads attacking Dix for riding the SkyTrain without a ticket. This, when Clark was caught running a red light with her son beside her. But where Clark ran ads about Dix’s lapse, Dix refused to say much about Clark’s far more serious mistake. That said much about him, and nothing that was good about her.

n The third reason why Clark’s Liberals will lose, however, is simple: Change. The B.C. Liberals have been in power since 2001, and most sensible British Columbians think it’s time to give the other bums a chance. They want change.

Tonight, they’re going to get it. And, as a former B.C. Liberal, I think it’s going to be a good thing.

15 Comments

  1. Cath says:

    So take this to the federal parties and which of Trudeau, Harper or Mulcair is the show-off and which the she, well-read sort of guy can quote sports trivia?

  2. Pipes says:

    Changing the subject for a moment-Just watch Chris Hatfield return to earth.

    Chris for Prime Minister! What a fabulous dude……………

  3. DJ says:

    Prediction: She’ll re-surface in federal politics by seeking the Liberal nomination in Vancouver-Centre whenever Hedy Fry decides to retire. I am not kidding. The failure of the BC Liberal establishment to oust the Clark/Marissen gang when the disaster of Clark’s leadership became apparent will encourage her to spread her venom federally. She’s gone from seeking the mayor’s chair in Vancouver to the premier of BC. Trust me. She will be back. Next time for federal politics. Watch her begin singing the praises of Justin Trudeau.

  4. Mark says:

    And I’ve had the privilege of working for Bill Bennett, Bill Vander Zalm, Rita Johnston, Mike Harcourt, Glen Clark, Dan Miller, Ujjal Dosanjh, Gordon Campbell, and Christy Clark. It’s been quite a ride and, yes, left coast politics is nutty as a fruitcake. I await tomorrow with more than a little interest.

  5. ray says:

    Ok Warren. About the leafs. You can stop playing CCR’s “I put a spell on you.” The curse worked. They’re done like dinner and their fans will continue to overpay and the team will never recover from this unbelievable choke.

  6. Mike says:

    Completely unrelated pet peeve — it goes too far when even journalists do it — the use of “adverse” when “averse” is needed.

    “Forming grammatically correct sentences is for the normal individual the prerequisite for any submission to social laws. No one is supposed to be ignorant of grammaticality; those who are belong in special institutions. The unity of language is fundamentally political.”
    ― Gilles Deleuze, Thousand Plateaus: Capitalism and Schizophrenia

  7. Brachina says:

    Trudeau=Christy Clark only worse. Mulcair=Adrian Dix with more passion. Harper=Cummings only with cunning and discipline.

    • MCBellecourt says:

      Christy Clark=Trudeau??????? Uh, no.

      More like Christy Clark=Cmdr. Odo from Deep Space Nine, or Quark the Ferengi, depending on the weather. Take your pick.

      (and the BC”liberals” disavowed any affiliation with the Federal Liberals when Campbell took over the party).

  8. frmr disgruntled Con now Happy Lib says:

    Tough one for me today…..I do believe we need a change……but I also remember how capital fled BC to Alberta after the election of the NDP last time…..business definitely suffered….but the NDP did some good things(the West Coast Express commuter train comes to mind) but negated horribly by the Fast Ferries fiasco….
    Decisions, Decisions…..

  9. Etienne says:

    Why the change of heart on Clark?

    “I remember well the 1993 federal campaign, when a younger Christy Clark was camped out at a smallish desk outside our cramped war room space. Then, as now, she was an amazing person, and clearly destined for great things. Go Christy, go!”

    Source: http://warrenkinsella.com/2011/02/christy-clark-young-faces-on-the-political-landscape/

    • Warren says:

      Because I was wrong in my assessment. She’s a phoney.

      And if you dorks keep sending in the identical comment, using different names, you’re going to wish you hadn’t.

  10. LD says:

    H/t … nice!

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