i'm a star in new york

i'm happy about the honourable member from vancouver-point grey's initiative for a second referendum on BC-STV following a boundary commission report for several reasons.

1)his lack of interest in reviving the MMP debate should be the end for adrienne carr. for someone who, in the public eye, was a leading voice on electoral reform before oct. 23 2004 to so completely cede her political ground in one outburst betrays a grotesque lack of instinct. that such a politically incompetent and unskilled person still holds the leadership of the bc green party is a testament to said party's embarrasing and amateur approach to public life in general.

2)i'll have a use for the 300 citizens' assembly glossy reports in my den. the assembly was a neat exercise, and now we've got a chance to talk about it again, with, hopefully, a more informed and less hyperbolic tenor.

3)i'll still have a chance to go down in history! i had, while certainly not the most influential, a relatively substantial hand in the assembly's decision, and, for a political trainspotter like myself, i'll admit to the allure of having had the inside track on a major political development. this 2008 referendum will be the difference between the assembly's fate as a chapter or as a footnote in bc's political biography.

4)most importantly, BC-STV still has a chance. it's really pretty neat, and if people calm down with the partisan bullshit and paranoia for a second, we might have a chance at cracking open our politics. if the system changes, the experts change. while people are naturally scared of any political realignment, we have to be optimistic about our ability to favourably reshape the landscape. to interpret an electoral system that does hand greate choice to the voter as bad for the left is to suggest that the left can only win through trickery and a 'hidden agenda'. if we believe in what we have to say, then we have to believe that the citizenry, when given the chance to vote in favour, will agree. that's what ideology is all about.

now that the legislature is back in session, i can get back to my habit of reading the hansard blues every evening, looking for harry bloy or other gov't members to say stupid things, and scanning new democrats' statements for rhetorical flourish, or the lack thereof.

i have to be at strand hall at 8 am for a meeting with a senior administrator. in other words, i love my job. today's scus meeting felt almost pornographic for the sheer amount of politics at play. i must admit, when i have no stake in the matter at hand, it's a lot of fun to watch.