I love BC politics. It’s often more dramatic than some of the prime time offerings offered up for our entertainment on the big screen or the tube.
And, whether you see him as the hero or the villain, Premier Gordon Campbell deserves an Oscar and an Emmy.
He was on the canvas, bruised and beaten down …. his enemies could smell his blood, and even former fans were urging him to stay down for the count … and suddenly this latest Rocky Balboa of BC politics has struggled to his feet and vowed to fight on!
Make no mistake about it, “Rocky”‘s punches over the past two days have not been directed at those of us in the wider audience: his best shots were aimed squarely at those formerly in his own corner, now urging him to throw in the towel, rather than fight on in November.
Campbell knows that to survive the Fall Liberal convention, he has to stop the bleeding NOW. That’s why he has delivered a blow to those wanting him out … warning them he plans to stay on, to fight and to win another term.
Now I still don’t believe he really intends to do that (has he ever lied to the voters before?) but the old fighter wants to go when HE is ready … not when some two-bit party punks throw jabs at him. And he wanted any contenders for his belt to realize that, so they’ll keep out of the ring, until he’s damn ready to step out himself.
I still predict that he’ll give up the crown next spring or late summer … giving the party a fair shot at signing up and training a new combatant well in time for the May, 2013 election.
Could he stay on and fight again?
Well, his ego is still undiminished in any way. Sure, he’s taken some serious hits (HST, BC Rail, HEU Contracts etc) but he may actually believe he has enough time to recover from his wounds, train for another fight and pull off another win.
After all, he beat his main challenger, Carole James, before…. twice. And if he faces her in the ring again, “Rocky” probably does believe he can whup her again.
And he could even gamble (is that legal?) that, despite all the alienation being expressed right now by so many of his former fans, who will serve as “judges” that when it comes to marking their score cards in 2013, they’ll let bygones be bygones and back the “Champ” once again.
Especially if he buys them choice front row seats with their own money in the form of an HST tax rebate (Oops, we made a mistake … it wasn’t revenue neutral and we want to give some back.).
Of course, that could prove his fatal flaw: he may have alienated too many fans this time to score a comeback. They may want to see him take a beating, at their own hands no less.
And if he does decide to fight on, the Opposition could come up with a new challenger: but that match up is still 18 months away … plenty of time for “Rocky” to size up any new competition.
First up, though, there’s that preliminary bout in November … and “Rocky” has now served notice: he has no intention of just giving up without a fight.
Don’t ya love it!
Harv Oberfeld
25 responses so far ↓
1 D. M. Johnston // Sep 10, 2010 at 4:56 am
Knowing BC politics, he will suffer somewhat the same fate as Caesar, only in th chill winds of November.
“Et tu Fal Con – Then fall Campbell”
2 Crankypants // Sep 10, 2010 at 5:27 am
One thing about politics in BC is that it is seldom boring. Predicting who will do what and when is never an easy task. Whether his stoic pronouncements are his ego kicking in or his way of buying time to guage the mood of both his caucus and party faithful will only be revealed as time goes by.
One thing he did do yesterday was throw Colin Hansen to the wolves. We know that hansen saw the briefing prepared for him by the finance department. Campbell stated emphatically that he saw no correspondence about the HST, thus taking himself off the hook.
Also Kevin Krueger laid the foundation for Campbell’s primetime re-emergence when he appeared on Bill Good’s show earlier that day. Krueger basically lauded Campbell as the best premier BC ever had and ripped Scott Nelson a new one in what almost seemed the same breath. He wasn’t very complimentary of Blair Leckstrom, probably because they will again be meeting whenever the Legislature sits again.
I think Krueger’s performance was basically a warning shot to all caucus members and any other party insiders that want to rock the boat to keep their thoughts to themselves and away from the media.
Campbell just put the icing on Krueger’s cake.
3 Crankypants // Sep 10, 2010 at 6:36 am
I just have to weigh in again.
The infamous Craig James, acting head of Elections BC, who was installed into this position by the BC Liberals is now reorganizing Elections BC. Apparently he fired Linda Johnson, second in command, after 28 years of service at Elections BC. Something stinks big time about this.
First of all, what qualifies Craig James to reorganize an institution at which he has only been employed at for a couple of months. Of course, he is away until September 20 and can’t be questioned by the media. Speaking of the MSM, how come we get a couple of minutes of Campbell’s Cabinet Ministers praising the boss’s virtues and nothing on this story on the TV newscasts.
Next thing that seems smelly is that someone from Elections BC is supposed to address the standing committee next week about the ins and outs on a possible referendum on the HST extinguishment petition. Who are they going to get, the janitor?
I guess dirty tricks are not just reserved for an election. They can be utilized whenever Campbell & Co. see fit.
(Response: Actually I did see a couple of ministers on tv vowing their support for him and the great job he’s done. h.o)
4 Lynn // Sep 10, 2010 at 7:16 am
Was that a laugh track I heard following the joke Gordie uttered?
He has the support from the citizens of this province? HA HA HA.
Good one. HA HA HA.
5 Lynn // Sep 10, 2010 at 7:19 am
OMG, I can’t stop laughing!!
(Response: At my Rocky analogy … or at the possibility of him staying on?
h.o
6 SB // Sep 10, 2010 at 8:02 am
If he stays and survives whats ahead which is unlikely – BC Rail is not going to go away the HST has sprung the recall process i doubt they stop now and just target teh 10 – 12 they need and take teh Liberals down and Carole James likely wont last till 2013 but could win now as public is totally fed up ive had enough of Campbell pillaging my bank acct hes way worse than any NDPer ive ever seen in power and i was a Conseravtive party member for years ill vote NDP to send a message next time and wait to see what comes after that but no right leaning govt will be trusted till they clean up the way they do things , every taxpayer should matter from teh kid at Timmys to executive in banks no kids at Timmys who can save a dime and no executives bonus money these idiots dont get it .
Recall looks good cant wait
(Response: Yes. James would likley win now …but the election isn’t now. A year and more is an awful long time in politics. I personally think he would still lose in 2013 … the public won’t forget. But as I said his current fight is against his own party challengers. h.o)
7 Willy P // Sep 10, 2010 at 11:52 am
It’s beyond pathetic to see the old palooka grasping at the few straws remaining of a tattered and self mutilated reputation. The times coming when the old war horse needs to know he’s headed for the glue factory, albeit with the nice fat pension (that he swore he’d never take.) Too many lies, too much ego, too bad for Gordo. I must admit that the display of bravado made me chuckle, if only from a-the delusional aspect or b- the egocentric narcissism that drives him.
I believe it was Dave Zirnhelt that said “We’re the government. We can do anything we want”. Not this time. But do be careful of your posterior on the door as you exit. Your friends will hold it open for you.
8 Genuine // Sep 10, 2010 at 2:23 pm
sure great fighter my @$$,he’s more like Yosemite Sam ,fighting dirty with Bugs bunny using an anvil,TNT,knives spoons hammers and the kitchen sink to fight as dirty as possible,and the press isn’t helping one bit with any info,and who was fired from elections bc,just like the court case that’s going on he’s stacking the frigg’in deck again and not a word he does it all the time ,he stacks the deck with appointees,holy smoke enough is enough,recall in the fall.
And by the way how in blue blazes can that fool say he can feel the support of bcer’s,he’s totally out to lunch that ain’t support your feeling bubby
9 Kam Lee // Sep 10, 2010 at 2:38 pm
Well Harv, he won’t be back. My question to you is…If campbell quits, do we still have to
foot (any potential ..h.o.) legal bill. (if there are any) implications and involvement in the BC Rail trial?
Gary Collins was (allegedly) overheard by the RCMP, telling the other bidder in the crooked sale of
BC Rail, that he (Omnitrax) would be given Roberts Bank terminal as a runner up prize?
Do you not believe that gordo that little scamp did not know about that also? He micro-
manages everyone (edited..h.o) He has his little fingers in every pie. He has been
guilty for so long, do we accept that as normal? I don’t believe so. RECALL IN THE
FALL! (edited..h.o)
(Response: I see you still haven’t looked up the definition of libel …thus the editing. As for paying any legal bills, I bet we would. h.o)
10 Kam Lee // Sep 10, 2010 at 4:46 pm
Well Harv, about that BC Rail trial… how long has it been? What fellow (witness) can’t even remember his name it seems.. What we need is some honesty, some truth from ALL the politicians. The police raided our legislature years ago! If this is not a stall by the campbellites, what is it? My legal frinds in the USA are laughing at the situation. They as well as many of us up here cannot believe the delays. Maybe ask our guy Bill B, where was he for 9 months? A HUGE coverup my friend. Tar and feathering would not do justice for this government. They would charge us HST on the feathers and tar.
11 Lynn // Sep 10, 2010 at 5:58 pm
Him staying on. Your analogy is a good one. Trouble is I think the liberals story book ending will differ greatly from the Stallone’s trilogy ending.
Of course all the ministers would say they have a great litre, poop, I mean leader.
They want to hang onto to that fine pension plan until the next election, right.
Harvey, how is Robertson making out with his joirnalist list?
(Response: Well, I’m still here, still blogging/writing and apparently so is everyone else on ther list. I do lose sleep, however, wondering if he is trying to find out where I live ..so he can put A BIKE LANE right in front of my place!!
h.o
12 Leah // Sep 10, 2010 at 6:28 pm
In essence, I agree with your article Harvey. I just hope the people of BC will open their eyes come the next election – and see that the damage this province has taken (which will take decades to repair) was NOT caused by one man. He initiated it, but his cabinet and caucus insured that his will would be done. There is not a single innocent liberal in this province. Not One. In fact, I can think of a couple that make Campbell look good. The shells of destruction lobbed on us were from multiple hands, and I hope the party that replaces him will open the books to allow us to see the truth. It will be ugly, but we deserve to know…maybe that’s what it will take to prod everyone in BC to pay attention to what their “leaders” are doing, in their name…and to research the real issues and their solutions before they vote.
As to the BC Rail trial, I don’t think it will come to a natural conclusion – I believe the decisions on issues and timing for a mistrial have already been made. When one looks at the Justice’s involved…and the fact that only one of them even remotely had OUR interests at heart, it doesn’t leave much hope for the law or the judiciary in BC.
We truly have become a banana republic when the government of the day changes laws with impunity, and through back-room dealings restructures the entities put in place to protect us, our interests, and our province. What a sad, sad place BC has become.
13 RS // Sep 10, 2010 at 7:33 pm
@ Crankypants
“Campbell stated emphatically that he saw no correspondence about the HST, thus taking himself off the hook.”
Off the hook??? That would imply that Campbell is to be taken at his word. Yeah right! Emphatically, the man is a bold face liar.
14 Crankypants // Sep 10, 2010 at 11:05 pm
RS-I didn’t mean I believe he’s absolved on the implementation of the HST. By the statement he made, he thinks he’s off the hook.
My point is that by him making that statement, he put the onus squarely on the shoulders of Colin Hansen, who admitted seeing the briefing, which went from I don’t remember to a Cursory glance to who knows what.
In my mind the whole HST fiasco has to be attributed to the bogus pre-election budget and Campbell’s refusal to admit that the deficit would be more than $495 million during the whole election campaign.
(Response: That pre-election budget was a joke. In any private business a financial officer who predicted annual sales losses of $495 million …after carefully examining all the relevant reports, but the figure came in ,just weeks later, at $1.5 Billion, would be looking for a new job. The media should have demanded why no heads rolled … but as far as I can see, none did. h.o)
15 a . j . // Sep 11, 2010 at 2:46 am
re:your analogy.Rocky was a likable “mug” . Campbell? not so much..
(Response: Sure he is: BIG business LOVES him.
h.o
16 Crankypants // Sep 11, 2010 at 5:45 am
I looked through yesterday’s and today’s Vancouver Sun and Province papers and still found no stories on what is going on at Elections BC. Not one word.
I expected to hear something on this story on Cutting Edge of the Ledge today. Nada.
In my mind this is as important as the HST debacle.
There is no way that a government should be able to insert someone with limited knowledge about an entity such as Elections BC and put him/her at the helm. Linda Johnson as Deputy Chief Electoral Officer, should have taken over as interim Chief Electoral Officer until a replacement, vetted by the Legislature, was appointed. After all, that is what she was trained for, to cover for Neufeld when he was not able to carry out his duties. Instead, Craig James somehow attains the authority to sack Linda Johnson. There is something very wrong with this picture.
I hate to use this term, but this story is flying under the radar because the MSM is refusing to give it the coverage it deserves. That is just plain wrong.
17 RS // Sep 11, 2010 at 3:27 pm
@Crankypants
Point taken.
18 sunshine coast girl // Sep 11, 2010 at 4:28 pm
@ Lynn – But he does have the support of the province. He’s not lying…..
According to the newest Angus Reid poll taken Sept. 8 and 9th, he has the support of 12% of us
(worst in Canada by a long shot)
(Response: But the election is not tomorrow. He could believe that, with time, he’ll pull it off …but I still believe he’s just playing for time …wil resign in the spring or next fall, and get rewarded by the corporate sector or the Tories “for a job well done” on their behalf. h.o)
19 mariner // Sep 11, 2010 at 6:59 pm
I note that only the Vancouver Sun gave space for the Angus Reid Poll showing Gordon”the LIar” Campbell to be the most disliked premier in Canada. Also noted, they did not provide any comments section for the story/article – thus confirming that the Vancouver Sun is somehow controlled by Campbell and does his bidding over all else (pretty much amyway).
20 blueberi2 // Sep 11, 2010 at 8:40 pm
Punch drunk.
If the entire B.C. Legislature is a stage there’s a fair chance that Pinocchio Campbell rates among the top 85 Victoria-based actors in terms of comic acting ability.
He is a character of many faces. This week the term punch-drunk may be the apt adjective in describing his staged fight for power and control.
A couple or so elections ago, Campbell inadvertently slipped into the role of public comedian when – disguised in a plaid cowboy shirt and strumming a guitar – he tried passing himself as just one of them thar down-home fellas who knows exactly how much slop a pig trough – or a pig – can hold.
It was funny and silly and he was not convincing. However, he’s had several years more practice in deceiving the voters.
This time around, alert and skeptical taxpayers are lining up front row center at their PCs to blow off steam about warm-up skits Pinnocchio is performing in preparation for the expected further dramatic assault on the citizens’ right to honest representation. Pinocchio may have spent a good portion of his “vacation time” rehearsing his speeches in front of a mirror but he has failed to wipe the sneer off his face.
Meanwhile, in the wings, stage left, dressed in a Marie Antoinette costume, Carole James clings to a tray of stale cake along with her fervent hope of acting out her fantasy role of serving as B.C.’s first elected female premier.
We are in search of qualified B.C. leadership material within our provinncial boundaries. Audition calls to be announced.
21 blueberi2 // Sep 11, 2010 at 10:16 pm
Harvey, speaking of leadership material – why not call for submissions of names of prospective provincial leaders and cabinet choices? Along with the names a nominator would include a job description for the ideal candidate (from premier through finance and atttorney gen to sergeant at arms) and list the nominees’ qualifications. Experience may not be a required since mot of the Cab Mins train on the job after they’re appointed.
(Remember that before being elected and appointed to the provincial cabinet Huggie Hanson had little actual training on any job outside of working for his mother-in-law. There’s also some question about Pinocchio Campbell’s pre-election job experience outside of running for election. )
Nominators could pick anyone they choose who may fit the job description. Would nominees be required to pass specific tests before names are included on a ballot? How about subjecting them to periodic drug, blood alcohol, steroid and polygraph tests while on the job?
While we know there’s little heavy lifting required in the work, should nominees be trequired to pass an insurance-style medical exam?
And btw a nominator can nominate him- or her – self, following the same rules e.g. resume of qualifications, background. References will be required.
(Response: Because this blog is a hobby: what you’re talkiing about would be full time job.
But who knows, maybe someone else, with a full time advertising-supported blog, will do that once Campbell announces he’s bailing out. h.o)
22 SB // Sep 12, 2010 at 4:55 am
MSM actually printed something that shows Campbells troubles –
B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell’s approval rating has fallen to a “new low” of 12 per cent, according to an Angus Reid poll released Friday.
The Sun today guess they cant do much about that one but it sure shows how bad he’s hated now
23 Doesn't apply to me // Sep 12, 2010 at 6:52 am
I have a list of quotes that I picked out that emulate the nonsense of Gordo and his lying band of thieves.
“All propaganda has to be popular and has to accommodate itself to the comprehension of the least intelligent of those whom it seeks to reach.”
“Through clever and constant application of propaganda, people can be made to see paradise as hell, and also the other way round, to consider the most wretched sort of life as paradise.”
“How fortunate for leaders that men do not think.”
“Universal education is the most corroding and disintegrating poison that liberalism has ever invented for its own destruction.”
“Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it”
“The great masses of the people will more easily fall victims to a big lie than to a small one.”
“The broad masses of a population are more amenable to the appeal of rhetoric than to any other force.”
“It is not truth that matters, but victory”
“The victor will never be asked if he told the truth.”
“Success is the sole earthly judge of right and wrong.”
“For there is one thing we must never forget… the majority can never replace the man. And no more than a hundred empty heads make one wise man will an heroic decision arise from a hundred cowards.”
“There must be no majority decisions, but only responsible persons, and the word ‘council’ must be restored to its original meaning. Surely every man will have advisers by his side, but the decision will be made by one man.”
“Demoralize the enemy from within by surprise, terror, sabotage, assassination. . .”
“The leader of genius must have the ability to make different opponents appear as if they belonged to one category.”
“The art of leadership. . . consists in consolidating the attention of the people against a single adversary and taking care that nothing will split up that attention. . . .”
“We will not capitulate – no, never! We may be destroyed, but if we are, we shall drag a world with us – a world in flames.”
And the credit goes to . . . by reading the last quote it should be obvious.
“The [Nazi party] should not become a constable of public opinion, but must dominate it. It must not become a servant of the masses, but their master!”
The really daunting part of the politico in BC is that this seems to be the resign of Gordo and his delusional band of lying thugs.
Absolute obedience to Gordo.
24 Leah // Sep 12, 2010 at 3:26 pm
Crankpants, I’ve been watching (as much as I hate it) the “news” and have as yet to hear anything at all about Linda Johnson. I’ve also spent the weekend looking through papers online and off…and found the story on The Tyee, The Globe and Mail, and 2 blogs. Unless I missed it, I couldn’t find the story in either Vancouver newspaper. Amazing!
It seems to me that this is like a pamphlet firing an encyclopedia.
25 Lynn // Sep 13, 2010 at 3:26 pm
Doesn’t apply to me:
Those are EXCELLENT (!)quotes!
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