The whole one-election-and-out-party-leader phenomenon has gotten entirely out of hand. But if your in opposition it means that your guy, when it comes to an election campaign, is always going to be a rookie. It’s hard to win that way. Not impossible. But its tying one hand behind your back.
Continue readingTag: Adrian Dix
Cowichan Conversations: BC NDP – A New Leader is only one step in a long and winding road ahead.
Richard Hughes-Political Blogger The BC NDP has lost its’ edge. The feisty Glen Clark victory in 1996 was the last. That was four elections ago. NDP victories and effectiveness depend on winning on the ground, but the inner controlling circle has gone the so-called respectable corporate style route tilting the
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: Longtime NDP MLA Corky Evans On Todays BC NDP
Richard Hub Hughes-Political Blogger The BC Liberals scored a surprise upset and were re-elected as the government of BC on May 14th, 2013 Since that time members, supporters and pundits along with some current and former MLA’s have been speaking up questioning the so called middle of the road positioning,
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: It is Time for the BC NDP to Clean House. No More Reviews are Needed.
Richard Hughes-Political Blogger I have been a member of the BC NDP since the early 70′s. Like so many others I have been on a full tour of duty including a ‘Mission Impossible’ run to be the Malahat Juan de Fuca MLA back in 2001. Today we face yet another
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Fixing the BC NDP, 2013 Version
Can the BC NDP actually Think Forward? About 4 years ago, there was a movement within the BC NDP to make it more relevant. It was called Think Forward BC NDP. The party had just lost the election and there was some soul-searching about what went wrong and what was
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: Sean Leslie Looks Big Problems at BC Hydro-This week in BC
This Week in BC -Sean Leslie Looks at BC HYDRO
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Brilliant Analysis of the BC Election by Gary Mason
Christy Clark outworking and outframing Dix If you relish the nitty-gritty of political campaigns, like reading a well-written journalist post, and want to learn why framing cost the BC NFP a surefire win in the recent provincial election, then study the article headed Anatomy of a Comeback by Gary Mason
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: Cowichan Conversations Readers Want Change With NDP Leadership
Richard Hughes-Political Blogger Adrian Dix suffered the worst upset ever for the NDP. Yes, in 2001 we were almost wiped out but then the expectations were low, very low. Heading into a Provincial Council meeting this weekend it will be interesting to see if the Dix loyalists can stave off
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: Rafe Mair Rakes BC NDP Energy Critic John Horgan Over The Coals
Richard Hughes-Political Blogger Rafe Mair, never one to bring flowers to a knife fight has targeted BC NDP MLA John Horgan, for his part in losing the provincial election and leaving us open to the savages of the BC Liberals which lie ahead. In his latest post he leaves no doubt
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: Rafe Mair Does Not Bring Flowers To Knife Fights!
Richard ‘Hub’ Hughes- Political Blogger Rafe’s latest post on the Common Sense Canadian is a tough swallow for many NDP loyalists and not all that comforting to MLA John Horgan. It is however spot on in its criticism which is needed right now if we are to get past the
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: Canada’s Political Party Leader’s Have To Much Power!
Richard ‘Hub’ Hughes- Political Blogger The politics of the day are ringing in some major truths. One of the most serious is the centralised top down control grasped so firmly by the party leaders of each and every stripe. In Canada and the provinces our political party leaders wield a
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: BC New Democrats Have Lost Their Swagger and Don’t Know Where to Find It.
Richard ‘Hub’ Hughes- Political Blogger OK so the BC Election is over and we can get back to normal, sort of, but let’s face it folks we are in for a rough ride. What a mess we are facing politically. The BC NDP has lost its way. They have distanced
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: The BCNDP Have Been Struggling Since The RCMP Raid On Premier Glen Clark’s Home
Richard ‘Hub’ Hughes- Political Blogger Rod Smelser and Kevin Logan both politically savvy types offered some interesting comments on the spectacular BC NDP Election defeat. (See Comments-following the post about the Kool Topp Guys.) I think that what is needed is a thorough house cleaning, possibly a name change, an injection
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: NDP Campaign-The Topp Guy Was Not All That Kool!
Richard Hughes-Political Blogger One of the burning questions begging for answers as to WTF happened that saw the BCNDP lose the election is how is that Brian Topp ran the campaign after it was know that he was in business with the political enemies of the campaign. Topp was an
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: History Tells Us That Defeated BC NDP Leaders Never Make A Comeback
Richard ‘Hub’ Hughes- Political Blogger New Democrat Leaders who lose in a Provincial Election have never been able to rebound as party leader in a further election attempt, ever. Those who huddle in the backrooms following election defeats always seem to want to stay the course with the leader who has
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: New column day
Here, on how a narrow focus on pursuing a seemingly safe path to a bare majority government may have contributed to the B.C. NDP’s stunning election defeat this week. Needless to say, there’s no lack of other commentary on the election, with Alice Funke, Sixth Estate, Michael Stewart, Paul Ramsey
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory: lessons from B.C. for NDPers everywhere
Just to set the mood, it’s Left-Leaning B.C. Premiers Day on Alberta Diary. Here’s your blogger with some former NDP premiers from that province – Dave Barrett above, Mike Harcourt and Ujjal Dosanjh below. No one can snatch defeat from the jaws of victory quite like the New Democrats in
Continue readingCalgary Grit: Chickening Out On Change
“Well this is awkward” We’ve been reminded this week that an 8-point lead in the dying days of an election campaign is about as safe as a 2-goal lead in the final 90 seconds of a playoff hockey game. Never take anything for granted. Despite leading by between 2 to
Continue readingSong of the Watermelon: Five Lessons — Real and Imagined — from BC’s Election Results
In a stunning upset of “Dewey Defeats Truman” proportions, the BC Liberals have defied all the polls save one and returned to power with a fourth straight majority government. No doubt, there will be much soul searching and wound licking over the coming weeks. I believe that five lessons —
Continue reading350 or bust: B.C. Votes Against Its Future
I don’t live in Canada’s most westerly province, but I know that British Columbians pride themselves in their slogan, “Beautiful British Columbia”. It is a province of vast wilderness, ancient mountains, and pristine waters, although its beauty has been marred in recent years by the pine-beetle-destroyed pine trees covering vast
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