It would have been a far better strategic move on the part of the NDP to simply cut to the chase, vote NO and opt out. Or they could have walked out of the House with a refusal to vote. They are outnumbered in the House and can never win a vote, especially this one. That is all they had to say by way of explanation...if indeed any explanation was required...no explanation, no giving the MLA's pay increase to charity, nothing except NO, then shut up knowing that the Liberals will win a vote regardless.
Then they could have gone after the Liberals as the self-centered, money-worshipping, ass-covering cretins that they are.
But oh no, she broadcast that the pay increase for NDP MLA's would be donated to charity. By so doing, Carole James instantly created a two-tier class of MLA's where one group is higher paid than the other. She has also set the stage for discontent and hard feelings. Already one MLA (Harry Lali) has been demoted and NDP MLA, Doug Routley, within one week of attaining to a higher caucus position, has lost it. There is obvious dissension in the ranks when there need not have been if she'd only kept her mouth shut on this.
To top it all off the pay increase is taxed. In effect, the MLA's are paying income tax on a charitable donation. Then they will receive a tax deduction on their charitable donation. So the media has asked what will they do with their income tax return of upwards of $5,000.00, will they donate that to charity too? See where this is going? All 'round, it's a convoluted mess with Carole James in her naivety opening up a whole can of worms, making life tougher for her MLA's.
I can just imagine the charities lining up at the door of each and every NDP MLA with their hand out wanting the MLA's pay increase then getting all bent out of shape when the MLA turns them down. What a disastrous situation not to mention waste of valuable time for busy MLA’s.
Politics in BC is a cutthroat business and I'm afraid Carole James is simply too nice a person. She has weakened the NDP's position, annoyed her MLA's and lost the respect of many New Democrats. Political strategizing has never been a particularly strong suit with the NDP and this has shown the Leader up as inexperienced.
The job of any MLA is not to hand over their wages to charity, it is to work for their constituents and represent their needs. Should an MLA want to donate to charity, that is their business and none of the business of society-at-large. Knowing where and to what organization an MLA donates will only create a hardship on that MLA.
This is not good news for the NDP and I'll probably take some heat for saying this, but Carole James does not deserve a pat on the back; she deserves a slap upside the head for this one.
David Schreck made some pertinent comments in his article entitled: $800,000 Per Lucky MLA at: http://www.strategicthoughts.com
Quoting from his article: "Since the release of the report from Campbell's Commission on May 1, only one news release came from the NDP caucus on the issue, and that was with respect to donating their raise to charity. Invitations to be interviewed by news media or on talk shows were refused; there was no fight-back campaign. They blew the opportunity to criticize the commission which did not reflect the diversity of British Columbians, which was unilaterally appointed by the premier, which demonstrated contempt for the public and which was racked with internal divisions."
"Maybe good manners got in the way of protecting Campbell's political shield. The NDP caucus also blew the opportunity to demonstrate leadership for the public, which is understandably angry with the money grab, and they failed to offer an alternative. Word from Victoria is that the proposal to deal with MLA pay and pensions will be in the party's 2009 election platform. Why would they want to remind people of their blundering?
"The best the NDP can hope for is that voters recognize that Campbell is responsible for the money grab, while forgetting the ham-handed way the NDP caucus behaved.
"In protecting the windfall for 5 of their colleagues, the NDP caucus may have assured that several times that number go down to certain defeat."
In conclusion, Carole James is a lovely person but she is not a politician. Not in BC anyway; maybe in Tuvalu. Granted, she has worked hard for the party and her constituents...credit where credit is due...but if the NDP is to survive, a new leader -- a real leader with vision and the chutzpah to go after it -- must be found and right quick.
Quite frankly I'm angry. I'm angry because at the place and time in this Province and on this planet there is very little if any time left and the NDP, our only hope on the horizon, blew it again.
I need ice cream now.
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Rita Dawson is a loyal, longtime New Democrat who hasn't quite lost faith in the party because, as she says herself, for British Columbia "The NDP is our only hope on the horizon."
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
[Proofreader's note: this article was edited for spelling and typos on May 24, 2007]
Note: http://www.strategictho...
If The NDP Is To Survive In B.C., A New Leader Must Be Found
Posted on Thursday, May 24 at 09:52 by BC MaryContributed By
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I am disillusioned with the NDP at the moment and here is why:
1. They blew the pay raise issue big time, twice.
2. They have been silent on TILMA
3. They have been pretty silent on the legislature raid
Nothing more really needs to be said.
---
The two most common things in the universe are apparently Hydrogen and stupidity.
I can't believe we have a political system that allows MP's to determine their own salary. It's crazy, even the States has laws in place to prevent this.
Time for a left-wing party with some BALLS, not afraid to get angry and take hits on pay to make a stand for public decency.
Not that I'm holding my breath, with the US Democrats caving on the troop deployment bill, the northern hemisphere seems to be all out of leftist leaders with some guts.
---
“The war is not meant to be won, it is meant to be continuous, the essential act of warfare is the destruction of the produce of human labour”
what people have to get through their apparently pea sized brains is it is they who are culpable in the matter of the direction of their party I would like to hear Peter (sorry Peter I've forgotten your last name )of BC politics on this matter
---
"It is easy to dodge our responsibilities, but we cannot dodge the consequences of dodging our responsibilities."
—Sir Josiah Stamp
Like hell........
Ed Deak.
---
"It is easy to dodge our responsibilities, but we cannot dodge the consequences of dodging our responsibilities."
—Sir Josiah Stamp
Feminazi (also spelled femme-nazi) is an invective neologism, used
predominantly in the United States and Canada, political rhetoric to
characterize women whose ideas are believed by others to be
vehemently misandrous; i.e.- having an irrational and extreme hatred of
men. The word itself is a blend of the nouns feminist and Nazi. The
term does not relate literarily but metaphorically to the National Socialist
Women's Organization or any other organization of women who served
Nazi Germany.
Feminazi in popular culture
The term was popularized by conservative broadcaster Rush Limbaugh,
who credited his friend Tom Hazlett, a professor of law and economics
at George Mason University, with coining the term. Limbaugh originally
claimed that the word "feminazi" meant not just an extreme feminist but
a woman whose goal was that there should be as many abortions as
possible, saying at one point that there were fewer than a dozen true
feminazis in the U.S. Limbaugh also uses the term for women, who in his
opinion represent radical feminist opinions. James Joyner noted upon
Andrea Dworkin's death that she seemed to typify what critics were
calling a "feminazi."
The term feminazi has developed various connotations. To some pro-life
conservatives, it equates feminist advocacy for abortion rights with
promoting a holocaust.[citation needed] Others use the word rhetorically
to suggest feminist views are being expressed in a unilateral manner.
In the extreme formulation, feminazis are seen by some as women who
persecute men or who desire their elimination from the public discourse
and any involvement into public affairs. The term is often used either as
a derogatory term for feminist or conversely, as a specific term to
differentiate between mainstream feminists and an extremist minority.
Some men's rights and father's rights advocates use the term feminazi
to describe radical feminist views of men and gender, arguing that
radical feminism, like Nazism, establishes a two-class society in which a
privileged group may target and discriminate against another group
based on immutable traits (in the former case, gender, and in the latter,
religion, heritage or other inherent characteristics).
The term has garnered a good deal of criticism over the years. Many
feminists argued it was simply a way to dismiss all feminism or even any
group run by or for women as extreme or man-hating. An example of
this can be seen when Rush Limbaugh referred to The National Center
for Women and Policing as feminazis : The Rush Limbaugh Show
(broadcast June 22 2005) Others have pointed out that it would seem
contradictory to attempt to associate feminists with Nazis, who were
generally opposed to gender equality. The counterpoint to this argument
is that the politics and actions that fall under the term have an inherent
bias against men, and thus, are opposed to gender equality. Other
women have attempted to reclaim "feminazi" by redefining it in their
own terms to subvert what they describe as the patriarchal connotations
of the label; however, many feminists and others disclaim the Nazi
epithet as being offensive to anyone with a memory of World War II.
Some feminist-friendly speakers have made some effort to use the term
in a satirical way. Still other feminists have posited their own term,
"gender feminism," to refer to statements by other feminists (such as
Dworkin) that they consider to be intolerant of men, without using the
term "feminazi" themselves.
Feminazi in popular culture
A similar term Femnazi was coined earlier as the name of the male-
hating female inhabitants of the fictional planet, Femnaz, in a Legion of
Super-heroes story from a 1964 issue of Adventure Comics written by
Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel.
In an April 2006 episode of The Colbert Report, Stephen Colbert used
the word femistapo in his "The Word" segment. Femistapo is a
portmanteau word combining feminist and Gestapo. It is a parody of the
word feminazi.
In an episode of The West Wing, Josh Lyman refers to C.J. Cregg as a
"feminista", a portmanteau word combining "feminist" and "sandanista".
In the satirical We will hang Billy Clinton-song, often sung in universities
by conservative and libertarian fraternities[citation needed], former first
lady and current senator for the state of New York Hillary Rodham
Clinton is referred to as Bill Clinton's feminazi boss.
---
Dave Ruston
One musy ask, even youmary, must ask why there is a backlash aginst those feninists whose agendi servers only their gender
The more enlightened of those who chose freely to split of along gender lines and make all me responsibly can be enlikened to the CJC KKK or any other hate based group.
What I face along with my sisters is a class war NOT a gender war
The one thing good i have to say and has been picked up by those who told me of the feminist element in the NDP is it was dome democratically as the feminim faction organised themselves
Would you have preferred I described them as rabid?
And had the NDP been hi jacked by any other group I would have been equally as brutal in my assessment. Those who nitpick adjectives do so and take a way from the central theme of the arguement.
---
"It is easy to dodge our responsibilities, but we cannot dodge the consequences of dodging our responsibilities."
—Sir Josiah Stamp
The next election is May 2009, not for a second do I think the BC Liberals will be defeated by the NDP, neither by the Greens, and if Carole survives the Leadership review later this year, and perhaps she will, the party under her continued leadership has even less of a chance of being elected to govern in 2009. I hope she sees the light and steps down, but the party brass like and support her, and so do others too.
I do however think Campbell and the BC Liberals can be defeated and better yet, a more progressive government elected.The divisions between progressive people who consider themselves "red", "green" and other colours of the political spectrm are heightened by the current party system and their respective party members & 'party brass/cadres". I personally have no allegiance to any political party now, I have not renewed my NDP membership, why should I when the Party's base of support is at very low numbers (correct me please if I am wrong..but well below 30,000 members, and the BC Green Party membership even lower). Why bother with Parties with minimal connection to their base, to parties who primarily organize and campaign in only the few months leading up to an election, in my view the Old Left with its acceptance of TINA, and the Blairite "lets put a human face on neoliberal capitalism" upsets me, angers me, deserves no support whatsoever from ordinary people, working or otherwise, who have been and continue to receive the fallout from the neoliberal, sell-it-all capitalistic agenda for BC and Canada. While there is a dire need for a "greening" of the progressive agenda, I realistically can't see the BC Greens leading the way.
What I do see and hope for is a continued abandonment by people of the BC NDP and the Green Party run by their respective brass, and the building of a social movement of red/green/pink/black/etc colours well connected to a base of suuport, who with numbers and organization might at some point transform themselves into a "Red/Green Alliance" political party in time for the next BC election. It can be done, it must be done, for in my view it is certain the party faithful & brass of both the NDP and Greens will not "stomach" an electoral accord...it is not going to happen...therefore unity must be first achieved in a social movement and then as that unified movement strengthens, organizes, deepens its connection to the people of BC, then, and not prematurely, a political party could be formed.
I don't expect my views will earn me any kudos or "brownie points" from the BC NDP or the BC Greens, but that doesn't matter one whit to me...the larger public interest of the people of BC and the advancement of a unified "Red/|Green" progressive agenda is more important then the interests of each of those parties - parties with tenuous connection to a base of support, with a political platform and leadership out of step for the times, out of step with the demands for deep change, deep restructuring of the dysfunctional and corrupted institutions of governance, deep needs to civilize, green, democratize and localize the economy and other facets of social, cultural life, parties who cannot dare heed the call to step out of the stale shade of the "middle road" to forge with the people of BC, a participative democracy, something akin to the spirit and ideas embedded within the Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela.
What is needed is a clear, do-able "united" progressive platform comprising of a modest number of elements, and then to build a united "red/green" etc. social movement around that, a movement where when the numbers warrant, people can meet face-to face, to break down isolation and to collaborate, and from that I am confident that leadership and candidates connected to a base of support in each ridings will develop, and decisions could then be made to run a unified slate and a unified platform, under a name chosen by the base of support...in time for May 2009. Now is the time to Together Create Our Tomorrow.
Peter Dimitrov who had previously campaigned for that position.
I wish Peter would call for some of the old-time New Democrats (and
others) to join forces again. Sometimes I think a spotted dog could win
power in B.C., given the cruel measures being legislated by the current
LINO government. [Liberal in Name Only] How hard could it be?
One thing I don't wish for is a new party. A new party takes forever to
get established. They are wasteful, discouraging, disruptive. Getting out
a new message and a new slate doesn't work. The short, desperate path
of a new party is strewn with exhausted workers and lost hopes.
Better by far is to re-vitalize a respected old party. There's not much left
of the old NDP. But there's enough, I think, that "the new message"
would be instantly recognized if it honoured the NDP roots. A new slate
would be instantly trusted if it included some of the heavyweights from
previous times in B.C. Who brought us the Agricultural Land Reserve?
Who brought us ICBC?
And poor, gentle Carole James -- everybody's kindly "favourite aunt" --
would do her best work as Minister of Children and Families.
There's an NDP leadership convention coming up fairly soon. Let's hope
they say "Thank you, Carole. And now, moving on ..."
.
Politics are too important to leave solely to the politicians
Carol James is an easy target as are any other figureheads
She must have advisors mustn’t she?
What the hell are they advising her to do?
In the days Mary is speaking of it seems there was integrity that no
longer exists
I hope against hope for the best and fear the corporate indoctrination has a firmer grip than most consider
Although Mary’s “who brought” questions are valid and some what rhetorical todays question for me is “Who sold out for 30% ( or thirty pieces of silver)?
---
"It is easy to dodge our responsibilities, but we cannot dodge the consequences of dodging our responsibilities."
—Sir Josiah Stamp
<br />
Hot off a third straight election win, is Manitoba's premier the most <br />
significant New Democrat since Tommy Douglas? <br />
<br />
Jordan Timm, Macleans.ca | May 24, 2007 <br />
<br />
When Gary Doer stepped onto the stage at the Winnipeg Convention <br />
Centre on Tuesday night, he walked into history. <br />
<br />
Having captured 36 of Manitoba’s 57 ridings in that day's election, he <br />
had become the first three-term premier of his province since the 1960s <br />
and the first NDP premier to lead three majority governments anywhere <br />
in the country. <br />
<br />
Now, political observers nationwide are beginning to take stock of the <br />
59-year old former union leader who entered this campaign with an <br />
astonishing 71% personal approval rating. And New Democrats in <br />
particular are starting to wonder, if they weren't already, whether he has <br />
the makings of a national leader. <br />
<br />
“There’s sort of a Gary Doer phenomenon, if you will,” says University of <br />
Winnipeg political science professor Joan Grace. “He’s never been an <br />
NDP leader that’s been wedded to traditional social democratic values <br />
and ideas. Gary Doer’s secret is to be a pragmatic politician. Like a lot of <br />
successful social democratic leaders, he’s understood that old left-right <br />
politics is just not on anymore. Politics is much more complicated than <br />
that.” <br />
<br />
Former federal NDP leader Audrey McLaughlin, whose leadership bid <br />
Doer supported, agrees with that assessment. “I guess if I were to <br />
characterize Gary, I would say that he’s a principled pragmatist," <br />
McLaughlin says. "Gary came from the union movement and I think he <br />
understands negotiation. He understands, of course, as Premier he <br />
works for all Manitobans. But he’s never really lost sight of the basic <br />
principles about why he got into politics and I think that’s stood him in <br />
good stead.” <br />
<br />
*** <br />
<br />
Born and raised in Winnipeg in a middle-class Roman Catholic family, <br />
Doer left school after one year of studying political science and <br />
sociology at the University of Manitoba - opting instead to work as a <br />
counselor at a local juvenile detention centre. He rose quickly through <br />
the ranks to deputy superintendent of the Manitoba Youth Centre and in <br />
1979 became president of the Manitoba Government Employees <br />
Association. <br />
<br />
In his seven years at the head of the union, he rapidly established <br />
himself as a power player - taking prominent positions with the <br />
Manitoba Federation of Labour and the National Union of Provincial <br />
Government Employees, serving as a director of the Winnipeg Blue <br />
Bombers and of a local theatre company and winding up as a governor <br />
of the university he had dropped out of. His credentials established, <br />
when he took the plunge into politics in 1986 he handily won the <br />
northeastern Winnipeg riding of Concordia and immediately entered <br />
Premier Howard Pawley’s second-term cabinet. <br />
<br />
“He was minister responsible for two very challenging areas,” Pawley <br />
recalls. “One was Urban Affairs, but even more challenging was the <br />
responsibility for Crown Corporations. So he played a very key role and <br />
was very effective in the House and very well regarded as a minister <br />
throughout the province.” <br />
<br />
He quickly developed a reputation as a fixer, with ministry after ministry <br />
placed under his charge. And when the NDP government fell in 1988 and <br />
Pawley stepped down, Doer was seen as the frontrunner to replace him. <br />
<br />
The 39-year old sports car-driving bachelor, with his media polish and <br />
taste for tailored suits, faced questions about his loyalty. A member of <br />
the NDP from 1972 to 1975, he had let his membership lapse to appear <br />
non-partisan while serving the union - only rejoining in 1986. What’s <br />
more, he had been courted as a potential candidate by all three parties <br />
...<br />
<br />
<br />
Read the full story at: <br />
<a href="http://www.macleans.ca/homepage/features/">http://www.macleans.ca/homepage/features/</a><br />
article.jsp?content=20070524_111541_5896
You don't have permission to access /homepage/features/ on this server.<br />
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Apache/1.3.29 Server at <a href="http://www.macleans.ca">www.macleans.ca</a> Port 80<br />
Nice link Not<br />
off topic post <br />
why is the post in answer to mine above?<br />
and how come you submitted a story as a comment?<br />
<p>---<br>"It is easy to dodge our responsibilities, but we cannot dodge the consequences of dodging our responsibilities."<br />
—Sir Josiah Stamp