Thoughts on BC Politics and More

One gets the sense that the federal New Democratic Party is being treated with kid gloves by commentators and pundits. It’s almost as if its good intentions buy it dispensation from criticism. We don’t know whether to treat it like a major political party or a fringe protest movement. For the 2011 and 2015 elections, Jack Layton and Thomas Mulcair aspired for the NDP to present itself as a major party—one that sought to form the next government. Its campaigns were sophisticated, its policies were generally well-conceived, and its overall proposition to voters was one of mainstream credibility. The NDP was running with the big boys. The first two weeks of the 2024 campaign couldn’t be more different ... CLICK HERE for the full story  

I have friends of most political leanings. I have always said no one owns your vote but you, and that it's wrong for others to bully you with fear to make you change your vote. Still. I’m always bemused at why so many NDP and Liberal Party supporters feel that: others should change their vote, but they would never change their own, and … blaming the other person for a Conservative Party government is an appropriate response when the other person doesn’t want to change their vote. If you want others to consider your chosen parties’ platform, push your leader and policy makers to step up in areas they are lacking instead of focusing on other peoples votes.   Self-reflect about why people aren’t choosing your party, and actually listen to what others concerns are, instead of bashing them with fear. We all share similar concerns, and there is no one perfect way to get there. And NDP members wishing for Jack Layton, might go back and read what he has sa...

An editorial by Mel Rothenburger. OH, HOW FAR they have fallen. The recent resignation of Gina Myhill-Jones as the NDP candidate in Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo is symbolic of the general state of the New Democrats’ fortunes in Canadian politics right now. Myhill-Jones was a candidate who did little more than fill a place on the ballot for the NDP. No matter what her convictions and party loyalty, she was never going to rise higher than a third-place finish at best. The loss of even a place-holder candidate is a severe embarrassment for the party but it’s typical of what’s going on at the national level. Former NDP candidate Gina Myhill-Jones Gone are the heady days when Jack Layton led the party to official opposition status in the Orange Crush of 2011, with the NDP taking 103 seats in the federal election. The NDP’s star burned bright but briefly, turning into an Orange Crash in 2015, and there’s been no sign of resurgence since, c...

It's still quite early in the contest but, judging by the March 12 televised leadership debate on the replacement of Tom Mulcair at the helm of the federal NDP, the entire proceedings could become known as the bland leading the bland. Even the traditional iconic bright orange party colour has been replaced by a washed out tangerine with an even duller gray background. Somehow it all seems symbolic as the federal NDP fades into history.   There is no excitement. There are no headline-grabbing events. There is no attraction to the federal NDP for most Canadians . As the party struggles to re-establish its credibility with Canadian voters, it has to bury a few hatchets left over from Mulcair's embarrassing loss to Justin Trudeau's surging Liberals in the 2015 federal election. It became even more embarrassing when, after stating he wanted to remain as party leader in the next federal election, Mulcair was defeated in 2016 in a confidence vote o...