Don't let the rhetoric of the throne speech confuse you. The B.C. Liberal government has declared war on the arts in its budget. And it did so to score cheap political points in rural B.C. to try to win the next provincial election.

The numbers tell the story. Nearly 40 percent was cut from the appropriations for arts and culture. Last year, $19.5 million was spent; this year, $11.9 million has been budgeted.

The B.C. Film Commission budget has been cut by 10 percent to $1.4 million. It makes a mockery of the throne speech promise to create jobs through partnerships with Hollywood and Bollywood.

So why do this when the totals are chump change in a budget of almost $40 billion? Part of the reason is that Gordo wants to win the next election. You can only win elections by taking a majority of the seats.

In his budget speech, Finance Minister Colin Hansen mentioned $15 million in "one-time grants to support arts and culture, and for the conservation of the province's historic sites". This figure didn't appear in the estimates for the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and the Arts, which makes me suspect that it will probably be handed out as some sort of Olympic promotion.

The B.C. Liberals used to be competitive in downtown Vancouver, which is the centre of arts and culture in the province. But that ended when NDP MLA Spencer Herbert hammered Liberal Arthur Griffiths in a by-election last year.

The Liberals were also thumped in Vancouver-Fairview, when New Democrat Jenn McGinn defeated her Liberal opponent, Margaret Macdiarmid.

Vision Vancouver, which is basically the civic farm team of the NDP, won a landslide in the November civic election. Most if not all of the Vancouver constituencies represented by NDP MLAs, including the downtown area, are not likely to wind up in Liberal hands after the May 12 election.

The Liberals are also facing a tough challenge in rural B.C. The forest industry is suffering. Rural residents hate the carbon tax. And the NDP is particularly strong on Vancouver Island, the Kootenays, and on the north and central coast.

The election will probably be won or lost in places like Prince George and Williams Lake, which are not known for embracing the ballet and symphony.

The NDP's Vancouver MLAs will start complaining about cuts to culture. The media will cover the story. And Campbell will be able to go into parts of the province that consistently elect federal Conservatives and say he was standing up for taxpayers.

It won't matter to Campbell or Hansen that their stimulus package falls woefully short of what Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman recommends that governments embrace.

It won't matter to Campbell or Hansen that most people who work in the arts collect low wages, and that expenditures on the arts yield a phenomenal bang for the buck.

It won't matter to Campbell or Hansen that during the Great Depression, Franklin Delano Roosevelt made investments in the arts to boost people's spirits and help stimulate employment.

No, the primary consideration for Campbell and Hansen will be winning the election and being at B.C. Place for the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Olympics next February.

In the meantime, B.C. artists will have to scrounge a little more aggressively if they want to continue enriching our society with their creative contributions. They shouldn't look to Gordo  for any help because he's too busy pandering to Stephen Harper's supporters.