January 24, 2003

The full truth, and nothing but!

The way the BC Liberals interpret the "New Era Document", their campaign platform, and the way they are handling Gordon Campbell's drunk driving show similarities in how they play word games rather than plainly stating the full truth.

At his tearful news conference, Sunday, January 12th, Premier Campbell neglected to mention that he had spent an hour in handcuffs in the back of a police car. He also failed to mention his speeding. No one would want to see a drunk traveling at 112 km/hr heading directly at them in their lane of traffic. No one would want to have a Premier try to minimize that offense by calling it a petty misdemeanor done while on a private vacation. Unless a member of Campbell's caucus shows enough courage to talk to the public, we will never know whether the Premier was more forthright with his caucus than he was with the public. If he wasn't, it is understandable that caucus members will be very upset that the story continues in the news because further information is coming out. Many will be watching to see what new details are revealed in court on March 25th.

The full truth was also not disclosed about the New Era Document. In opposition, the BC Liberals created the impression that they thought the government was not spending enough on health and education. They promised tax cuts for the bottom two income brackets saying that the cuts would pay for themselves. In government, they cut taxes for all five income brackets with the top 8,000 income earners receiving over $200 million a year in benefits. They increased MSP premiums by 50% and the sales tax by a half point. They then announced that health and education funding would be frozen for two years. People in the bottom two brackets lost. Many people believe that what government has done is not what they said they would do. Many people thought that they were promised a moderate, competent government only to discover an extreme, ideologically driven cabal. Those who go back to the platform document discover that the Campbell Liberals cynically twisted words.

There is no more hiding from the full truth. On January 10th in Maui, Gordon Campbell was falling down drunk but that didn't stop him from getting behind the wheel and driving at 112 km/hr. From June 5, 2001, through today, the Campbell government has demonstrated the same kind of recklessness as was illustrated in the Maui police report. A new BC Liberal leader must deliver competence and moderation. The only question is how long Campbell will be allowed to cling to power, thereby preventing a change in the agenda.