FORSETH: Tide is turning blue in BC

As BC prepares for its October 19th election, the BC Conservatives continue to rise in popularity at the expense of the governing NDP.Polling company Mainstreet posted yesterday that the BC Conservatives stand at 45.7%, with a likelihood of obtaining a majority government at 80.6%. The NDP stands at 41.7%, with a probability of obtaining a majority at 17.7%. The Greens are at 8.9% and might not elect anyone.Pollster 338Canada has the BC Conservatives at 46%, and the NDP at 44%.Forty seven seats are required for a majority; the analysis is that the leading parties are tied with a slight edge to the Conservatives. My prediction is that the trend will continue, and the gap of the expanding Conservatives will widen over the lagging NDP.A common story for voters is that they have often voted NDP in the past, but this time, no. Their personal stories vary, but many recall being discriminated against, discounted, or observing cheating in their workplace and favouritism, all developed as a consequence of the cultural change arising from the NDP administrative philosophy that has filtered into the public service and the union shop.Most do not follow the details of provincial politics and the weekly push-pull of competitive partisanship. However, there are some lasting general impressions of the current NDP government. It appears as a general negative dark cloud about poor character.The cost of everything has risen too fast. Consequently, voters have hope for some relief by the elimination of the ideological “carbon tax." Voters understand that no matter how much the tax could rise, it will not change climate trends. People are suffering the boomerang effect of the CVID-19 policies. They conclude that for now, there are more important priorities for basic living than paying outrageous penalty taxes for questionable climate outcomes.There is social exhaustion from 'wokeism' and political correctness, as used by the federal Liberals, and the NDP's Jagmeet Singh and questions of values and basic decency, symbolized by growing street crime and the debacle over “bail policy”. Despite the legislative retrenchment to respond to the national outcry over the consequences of the bail policy, the community evidence is still not seen as a sufficient response to street disorder, general public safety, and the mayhem around drugs.The NDP record about street drug use, the so-called "safe supply," and the associated crime that comes with it is a negative mark on the government's character. The thought is that only a very ideologically bent politician would promote the radicalism that led to such degrees of community disorder. The late flip-flop policy announcements by the NDP to respond are too little, too late, as the past record on street crime reflects deeply about who the government is in character.An additional character measure is the BC education policy known as SOGI (Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.) It was a politically correct set of curriculum resource materials promoted by the education ministry. When parents found out, they raised the alarm. Thousands of Canadians turned out to protest gender diversity education in schools, and thousands also showed up for counter-protests in support of it. SOGI became very divisive and a symbol of a top-down government-knows-best policy.When parents began to wake up about the occasional gross excess that occurred with SOGI, the government doubled down, denying the problems and generally discounted the parental complaints. The whole episode was another measure for the public that the government leadership is of poor character. SOGI has become a symbol to voters of institutional ideological extremism, where children need to be protected from the government.The NDP has traditionally wrapped itself in the blanket of “caring” and being a leader for healthcare. Again, on this file, the dismissal of healthcare workers because they objected to the unproven mRNA vaccine shots was a maneuver based on ideological belief rather than science. When the NDP began to experience political backlash and negative polling, they ended their policy prohibitions for workers but added new rules, indicating they were unrepentant.The provincial government's performance over COVID restrictions and its mismanagement of the healthcare system goes to character and trust for a government that presents itself as a healthcare champion and then devastates its own staff. The reverberations are observed when hospital emergency rooms are closed across the province, and staff shortages occur in every region. The delicate fragile system was needlessly disturbed by NDP ideology, and the bad outcomes are undeniable. The whole healthcare subject has become another negative character mark of hypocrisy against the NDP.The cost of housing is a topic that everyone talks about, but solutions are not easy. For several years, there has been a lot of rhetoric about what the government is doing or going to do, but not much improvement has been seen in the community. The NDP recently announced a complicated social housing program intended to respond to needs. If the program works, it will take years for people to be living in their new units. The amount of taxpayers’ money, $1.29 billion per year in financing, seems to be just another huge giveaway scheme for the select few, and just one more socialistic NDP project of excessive cost for marginal benefit.The general NDP attitude of envy and resentment eventually translated into an anti-business economic culture. Although the details are not easily identifiable, the average voter knows that all is not well, when government spending has suddenly bloomed into the uncontrolled red zone. The NDP finance minister recently admitted that the provincial budget for 2023-2024 will likely run an $8.9 billion deficit and a debt of more than $129 billion. So, economic stability and future progress are big issues. They are borrowing a lot to pay the interest on the money they borrowed last year. Voters know this is unsustainable, and the big red numbers go directly to the character of the government appearing profligate, untrustworthy, and irresponsible.There are many personal stories about why voters are changing their traditional voting habits. Voters are fed up and frustrated. However, they now have a legitimate, viable choice that offers a return to normalcy with no extremism. People have caught on, that those lefties who point out denialism and extremism for others, are in fact the real extremists.

FORSETH: Tide is turning blue in BC

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