Lessons of history should guide #Nanaimo voters ahead of byelection

It was a fascinating dynamic to watch hard core Bernie fans either refuse to vote, vote Green, or Vote Trump because their guy Bernie Sanders didn't win the Democratic Party nomination in 2016. Eventually, Hillary would win the popular vote by at least 3 million votes, but as it is with our own FPTP system, votes don't determine outcome. Electoral votes did.

Strategically, either by fluke or by design, Donald Trump went on to win and become the 45th President of the US. He won smaller conservative states to be sure, but he also won enough larger states to tilt the balance - regardless of what New York or California did.

Already, the Warren/Beto/Sanders camps are going to war against each other *inside* the Democratic Party, as the various groups of activists claim that their opponents are 'no different than Trump'. Hogwash. At this point, a moldy piece of bread is an improvement to Trump, but activists would convince you of otherwise. If this keeps up, Trump is on his way to a 2020 landslide and it will be a real one that includes the popular vote.

And there is a lesson there for Nanaimo voters. Early sniping has started between the not-BC-Liberal activist crowds and it threatens to split a progressive voting group that collectively votes almost 70% against conservative candidates. Split in half, however, it takes a BC Liberal only 36% to gain the seat. If that were to happen, we would end up into a general election no later than summer. If the NDP retain the seat, the balance of power is held in place in Victoria and the #greeNDP arrangement carries on.

Sure, they're not perfect. Some hard core NDP and hard core Greens aren't happy with this arrangement because it probably isn't achieving 100% of their goals. Welcome to the world of compromise. That's how things get done; and in this minority parliament, a large amount of progressive things are being done.

All of that is at risk if the two camps on the left can't bury the axe.

I'm no angel, I was part of the infighting in the last term of office; so my moral high ground isn't that high. But people change too.

There are too many things at risk should the BC Liberals cynically trigger a premature election call. They had 16 years to do a lot of damage and they delivered well. We lost 13 schools and saw thousands of educators and healthcare workers lose their jobs (who were primarily female).

The BC Liberals took advantage of BC and ignored Nanaimo all this time. Why on earth should we give them a chance to sneak back into office.

Vote NDP.

My 2 bits

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Predictable, but sickening nonetheless: BC Liberals tap dance on fuel price.

Image
To believe BC Liberal rhetoric on fuel prices in BC, the NDP are responsible for the highest gas prices in North America. Facts however, tell another story. What are the BC Liberals asking for in this narrative? Subsidized gas? Because the taxation regime in place is largely untouched since they left office. While it is true that the carbon tax in BC went up by a penny, that's hardly the explanation for the recent dramatic jump in price. There are several factors. Regional governments, city halls, transit authorities all have a hand in adding layers of taxation to fuel costs in BC. To believe the BC Liberal version of this: the NDP is responsible for 100% of this tax burden. What's even more asinine is the failure to build Kinder Morgan that the NDP opposes is also responsible for this fuel price overload. Would someone please tell the BC Liberals that the expanded Kinder Morgan project is for export only? The Alberta based tar sands fuel that ends up in our vehic
Read more

Lauren Semple - for the future we need

Image
Today, I’m happy and honoured to offer my unqualified endorsement to Lauren Semple for the Federal NDP nomination to the Nanaimo-Ladysmith ballot this fall. I have worked with Lauren in the community for 4 years now and I have only known her to be a tireless and fearless advocate on human rights and worker rights. In my background in the labour movement, Lauren and I share a similar vision of ‘what we demand for ourselves, we wish for all.’ As Lauren is the past President of Nanaimo Pride Society, this extends to all corners in our society as she championed the cause for equality; for women, for LGBTQ folks, justice for First Nations and many other marginalized peoples. Voters have stark choices to make in the 2019 election. Voting for Lauren Semple is a vote to defend our coast, champion fair taxes and adequate housing. With the same old corruption, the same old pandering to the 1%, the same old catering to Howe/Young Street while ignoring the main street and our neighborhoods,
Read more

No Keith. Do not play the #bothsides card

Image
Just when the MSM was about to get serious about some honest reporting, this egg was laid by senior political reporter playing the 'both sides' card. Almost on cue. No Keith. The NDP doesn't get the blame for travel expenses that Craig James and Gary Lenz traded signatures on. It was unknown enough that it took Speaker Daryl Plecas by surprise when he dug around for the information. This 'both sides' narrative is a BC Liberal talking point because they know how ethically exposed they are already; this makes matters worse merely a week ahead of the Nanaimo byelection they're poised to lose. Now with this stink out there, it feeds into the narrative that BC Liberals are the party of crony capitalism and insiderism; so lets throw some mud at the NDP and make them to blame too. Nothing in the #plecasreport implicates the NDP government or any of its MLA's or cabinet ministers. How embarrassing.
Read more