03.17.2012 08:26 AM

Authenticity

Gary Mason’s (typically) thoughtful column, here, reminded me of a cautionary tale about another BC Liberal, here.

Abrupt changes in your ideology and your identity – your authenticity – can be as disastrous as, say, plaid shirts.

In this business – and in BC, in particular – authenticity isn’t just something.

It’s everything.

29 Comments

  1. Tim Sullivan says:

    It is a two-party political dynamic now. It is the conservative element that wants it to move further right and be included with new party to split the vote – God knows for what reason.

    Under either an NDP (ruinous or otherwise) or under a far-right government, there will be lots of spending and little moderation. What is it about the middle road that conservatives hate? Just look wherever it happens. Conservative governments have been “ruinous” with deficits and debts, from Mike Harris, Stephen Harper to George W. Bush.

  2. dave says:

    The BC Libs were a liberal party 20 years ago with a leader named Gordon Wilson. The Socreds were in trouble. An election campaign was on. Powerful Van media out here, a day or so before the election, said that a poll showed the Libs surging. In the election, Mike Harcourt’s NDP were given a majority, the Libs came 2nd, and the Socreds were 3rd. Later, the media’s poll results info turned out to be wrong.
    Then Van media picked up , somewhere, stories of Gord Wilson’s private life and ran with that. Gord stepped down as leader, and the BC Libs had a leadership race: Gord W. ( a liberal), Gord Gibson( a blue, eventually very blue Fraser Inst type neo liberal), and Gord Campbell(former real estate developer, real estate mayor of Van, and favourite of Howe Street).
    Campbell won. He immediately began to purge the party of liberals. I saw it happen in my riding, and read about it in other ridings.
    When he eventually won the right to be premier, Christy was there as deputy premier. Her family connections were certainly federal Liberal, but she was, from the get go, and enthusiastic champion of Campbell’s sell out of as much as possible of what we BCer’s owned.
    Certainly her new handlers are doing a good job of selling her conservative credentials, and emphasizing her connections with the federal Conservatives, so as to dampen the growing popularity of John Cummins’ Conservatives.
    Recent polls, a year before a scheduled election, show NDs at about 40%, BCLibs at about 30%, Conservs at over 20%, and Greens at about 10%. So, Clark has a year to pull off this political shift.
    (Right now, there is some stuff floating around down in Van questioning the way that Clark won the BCLib leadership; that sort of thing doesn’t help a new premier who had support from only one caucus member in her leadership campaign.)

    But I think maybe Mason’s column is more about the shift of the lower mainland media from a decade of propaganda and obeisant adulation for the BCLibs, to the support for Cummins’ Conservatives – sort of like when they shifted 20 years ago from the Socreds to Wilson’s Libs, to doing a Brutus on Wilson, and to settling on their corporate boardroom favourite, Campbell.

    So, there is another, leftie leaning, version of what is happening out here.

    • deb says:

      exactly Dave
      my time in bc…over 20 yrs has BC libs being run by Gordon Campbell and the Socreds…and Christy was a part of that group. To my knowledge she had no ties with the fed libs in ideology. She is definitely in a race with Cummins as all the socreds have abandoned her and taking over the BC conseratives. Its the socred MO…ruin a party and overtake another to run under!

      • frmr disgruntled Con now Happy Lib says:

        Christy Clark was a federal Liberal bigtime….she was once married to Mark Marrisen, who ran the campaign for Stephane Dions suprising come up the middle win for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada(and who was subsequently campaign chair for his disasterous(or so it seemed at the time) election campaign.

        I suspect Ms. Clark has simply accepted that Paris is well worth a mass, and that going a little more right in order to keep the BC Liberals in power is necessary and quite frankly, the smart thing to do.

        • allegra fortissima says:

          “Going a little more right” – you must be kidding! Ms. Clark is performing a full-blown turn to the Right. “The smart thing to do”? BC’s working class will not forget those neoliberal Campbell years, and they won’t forget Ms. Clark’s conservative blueprints in 2013. Don’t let the BC Liberals fool you:

          http://www.bcndp.ca/newsroom/reality-check-one-year-later-new-premier-brings-more-chaos-little-change

          You think Christy Clark will one day write her Memoires Secrets?

          • frmr disgruntled Con now Happy Lib says:

            Smart thing to do if she wants to keep those federal Conservatives on board……the ones who actually arent afraid to get their hands dirty come election time…..she cant win without their support….

            I am part of that working class, and while Gordon Campbell pissed me off a whole host of times, (and Christy Clark is following suit)……I remember the NDP years as even worse, and dont want to go back to them, ever.
            Great on social issues, but when it comes to balancing the books, they generally, at least in BC, dont know their arse from a hole in the ground…..
            Nothing made me more angry than to receive a glossy brochure every couple of months from the Govt of Glen Clark and later Ujal Dosanjh telling me what a great job they were doing……meanwhile business in the province had gone into the dumper.
            It was the first thing that Gordon Campbell(to his credit) put a stop to…..

  3. Authenticity is everything, witness what could be a turning point in negative advertising in the US.

    Mitt Romney and/or his superpac collectively outspent Rick Santorum by a margin of 10:1, maybe more in certain states. Romney’s tactics of negative, carpet bombing ads did not work and Santorum’s momentum is increasing after strong showings in Michigan and wins in Alabama and Mississippi.

    Just so happens that Santorum is connecting with the base that is the tail wagging the Republican party right now because he’s viewed as the most authentic conservative left standing.

  4. frmr disgruntled Con now Happy Lib says:

    You overestimate the popularity of John Cummins, Mr. Tulk….a lot of small c conservatives are not about to support a hard right Refooormer like Cummins to run this province….the man scares a lot of people…..including sitting BC Liberal MLA’s. At any rate, Cummins is just the puppet of the real power in the Conservative Party of BC….Randy White….
    Ill take a more right leaning Christy Clark over the troglodyte Cummins anyday……

    Dream on about decades of BCCP in power Mr. Tulk…..Social Credit was simply a flag of convenience for WAC Bennett(the best premier we ever had,imho) A Progressive Conservative, Mr. Bennett believed there was a place for govt in the infrastructure of the province….BC Ferries, BC Rail, BC Hydro….
    Parts of BC Hydro have been sold off….BC Rail completely….Mr. Cummins would simply oversee the firesale of the remainder, no doubt to American interests, like Mr. Patrick Kinsella(no relation I would presume, WK) would our BC Liquor Distribution.

    • frmr disgruntled Con now Happy Lib says:

      One can only hope and pray Mr. Cummins isnt the leader if and when the BCCP comes to power…..

      The Coquihalla was not privatized, nor was it built P3…..Gordon Campbell attempted to sell it off in 2003, but faced so much opposition from residents of BC’s interior he backed down. It was financed through tolls, which were eliminated in 2008.
      Maintenance of the highway of course is done by a private company.

      WAC might have been more conservative on social issues, specifically his govt’s antiquated views on the sale of liquor…..but he still believed in a more red tory view that govt had a role to play in developing the province, and that key infrastructure and utilities remain in the public domain. Indeed aquiring companies and making them crown corporations…..BC Ferries, BC Hydro, and BC Rail are all prime examples….

      BC may well be moving further to the right federally, though I think that has more to do with the Liberal Party of Canada falling down on the job out West more than anything.
      But provincially its anybodies game, dependent on who the electorate is least pissed off at the moment……

    • frmr disgruntled Con now Happy Lib says:

      Not exactly a propitious start for your Wildrose chums, Mr. Tulk…….http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/Wildrose+blushes+over/6328319/story.html

  5. frmr disgruntled Con now Happy Lib says:

    You overestimate the popularity of John Cummins, Mr. Tulk….a lot of small c conservatives are not about to support a hard right Refooormer like Cummins to run this province….the man scares a lot of people…..including sitting BC Liberal MLA’s. At any rate, Cummins is just the puppet of the real power in the Conservative Party of BC….Randy White….
    Ill take a more right leaning Christy Clark over the troglodyte Cummins anyday……

    Dream on about decades of bccp in power Mr. Tulk…..Social Credit was simply a flag of convenience for WAC Bennett(the best premier we ever had,imho) A Conservative, Mr. Bennett believed there was a place for govt in the infrastructure of the province….BC Ferries, BC Rail, BC Hydro….Parts of BC Hydro have been privatized. BC Rail sold off completely by Mr. Campbell. Mr. Cummins would only oversee the firesale of the remainder, most likely to American interests, as lobbyist Patrick Kinsella(no relation one would hope, WK) is currently attempting with the BC Liquor Distribution branches.

  6. Michael Behiels says:

    BC politics has been polarize, far right and far left, since the Pattulo regime of the 1930s.
    BC Liberals were centre right in the 1970s & 80s to fight off NDP that had moved more to the centre.
    now, the appearance of Reform forced them to move right in 1990s.
    Clarked now faces pressure from BC Conservatives, Reformatories, so she has agreed to hire members of Harper team to rebrand her & the BC Liberal Party as a far right conservative party. All she needs to do now is change the name to Harper’s ConParty. Odds of Clark winning are 50/50 since many Reformatories don’t trust her no matter how close she gets into bed with Harper.

    Somewhat the same dynamic is going on in Alta as Redford’s Prog. conservative party faces defeat or a minority gov’t outcome in the upcoming provincial election thanks to Danielle Smith’s Reform/Wild Rose Alliance concoction.

    Western politics, the base for the national political transformation and the rise of the Reformatiories, is the most fascinating politics in Canada and will remain so for quite a while.

    • frmr disgruntled Con now Happy Lib says:

      Refoooorm party grassroots?…..that is the biggest joke going, and you know it Mr. Tulk……your party has always been, and continues to be, the biggest bunch of hypocrites going…..whether it be gold plated pensions, Senate reform, or more open and transparent govt…..oh, and lets not forget balanced budgets, shall we?…..Your party is controlled lock, stock, and barrel by the Alberta oil patch and the fundamentalist church…..the last time I checked, not exactly hot beds of participatory grassroots democracy.
      Im still amazed that I had anything to do with ye bastids…….I’m no fan of David Orchard and his cult o’ personality….but on merger with you folk, he was spot on…..
      Now if WK’s idea holds sway, and I hope to God someday it will, well be able to drive your party back to the caves where you belong……

  7. tf says:

    When Christy Clark announced she was running for the leader of the BC Liberals, Warren – you supported her.
    I said at the time that she would be the worst choice possible – I think she is a power-opportunist. Her actions over the past 10, if not 20 years, prove that.

    It has long been said – “In BC, politics is entertainment” and without going into all the details of a corrupt governing body, it’s definitely a tragedy.

  8. Robbie says:

    Being anointed the “Iron Snowbird” by Preston Manning was the proverbial kiss of death for Ms Clark. Stockwell Day, Grant Hill, and Chuck Strahl, all former Conservative ministers supporting her government, are registered lobbyists or government consultants with an eye on profit.

    The BC press are beginning a new narrative for Christy; and it is not at all favourable to her cause.

    Laurie Thrones, the hand picked BC Liberal candidate in Chilliwack, is a high ranking federal Conservative operative. He was censured by the city for campaigning before the writ was dropped. He has been ordered by city council to remove all campaigns signs in order to comply with city bylaws.

    She has yet to call a by election date for two ridings: Port Moody and Chilliwack. One riding has been 5 months without an MLA’s voice in the House.

    Vaughn Palmer, one BC’s leading political writers, ended his recent column “All partisan, all the time. It’s no wonder people have trouble seeing her as a premier, when all she does is campaign.”

    Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/life/Clark+attacks+divert+attention+from+Liberal+miscue/6311720/story.html#ixzz1pPl9cJEf

    The fallout is still coming from the Telus naming rights fiasco:

    http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/Place+naming+deal+with+Telus+best+around/6316288/story.html

    Her lone leadership supporter, MLA Harry Bloy, was moved from one ministry because he was in over his head. He was then forced to resign recently in scandal over leaking information to a BC Liberal party donor involved with private education.

    http://www.theprovince.com/news/Liberals+have+lots+answer/6311520/story.html

    Her new press secretary, Sara MacIntyre, gave a performance for the ages in how not to handle media:

    http://www.vancouversun.com/news/video+Christy+Clark+kept+from+press+GLOBE+2012/6307006/story.html

    There is more to come, no doubt about it.

  9. MCBellecourt says:

    Christy is making the same mistake that Dion and Ignatieff made. She’s letting others define her before she takes a stand and defines herself. By aligning herself with Conservative operatives (Boessenkool and McIntyre), her stance is now in question.

    This is not the mark of a leader, but a follower. And it will cost her the election. Speaking of which, if BCers care about their election results, they will keep a close eye on how things proceed and document anything and everything that doesn’t jive with Elections BC rules. That means dates, times of day, phone numbers on their call displays, EVERYTHING. By allowing Con operatives into her fold, any element of trustworthiness she had was suddenly deflated like a blow-up doll and the doll farted and flew out the window.

    Having said that, HAPPY ST PADDY’S DAY TO THE KINSELLA FAMILY!!!

    A-a-a-a-nd, to suit the occasion, a little gift to all. In this link, scroll down to the third picture. Perfect picture for your next Caption Contest, WK!!!

    http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/03/17/pierre-poutine-robocalls-grounds-for-huge-investigation-former-top-harper-aide/

  10. DJ says:

    The Harperites she’s hired are not helping her one bit. Just watch Sarah Macintyre in action, Clark’s new director of communication who did the same job for Harper.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/03/16/sara-macintyre-christy-clark_n_1353762.html

  11. Boris Kicks says:

    I don’t think there was anything even remotely authentic about her in the first place. Christy Clarke managed to run herself as an outsider to Gordon Campbell’s government despite having been his deputy leader. I think that party was doomed regardless, but she’s definately not helping. She’s turning harder right, hiring Haperites, taking a hard line in labour disputes. She talks about how important family is all the time, but we have the highest percentage of children living below the poverty line in Canada. I heard Kevin Falcon, minister of finance, seriously arguing on CBC a while back that BC’s high income inequality was a great thing because we’re trying to attract high paying jobs here. Astounding, even for him.

    But really, after the HST debacle (IE lying to the public before the election) and just general fatigue with these clowns, I’d be shocked if they managed to win the next election no matter who led them.

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