B.C. NDP's attitudinal conservatism undermines party's future prospects

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      From time to time, I have candid chats with members of the B.C. NDP. And since the election, I haven't heard any of them suggest that Moe Sihota should remain as their party president.

      He's just one cog in the party machine, along with provincial secretary Jan O'Brien, campaign chair Brian Topp, and the authors of the party platform, MLAs Bruce Ralston and Carole James.

      So Sihota can't be held entirely responsible for the 2013 election debacle. The leader, Adrian Dix, probably bears the most blame, given that he made key decisions on his own—such as changing the party's policy on the Kinder Morgan pipeline—without seeking broad input.

      But clearly, the party wasn't able to attract enough candidates like David Eby and George Heyman, who were able to defeat B.C. Liberal incumbents. For that, the party president should carry the can.

      Sihota is one of those conservative New Democrats—like James and Ralston—who like to blur the lines between their party and the B.C. Liberals by trying to occupy the middle part of the spectrum.

      That's why you won't hear a peep from them about Sensible B.C.'s campaign to stop the police from busting people for possession of marijuana.

      If you feel that the war on drugs is a colossal waste of public resources, you're better off voting for Justin Trudeau and the federal Liberals than pinning any hopes on the B.C. NDP.

      In a similar vein, the B.C. NDP didn't want to be seen to be opposing the Vancouver Olympics, notwithstanding the horrendous costs that the Games imposed on the province. And Sihota was one of B.C.'s biggest Olympic boosters, trumpeting his views on a regular basis on the CBC Early Edition program.

      Since then, international tourism has remained flat. The province has been saddled with a very expensive and underutilized new convention centre. And police budgets, notably at TransLink, have shot up astronomically, cannibalizing other public services. This is all part of the Olympic hangover.

      The B.C. NDP, with Sihota as president, evolved into a middle-of-the-road Blairite party that couldn't be counted on to side with the disadvantaged.

      Nor could it be relied on to behave ethically, as former NDP MLA Guy Gentner has pointed out.

      I thought that might change when Dix became leader. And I give him credit early in his leadership for focusing so much of his party's resources on the treatment of developmentally disabled adults.

      But listening to Sihota every Monday morning on CBC Radio, I've concluded that he's probably far more conservative in his soul than a fair number of federal Liberals.

      This isn't just an ideological conservatism—it's more accurate to characterize it as an attitudinal conservatism. Sihota isn't alone. I suggest that this attitudinal conservatism is shared by most of the caucus, which is why the party hasn't fired up the masses.

      It's become part of the culture of the NDP: avoid risks, write bland party platforms in advance of elections, and don't show too much emotion on the campaign trail.

      It's not working with the public. And it's a major reason why a genuine maverick with original ideas like Bob Simpson was drummed out of the party. He's a bit too wild-eyed for the conservatives in charge.

      Most of us think it's absolutely idiotic for police to be busting people for possession of marijuana. Why should millennials have to face travel restrictions and possible employment consequences for smoking a joint in their spare time when baby boomers who make the laws did the same thing when they were young?

      The B.C. NDP's collective lack of curiosity about reforming the country's marijuana laws is symptomatic of what's ailing the party. The people at the top, including Sihota, seem to think that the war on drugs is a fringe issue.

      Tell that to Vancouver Quadra Liberal MP Joyce Murray, who had the guts to call for legalization. That is what probably spurred Trudeau to change his position.

      Murray took a risk because she looked at the evidence and concluded that the status quo wasn't good enough.

      We need more of that kind of imaginative thinking from the risk-averse B.C. NDP, whether it's with regard to natural-gas fracking, replacing the George Massey Tunnel, or maintaining the costly war on drugs.

      However, that's far less likely to occur as long as Sihota remains the party president.

      Comments

      29 Comments

      greensea

      Aug 2, 2013 at 6:25pm

      Would someone explain to this lover of the green herb why provincial politicians and parties should be wasting time on a federal issue? There is absolutely nothing the BC NDP or any other provincial party can do to end the War on Dangerous Drugs (TM). Frankly, if the Sensible BC initiative passes, I think the HarperCons would have legislation through Parliament by the end of the following week, setting up federal drug courts, staffed by federal judges and prosecutors, with the drug enforcement officers of the RCMP transferred into a new, federal Drug Enforcement Administration. Attempting to change the ridiculous Prohibition of pot in one province is nothing more than a game of (pardon the pun) smoke and mirrors, that will have no real effect.

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      anonymous

      Aug 2, 2013 at 7:31pm

      Why the hate-on for the convention centre? SIGGRAPH is coming back to it in 2014,,,

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      SPY vs SPY

      Aug 2, 2013 at 8:06pm

      The BC NDP need a leader with 3 strengths

      BALLS

      BACKBONE

      BRAVADO

      Carol James put the party to sleep and Adrian Dix sang them a lullaby.

      Does no one in the High Ranks of the BC NDP have a Fire & Brimstone Soul??????

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      M. Thomson

      Aug 2, 2013 at 9:01pm

      Actually, Greensea, the province can have an effect on federal policy by opting out of enforcing the enforcement of the sections of the Controlled Substances Act pertaining to marijuana possession by individuals. The province is responsible for enforcing the Criminal Code of Canada but the enforcement of other federal statutes, like the Controlled Substances Act (formerly the Narcotics Act) is the responsibility of the federal government but there has been a long standing agreement that the provinces will help enforce and prosecute the act.
      Harper talks about being tough on crime but his classic neo-conservative bias would not allow him to spend money on federal prosecutors and judges and a separate federal criminal justice system. He wants the provinces to pay for his war on crime and on drugs while he keeps his cost low.
      Why the NDP is silent on the issue is that, despite Dana Larsen's assertion that the provincial RCMP would stop busting people for simple possession and concentrate on Hells Angels and Vietnamese Mafia-controlled Grow-Ops, is that the federal government pays the province a 30% subsidy due to the fact that every RCMP officer working for the province is working for the federal government at the same time and is supposed to enforce federal law. On this point, Harper's people would be quite obstinate and insist that the provincial RCMP continue the pointless war on weed. A constitutional crisis over who controls policing in this province would erupt and either the province or Ottawa would cancel the RCMP contract.
      Some are willing to live with that result but not the current middle-of-the-road NDP or their Grit counterparts.

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      melan

      Aug 2, 2013 at 9:06pm

      This piece nails it. No one in the NDP inner circle with fire in his/her belly. Maybe the grey-haired membership like a somnolent party.

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      Heather

      Aug 2, 2013 at 10:37pm

      When I read conservatism in NDP in the title, the first name that came to mind was Mike Farnworth lol

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      anonymoose

      Aug 2, 2013 at 10:53pm

      Seriously, any persons that had anything to do with the leadership and planning of the last two provincial NDP campaigns, needs to go commit hari-kari in shame for their ineptitude.

      The Provincial NDP now borders on irrelevancy.

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      Martin Dunphy

      Aug 2, 2013 at 11:00pm

      nic:

      Your post was deleted in error. Please repost (this time minus all the redirecting links, please.)
      Thanks, and our apologies.

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      Et tu?

      Aug 2, 2013 at 11:26pm

      This is spot on the mark. The real question is from where does the movement against Sihota come from? Who's Brutus?

      If there's nobody to pull out the dagger, the old guard will hold on to their orange togas for decades.

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      James G

      Aug 2, 2013 at 11:35pm

      What continues to astonish me is the lack of anyone coming forward with a mea culpa! Adrian Dix is a good guy but he should offer a Bob Rae-style pledge to be the temporary leader who does not fight the next election. That is the least he should offer! Sihota and O'Brien should probably be replaced at the next opportune moment.

      For me it isn't about them being good at their jobs or exciting people but it's about finding new blood. Fergawdsakes, offer the grass roots some contrition instead of constant calls to pay the bill for that collossal fuck-up!

      Brian Topp was first up to say it wasn't his team. It could not have anything to do with the campaign manager and his team? Did he consider the job to be a largely ceremonial position? Let's transfer the template of what happened to American politics. If Obama's campaign manager announced he had formed a consultancy with Karl Rove just before the 2012 election, he would have been fired in a microsecond. WTF happened here? Who hired BessBottomGal or whatever they call themselves? Who didn't fire them? All we need to know is that whoever did will leave willingly or otherwise.

      Fearing too much influence from the party's left (the Waffle, among others over the years) the old guard has only trusted a handful of people, active for decades. Remember Ed Broadbent's frantic, repeated and also last-minute entreaties to select Brian Topp as federal leader over Tom Mulcair? It's an old buddies network that believes in devotion to the party to the extent of smothering it rather than allow input from any untrusted 'other'. That designation once applied even to Dave Barrett, to whom the federal leadership was denied.

      It is way, way overdue to clean house provincially. Perhaps someone from the federal caucus could be tempted into provincial politics?

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