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| The Stanley Cup |
After gruelling seasons, both teams now set with new Captains
Bill Tieleman's 24 hours/TheTyee column
Tuesday April 19, 2011
By Bill Tieleman
"A lot can happen during a season. You have to have an awful lot go right to win a Stanley Cup."
- ex-Philadelphia Flyers captain Bobby Clarke
The long playoff series has come down to the final battle between the two top teams -- let the Stanley Cup final of B.C. politics -- a provincial election – begin!
On Sunday the B.C New Democrats chose their new captain, Adrian Dix, to go up against the BC Liberal now wearing the "C" on her jersey -- Christy Clark.
And what a tough series it will be.
Expect lots of hard checking into the boards, slapshots, high sticking, spearing, game misconduct penalties and bench-clearing brawls.
Ya gotta love B.C. politics! It's a beauty!
The coaches' greaseboards
The strategies of both teams are clear going into this contest.
Dix is a scrapper who will put constant pressure on Clark and the BC Liberals to make a big mistake and cough up the puck in their own end.
That's what their former captain -- ex-premier Gordon Campbell -- did with the Harmonized Sales Tax that ended his playing career.
Dix, a personal friend I supported for leader, is already dropping the gloves on the government for increasing personal Medical Services Plan premiums in January to pay for corporate tax cuts.
Clark is also a tough competitor who will have her elbows up and be cheered on in the stands by B.C.'s big business leaders.
Clark will try to keep Dix on the defensive in his own end and held to shots from the left wing only.
But Clark starts the series with a big penalty imposed by the referee -- the B.C. Supreme Court -- for a punishing late hit on B.C. teachers when she was education minister and removed the right to negotiate class size and composition in collective bargaining.
That decision went badly against Clark. Justice Susan Griffin wrote that: "By passing this legislation without so much as consulting with BCTF, the government did not preserve the essential underpinning of collective bargaining, namely, good faith negotiation and consultation."
Clark was thrown into the sin bin for that one.
Choosing where to shoot
One key coaching decision was made Sunday -- BC New Democrats agreed with Adrian Dix when he said during the leadership campaign that "you can't score a goal from centre ice."
That centrist strategy followed by the NDP in the last two elections simply didn't win them B.C.'s version of Lord Stanley's mug, despite a strong showing each time under former leader Carole James.
Dix pointed out, as I did in this column after the last provincial election, that the NDP lost 40,000 actual votes between the 2005 and 2009 ballots.
To win an election, the NDP has to mobilize its traditional base and get voters who stayed home out to the polls with real reasons to support the party.
That's why Dix made very specific pledges like restoring the minimum corporate tax on banks eliminated by the BC Liberals – and using the money to help students attend post-secondary education.
While some media call it "left-wing," many right-of-centre British Columbians will agree the banks get too many tax breaks while sticking it to ordinary folks with high credit card interest rates and ATM fees.
No one likes a quitter
Lastly, expect to hear this taunt in the arena: "Adrian Dix is a hitter, Christy Clark is a quitter."
Clark quit Gordon Campbell's cabinet and politics in 2005 shortly after he moved her to a new position as Minister of Children and Families that she didn't want.
Clark said she was leaving to spend time with her family but eight months later tried to win the Non-Partisan Association's nomination to run for Vancouver mayor.
When she lost that contest to Sam Sullivan, she quit on the NPA. Clark not only didn't run to be an NPA councillor, she didn't even knock on one door or pull one vote for the party she wanted to lead.
Clark's approach was evident again in the BC Liberal leadership race, where she refused requests from competitors Kevin Falcon and George Abbott to commit to running as an MLA if she didn't win.
If Clark wants to beat the very competitive Dix there's one position she absolutely cannot play for her team -- self-centred.
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21 comments:
You are blinded by love. Try to envision how Crunchy will be covered by CTV,Global,CKNW, The Province,The Sun etc. etc.Now picture the hatchett job they will do on Adrian. He will be crucified as a communist,as Glen Clarks clone.I'm sure the Fast Cats will make a cameo. The fix is in.The privateers have their snouts in the public trough and they will pull every dirty trick possible to stay there.
Hey Anon 7:48. Of course Dix expects what you are saying. The blogs, mostly Anon's have been venting since yesterday. He has been called a Stalinist, far left extremist and of course the fast ferries came up. The Globe has been close to frothing at the mouth.And of course the Sun and the Province have not stopped babbling. Voted for the wrong guy, should have been anyone else etc. A bit tiring actually.
Easy rebuttal. Cost over runs on the stadium roof, cost overruns on the convention center.A hospital extension in Victoria but no beds, the communications don't work, BC Rail, closed schools, ALR land given over with no conditions and so on. I don't think anyone is blinded by love
Mr. Tieleman - Shame:
If your pals Dix and Eby are spoiling for a fight with Christy why is their hand-picked reporter afraid to report the third candidate dogging Christy and Daves tail - a born and raised in Point Grey Candidate. In fact, Vancouverite William Gibbens of http://www.necessaryvoices.org would like to offer both party's candidates a free slogan for their campaigns, 'Vote for Christy/Eby She/He's got it in the carpetbagger!' If the Chute fits... eh Bill?
I'm looking forward to the all party candidate meetings, the debates and of course the 'free' ring tones. Eby didn't look like he was having that much 'fun'.
By the way tell Dave my offer still stands, 'I'll sign your nomination if you'll sign mine!'
Yours faithfully,
William Gibbens
The BC Fiberal Team also has the Hanson brothers - of "Slapshot" fame.
Kevin Hanson, Chris Hanson, and George Hanson - all coached for many years in spearing, tripping, and boarding by coach Campbell.
Dix is to extreme and dishonest, i.e., he turned up a day late with thousands of new memberships with a separate fistful of money to go with them. Typical of a Gordon Campbell move. Also, Dix altered docs. when working with G. Clark.
Horgan would have made the best choice and while I'm not a member of any party and would normally not vote NDP, I would have given Horgan my vote. He's honest, knows the issues, is on top of everything, plus he's engaged with the public. He also is very articulate and is passionate about B.C.
Sad to say, Dix will not be my choice on election day.
Election hasn't started. What you see is pre-season.
What I see is junior league. Lots of bravado, yelling and pirouettes but no real stickhandling and game play.
Hey Anon 9;36. If my memory serves me, Dix did not show up a day late. The executive checked everyone's new memberships. The votes were cast and Adrian Dix got the most support.So is the executive wrong, can't tell what day it is or heaven forbid, you are wrong?
Perhaps the casino fiasco, will put Christy in a spin. City hall turned it down. Was that not why, the retractable roof, was a dire necessity? Will Christy capitulate to city hall, and risk the Liberal investors wrath?
I liked Horgan too. But, no matter the NDP have a strong team. The media propaganda, will try and turn citizens against Dix, because that's all they are good for anymore, rabble rousers.
Christy, is trying to build on, the old unresolved crimes of Campbell's Liberals. The corrupt sale of the BCR, Christy actually turns tail and runs from. That subject hits too close to home. That fiasco is known about, all over Canada.
So lets put some cash into the NDP Candidate for Point Grey. Ms.Clark stepped back in her attempt to be the Vancouver Mayor candidate when she didn't make the cut. Wouldn't it be grand to see her fail as well in Point Grey. My donation went in this morning. They will need money as the big money folks will be filling up "Perky Christy" election account
Anonymous said... at
Tuesday, 19 April, 2011 7:48:00 PM PDT
No kidding! Sort of like the movie "A very British Coup' - what they did to Glen Clark.
But what's the alternative - roll over and take another defeat lying down. Adrian said something like 'you can't score from center ice.' Well, you can't do anything from center ice - defend or score.
Even not winning can serve important functions and that is to educate and to motivate. This is a long struggle. Workers and capitalists aren't going to go away. Christy has a lot to answer for and a new generation needs to be hear about it.
Advice to Adrian -- keep hitting on Christy's elitism (private school), her back room boys who are Campbellites through and through and BC Rail. A few good words for Cummins can't hurt.
Corporate tax should be the number one issue in the campaign, but sadly, the corporate media will only deign to call it 'bad policy'.
Speaking of ferries. Remind us of the gas guzzling new ferries and where they were built and just how much the CEO of BC ferries earns.
Let's put this into perspective. How much does the President of the US earn, the most important person in the world?
Answer, $400,000. So can anyone here justify Hahns $984,000 salary without feeding me Bull####.
Much as I like Adrian, personally, I would have preferred to see Mike or John win the leadership campaign.
His past history troubles me; his brushing it off as a past indiscretion is just not good enough.
He needs to be more clear what he did, why he did it, and why it was wrong.
The mushy spin he gives to answer about the memo is off putting, to say the least.
/A longtime NDP member
"Speaking of ferries. Remind us of the gas guzzling new ferries and where they were built and just how much the CEO of BC ferries earns.
Let's put this into perspective. How much does the President of the US earn, the most important person in the world?
Answer, $400,000. So can anyone here justify Hahns $984,000 salary without feeding me Bull####."
Seems this contributer is making his own Bull poundsign poundsign poundsign and poundsign. The ferries built in Germany are more fuel efficient based on size and conveyance than the older ferries.
Engineering studies have shown that as a true fact.
As to where they were built, they were the successful bidder. Seaspan did not have their newest tugboats built here either.
If BC ship building wants to be competitive they have to built them. Glen Clark missed that opportunity when he had tose aluminum cans built (that both Geoff Meggs and Adrian Dix saw the policy first). If Clark was smart,
and if Dix was smarter, there would have been steel hulled ferries built not aluminum.
Comparing the U.S. President to Hahn isn't a comparison, but again we see more fine whines in B.C.
Happy Easter, brothers and sisters!
If anyone has a link to the Vancouver Sun article that described the PAB could they please post it?
(lost mine)
Thanks!
A great video about the destruction of the middle class in the US - but it has many analogies to Canada:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akVL7QY0S8A&feature=player_embedded#at=1373
ShitHarperDid.com
@ "/A longtime NDP member"
check out the tyee article:
http://thetyee.ca/News/2011/04/20/MemoMistake/
"People are going to talk about it, and I've answered it," Dix said Monday. "I take responsibility for my mistakes. I always have... I own them."
"My donation went in this morning. They will need money as the big "money folks will be filling up "Perky Christy" election account"
True enough, but you should move your feet too. Was out canvassing around 11th and McDonald and in the next poll saw Eby and a few other brother and sister volunteers canvassing on Saturday afternoon. Was too busy collecting votes to go over to chat with David, so kept goin. David had colourful blue and orange balloons carried by a woman volunteer with him to attract attention. Not bad.
Sitting on your rear and just sending money isn't going to win any elections.
anon 10:01. You are sort of correct but has it ever entered your mind that some folks might have difficulty walking very far, or use a electric wheel chair or scooter or a walker? Many of those folks have walked the walk over the years and simply can't go around the block without some kind of assistance. Choose your words a bit more wisely, whom ever you might be.
"anon 10:01. You are sort of correct but has it ever entered your mind that some folks might have difficulty walking very far, or use a electric wheel chair or scooter or a walker? Many of those folks have walked the walk over the years and simply can't go around the block without some kind of assistance. Choose your words a bit more wisely, whom ever you might be."
True enough, but there's always something to do. I've been in cmapigns where we had people who have difficulty in walking, but were firebrands in front of a phone
at the office.
The issue here is that for some, money is their only way to contribute for many others, they become simply lazy, and don't want to move their feet.
For others, they simply won't get invovled, and not even vote, and yet complain loudly about the outcome.
Depends on how you see things.
Get active. The NDP is breaking through.
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