BREAKING NEWS: The Blair Lekstrom Project–Replacing Jay Hill
Of course we are all a flutter over the mammoth news out of Victoria this day: A senior Cabinet Minister has bolted from Gordon Campbell’s rapidly disintegrating bailiwick.
And ain’t that grand? Because the superlatives to describe such heroism have been nauseating.
Blair Lekstrom is a principled man. Blair Lekstrom is a fighter. Blair Lekstrom is a man of honour, integrity, commitment. Constituents first! Hosana! Hubba-hubba!
He’s a hero! He’s able to leap tall buildings and the Premier’s ego (much taller), in a single bound. Praise the Lord! He’ll solve Third World Hunger! He’ll get ‘Dancing With the Stars’ cancelled!
He walks on water!
Blair Lekstrom cares about you–first.
Okay, not so fast.
There is no question that the Premier has comported himself foolishly, and, almost beyond repair, has shattered his party. And that his political career is finished thanks to his incurable megalomania. But this whole business about Blair Lekstrom vacating from the Liberal side of the aisle because of the HST is not the story.
When I heard about it this morning, I decided to do a little digging. So, while everyone else tells you what a major blow this is to the government–because a popular and reasonable Cabinet member has departed–keep reading and then at the end, you tell me what you really think about Mr. Lekstrom’s heroics.
Firstly, Blair Lekstrom, while competent and popular, was NEVER a Liberal. A dyed-in-wool Tory, he probably went into convulsions over the fact that he had to refer to himself any other way. There is no question that he was a loyal soldier, but his Ministry (of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources) has basically been run by the Premier’s Office, specifically Chief of Staff Martyn Brown. Lekstrom was never comfortable with this and was also skeptical of the whole climate change ‘green’ file and the millions being wasted. Along with John Les, Gordie Hogg, Iain Black, John Rustad, Joan McIntyre and several others, he saw the hypocrisy in what Campbell was selling to the public and didn’t like it.
Secondly, Lekstrom is one of about a dozen MLAs (including four Cabinet Ministers) who has expressed to other members of caucus that the Premier must go. He understands the damage and particularly where he’s from, very soon, there will be no turning back: Northern BCers are some of the hardest working and most decent people in the country–forgiveness will become a four-letter word if Campbell stays on much longer.
Lastly, ever since federal Conservative MP Jay Hill announced a few months ago that he was not going to run in the next election, people close to Lekstrom and two high-ranking federal Tory officials confirmed for me today, that he’s been eyeing that seat. And it makes perfect sense. He’s a great candidate for them: a down-to-earth good ole boy, competent and capable. He was a great Mayor for Dawson Creek. He’d be a lock if he wins the nomination for Prince George-Peace River, where the HST anger has reached such a feverish pitch that the number of those signed up in that riding has exceeded the amount that voted for him in the last provincial election. Moreover, as MLA for Peace River South, there is a great deal of overlap not just geographically, but influentially. So, jumping off the provincial bandwagon, at this point–aflame as it is, makes perfect sense for Lekstrom.
Hence, beware of all the pundits and pontificators in the media telling you that Lekstrom is a hero. He’s not. And that he’s mavericky and won’t put up with Campbell’s horse manure. He won’t. Or that he’s looking out for you–first–because the HST is so unpalatable and he’s just representing his people, because that may very well be…
But that isn’t because he’s looking after you–first. He’s looking after himself–you just happened to be a convenient beneficiary.
A hero would have stood up and said in a loud, clear voice: “Premier Campbell has to stop with his completely reckless agenda and leave office NOW, and take with him Mr. Hansen, Ms. Polak and everyone else of his die-nevers, including his pals who have treated the provinces best assets, like trains, rivers and prime properties as a monopoly board, and get the hell out of here, never to return–GORDON CAMPBELL ISN’T JUST DESTROYING THIS PARTY, HE’S DESTROYING THE PROVINCE”.
Now THAT would have been tough; THAT would have been mavericky; THAT would have been brutally honest.
Being a tough guy is staying and fighting for what’s right and, thus far, not a single Cabinet Minister or MLA has had the good sense to do this. Not one. They are ALL complicit, notwithstanding Mr. Falcon, Mr. Abbott and astoundingly, Mr. DeJong, are all oiling up for a poseurs pantheon of piffle (none of them can win the next election–not a Gordon Campbell’s chance in Heaven) And particularly considering it was DeJong who mindlessly gave Campbell the insane advice to ignore Bill VanderZalm and the anti-HST crowd, there isn’t an astute political operator among them–Lekstrom included.
All this proves is that it might look like Blair Lekstrom opened the door for enough dissent to walk out the Liberal door and get Campbell gone, but that just isn’t the case my friends.
If you add all this to Carole Taylor’s (I’m told) totally evaporated interest in saving it all, and Dianne Watts’ steely determination in having remade Surrey as B.C.’s runaway number one city for families to live and work in, it spells trouble with a capital ‘T’ for the Liberals–unless either of them decides to step up–because Taylor and Watts are the only two that can knock off the NDP threat (although you’d think the NDP would be pummeling the Liberals instead of confusedly lolly-gagging some three hundred thousand feet behind The Zalm’s after burners).
And never mind the flowery reviews by lazy radio talkshow hosts with binder reading addiction, who tell you that last night’s Premier’s Dinner was a success–the whisper was almost audible: “When is this (insert expletive describing your second-most popular orifice here) going to be gone?!”
No, Lekstrom could have been a tough guy, he’s certainly got the jam and called the Premier out yesterday morning, right before the dinner–and made him pay a little for his enormous sins, but no, not our Blair.
Hero? Maybe. Eventually…for the federal Conservatives.
But he’s got to win the nomination.
You heard it here, first
- Alex Tsakumis
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Topic: Fight The HST! (Read 172657 times)