ToWinVille
Only now am I finally coming to the realization that maybe, just maybe, it was actually a good thing that David Eby did not make it onto the Vision Vancouver city council slate in 2008.
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The following was taken directly from Mr. Eby's Facebook page this morning.
Dear Friends:
Thank you so much for supporting me in our historic victory in Vancouver Point Grey.
I am told that this is only the third time in Canadian history that a successful provincial party leader has been unseated in his or her riding. Whether or not that statistic is correct, there is little doubt that we achieved something remarkable on Wednesday. You, our volunteers and supporters, along with the amazing citizens of Vancouver Point Grey, made it happen.
Thank you.
Like me, in our party's darkest moments on election night, you may have wondered whether the recipe for success in politics in British Columbia involves putting your opponent's head on a weather vane in a crude animation, hiring a phone bank, and calling it a day.
While one of the most vicious political efforts we have ever seen did succeed on Tuesday, we dealt the leader of that dishonest, misleading campaign a serious blow in Vancouver Point Grey. And next time, I know we will win across the province.
As our defeated premier calls around to her new MLAs to ask someone to resign for her, smile as you imagine the conversation, and gather your energy from it.
Because we do not have time to mourn.
The Liberals will try to choose the safest riding possible for Ms. Clark, but there is no safe seat for her. On Tuesday, a riding that has elected Liberals for more than a decade, the second wealthiest riding in BC, asked Ms. Clark and the Liberal party, politely, to leave. Others will as well.
Perhaps we will pick up another seat, or two, or more, as our unelected Premier tours the province. We will meet Ms. Clark wherever she shows up with an aggressive campaign that tells the truth. I can't wait to work a phone bank and knock on doors for that byelection. Sign me up.
We can also start the hard work at home to fight back with the truth.
In our riding, the truth telling will start with an effort to save the Therapeutics Initiative, the agency that provides BC's healthcare system with impartial, independent advice about drug safety and efficacy. At a cost of one million dollars a year, it saves the lives of children, seniors and the very ill from unanticipated medication side effects. It saves millions of our tax dollars every year.
The Liberals have cut off the TI's access to anonymized health care data and cut all of their funding. That decision is unacceptable. The truth must win in this fight.
I hope you, in your community, will find your local fight for truth. Because only the truth will defeat the kind of systematic dishonesty we saw during this campaign. And we can't afford to lose next time.
Thank you to everyone who worked on our campaign, and everyone who supported a BC NDP candidate. Thank you to Adrian Dix for his strong leadership in the face of withering personal attacks. Thank you to every candidate who stood for a different way of doing politics, and for the truth.
But most of all, thank you to the voters of Vancouver Point Grey for electing a BC NDP MLA for the first time in more than a decade. Many of you told me you were voting NDP for the first time ever. I will not let you down.
Yours truly,
David Eby
MLA for Vancouver Point Grey
****
Now.
Somebody asked me yesterday if I thought Mr. Eby was leadership material.
As in leadership of the BCNDP.
I said that I thought it would be tough, at least in the short term, given how much structure there is to the Dipper party compared, for example, to the BCL which is a party that will take any carpet-bagger they can find (and/or 'coax' out of a Talk-Show booth) if they think said carpet-bagger can win.
But now?
Well, after reading the statement above and having watched, up close, how Mr. Eby comported himself during the recent campaign, I am not so sure.
Because, despite all the talk over the last couple of days about how you can only beat the folks who have imported the Atwater/Ailes/Rove Rules into our fair Province by getting down into the gutter with them, I still want a Premier that can win with facts and decency and compassion and an honest, but not naive, desire to do the right thing.
And from a real politick point of view that is most definitely not craven, I also want a Premier that really and truly can mobilize both the passions and the votes of young people.
Personally, I'm starting to think that Mr. Eby can do all of those things.
OK?
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22 comments:
Perhaps we will pick up another seat, or two, or more, as our unelected Premier tours the province. We will meet Ms. Clark wherever she shows up with an aggressive campaign that tells the truth. I can't wait to work a phone bank and knock on doors for that byelection.
Maybe that conversation feller and I had isn't so nuts.
GAB
RossK
Sorry, can't agree with you on keeping to the high road.
The NDP keep going to a knife fight without a knife - politics in BC is a blood sport and we will need to have a street fighter in our corner if we ever hope to turn back the tide on the right - there is just too much corporate and MSM backing to have a fair fight.
Warren White
Gordon Head
David Eby may NOT be able to fight it out with Christy in another Riding who will be asked to vacate their Seat .... but not sworn in.
One NDP MLA has announced that BECAUSE Christy is the Premier Designate, it should be a Cake Walk for her.
DUH
Take off the Gloves will you.
".....Wherever Clark decides to run, New Democratic Party caucus chair Shane Simpson said his party may consider letting her do so uncontested. ...."
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Christy+Clark+wait+final+riding+count+before+trying+claim+seat/8391379/story.html
Though I am impressed with Eby's statement and agree with most of his thoughts......I doubt that there will be a tour of ridings with by-election after by-election. The eighty year old Sultan, who after years on the back bench recently finally got the golden age portfolio will happily actually retire and let Honey Boo Boo run in the Beverly Hills/Rancho Rancho Santa Fe riding of Canada where children get their mouth washed with soap for saying the words soshalist, left or even liberal w/o a BC in front of it. I fully expect the whole municipality to become gated when the economy tanks for real!
However I do agree, that even on this one pretty hopeless campaign, as far as taking the seat goes, the NDP should put up a spirited fight and try to point out to the brain trust that pointing out the criminal activity, lies and thieving of the last twelve years of BC liaR rule IS NOT NEGATIVE, nor getting down in the gutter and hell, it ain't even personal because it all started with 76 fence posts with hair and Gordo the Terrible responding to the strings being pulled by MacLean, Morgan, Kinsella et. al. After all, the NDP IS the OFFICIAL OPPOSITION, SO OPPOSE god damnmit!
Since the queen premier of the province will be contesting the seat, the band of goofs that passes for media will be obliged to cover the campaign and though likely not in an un-biased manner hopefully the odd Bee Cee resident could be schooled at least somewhat in the process.
If the NDP had formed government, Eby should have replaced the virtually useless Krog as AG!
I heartily agree about the TI, it a forest of such deals, hardly any BC liaR action is a more blatant sell out to corporate interests than this bend over/reach around for Big Pharma (though there was the elimination of bank taxes and Caroles reward, TimberWest on the Island, the Rape of the Rivers, and too many more to bother mentioning here.
Have to do some poll by poll analysis up here in Peace River North of everything. After having dubious distinction of having lowest voter turnout several times recently, we pulled the rabbit out of the hat and had the largest increase in voter turnout at just about 8%. In a riding where never more than 7000 voters show up, poof, over 11,000 suddenly are motivated. Wow, its like, well,... somebody had a paycheque related weapon trained on the craniums of the young, got payments on everything crowd. And if I heard it once I heard it 19,976 times, loud and clear. The NDP would stop the natural gas industry square in its tracks like in the 90's. Which any of us with any grey showing know, didn't happen. Good story at the coffee table though. Most of us with the grey did very well back then thank you. Message from Calgary got through to BC workers up here. Free-enterprise, non resident subsidy addicts pushing policy on the few BC residents that actually do earn their living in the production of natural gas.
Anyway, it will be interesting to see in which polling stations the runaway increases in voters took place. Was hoping the qualified independent would have earned the seat, but we went fence post instead. Maybe we could have the by-election here!!
I was a scrutineer for the NDP and was in on the count.The voting place I was at had 316 voters of which only 105 turned out.Out NDP candidate received 59 of these vote.
This was from a part of the riding of lower and low income and the NDP barely won this poll. Other polls in the same room with the same type of voters actually voted in the majority for the Liebrels.
SO,it might be nice to hypothesize about running a clean honest campaign but it will never work.
People watch reality shows because people crap on each other and they LIKE it.
The NDP only had to tell the truth about what actually happened in BC over the last 12 years and they screwed that up royally. Dix should be thrown under the bus along with his loser campaign idiots.
CGHZD
I agree 100% with Eby's strategy.
But, I see that "The Province" editorial has already branded that strategy as lacking the appropriate "respect". What a load of BS from the bullies at the Main Stream Media. After the garbage Ms. Clark and her cadre have been dishing out, their friends at the Main Stream Media now want people to treat Christie with "respect" and not be troublesome in the coming byelection. Give us a break.
Reminds me of the Liberal comments after the 2005 return of significant numbers of NDP MLA's to the legislature. After four years of beating up on McPhail and Kwan, the Libs expressed their solemn hope that the now reinforced numbers of NDP MLAs would conduct themselves with "decorum" or some similar phrase.
Uh huh. Bullies, they're only good at dishing it out.
Looks like Eby can write his own speeches. That alone sets him apart from most of his colleagues, does it not?
First bumped into David Eby when I lived Downtown East. Can't afford to live in V-PG, so couldn't vote for him. He's for real, I can tell you that much. For those saying the NDP showed up to a knife fight without a knife, I say: David's more than tough enough, but re-read the above & remember Jack; there is a better way!
Maybe there is some hope- I have to say the 100 bucks I donated to Mr Ebys campaign was the best bang for my buck I ever recieved. Sure beats Lotto Max.
There will be an election in 48 months- Christy can try for a seat then. The New Democrats, which I am one for the past 30+ years must get beyond the lacklustre campaigns they have had and attack. Maybe Eby is the new hope.Without some hope we have sweet F all.
Thanks Everybody--
I do not disagree that the BTopp generated 'Layton Way' failed Mr. Dix.
And, if you've read any of my stuff, I hope you will agree that I honestly believe that everyone should be held to account for the words they utter, the deeds they carry out, and the actions they initiate.
So...
My point here is that one does not have to fight baseless smears and half-truths with more of the same...In fact, I am of the opinion that this would actually be the worst possible way to go as it is my view that all propaganda is bad and that it's further proliferation will only serve to make meaningful governance more difficult and the disengagement of the electorate worse in the long run.
The upshot of all this blather?
Well....
I still think that the high road is the right road to travel
But I also think that is no need for that road to be soft.
And I think that Mr. Eby demonstrated this with his campaign which, while fair-minded and reasonable, was no Hubert Humphreyesque 'Politics of Joy'-type sponge cake-topped road to oblivion.
Quite the opposite in fact.
OK?
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The Province came up with an editorial claiming Eby's letter was disrespectful to Clark and saying she should just be handed a seat i.e. no one should run against her.
Really? Kinda like an unelected Senate? I don't think so.
I don't know Mr. Eby that well so have no idea what kind of leader he would make.
Unfortunately, he doesn't have enough time in to satisfy the powers that be within the party, IMHO.
Yes, I am a member, and I want Dix to go, and have told the party that.
I still like Horgan but that's because I know him better.
Great letter, Mr. Eby. And a good vehicle for rallying the troops.
But consider the consequences of ousting Ms. Clark.
What if the Liberals found a new leader, one with respect for truth, respect for voters, with a vision for British Columbia that will get us out of the hole we are in, and with the managerial smarts to effect that vision?
If I could put myself in the place of an NDP strategist for a moment, it seems clear that the best hope for an NDP win in 2017 is with Christy in charge. Along with some needed personnel and policy changes.
I cannot see her becoming smarter, or more dignified, or a better manager over the next four years. The only difference is there will be six years of her scandals, corruption and mismanagement to use as ammunition in the next campaign, instead of two.
So cherish her, Mr. Eby. She is the best hope you have for victory in 2017.
Thanks for your perspective Sue...
Ya, I figured there might be an issue with time spent in the party trenches, etc. for Mr. Eby.
Just to be clear, I have thought for sometime that Mr. Horgan would also be a solid leader also.
I guess I have just come to the conclusion that Mr. Eby is someone who really can articulate how to do the right thing, on a range of issues, and not turn folks off immediately, especially folks in that great swath of middle that are so critical for a Dipper victory.
And I say this knowing that Mr. Eby himself does not stand in the mushy middle of a soft road, high or otherwise.
The other thing is that I really did see, up close and personal how he motivated a whole bunch of young folks on campus to really do things of substance throughout the campaign.
It will be interesting to see if he keeps that 'substancing' of the whippersnappers going over the longhaul as an MLA. I have a feeling that he will.
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persey--
There you go, making me think long game all over again.
Darn you and your forward thinking ways anyway!
(this is where I would put one of those little smiley faced things if I didn't think they were evil incarnate)
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Sorry folks. John Horgan will be the leader within the year, where he should have been all along. I see the Probe and Flail throwing Heyman and Darcy into a future leadership race. We're they indulging with Rob Ford when they dreamt that up? Jayzus!!!!!!!!!
Horgan should be leader before the weekend is out never mind the year. Lets get some opposing done starting right now. Dix should just slide sideways, he is good as a member of the team. Moe's gotta go along with the staplers and stuffers. No wonder I'm a conspiracy theorist. Guy Kool Top indeed.
C'mon,Ross K; think fat Dave or Glen wouldn't have made hay with the material on the table the Liberal FAMIGLIA gave us? We'd ' ve run the table:85 SEATS! I'm to pissed to argue with this west side Marqis of Queensbury B.S.! Hey, Topp, apologise, you slug: and stay away from the 15 federal election, Arsehole!
krank!--
I agree that Mr. Horgan would be an excellent leader.
But.
As for the MofQ Rules thing...Who, since Tuesday night has actually laid a glove on anybody?
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MCG--
Re: KT&G and The Confederacy of Smugness...Post comin'....
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Persey says, "What if the Liberals found a new leader, one with respect for truth, respect for voters, with a vision for British Columbia that will get us out of the hole we are in, and with the managerial smarts to effect that vision?"
That guy died 2,013 years ago.
re Kool & Guy on Topp (of Sihota) post a comin'.....will hold off conpiracy theorizing until then
"That guy died 2, 013 years ago". Excellent comment Lew. Made me think of AD (not the person) which made me think of BC (not the province) which made me think of CC (the person) which made me think of BCC (as can appear on letters and emails). Wonder if there was any bcc'n goin' on?.........oh yeah, said no more conspiracy theorizing...
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