Editor:
Re: Cummins more than a spoiler, Murphy's Law, April 13
Ted Murphy's editorial may well be prophetic.
I've grown very tired of the two-party system we have in our province where voting always seems to mean choosing between the lesser of two evils. That is like trying to decide whether it is better to be amputated above the knees or below.
On the one hand we have the Liberal Party that mistakenly thought that enjoying a majority government meant that it could govern the province with impunity, deceive voters in order to get re-elected and operate on the belief that the end always justifies the means.
On the other hand we have the NDP, which chose as its leader, Adrian Dix, an individual who while working as then premier Glen Clark's chief of staff was caught faking a memo to protect his boss during a criminal investigation in 1998. Dix has apparently apologized for, in his words, the "mistake" he made, although one has to wonder about his sincerity given the fact that he confessed to the Vancouver Sun four years later that he still believed he did nothing unethical.
Ironically, Dix was recently caught for fare evasion on the SkyTrain but was let off after claiming he misplaced his ticket.
I'm all for looking at the B.C. Conservative Party as a viable alternative, although not without some reservation.
There is recent speculation that there will be more defections from the Liberals to the Conservative Party over the next few months coming on the heels of Liberal MLA John van Dongen's defection.
If this is the case, let us hope that such defections are for the right reasons. The last thing this province and John Cummins, leader of the B.C. Conservative Party, needs is a Conservative Party made up of Liberal opportunists.
There is no lack of ammunition to discredit both the NDP and Liberal parties: the NDP FastCat [ferry] fiasco in the late 1990s; the faked NDP memo; Liberal deceit regarding the HST and the true deficit in order to get re-elected; Clark's role as deputy premier when B.C. Rail was privatized, even though her party campaigned on a promise not to sell B.C. Rail; banning teachers' collective bargaining in 2002 by Education Minister Christy Clark.
I'm sure more ammunition will be forthcoming and used "liberally" over the next several months by both the Liberals and the NDP.
No doubt the fear mongers will be out in full force exhorting voters not to vote for a Conservative candidate because a vote for the B.C. Conservatives would mean less votes for the Liberals, thus opening the door for an NDP victory - as if to suggest that the Liberal Party is the better choice.
If we are fortunate enough, the NDP and Liberals will bash each other senseless to the point that voters will realize that neither have anything to offer when it comes to integrity and transparency.
Cummins is the new kid on the block and no doubt both the NDP and Liberals will try having a go at him but if I were Clark or Dix, I would take nothing for granted.
With a solid political campaign, experienced candidates and a modicum of integrity [something we've not seen in B.C. politics for quite some time] Cummins' Conservatives may just spoil the party and pull this one off.
David F. Horvath
