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What Happens When Democrats Run Your State?



Diane Watts is Cristy Clark as a brunette, but I wouldn't lay the lack of sky train at her feet, but rather Doug McCallum her predecessor. He was shunted to the side when the NDP decided to extend sky train via the "Milenium Line" looping from Commercial Dr. & Broadway through Burnaby and back to New West. The NDP was desperate for support in the suburbs and they owed Derek Corrigan and his union buddies big time for their support over the years.

Watts did herself no favors by attacking Gorden Campbell before he'd done anything and the Liberals simply went went around her and direct to the Sikh community.

Then came the 2010 Games, of which Surrey got some dribble, again because of Watts' and comments. That brought about the "Canada Line" (As if we have to to be continuously reminded what country we are in) which has been an incredibly big hit.

Then, the "garden club" municipalities chimed in, growing faster than anything else in the known universe and no mass transit while at the same time Simon Fraser has now expanded to three times it's 1965 size and Coquitlam is not only the largest municipality in Canada (in territory) but also deeply rich with 'new voters'... who of course backed the Liberals. The "Evergreen Line" opened earlier this year (it is very impressive).

Watts' actions were a very small part in the great political soup that is lower mainland (oops it's "Metro" now) transportation politics. But wait, there's more! Mayor Moonbeam a.k.a Gregor Robertson a good buddy of former Vancouverite Justin Trudeau, who you may recall announced a huge deficit to create jobs by building "infrastructure" which translates into "Burrard Sky Train Line" in political speak.

Stay tuned, an announcement will come about two weeks into the next election campaign.
 

(grin!)
Wow. You really are a journalist, huh? It's all too big to be kept track of by someone like me, who hasn't, uh, kept track of it. But I'm still not a Diane Watts fan. Go from Mayor of Surrey to a Conservative Party seat in Parliament to running for leadership of the BC Liberal Party, sounds like opportunism to me. Then again, maybe another MILF-in-charge is what BC wants and needs. I still look at the provincial Liberal party and see Socreds, but that's probably just the lingering bad taste left by Bennet 2.0 and VanderZalm. I was a member of a Building Trades union when those guys put us in their crosshairs.
 

I was senior reporter at CKVU TV at that time. For the record I am a friend of the Vander Zalm family, but agree he was the worst premier the province has had since Amour de Cosmos, which I hinted at the night he won the Leadership in Whistler. I knew my days were numbered, my heart was no longer in it and I had a hard time hiding my position on Grace McCarthy (I know, another hated name - but we can have a conversation about that later.)

The Socreds were just PC's with a record of governance, and they are still around. You must know that Sam Sullivan is seeking the leadership...now there's a dirty player with a black heart. Grab your wallets if he gets in; his greatest accomplishment s mayor of Vancouver is waving a flag from his wheelchair...for which he thought he deserved a gold medal.

I am not sure it will matter who is leader of the BC Liberals. I believe their day has come and gone, they served their purpose now **** off. The way the NDP is coming on they seem to be trying to out Trudeau, Trudeau even to the point of approving, at long last, the site "C" hydro-electric development which they have opposed since day one. But they have done the ONE thing that usually ensures continued governance, they got practical. The number of UNION jobs on that development is a good 7 points of the provincial GDP.

I believe they will pivot to the left/middle and leave the Greens to the eco freaks. The Greens are picking up seats, but haven't learned a damn thing, they, I suspect will become what was the role of the NDP for five generations, the "ethical voice of the people" on ecology and climate.

The federal Conservatives have a new leader. For the life of me, I cannot manage to keep the man's name in my memory, and it ain't because of age. They are in trouble. I believe the Conservative Party of Canada is fading into the sunset.
 

Nice analysis.
Maybe the federal Tories will take a page out of the American manual and name Don Cherry.
 
Grand Mal said:
Nice analysis.
Maybe the federal Tories will take a page out of the American manual and name Don Cherry.
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Hey, don't laugh. There was a time "The Don" would have won.

BTW, I've met him. He's a genuinely nice guy, kind of captivating. Given time and removal from the show environment he is an active listener and if you ever played hockey, you have his respect.

I know, I know. His suits should be illegal.
 

Lets be honest here. The entire United States is like a F-1 or Indy race car, most people can get them to go, if only barely. More than a few can make it go around the track at speed. Very few can use it to its full potential. Other countries are like Toyotas or Porches and made that way with safety and comfort features galore. The United States is thorough bred racing vehicle that over the years our politicos have slapped all these luxury goodies and safety features and an bunch of excess weight on that has made our very powerful machine feel sluggish. It wasn't ment to have all the bells and whistles, it was ment to be lean fast specialized machine that scares the hell out of you at first until you get a handle on it and then is one of the most exhilarating things you ever drive. A person who can drive a Toyota to the limit cant necessarily drive a F-1 car to the limit, but an F-1 driver can drive a Toyota to its limits and even extend those limits. We are becoming a country of Toyota drivers that drive a F-1 race car as a grocery getter.
 
You get a budget 64% financed with debt:

Spin Control: Inslee signs capital budget, water law quickly | The Spokesman-Review

Who am I kidding, R's dont give a damn about being responsible either.

The crash up of America is going to be spectacular!
 
Both parties can run states, and both parties can screw up doing so.

I think the difference between the two parties is what you can expect living in a red or blue state. I've lived in both deep red and deep blue states.

In a blue state you can expect:
Higher taxes
A wider range of social services
More focus on public transit
Local government having more of an impact in your daily life (mandatory recycling, eco-taxes, more regulations, etc.)
More proactive focus on infrastructure
(Of course there are more things, but for brevity's sake I'll leave it here).

In a red state you can expect:
Lower taxation
a more narrow range of social services
More car-based cities with less of a focus on public transit
Government having less of an impact in your daily life
Lagging infrastructure
etc.

Those are just my experiences living in 2 very different states and I feel like it could almost be generalized. Things can be good or bad, it depends on the values and expectations of the person as to if it is what they want. There can be poor leadership on both ends that lead to state's going into disaster mode like Illinois and their budget issues. I think it's true that we see more net migration and economic growth in red states, but it should also be understood that in blue states there is usually an already strong economy and most have a higher population/more densely populated. It's the quality of the local politicians that determine if a state is going to be run well or poorly.
 

It wasn't a term, just part of the sentence.
Not perfectly written, but I understood the exact meaning.
 
With the exception of Alaska, the ten wealthiest states are Democratically controlled. I hope that answers the Op's question, "what happens when Democrats run your state?"

Wealthiest States in America

Similar is true for the ten most educated states.

10 Most Educated States
 
Soopairik said:
People enjoy complaining about the high tax rate.
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You get what you pay for. It's no coincidence that the high tax states have the best schools.
 
I love Virginia. It's not hyper liberal or conservative, and has been run by competent democrat and republican governors since I came here back in 86.

McAuliffe has been the only asshole in my 30+ years living here, but the house kept him in line for the most part
 

Sorry, but money is not my guiding force.

And I put real life experience before much of academia's liberal b.s.
 
yankintx said:
Nope NV turned green in Nov 216. More tax money for the State. You should for sure avoid any State which even has a Dem as dog catcher. Have you tried NK? You may fit in.
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Ooooh, that really left a mark. Not.
 

Western Virginia is a conservative stronghold, Northern Virginia is a liberal stronghold. It is hyper conservative/liberal in certain areas, but as a whole it's not.
 
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