BC New Democrats either forgot or arrogantly ignored the rules of political campaigning, especially in BC. BC has a long history of prize fight campaigns between the capitalist private enterprisers and the more socialist folks. So the NDP knew knew what was coming, but instead of understanding the difference between personal counter attacks and attacks that reminded BCers of the long list of Liberal lies - policy attacks - they, especially Adrian Dix. did nothing to defend itself let alone to fight back. When under attack they, like all of us, had certain choices; beg for mercy, run like hell, fight like hell or stand your ground in a rope-a-dope like defensive posture waiting for the attacker to get tired then springing out to launch a counter-attack, which is what i naively thought Dix was doing.
The BCNDP had plenty of policy targets to attack that could have overcome Christy's smile. For weeks i was sure Dix would bounce off the ropes, Ali style, with a stiff HST lies left jab, followed by a $6.0 million Basi and Virk legal fees paid by government left/right combination, quickly followed by a BC Rail scandal right cross. Then i figured he'd circle and line them up for another multi-punch combination aimed at their vaunted financial prowess - a left to the huge costs for BC Place Roof and the Convention Centre, a right to the privatizing of capital assets [like the BC Ferries, BC Hydro, Crown Forests] to in order to balance the books. Then finish them off with flurry centering on the closing of mental health facilities making so many defenseless folks homeless, the disastrous privatizing hospital cleaning and maintenance, the buying of ferries from Germany [all of which cost BCers good jobs], but no, they just stood there grinning...until they lost...not much grinning now eh.
Long before the election itself the BCNDP made a huge blunder by choosing the already scandal ridden Dix who's faked memo from years ago was such an obvious target for Liberal's attacks. And Dix only made the target more inviting when he got busted for not buying a Skytrain ticket. We all make mistakes and Adrian Dix is by all accounts a good, hard working, dedicated, honest guy as well as an excellent family man, exactly the kinda guy you'd wanna live next door to or invite over for a barbecue, but in the knock-down blood sport of BC politics all that matters is winning and...
The BCNDP ran a terrible campaign. They didn't use the record of scandal and mismanagement, they didn't offer a viable alternative. They were outwitted, outsmarted and outplayed. Now, a few days later, the BCNDP brain trust is blaming the media, the pollsters, the greens, the voters... and everything that moves for their loss...everything except their own incompetence. The party's president Moe Sihota blames the election loss on fear-mongering by the Liberals, complacency by supporters and -- to a lesser extent -- vote-splitting with the B.C. Green party. Yikes...i forget, which stage of facing impending doom is denial?
