Saturday, June 11, 2011

Who's most trustworthy on HST - Christy Clark or Bill Vander Zalm

Courtesy of Victoria Secrets' (Mike Smyth's Blog):

Christy Clark's Liberals love to bash Bill Vander Zalm, the HST-hatin' ex-premier with the fa-a-anastic smile.

The Zalm is nothing but a flim-flam man, the Liberals rail! You can't believe a word he says! Remember Fantasy Gardens? Remember the wacky lady with the wacky hats who used to follow him around, claiming he ripped her off? Remember how he stuck taxpayers with a nasty little cash-grab called the property transfer tax?

Oh, yes, Clark and the Libs just love to hate The Zalm.

But guess who voters trust more when it comes to the HST? Here's a hint: it's ain't Christy.

The latest Angus Reid poll asked B.C. voters who they trusted on the HST.

Forty per cent of respondents said they found Clark to be "credible" or "very credible" on the tax, compared to 47-per-cent who said they trusted Vander Zalm.

In fact, the pollster concluded Vander Zalm is "the highest-ranked personality" in the HST debate.

That is no doubt annoying to the Liberals. How could a discredited ex-premier _ driven from office by scandal _ be more trusted than the shiny-and-new Christy Clark?

But the finding could prove more than just annoying for the forces trying to save the HST from death-by-referendum.

The biggest challenge for HST defenders is overcoming the government's credibility gap on the tax. For voters who believe the Liberals lied about the HST before the last election, how can they believe anything the Libs say about the tax now?

To the Libs' chagrin, Vander Zalm _ the smiling flim-flam man they love to hate _ could end up having the last laugh when the referendum ballots are counted. That would be a drag for Christy _ and fa-a-antastic for The Zalm and his army of anti-HST followers.

twitter.com/MikeSmythNews
msmyth@theprovince.com

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