XPost: bc.politics, van.general, vic.general   
   From: Cons¦cons@cda.ca   
      
   Surely British Columbians have more urgent things to do - like walk the   
   dog or do the laundry - or 'take out the garbage'.   
   _______________________________   
   The Canadian Press - April 13, 2013   
      
   Clark buys TV time to broadcast pre-election pitch to B.C. voters   
      
      
   VICTORIA - Premier Christy Clark is buying some TV time Sunday to make a   
   scripted, 30-minute pre-election pitch to voters less than 48 hours   
   before the official start of the British Columbia election campaign.   
      
   The buses are ready to roll for Tuesday's beginning to the campaign for   
   the May 14 election, but Clark is giving herself a head start with an   
   evening election address paid for by the B.C. Liberal Party. It's an   
   effort to imprint the Liberal message hours before the official campaign   
   kick off.   
      
   But don't wait for Clark to roll out any major new initiatives during   
   her one-on-one chat with British Columbians, say political experts who   
   expect Clark to highlight her personal strengths as a master   
   communicator and her determination to wage a strong campaign portraying   
   the Liberals as strong fiscal managers.   
      
   Liberal insiders say Clark's pre-recorded address will stress the stark   
   choice voters face between re-electing the Liberals or voting for the   
   New Democrats and their leader Adrian Dix.   
      
   "That's clearly what she's trying to do is set her ballot question, with   
   her in the role and her government in the role as a strong leader that's   
   capable of being in the best position to manage the economy and manage   
   the budget and create jobs," said Martyn Brown, a political commentator   
   and author who served as a close adviser to former premier Gordon Campbell.   
      
   Brown said Clark has little to lose from taking her message to voters.   
      
   "Her weaknesses going into this campaign are that she's perceived on   
   every leadership measure to be vastly lower than Adrian Dix," Brown   
   said. "She's got to tackle that fact."   
      
   On Monday, Clark told a party fundraising dinner attended by 1,800   
   people in Vancouver she will use Sunday's address to preview her   
   election platform and tell voters what direction her government is heading.   
      
   According to pollsters Angus Reid, Clark is currently tied with   
   Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Kathy Dunderdale as the least popular   
   provincial leader in Canada.   
      
   The poll released Monday found she and her governing Liberals had an   
   approval rating of 25 per cent in the online survey of almost 7,100   
   adults, down from 31 per cent just three months prior. Eight per cent of   
   those surveyed from March 11 to March 23 were undecided on Clark and 67   
   per cent disapproved of her performance as premier.   
      
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    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)