Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Campaign Day 8.....Shipping Gordon Campbell

It'sNotTheProduct
It'sThePackagingVille



Monte Paulsen has both long and short versions of his recent interviews with Gordon Campbell up at VanMag and The Tyee respectively.

Here are a few small chunks from the lede of The Tyee version:
_______
[W]hat would Gordon Campbell 3.0 look like?....


{snippety-doo-dah}

The first [v1.0] was marked by severe fiscal austerity that included privatizing various government operations (including the controversial sale of BC Rail), a referendum on treaty rights, and the reduction of environmental protection.

His second term [v2.0] included the largest social housing expenditures in decades, an attempted new relationship with First Nations, and passage of a landmark carbon tax.

When asked what sort of premier would emerge during a third term [v3.0], he said, "I understand the political analysis, but I think I'm the same person. You don't get to do the stuff we're doing now if we hadn't done the financial stuff early.".....

{snippety-doodle-dandy}

"Politically, if we could have done the financial changes we did in a way that felt less imposing to people, I'd do that over again, right?" He added: "I'm not sure I know how to do that, to be candid about it."......
__________

[stuff in square brackets above mine]


To my mind the quotes above are most telling.

Why?

Because they suggest that, in order to ensure that any and all perceived financial 'good' that he has done in the last eight years isn't undone in the next four, Mr. Campbell just might be willing to start the slashing and burning all over again during his third term as Premier.

So.

Now that the greatest windfall commodity boom this province has ever seen is over, does this mean that the Gordon Campbell, version 3.0, that ships on May 13th might actually turn out to be little more than a repackaged version 1.0, only 'better' (ie. more ruthless)?

It would seem to me that this is a question that British Columbians may wish to ask themselves, and perhaps even attempt to ask Gordon Campbell and his candidates, before they plunk their money down/mark their ballots on May 12th.

OK?

.

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