The Legislature Raids

my thoughts excctly. id always wondered whether it would be campbell's own who played the "lara" card one day...
 

Check who controls the Families money. As they say follow the money.
 

I'm not so sure replacing his chief of staff was an indication he planned on sticking it out. I think he's been planning his exit for quite some time.

Others have pointed out that he basically gave Martyn Brown - who would no doubt have be out of a job as soon as Campbell left - a nice soft landing, and brings Paul Taylor (an old friend) back in to the government scene.

He also managed to stick it to his eventual successor, who now faces either delivering on Campbell's promised tax cut, or actually reversing it and facing the wrath of an already unhappy voter.

His successor had also better have some idea of how Campbell planned on magically getting rid of the HST if 50% + one voted to do so, despite there being no obvious mechanism in the deal to accomplish that.
 

And should the NDP think that's a Liberal problem, they had better consider that if a Liberal MLA or two falls to recall, you'll see others abandon the party to save their skins. Which means Carole James could suddenly find herself premier long before the next election.

All she's said so far on the subject of the HST is "the election is a long way off" (which it might not be) and "we'll tell Ottawa we want look at re-negotiating the deal."

I'm sure Harper is going to be real eager to get together with the new Socialist premier from BC to re-do the HST. He'll tell her to get stuffed.

Campbell is still playing his game. He's announced he's leaving. But he's not atually leaving just yet. How many times has he announced the Evergreen line? Didn't he make a big "anouncement" about Site C a while back? Pictures of him in a hard hat. Any shovels in the ground (or actual funding) for either of those projects?

He may be around for months, during recall, during the leadership contest, during the HST debates. An boil on the face of the Liberal party, but not doing Carole James any favours as she faces her own leadership review right after the referendum.

Carole posted 30 additional questions for premier Campbell about BC Rail the other day. Here's one for her (and those hoping to take Campbell's place as leader of the Liberals):

If 50% plus one vote to get rid of the HST and you are premier, will you get rid of it? And, if yes, how?
 

I heard Vaughn Palmer interviewed on CBC's As It Happens national radio tonight by Carol Off. He was sickening in his praise for Campbell, in his shock that such a "successful politician and premier" could have to resign after a stellar 10 years at the helm of the province, yada, yada.

Palmer blamed it all, and only, on the HST, how it wasn't handled properly. No mention of the lies beforehand, nothing whatsoever about the BC Rail corruption scandal, or any of the other myriad acts of rape and pillage that Campbell spear-led.

However, he used several minutes to contrast Campbell's "solid 10-year reign" with the '90s where the premier's office was nothing more than a "revolving door". [ Not the exact quotes, but that was the jist. ] Nice shot at the NDP and others Vaughn, but they weren't the story today, King Campbell's downfall was. Talk about redirecting the topic to your message Vaughn.

As a result, no one from Alberta to Newfoundland heard anything about the horrific things Campbell has done to BC. Nothing. It was just that people didn't get the HST, nothing more, move along now.

It's amazing how tightly the media can contain information when they want to, eh?

Vaughn Palmer is one big fat toady. Wonder what plum retirement hack job Vaughn is in line for with Gordo's buddies?
 

Good God! I just checked the Globe and Mail's website, and found their editorial on Campbell's resignation. What kind of cool-aid are these people drinking??? Or, is it the public who is drinking Globe and Mail cool-aid?

Anyone interested in debunking the Globe's editorial might want to enter a comment on the Globe's website:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/editorials/the-transformative-leadership-of-gordon-campbell/article1784895/

I read a reader's comment on another blog warning that Campbell will be the next PM of Canada. Now, this Globe editorial. Please, God, no!

Here's how the Globe's fawning tribute begins...

GLOBE EDITORIAL
The transformative leadership of Gordon Campbell

From Thursday's Globe and Mail
Published Wednesday, Nov. 03, 2010 7:50PM EDT

Gordon Campbell leaves with his popularity at its nadir, but he will be judged as one of the great premiers of British Columbia. Almost his entire professional life was spent as a political staffer or politician, but as a provincial leader, Mr. Campbell never settled for incremental transactionalism – he has consistently pushed the boundaries of the possible, in terms of both politics and policy...

and it continues ad nauseum, ending with...

His government was harmed by some of the legacies of B.C. political life, such as political corruption and personal difficulties experienced by its premiers. But Mr. Campbell’s record of public service and his transformation of public policy in British Columbia will benefit its residents for many years to come.

His government was harmed???? What, Gordo was an innocent victim of HIS OWN government? Lord liftin', this is pure unadulterated CRAP. Or worse, pure unadulterated CORRUPTION of the media.

And what exactly do they mean by "his government was harmed by ... legacies... of personal difficulties experienced by its premiers."??? Literally, what the hell does that mean?

This Globe and Mail editorial is revisionist history writ large, and the ink isn't even dry yet!!! Hell, the sweat probably isn't even dry on Gordo's shorts yet.

Well, time to kiss the Globe goodbye too. This is too much.
 

Anon 9:35 what might be interesting is to find out where the Dauphinee family comes from, and who they are.....

But aside from that, well not exactly, I just heard the speech for the first time...by his apology to his family, it's pretty clear what it's about, also his comment "when public debate becomes focussed on one person...." - he didn't say "one issue" (i.e. the HST), the wording indicates it was a question of his person.

My guess it might even have been Lara - or Nancy - who told him to resign, before mounting questions bring further disgrace.

Very newsworthy that there'd been talk of MLAs crossing the floor and sitting as indepedents (I'm watching CTV BC which spent the end of its piece talking about what a great 22 years of public service yada yada yada....)

My main reason to post right now, though: the news that he'll be his own interim Premier....this was a fatal mistake - for the party. If they wanted to get in the way of the tar bucket and the bag full of feathers, this is a fine way to do it....they'd have better bundled him on the plane to Maui, or to Bilderberg, as keep him around for the next three months (or however long it takes him to actually pack up his pocket protectors and office bric-a-brac....time to finally get the deposit on all the bottles, maybe.

Normally that's the kind of thing you could get an executive assistant to do, or organize. Maybe that's what the new one is for, and Mary's right - where's Lara?

The bit about reporters talking about Kinsella engineering this and nobody having a picture of it falls in the same category. What category is that? The lack of decent news photographers (paparazzi aka "lens stalkers") in BC.....

It's funny, a friend in Seattle said, hearing the resignation was supposedly just about the HST - "what? No intern? No grow-ups?" Well, the story goes it started with it looking into the one thing, and wound up leading to the other.

That rumour about the restive MLAs thinking of crossing the floor....with him staying on, there's lots of time for that to happen yet.....now that he's decided to take his time leaving the job....
 

Uhhhhhh....

Would now be a good time to bring up the fact that there is only one member of Eric Bornman(n)'s 'Original RailGate Six' left?

Why, yes.

I think it is.

.
 

I am sure there is a lot more going on in the backround, to Campbell resigning. We may get to learn of it sometime, but just the fact that Campbell has acknowledged that he is going is a great start.

Now if only we could get some real backround information - it could start to change things completely.


Thanks
 

Before I heard the news yesterday, I was doing my "research" somehow I came across a video of Rich Coleman, I actually watched it and was thinking tis is a campaign video. I didnt know anything about Colemans fundraiser the night before.

Video here "his goal is to make Bc better place"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDYMeGCFYYA&feature=share
 

For those who wonder where Lara is just now - I know where she was yesterday - she was at his resignation announcement. On one brief clip (on Global or CTV) of Gordo and entourage (body guards galore, of course, to prevent him winding up upside down hanging from a lamp post) crossing an adjacent area to the room where his gave his resignation Lara in her typical pant suit was visible just over the Greedy Gord's shoulder.

Vaughn and Baldrey and the rest are certainly trying to make this just a matter of the HST - but as Mary sez, it is so much more than that. The HST IS NOT the elephant in the room, it is acknowledged - it is the BC Rail Corruption Trial, the Rape of the River pillaging, the mess that is Admiral Hahns fleet of German U-Boats, the non-existent forestry industry and much more that is the HERD of elephants in the room.
 

Koot,

Thanks for your confirmation. I thought I recognized Lara's thick brown hair at Gordo's right-hand shoulder ... just for a moment, and then pouff ... ! So I wasn't sure.

Btw, I was talking to a professional photographer recently, asking if he had photos of Lara. All he said was "No," and that he'd had a run-in with RCMP bodyguards when trying to take her photo.

Just think: one of BC's public employees, eh?
.
 

Reminder

According to the blog of political commentator Alexis G. Tsakumis, Kinsella was spotted dining July 21 at a Keg restaurant in South Surrey with none other than Rich Coleman, B.C.’s minister of housing and social development who is also in charge of gambling and liquor. That’s the same Coleman (pictured above at a podium) who skipped out of a July 15 press conference early because he apparently found something else to do to avoid the probing questions of reporters at the launch of PlayNow.com…

Yes, that’s the same “North America first” government-run online casino called PlayNow that was shut down after six hours because of a privacy breach. What were the odds of that happening?

A Coleman staffer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said “the minister has advised this was a personal dinner.” As for Kinsella, he did not respond to a phone message I left with his receptionist.
 

Sure Mary, and I'm Marilyn Monroe...
 

I'm getting awfully tired of riddles.

Pls explain.
 

Just a guess, but I suspect Leah was responding to your "one of BC's public employees, eh?" comment.
 

Elephants in the room is a great comment. This shove off started with the lie, which to his credit Blair Lekstrom admitted to the promise being broken about not selling the BC Rail. What can't Palmer and the rest of our wanna be pro journos figure out about that? The rest of it pales in comparison, well not really, but you get the idea. I suggest a mass phone in to CBC to refute what he told Ms. Off. The HST lie just proves that lying had become a habit and there were no consequences. A demonstration of how Fraser Institute policy can bring you down.
 

I think it's a safe 'bet' folks that Kinsella is orchestrating this whole political slight of hand with Coleman - both men up to their hips with the massive expansion of gambling . . .

If nothing else, Kinsella knows the 'plays' - it's always how much you hold on the other guy at the table - in this case the 'boss'.

There is no mystery as to why the BC Rail trial was deep sixed with Kinsella, Collins et al to testify.

They are all linked via the money trail.

Kinsella got Collins elected in his first byelection; was close to the Clarks (brother and sister)

Nothing has changed - the same players holding the cards.

Isn't Kinsella close with Diane Watts in Surrey?

It's all going to be a tidy arrangement of leadership hopefuls falling in behind the chosen ONE after they have been given time to sell memberships while Gordon keeps the seat warm in the Premier's Office.

. . . . Its an old game.
 

A credible Premier would have resigned when the charges were laid about a year after the raids. "it happened on my watch, involved a highly placed political appointee in Finance, and I have overall responsibility for the government and a responsibility to the public as well. This is a time honoured parliamentary precedent...." From that day forward he lost REAL credibility and respect despite electoral success.

Looking at pictures of him even 10 years ago time has not been kind.
 

A credible Premier would have resigned when the charges were laid about a year after the raids. "it happened on my watch, involved a highly placed political appointee in Finance, and I have overall responsibility for the government and a responsibility to the public as well. This is a time honoured parliamentary precedent...." From that day forward he lost REAL credibility and respect despite electoral success.

Looking at pictures of him even 10 years ago time has not been kind.