The Liberals, Trust and God

excerpts from Victoria Times-Colonist Sat., Feb. 27/05
Press Pass Inside B. C. Politics
"BC Liberals rate their trust level at 97%"

"Often in election campaigns you might see maybe three vague promises come out" ... Judith Reid said of the New Era document in the legislature this week. "These were specific, page after page after page of them - a very bold move. The purpose was to increase confidence in politicians and the process of government. What's the result of that? Well, four years later, 97 per cent of those have been either done or actively engaged in."

Reporter's note: They're not revealing their calculations or what promises they consider broken.... But they're definitely admitting some slippage, because for two weeks now they've been bragging about how their word can almost be trusted.

Let's see the breakdown of those "done" and those "actively engaged in" and just how much any of the latter has done for the average British Columbian. What about the things that they promised they wouldn't do but then went ahead and did anyway (tearing up contracts, expanding gambling and selling B. C. Rail come to mind) - are they part of the 97%? What about the many things that they 'ragged' on the previous government for and then ended up doing when they achieved power? Is every promise rated equally so that one small 'kept' one counts equally with a large one, not fulfilled?

"I heard a member of the opposition say 'but, you haven't kept them all'. I couldn't believe that, what kind of nonsense that is. First of all, the only person who ever keeps 100 per cent of their promises is God. While she might have high regard for us, we never claimed that status. The idea that we could have kept so many promises is remarkable."

I'll tell you what nonsense is, Judith, and its this whole preposterous statement. Almost sounds like they even surprised themselves, what with all the promises they've managed to keep - then again, in my simple, ethical world, I don't believe anyone has a right to make a promise that they have no intention of keeping. Since she finds their performance "remarkable", she must have been expecting some failures. As pointed out in the article, politicians share the bottom of the 'public respect' list with journalists and your contention that the Liberals have, in a single term, elevated politicians' stature to near mythical proportions smacks of serious delusion. Only in your 'dream-world', Judith.
God promised "that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16) - but how do we mere mortals (unless you are a person of faith) know if he has actually kept that one? It is even more than a little ironic that Ms. Reid was a former Minister of Highways, a Ministry which many people used to say believed that they were God!
This is all moot anyway since an Ontario court recently ruled that politicians can't be held to their promises and that, if voters believe a campaign promise, they are "naive about the democratic system". The judge further said that "it is up to the voters, not the courts, to punish governments who fib and fabricate." That's all well and good but we know the damage the scoundrels can do in the ensuing 4 or 5 years and then they can just lie to us again, hoping that we will have forgotten or promising to actually keep their promises this time (sort of like Lucy, Charlie Brown and that darn football). One question: if we can't rely on anything politicians say during an election campaign, how exactly are we supposed to decide who to vote for?
Judicial Quote of the Year: "This decision not to keep the promise does not mean that the promise, when made, was untrue, inaccurate or negligent". If a politican doesn't have the information necessary to commit to a course of action, he/she has no business making a promise concerning that issue/item in the first place.