2006 NB Election Thoughts

The 2006 NB election is now over and the electorate has chosen a "majority" Liberal government. While I accept the results of Monday night, I do want to share some thoughts from a Tory perspective.

Firstly, those who say that the PC party is finished have to look at the results closely. While riding redistribution played its part at cementing a small Liberal majority, the PC party still won the popular vote. Not yet in power, Shawn Graham has stated to the media that they stop asking him if he will honour Lord's commitment to hold a referendum on electoral reform in 2008. Of course, he will not! Because has nothing to gain by it.

I have also noticed much speculation about the future of Premier Lord. Provincial Tories try to convince the leader to remain in NB while pundits suggest he will jump ship into federal politics. Will Lord stay in NB to fight another day, move to pasture or will he "Move West" to Ottawa? Time will tell, but I would encourage the former Premier to consider the impact he can have as representative for Moncton-Riverview-Dieppe as our Conservative MP. Many say that his star quality is no longer there, however; there are many examples of political comebacks. Two that come to mind are Clinton and Churchill. I would strongly suggest to the Premier that he take some time to recharge the batteries and return to cement his legacy as a nation builder. To offer some wisdom from one of the greatest leaders of all time:

"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm."
Sir Winston Churchill
British politician (1874 - 1965)

I would also like to offer a word of encouragement to my fellow PC members in the wake of a crushing defeat. Get ready! Get ready to validate our existence to the people of NB, so that they remember how a PC government balanced the budget for 7 years, reduced unemployment, reduced the deficit and laid the foundation to fix a troubled health care system.

People of NB, you will soon see just how much Shawn Graham’s Liberal platform will cost you and our children. I look forward to holding his team accountable to an increased deficit, increased tuition, increased unemployment, higher property and income taxes, toll highways, gambling, increased red tape and cronyism in the form of over paid supercrats.

I look forward to the next provincial election…

-Blue Blogger