BC Conservative Party option.

[steven lloyd]

It’s a long shot, but this is about the only chance for something unexpected to happen maybe giving us something and someone else to consider as a real alternative to the choices (no choice) we have now.

BC Conservatives debate leadership
by The Canadian Press
Sep 22, 2012 / 7:59 am

Rival factions within the BC Conservative party are expected to battle over the political future of leader John Cummins during the party's convention today.

The question of leadership comes up one day after former Conservative byelection candidate John Martin defected to the BC Liberals.

A group calling itself Friends of the BC Conservative Party, led by current party vice-president Ben Besler, is wants members to vote for a leadership review.

Besler has been raising concerns through emails about Cummins' leadership style, his relationship with the only Conservative MLA John van Dongen and his monthly stipend.

Backing Cummins, is supporter Al Siebring of Vancouver Island who leads a group called the A-Team and has raised a slate of candidates for the party executive.

If the anti-Cummins faction is successful, the veteran politician will have to step down immediately while a party leader is chosen.

http://www.castanet.net/edition/news-st ... .htm#80816

[NAB]

Well, things wouldn't necessarily turn out "all bad" if the vote goes against Cummins. Running a leadership campaign during the runup to a provincial election could get them a lot of media and public attention if nothing else, assuming they play their cards right. There's quite a lot of ex-coalition right wing blood out there who might find the possibilities attractive. But if Cummins retains the leadership, wellllllll.... might as well write off the BC conservatives as much of an option this time 'round.

Edit to add: Perhaps Martin jumped ship too soon because he is starting to look pretty silly....

Excerpt from Les Leyne's column.. LOL's

The newest B.C. Liberal candidate, John Martin, is a competitive barbecuer and there's no better background for someone trying to pull off what he's attempting. He's used to standing close to the fire and getting smoke in his eyes while watching fresh meat roasting on a spit.

Some observations he made to Taste and Sip magazine last spring are particularly pertinent, now that he's bolted the B.C. Conservatives, for whom he ran in a recent byelection, to sign up with the Liberals.

Speaking as the head of the "Big *bleep* BBQ Team," he was commenting on the world of competitive cook-offs.

"These contests are impossible to predict. Last year's grand champion can come back the next year, do damn near the very same thing and finish somewhere near the bottom. The judging process can be quite erratic so it's best not to invest too much emotion in the scores."

He might as well have been talking about the provincial politics.

(Personal disclosure: I find it difficult to be objective after seeing his mouth-watering Qualicum Pinwheel recipe - Qualicum Bay scallops wrapped in bacon, then in pork tenderloin, smothered in maple sugar and mustard, then rolled in crushed cashews. OMG.)

But drooling aside, he's going to have to work through a few things before his candidacy takes hold. His rambunctious attacks just five months ago on the party he just joined are the first thing to come to mind.

They bounced back to life hours after he made his move in Chilliwack Friday morning. A small sampling:

- "Not even the most devoted Liberal supporter could argue with a straight face that this government has earned a fourth mandate. Theirs is a legacy of deceit, incompetence and financial mismanagement."

- "The only people getting ahead in Christy Clark's B.C. are cronies, insiders and lobbyists."

- "The Liberal government has ... squandered trust with the public on issues such as paying $6 million in legal fees for two convicted criminals [Dave Basi and Bob Virk] and the introduction of the HST shortly after the last election when they said it was not on the table."

http://www.timescolonist.com/news/Leyne ... story.html

Well, at least he had the NDP script down pat, ...at the time it just seemed so funny coming from someone who claimed to be a raving conservative ;-) Now I guess he is going to have to memorize some of the Liberal script but it should be within his capacity. "NDP=bad. Liberals=Good". Unfortunately he may soon find that worn out old script may not be one he can sell to the F Valley electorate any more, in that under CC's New Liberals he will have to be more like the NDP than unlike them if he hopes to succeed.

Nab

[flamingfingers]

Cummins survived with 71.4% voting no to review. S. Smart, CBC.... Oh well.....

[NAB]

So should that be interpreted as good news for the NDP, or good news for the Liberals? Edit: And now it remains to be seen what the future holds in store for some of those who were involved in the effort to force a review of Cummins' leadership at such a crappy time. At least some new faces at the top of the party I would think.

Edit to add:

(current vice president) Ben Besler, who is running for party president, and is a prominent figure of the splinter group, said he is prepared to work with Cummins to move the party forward.

...ya, right.....

Nab

[Verminator]

The plot thickens, or thins, depending on your point of view. This must be some kind of record, quitting two parties in what, less than a year? Oh, the lonliness...

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-c ... ative.html

[NAB]

No surprise to most folk there I suspect. Cummins' problems are far from over I also suspect, My advise to him would be to walk away from that bunch of clowns and enjoy his retirement. Trying to unite the right in BC is a hopeless cause because there are too many self serving greedy factions on the right wing, but very little political leadership talent.

Now it remains to be seen who becomes the party executive.

Still, we're back to yet another two party election IMO. Some things never change in BC politics LOL.

Nab

[Urbane]

If I were an NDP'er I wouldn't be too happy watching the BC Conservatives self-destructing. Recent developments are good news for the Liberals. Will it be enough to get them reelected? Maybe not but I can see a lot those potential Conservative votes heading back to the Liberal fold.

[Interested Party]

If I were an NDP'er I wouldn't be too happy watching the BC Conservatives self-destructing. Recent developments are good news for the Liberals. Will it be enough to get them reelected? Maybe not but I can see a lot those potential Conservative votes heading back to the Liberal fold.

You probably are right.

[NAB]

...I can see a lot those potential Conservative votes heading back to the Liberal fold.

It will be interesting to see if that proves to be true. Van Dongen is a prime example of just how uncertain where any electoral shift from the declining conservative option might end up. When bridges get burned and there is no way back that makes sense, what then? Vote for change for no other reason than an overwhelming need for change?.....

Nab

[steven lloyd]

Vote for change for no other reason than an overwhelming need for change?

If the Liberal coalition / BC Christy party gets re-elected I will truly be disappointed.
Still, just about nothing would surprise me anymore by this electorate.

[NAB]

To put things regarding the bc conservative party in perspective, there were only 1104 votes cast on the question of a leadership review. Makes one wonder just how many members the bc conservative party actually has....

Edit. And then I go on to wonder why anyone would even consider voting for a candidate from a party with such a small following...

Nab

[steven lloyd]

To put things regarding the bc conservative party in perspective, there were only 1104 votes cast on the question of a leadership review. Makes one wonder just how many members the bc conservative party actually has....

On the news tonight Keith Baldry suggested about 1/3 of the membership voted.

[NAB]

To put things regarding the bc conservative party in perspective, there were only 1104 votes cast on the question of a leadership review. Makes one wonder just how many members the bc conservative party actually has....

On the news tonight Keith Baldry suggested about 1/3 of the membership voted.

Interesting, then that would suggest their total membership is around 3000 souls and only abput 1000 or so of them really give a crap. Heck, the Greens, Communists, or the MJ parties could probably field more bodies, and they wouldn't be internally divided in their objectives either LOL.

Nab

[steven lloyd]

I bet the MJ Party members are waaay more relaxed

[econovan64]

This could be a great opportunity for the Greens to get some candidates elected. Come up with a genuine 3rd option.