A Fitting Climax: NB Election Recap
Well, it's all over but the crying now. And Bernard Lord got started on his last night. Although, he shouldn't be sad. Now he gets to sit in opposition and do basically nothing except chirp away at every little thing the Liberals do. If I were him, I'd be licking my chops. It's payback time, Shawn!
But I have to give credit where it is due: New Brunswick voters managed to give one of the parties a reasonable majority with which to work. And with no "Tanker" Malley in sight, maybe the three seat advantage will hold.
I have to admit, less than 24 hours into his mandate, Shawn Graham is pretty damn impressive as Premier. He is already cutting gas tax, fixing up the bursary system for university students, and finally treating seniors with the respect they deserve. It bodes well for the province that he's not mincing words. The only thing I heard that had me worried was that they were backing off the auto insurance issue a bit. Don't do it, Shawn! There has to be a way we can ram a better plan down the insurance companies' throats. I honestly think that public insurance has to be a viable alternative at this point.
Now a word to the biggest losers of the night: the NDP. Well, what did you expect? I really don't want to kick anyone while they are down, but I couldn't help but feel really sad listening to Allison Brewer's concession speech. I mean, what can she say? New Brunswick just isn't going to take the NDP seriously in it's current configuration. You've got four years to re-shuffle, but the smart money is on the party folding in those years rather than coming back stronger. Unless Tommy Douglas is coming back from the grave, there is no NDP savior in sight. New Brunswick is just too poor to have the "us and them" environment in which socialist parties thrive. There is just too much "us" and not enough "them." But give this new premier some time. I think we just might get there.
Finally, let's talk about the tolls. Shawn, you knocked 3.8 cents a litre off the price of gas. I expect the gas companies will quickly move to gobble that up. But where are we going to make up the shortfall? You're in government now, so you know, you actually have to deal with this stuff. You can't spend if you don't tax -- unless you're George W. Bush, that is. So are you thinking what I'm thinking? Is it still political suicide? I think you guys managed to convince New Brunwick voters with those shadow toll figures...maybe that is really why you were given your mandate. Do you have the balls? Well, do ya?
But I have to give credit where it is due: New Brunswick voters managed to give one of the parties a reasonable majority with which to work. And with no "Tanker" Malley in sight, maybe the three seat advantage will hold.
I have to admit, less than 24 hours into his mandate, Shawn Graham is pretty damn impressive as Premier. He is already cutting gas tax, fixing up the bursary system for university students, and finally treating seniors with the respect they deserve. It bodes well for the province that he's not mincing words. The only thing I heard that had me worried was that they were backing off the auto insurance issue a bit. Don't do it, Shawn! There has to be a way we can ram a better plan down the insurance companies' throats. I honestly think that public insurance has to be a viable alternative at this point.
Now a word to the biggest losers of the night: the NDP. Well, what did you expect? I really don't want to kick anyone while they are down, but I couldn't help but feel really sad listening to Allison Brewer's concession speech. I mean, what can she say? New Brunswick just isn't going to take the NDP seriously in it's current configuration. You've got four years to re-shuffle, but the smart money is on the party folding in those years rather than coming back stronger. Unless Tommy Douglas is coming back from the grave, there is no NDP savior in sight. New Brunswick is just too poor to have the "us and them" environment in which socialist parties thrive. There is just too much "us" and not enough "them." But give this new premier some time. I think we just might get there.
Finally, let's talk about the tolls. Shawn, you knocked 3.8 cents a litre off the price of gas. I expect the gas companies will quickly move to gobble that up. But where are we going to make up the shortfall? You're in government now, so you know, you actually have to deal with this stuff. You can't spend if you don't tax -- unless you're George W. Bush, that is. So are you thinking what I'm thinking? Is it still political suicide? I think you guys managed to convince New Brunwick voters with those shadow toll figures...maybe that is really why you were given your mandate. Do you have the balls? Well, do ya?
posted by Darren Priest at
8:03 AM
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