B.C. Green Liberal Caucus backs Nathan Cullen for federal NDP leader

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      They believe that they prevented Surrey-Cloverdale MLA Kevin Falcon from becoming premier. And they did it by signing up to vote in the B.C. Liberal Party’s leadership contest last year.

      Now members of the so-called B.C. Green Liberal Caucus want to make a difference at the federal level, again through strategic voting. To do this, they’re taking out memberships before the cutoff on Saturday (February 18) for the race to choose Jack Layton’s successor as head of the official Opposition NDP.

      “B.C. was kind of, for a lot of people…a lesser-of-two-evils situation between [now premier Christy] Clark and Falcon, whereas in this case we’ll actually be voting for somebody that’s worthy of support,” caucus member Jon Cooksey told the Straight in a phone interview. “So that would be a pleasant difference.”

      Their choice: Skeena–Bulkley Valley MP Nathan Cullen.

      According to Cooksey, the filmmaker behind the award-winning ecodocumentary How to Boil a Frog, Cullen got the group’s support because of his long-standing and passionate advocacy of protecting B.C.’s coast from catastrophic oil spills.

      It was Cullen who introduced a motion, passed by the House of Commons in December 2010, that called for a ban on bulk oil tankers on the central and northern coasts.

      In a separate phone interview, screenwriter and B.C. Green Liberal member Tarah Stafford said that Cullen is also concerned about the dangers posed by oil-tanker traffic on the southern coast, specifically in Burrard Inlet.

      “There’s a million barrels of crude oil a month passing underneath the Lions Gate Bridge,” Stafford told the Straight.

      Kinder Morgan Inc. plans to expand its Trans Mountain pipeline to transport more Alberta tar-sands oil from its Westridge Terminal in Burnaby to lucrative Asian markets, by tanker.

      According to Stafford, the B.C. Green Liberal Caucus cast about 5,000 votes in the B.C. Liberal race. She suggested that the group’s votes in the federal NDP leadership balloting could be much higher because members are sending out calls to contacts across the country.

      “We sort of consider ourselves to be like any other group that’s like a lobby group,” Stafford, a mother of three, said. “We’re lobbying on behalf of our children’s future.”

      Comments

      14 Comments

      Nick Fillmore

      Feb 16, 2012 at 6:39am

      Excellent choice. The NDP does not have a great chance of winning a majority government in 2015 -- especially since it is losing support in Quebec. The only way to stop Harper may be through a partnership with the Liberals and Greens. Here is how I think the NDP should be doing some things: http://nickfillmore.blogspot.com/2012/02/ndp-leadership-candidates-ducki...

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      Heather Tuite

      Feb 16, 2012 at 9:52am

      I'm a huge fan of Nathan Cullen. You don't often see a politician with so much integrity. It doesn't hurt that he's intelligent, enthusiastic, and well spoken. I have a hard time seeing Harper compete against him.

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      Eastendian

      Feb 16, 2012 at 10:54am

      Renewing my NDP membership so I can vote for Cullen!

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      James G

      Feb 16, 2012 at 11:39am

      Of course the Greens and Liberals want Cullen -- his proposal results in the splitting of the NDP, the return of the Liberals and the rise of the Greens to significance.

      It is forgetting how electoral politics actually work -- my vote, most NDP voters believe that their vote is sacrosanct. It belongs to us and the party we vote for exists because of our backing. We cannot be arrogantly "assigned" to vote Liberal or Green because the NDP leader of the moment decides the riding we live in is not winnable for the party. Cullen's ideas result in a split NDP, independent New Democrats challenging the result in areas of the country they are told to hold back in and "ta-da" a new Liberal government.

      That incoming Liberal government, given past history, would be the most right-wing ever, in attempting to regain ground lost to the Conservatives. It would be largely indistinguishable from the Harper administration. Why ever would New Democrats do this? It would make every doorstop and water-cooler conversation we have had with voters dating back to Tommy Douglas a lie. Anyone remember his "black cats, white cats" speech?

      It's an open field and Liberals and Greens are free to join the party, vote as they want in a capricious attempt to hobble the NDP with this half-witted proposal but no real New Democrat believes in this plan, full stop.

      If Cullen had thought this through, he would be a contender, which at present he still is not.
      My vote is for Thomas Mulcair. Moving the party to where the votes are is not an issue so long as the party itself maintains control over it's own agenda -- and here we have a candidate with the skills to be Prime Minister. With Saganash out, second vote is for the surprising savant rising in this race -- Niki Ashton, who I initially misjudged.

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      Bruce Hill

      Feb 16, 2012 at 3:13pm

      James G, Your argument and attitude is exactly why Harper will likely get re-elected. It's not about you and your sacrosanct vote. And its certainly not about the NDP, who while reaching historic highs in MP's, are still highly unlikely to significantly increase that number, especially if all they offer is more self righteous finger wagging at other progressives. We are fighting for our countries soul. Cullen is the only one with a doable plan to get rid of a monster. Canadians are sick of blind, self righteous partisan bickering.

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      glen p robbins

      Feb 16, 2012 at 5:56pm

      Cullen's a pretty cool fellow - I wish him well.

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      James G

      Feb 16, 2012 at 6:33pm

      @ Bruce Hill
      I am sorry you disagree but I still see the ability to cast a democratic vote as important -- and judging by the struggle to find that option in the world, many do agree. If choosing a leader for the NDP is not about the NDP, whatever is it about? Canada without Harper is a very desirable outcome but Canada without Harper but with Harperism administered by a rebounded right wing Liberal Party achieves nothing.

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      David M

      Feb 18, 2012 at 9:26pm

      James G: Under Nathan's plan you will get to vote for your preferred candidate - however only the winner of that vote will end up running in the general election against the conservative MP. It's not any different from the current first past the post system, I will gladly have any green/NDP/Liberal MP representing me and if I my preferred NDP or Liberal candidate doesn't end up running in the general election, I can live with that given the likelihood that the riding will be taken by a non-CPC candidate and that proportional representation legislation will then be set in motion.

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      kansas

      Feb 18, 2012 at 11:36pm

      this is great! cullen's plan for cooperation is democratic and peacefully revolutionary with our support. i am uplifted to see the bc green lib caucus coming out in support.

      as for fear of "right wing liberal tyranny" following cooperation, it just will not be. don't mistake their positive and energetic mood for a threatening growl. it is exactly this kind of characterization of other parties that is so toxic and counter-productive. there is integrity and good intent in the platforms of all 3 left parties - but whatever, the higher importance is that we cooperate to rid ourselves of harper this time and a plan is the only hope we have of doing that.

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      Avril in Vancouver

      Feb 19, 2012 at 12:47am

      In addition, Nathan is not proposing to "assign" members of any riding to vote for another party. He has stated very clearly that it would be a decision made in each riding by members of that riding whether they choose to go the cooperation route or not. See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5YFaIB6-AQ to hear him speak on this issue. Personally, I agree with his approach because (a) I see it as the only viable way to defeat the Conservatives in the next election, which is critical if we want to even recognize our country in a few years, and (b) the longer-range goal is to replace the old, unfair FPTP system with some form of proportional representation, which will finally ensure that each citizen's vote actually counts. Nathan's got my vote all the way.

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