B.C. Liberals seem to be forever in blue jeans

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      As this year's Grammy Awards car karaoke demonstrated, Neil Diamond still carries some cachet.

      That's because his lyrics often hark back to a simpler time when life wasn't so damn complicated.

      And one of Diamond's biggest hits of the 1970s seems to have inspired the B.C. Liberals on the campaign trail.

      "Forever in Blue Jeans" opens with this stanza:

      "Money talks

      But it don't sing and dance

      And it don't walk

      And as long as I can have you here with me

      I'd much rather be

      Forever in blue jeans."

      The B.C. Liberal braintrust knows that elections are not only about issues; they're also about how candidates make voters feel.

      The party also recognizes that many citizens have been thoroughly disgusted by tens of millions of dollars in campaign contributions from the super-rich corporate set.

      It's become a cornerstone of the B.C. NDP's marketing blitz.

      So what do you do if you're Christy Clark and potentially facing electoral annihilation?

      You make voters feel that you're not really that wealthy by campaigning forever in blue jeans.

      It's a sharp contrast to the two white male party leaders in suits.

      One party leader doesn't want to be seen in a suit in this election campaign.
      B.C. Broadcast Consortium

      Like his B.C. Liberal boss, former corporate litigator and B.C. Liberal candidate Andrew Wilkinson has left his suits in the closet and put on denim for the cameras.

      The same can be said for another corporate lawyer running for the B.C. Liberals, Michael Lee.

      Cabinet ministers Stephanie Cadieux and Mary Polak also seem to be inspired by "Forever in Blue Jeans".

      Here are some other high-profile B.C. Liberals who've ditched the Armani and embraced GWG and Levi's.

      You have to say this for the B.C. Liberals: over the years, they've proven to be masters of political positioning.

      They'll zig and they'll zag like Michael Schumacher used to do.

      One election year, they'll be talking about a new relationship with First Nations and a newfound interest in climate change.

      Then the next election year, the leader will be promising a debt-free B.C., thanks to an upcoming trillion-dollar bonanza from the sale of liquefied natural gas.

      This year, it's blue jeans for all.

      Of course when you raise $13.1 million in a single year, as the B.C. Liberals did, you can afford the best marketing minds that money can buy.

      Watch this video of what should become the new B.C. Liberal campaign ditty.

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