BC Conservative Party option.

[NAB]

Well, I guess this weekend the BC Conservative Party will effectively relegate itself back to the political wilderness. At this point it is my view the serious damage has alrerady been done, regardless of the leadership vote outcome. And I cannot help but continue to think that outside "influences" have somehow infiltrated the party with a view to doing all possible to help eliminate a growing third party right wing option for BC voters.

Nab

[GordonH]

The only way 2 right wing parties would working in BC would be to have second strong left wing party, without that right will always split and left will win every time.

So IMO 2013 election will be pretty well given to Dix, shortly after the right will work to rebuild (hopefully all new faces & idea's with a strong leader) under whatever name they choose to be ready come 2017.

as I see it

Gordon

[NAB]

The only way 2 right wing parties would working in BC would be to have second strong left wing party, without that right will always split and left will win every time.

So IMO 2013 election will be pretty well given to Dix, shortly after the right will work to rebuild (hopefully all new faces & idea's with a strong leader) under whatever name they choose to be ready come 2017.

as I see it

Gordon

That's an interesting viewpoint Gordon. From my perspective however we are already rapidly evolving into two strong left wing options (NDP and Liberal), ....and no viable right wing option at all?

Nab

[GordonH]

The only way 2 right wing parties would working in BC would be to have second strong left wing party, without that right will always split and left will win every time.

So IMO 2013 election will be pretty well given to Dix, shortly after the right will work to rebuild (hopefully all new faces & idea's with a strong leader) under whatever name they choose to be ready come 2017.

as I see it

Gordon

That's an interesting viewpoint Gordon. From my perspective however we are already rapidly evolving into two strong left wing options (NDP and Liberal), ....and no viable right wing option at all?

Nab

I only see that with Federal Liberals thats whole different animal to BC Liberals. BC Liberal is a coalition of Liberal & conservatives/reform no different from earlier version under the name of Social Credit Party. Third generation will be the same combination just more than likely also under a new name.

have good day Nab

[NAB]

Gordon

That's an interesting viewpoint Gordon. From my perspective however we are already rapidly evolving into two strong left wing options (NDP and Liberal), ....and no viable right wing option at all?

Nab

I only see that with Federal Liberals thats whole different animal to BC Liberals. BC Liberal is a coalition of Liberal & conservatives/reform no different from earlier version under the name of Social Credit Party. Third generation will be the same combination just more than likely also under a new name.

have good day Nab

Not so any longer I'm afraid (the coalition thing with the centre right to extreme right elements effectively commanding the party ended with Gordon Campbell, and there is no "third generation" or reasonable facsimile of on the horizon now IMO). They have already decided to stick with the Liberal brand as well - and are becoming closer to modern federal liberal confused and weakly lead idealology every week it seems to me. Now it's just case of the electorate deciding which left of centre party we want governing BC for the next 4 years, ...and leaving the old reformers, socreds, and BC conservatives to go try to figure themselves out in the political backwaters once more.

You have a good day too! :-)

Nab

[flamingfingers]

THIS was an interesting tweet:

Gary Mason ‏@garymasonglobe

Big announcement coming out today by BC Libs. Hearing it involves BC Cons. Surely can't be a merger on eve of Cons leadership weekend.

[NAB]

Could be they are going to comment on Colin Hansen abandoning the Liberal ship and not planning to run for them again.

Nab

[NAB]

...and the plot thickens lol
Nab

Today, John Martin, the BC Conservative Party’s candidate in the Chilliwack-Hope by-election, announced that he has resigned his membership with the BC Conservatives and that he intends to seek the BC Liberal nomination in Chilliwack.

Edit to add: And assuming Martin gets the nod as Liberal Party candidate in Chilliwck-Hope, I guess he will find out if his third place finish as a Conservative in the recent by-election was because he was running for the Conservatives, or because the electorate in the riding just didn't consider him a very desirable candidate to represent them. Let's not forget the NDP candidate won that by-election.

Nab

[NAB]

...and we shouldn't forget what Martin published as his credentials (and views toward the Liberal Party) when he became a candidate for the BC conservatives.... What a self serving hypocrite he appears to be! The bull *bleep* seemingly never ends with these types. They go where the prevailing winds blow them in their efforts to find a more lucrative place at the public trough and pork barrel.

After much consideration and consultation, I am announcing that I will be seeking the BC Conservative nomination in the upcoming by-election in Chilliwack-Hope.



British Columbia needs a common sense, mainstream choice and that means a BC Conservative government led by John Cummins; a man that long-time broadcaster Rafe Mair believes is probably "the most trusted politician in B.C."

The Liberals are a tired, spent government that is falling apart and has done nothing to earn another term in power.

But a return to the lost decade of the nineties when the NDP drove jobs, investment and citizens from BC is not the answer.

Only a BC Conservative government will get spending under control, reduce taxes and put the interests of British Columbians first. I am very much looking forward to being part of this team and bringing some common sense to Victoria.

For too long this province has been controlled by special interests and big money. The Liberals and NDP have become indistinguishable from one another. The only difference is one is beholden to the corporations and the other to the powerful unions. They are both addicted to spending and debt. It has to stop.

British Columbians deserve a real choice. And now they finally have one.

A new era begins with the election of a BC Conservative candidate in Chilliwack-Hope.

It will be an honour to pursue the nomination and earn the trust and confidence of the people to be that candidate.



JOHN MARTIN BIOGRAPHY


John Martin is a criminologist and has been teaching in the School of Criminology at the University of the Fraser Valley for more than two decades. He has also taught criminal justice to students at Douglas College, the Native Education Centre in Vancouver and Lethbridge College. Additionally, he has run courses for RCMP members at the Pacific Regional Training Centre and recruits at the Correctional Service of Canada’s Staff College.



John specializes in the fields of crime prevention, criminal justice reform, victims’ rights and public safety. He is regularly invited to speak to groups on all matters related to crime and justice and is a frequent guest on talk radio and other media.



John Martin has a long running opinion column that has appeared in numerous newspapers including Chilliwack Times, the Province Newspaper and Abbotsford Times. He has testified before the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights in Ottawa and spent a semester teaching Canadian Studies at Takushoku University in Japan as a visiting scholar.



Raised in the lower mainland, he has lived in various parts of British Columbia including the Cariboo and Similkameen and resides in Chilliwack with his wife of twenty years, Margaret, and their two Shetland Sheepdogs.



He holds a Certificate of Technology in Broadcast Communications from BCIT and two degrees in Criminology from SFU. A long time martial artist and musician, he is a member of the Royal Canadian Legion in Chilliwack and a devotee of low and slow southern barbecue.

[flamingfingers]

^^ I don't know what is more pathetic - Martin joining the Liberals after he excoriated them prior to losing the by-election, or the Liberals accepting him.

[steven lloyd]

I don't know what is more pathetic -

As bad as Dix and the NDP might look, they're just looking better and better all the time. Amazing.

[NAB]

^^ I don't know what is more pathetic - Martin joining the Liberals after he excoriated them prior to losing the by-election, or the Liberals accepting him.

Ya got that right, ...but I guess beggars and/or those with no scruples cannot afford to be be too choosy.

Nab

[flamingfingers]

^ Seems to me there was news from the Supreme court today about prostitutes......?

[NAB]

Yes, I get your drift ;-)

[flamingfingers]

^Stay with me here then...

In welcoming Martin to the Liberal fold and hoping to address the multitudinous critical statements Martin made about the Liberals and in particular Christy Clark, Christy brushed all that aside with the profound statement that, “politicians will say whatever they think it will take to get themselves elected”.

...groan... When I think she has clawed her way to the deepest depths of stupidity she proves me wrong time and time again!

And Martin has effectively shown that he is a member of the world's oldest profession....