Pete's Viewpoint

A healthy political party is one where it's membership and support base are drawn to its banner because of shared ideals; that it not be afraid of fair questions, criticisms nor afraid to change. That is all. Have a good day folks.

I've got a feeling that the Watts leadership campaign is in fact a game changer. But not in ways the BC Liberals hope. That she is considered the outsider while simultaneously being the best candidate to carry on the legacy of Christy Clark has to be unsettling. Because all other options fare far worse in public polling. So far, it's a choice between who's best to defend the legacy of Campbell, or Clark. Good luck with that.

Kudos to the NDP/Green accord governing arrangement for their big money donation ban as unveiled yesterday. It's almost perfect. Almost. First, the $1200 cap is entirely reasonable. For those making noise that such a cap will encourage shady folks to find (illegal) ways to circumvent such a cap, it appears that the lower the cap is ($100 in Quebec), the more likely that bad behavior happens. Second, this per-vote-subsidy has to go. I oppose this for the same reason that I'm an advocate for the separation of church and state. I don't want my tax dollars going to subsidize your [Church, Synagogue, Mosque,  Temple, etc], I don't expect you to subsidize my party of choice. The appropriate thing now is for MLA's to take this legislation and pare down/tweak things unneeded. Start with the per-vote-subsidy.

Voters did not re-elect Christy Clark into another term of government. Voters did not elect the NDP into power. Voters did not vote for any 'coalition' arrangement. Voters elected a minority parliament, and by extension, told said MLA's to work together. NDP learned that lesson. Green Party learned that lesson. One (now former) BC Liberal MLA got that lesson. Christy Clark, Rich Coleman and the rest of the BC Liberal caucus did not learn. After the dust settled that produced the 43-41-3 legislature, two parties figured out that they were going to have to give a little on what they wanted in order to make government work. The BC Liberals had other plans. In one of the most cynical stunts ever, Christy Clark offered up a throne speech that mirrored much of what the NDP and Green Party had campaigned on. Oh, it wasn't because the BC Liberals had a change of heart, it was because they needed to pull at least one opposition vote away from the NDP/Green side to pas