Well, “liveblogging” might be overstating it a bit, but I didn’t alter it in any way, so here goes. My as-it-happened recount of the BC Liberal Leadership Debate.
3:37 – The evening begins with the perfunctory one year reminiscence of the Olympics, which must happen now BY LAW. I’m struck by the fact that I don’t know who the moderator is. He’s going over the rules now.
3:39 – Falcon begins the debate. H’s giving a very energetic speech. It actually reminds me a little of Gordon Campbell sped up. He calls for annual conventions , which is great (and straight out of the Clark party renewal plan) and jabs slightly at Clark with a caucus unity plug.
3:43 – His talk on the NDP is accurate, but I do sometimes find it perhaps a tad concerning that the most uniting aspect of our party is that we are not the NDP.
3:44 – Moira Stillwell is up at the podium. She is a doctor from Calgary!
3:45 – I’m actually loving her speech on training and building a knowledge economy. If, in the totally unforeseeable event that the Stillwell juggernaut does not run away with the vote, she’d make an amazing Minister of Advanced Education (or Universities and Science – whatever we’re calling it right now).
3:48 – Christy is up! She’s talking about reinvigorating the BC Liberals, and then slips right into the Families First pitch.
“We have to make sure that people can put money on the table. I mean, food on the table.”
-Christy Clark
3:51 – She plugs the Prosperity Mine and ways to fix the urban-rural economic divide. Speech ends, giant yellow audience block rises in unison.
3:53 – Ed Mayne congratulates the people who had the courage to pass the motion. I have to say, as much as I support the change, the people who stood by their desire for a OMOV system in the face of overwhelming opposition (and, from the reports that I’ve heard, downright rudeness) should be noted for their courage as well.
3:57 – His whole campaign looks so SoCred. The suit, the haircut, the logo, the supporters. Its uncanny.
3:58 – George Abbott’s campaign has towels. Insert South Park joke here.
4:00 – I watch him talk, and I don’t really hear much beyond the standard points of BC Liberal goodness. Oh, he does mention that “there are differences of opinion”.
4:03 – Mike De Jong says that he wants them to be able to hear us cheering down the road at the BC Federation of Labour, where Adrian Dix is dusting off the destructive policies of the 1990s.
“I’ll let you in on something. The NDP have already elected Adrian as their leader. Their member will be informed of this in a memo, a post-dated memo…”
-Mike De Jong
4:06 – I think that this is one of the better speeches. De Jong is a charismatic guy.
“I am against fuck six talented contestants” (I think he meant to say five…)
-Mike De Jong
4:08 – The moderator is apparently named Graham Bruce. He’s asking when we will be getting back into the red. Falcon says two years (based on the legislation) and talks about the need to restore grants to non-profits. Stillwell says we need to grow our way out of the problem. Christy – I’ve done this before, and promise that a balanced budget will come before tax cuts or spending promises.
4:12 – Can you restore trust in government? I didn’t really follow Ed Mayne’s speech. His voice is … sedate. Abbott – We need to do better at sharing our decision making process with the people. De Jong wants us to release more information about how we spend taxpayer money.
4:17 – A question on education and stakeholders to Stillwell, Mayne and Clark. Stillwell is right on the money, mentions K-16, and the ability to live the lives where we want where we live. Clark talks about the work she did opening up the school negotiation process from just teachers unions and government to include parents and students. Both support standardized testing. I won’t say much about Mayne’s answer, other than that it … seems generally out of date.
“I think it’s time that we stop fighting about education, and start fighting for it.”
-Moira Stillwell
4:24 – I missed the question, and after hearing two answers, I can’t figure out what the question was. I think it was about globalism, or growth. All the candidates seemed to be mostly working to demonstrate that they understand the issue (whatever that was) and seemed to do a decent job. I do support De Jong’s focus on India.
4:28 – Where is our health care funding coming from? Christy says that the government needs to be there to support caregivers through tax credits for those who care for the elderly and people with disabilities. She wants to expand the role of non-profits in providing care, because they are on the ground and way more efficient for government. (I love this, incidentally.)
4:30 – Ed Mayne was the mayor of the oldest town in Canada. In Canada, nobody should ever wait for treatment! If anybody is on a cot in a hallway, THE ENTIRE SYSTEM HAS FAILED! George Abbott talks about cancer care and how the percentage of elderly is going to increase in the next years (though not, notably, how we are going to deal with that fact without completely breaking the bank).
4:34 – Ferries! De Jong says we can raise the subsidy, raise rates, or reduce service. Basically, things are hard, and not everybody’s going to be happy. Falcon says that massive strides have occurred in the past ten years (which they have, and he should be commended for that). Stillwell identifies what her decision making process is. None of the candidates actually said anything about what their policies were.
4:39 – What is the deal with all this party discipline? Mayne wants more free votes on anything that is not a confidence issue. George Abbott … dammit, my phone rang and I missed the answer – I really wanted to hear this, because I’ve been really concerned about the crazy, California-style direct democracy proposals. De Jong says that we should be consulting more – haven’t we noticed that we’re really good at getting a hold of people over the past two months?
4:46 – Falcon says that the judiciary needs to be held accountable, and his Attorney General will work to ensure that justice can be done more efficiently, more fairly. It’s a great answer, but then again, I tend towards legislative supremacy as a concept.
4:48 – Why does Christy look so angry? It’s not like Moira Stillwell is saying anything offensive.
4:49 – Christy says that Ontario has some trial shortening policies that we should look at, and repeat offenders should be put in jail for longer.
4:51 – Closing statements, now in reverse order!
4:52 – Mike De Jong says that deficits are the ultimate sign of disrespect to the taxpayer, and our future prosperity is dependent on how we position ourselves internationally.
“The only thing worse than fighting with your allies is fighting without them.”
-Mike De Jong
4:54 – George Abbot is very honoured. Very, very honoured. Super honoured by all of you. And so we need to reach out and talk with people to make policy. And develop resources, because we have a bunch.
4:56 – Ed Mayne does not have the name recognition of the other candidates – yet. I think this is actually a decent point. If (hypothetically) he were to be elected leader, its not like he’d be hiding. He’d become a household name overnight (and a permanent fixture in Political Science textbooks).
4:58 – For more on Christy’s speech, see most of her other speeches. She’s sticking to message, hitting all the points, and does what a frontrunner should do – ignore all the other candidates.
5:00 – I had to throw my computer on the floor to get up and clap. Delegate behaviour is Pavlovian in nature.
5:02 – Moira has this kind of slump/lean thing which she should pull out more. It says “I get it.” It’s reassuring.
5:04 – Kevin Falcon touts his commitment to the party, and how he’s always going to be there fighting for free enterprise and the BC Liberal Party. A nice ending note.
