Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Dam Premier


For some time now, I have been calling Gordon Campbell the "Monumental Premier."

Not only has he proven me right, but now he has become a kind of parody or caricature of himself.

When I see him posed before one mega-project after another, I find myself thinking of that Southern-Fried Senatorial cartoon chicken, Foghorn Leghorn.

"Boy - I say, Boy - can you not see the glory of this design?"

So yesterday, in a flight of complete irresponsibility, Foghorn...uh, I mean Campbell, flies 120 folks in five jets up to some obscure landing strip in the North Country to announce his GREAT LEGACY - the site C Dam Project.

Or, if you're an environmentalist, the Site C Damn Project.

He schleps WAC Bennett's grandson along for the haul, just in case any one missed the GREAT HISTORICAL context of this MONUMENTAL ANNOUNCEMENT.

He could have shone a foto image of the reservoir on the legislature walls behind him while he made the announcement for a buck and a quarter, but now it's out with the Lear jets.

Now, I can't rightly comment on whether or not this project is good policy.

But what I can say confidently is this:

The Monumental Premier is all about BIG.

He has consistently over many years now shown no interest in small things and in "the little people."

And that's a crying shame.

To be more exact, that's his shame.

Because both God and the devil are in the details - the little things, which Foghorn sublimely ignores.

And the teachers and nurses and children and grandparents and Mom & Pop shop owners are the heart of this province.

It is his shame - and it will be his legacy - that he gave such scant attention to the region's beating heart.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

no mention of how much it will cost each Hydro customer.
I did some rough calculations based on $6.6 billion amortized at 6% over 50 years. It would add about $25 per month to each Hydro bill.
I presently pay less than $30 for two months.

RossK said...

Mr. Campbell may have flown in 120 fine folks on five jets from all over heckfire's-half acre, but.....

He most definitely did not invite a local resident who also just happens to be the elected representative of the folks that actually live there.



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My comment on that egregious omission, for anyone interested sits at the top of thread there...

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Anonymous said...

Best picture you've posted of Mr. C so far!! Thank you.

I signed up to be added to your blog mailing list (at least I think I did) but didn't receive anything. Perhaps it takes some time to implement, or perhaps I screwed up!

Cheers,

Mo.

David Berner said...

Hi MO,

I don't have your request for sign-up to the blog.

Please send me an email message to

david@mediatalk.ca

Thanks

Norm Farrell said...

Bennett the Younger got his moment on Global TV News. He used it well for the Kleptocracy.

He claimed that BC has been a net importer of electricity for ten straight years. I suppose he was provided a script to read but a little examination would reveal that to be not truthful.

But then, what else is new for BC Liberals.

Anonymous said...

This has had to be the most EXPENSIVE photo-op in the history of BC Politics. Five jet plane loads of bought and paid for party hacks and campaign donators. What a gig. All to direct attention away from REAL issues. Dollars stripped from Education, Health and Welfare to fund one ego maniacs dreams of grandeur. Quit now Gordon while you still have a head. It is interesting that not one scene on the news broadcast ever showed the faces of the folks ferried to the dam. Political organization at its best it seems. Spend no expense to make a major announcement with political 'parasites' for an audience.

Unknown said...

Premier Campbell's agenda is preposterous and not sustainable. Rather than funding the education of young minds and healthcare for seniors, the premier is going for personal glory on an initiative that's faux "green".

A truly green solution should be a balance between 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle) and infrastructure investment. Building the dam before committing to energy conservation is the tail wagging the dog.

The fact is there is not enough resources to sustain our consumerism habit. Having more cheap hydroelectric power from Site C to feed our wasteful habits of power consumption is analogous to providing more inexpensive drugs to addicts in DTES.