Gateway to Nasty

NDP Leader Carole James has come out against the Gateway Project...sort of.

James' position is that the most immediate and cost-effective way to relieve traffic congestion in the Lower Mainland is to immediately invest in a massive expansion of public transit. She doesn't completely rule out twinning the Port Mann Bridge someday, but that someday comes well after commuters have been treated to expanded bus networks and light rail service south of the Fraser River. James' stance on Gateway is an example of why a growing number of New Democrats, rightly or wrongly, want to dump her as their leader. Her position is populist, pragmatic, and astute. She's framed the issue in popular terms of the public wanting action now, and ruling out twinning the bridge altogether would have drawn the ire of Surrey's NDP MLAs. The problem is in our current era of Liberal big lie thug politics, this kind of moderation simply doesn't fly.

Since taking office in 2001, the Liberals have redefined the term 'good government' to mean how well they can appease their supporters (in the case of Gateway, the construction companies and auto dealers who bankroll the party) and manipulate the media to manufacture support for initiatives that their supporters can profit from at the expense of the public. It's not about logic or consensus cost-effectiveness, it's about winning and crushing your opponents.

The problem for James and the NDP is that being right isn't enough because British Columbians are conditioned to attack dog politics. James was handed a lot of credit for the party's electoral turnaround in 2005, but it wouldn't have happened without the tough-as-nails tag team of Joy MacPhail and Jenny Kwan in the Legislature. Frankly, James lets too much go. When Kevin Falcon says that James arguing against twinning the Port Mann "arguing directly contrary to the position that her government took.", something needs to be said about leaders having the wisdom to revisit important policy, and the fact that Glenn Clark is on Jimmy Pattison's payroll, not the NDP's.

Opposing Gateway presents a real opportunity for the NDP to articulate a sound alternative vision to the Liberals' record of tax cuts for the rich and public-private porkbarelling. Certainly, one needs a good grasp of the facts, but one also needs a good grasp around the neck of your opponents.