Tomorrow is the day Conservatives in BC have been waiting for for a long time.
It is the occasion of the final BC Conservative AGM before the May 2013 election,maybe.
For that to happen John Cummins has to win the leadership handily and the BC Liberals have to keep their word and actually have the election in May and not pull some legislative shenanigans in early 2013 and change the date to the fall.
What will happen at the AGM tomorrow? Will there be winners and losers?
I believe that question is a lot more complicated than you think.
Read on.
John Cummins can win and hold onto his leadership tomorrow but still lose the war.
This would happen if John Van Dongen uses the occasion of the Cummins victory speech to declare that he is running as an independent. Stranger things have happened in politics. ( This is not easy for Van Dongen either)
John Cummins could lose his leadership tomorrow ( I don’t think so) and open the whole party up to more infighting and a nasty leadership vote.
This leadership vote ,should it occur has the potential to be even nastier the the goings on lately because there could be more than 1 other party involved.
If you are reading this and you say that’s right,they could enter negotiations with the BC Liberals to unify the so-called free enterprise vote you are only partially correct.
Partially because if you have been watching the news lately you would have seen the dormant BC First party slowly arising from hibernation in the form of an endorsement from Bill Vander Zalm.
I am not one to believe in coincidences and have read the accounts in the MSM about Vander Zalm friends Ben Besler and John Crocock building a slate to take on the rest of the folks running for the provincial board under the guise of wanted to do politics different.
I have seen and heard motions from one or the other and seconded by one or the other that reek of more old style politics than most other amateur politicians I can think of.
To wit: Besler introduces a motion to give away memberships for free and is seconded by Crocock. This of course is shot down in flames as scandalous by the sane people on the board.
This is old school politics and so is telling potential nomination candidates that certain ridings are unavailable to run in because they are reserved for board members. ( I will let you use your imagination to figure out which one of these guys did that)
Not only is that old school politics but it also is a form of empire building at a time when most political parties, Conservatives included are tying to clean that up.
The instigator slate has not yet registered for the AGM and no that does not mean they have had a change of heart. It just means more of the old school type of politics.
So when they say they stand for something different don’t believe it for a minute.
In the last week and by the latest poll, the BC Conservative Party has gone down about 7% in the polls and a good part of this has been brought on by the instigator slate.
Chris Delaney,Bill Vander Zalm,Sal Vetro and the BC First team must be having a good laugh.
So are the inept Christy Clark led BC Liberals who today siphoned off former by-election candidate and third place finisher John Martin.
At a time when Conservatives should be attacking the opposition, Besler, Crocock and Co. have been busy attacking themselves and shooting their own party in the foot.
What this does is leave the door wide open for the BC Liberals and now the BC First Crew to tussle over the vote.
What do you think. What will happen tomorrow and do you care?
My hope is that John comes out of this, still at the head and with the support of the party, but I cannot help but think that these are the first shots of the party heading back down the fringe path again. Up to this point, the party had been emulating the rise of the BC Liberals in the late 90’s, only now the challenge for the party leadership is going to happen before the election and gaining seats in the house, as opposed to after.
What I am most annoyed about is the fact that this little fight helps the NDP, not the BCC. I think Dix is laughing more than the travelling Zalm Band.
Christy laughing too. Hopefully not for long.
I think JC could have come out on top if he had called a leadership convention a while ago instead of poo pooing it all. He would have stood 10 ft. tall for facing his dissenters and relieved doubts among members about his leadership. He probably would have gotten a lot more members too.
It would have been better than leaving a smouldering fire to flame up. But I’m not privy to the inside info so… just the way I see it.
Best wishes for you all tomorrow, sincerely.
But, Sue, he has been the official leader for barely a year. What would have been the point of “facing the decenters” before that. The AGM is the appropriate time, if it has to be held at all. I am disappointed at the self-interested glory hounds that are attempting this little coup. It does NOTHING to help the party, but helps the opposition immensely.
I agree with you but ignoring them has perhaps made it worse. It’s a tough call but you’re right; the dissenters should have waited until there was a unified party; no doubt about it.
Its going to be a wild day… Wish you guys could be there. Wont be the same without ya. 🙂
Have any of you read the letter from”John Cummins desk”? Very interesting! John Cummins is a person who can relate to the working man. he is not a lawyer in a politician’s suit. I can’t help wondering if Besler or Crocock would lead the Party on their own dime.p
Not likely!
Thank you for your comment!
Cummins has been a terrible leader. His pay alone consumes a massive amount of the budget. And stop crying about a ‘coup’ lead by ‘instigators’. These are people rightly concerned with Cummins’ bad leadership.
These people are concerned only with themselves don’t delude yourself. They have played obstructionist politics at every board meeting that I have been too.
In 2009 (when Besler was already involved with the party since 2008) there were 200 members (myself being a new one). since Cummins became leader, that number now appraoches 3000. He attracted experienced party builders. He attracted more party donation and he gave legitimacy to the BCC effort. Less than a year after getting on the board of directors for the party, Besler and Crocock are attenpting to take over the board and force a leadership race, but with no apparent cadidate for that leadership race. Where, on this green earth, does the statement “Cummins is a terrible leader” make any sense?
Made some mistakes yes.Terrible no.
Add to your summation the lack of members in Chilliwack during the by-election which is directly attributable to Besler and shows he is all bluster and no action.
The best thing that could happen would be a change of leadership. I do not share the views of Cummins’ fans one bit. I had no previously knowledge of him, so my views are solely based on his performance since becoming the leader of the BC Conservatives, and it is not impressive.
There is no real time for a full blown leadership contest and actually no other heir apparent standing in the wings.
My hope is that John comes out of this, still at the head and with the support of the party, but I cannot help but think that these are the first shots of the party heading back down the fringe path again. Up to this point, the party had been emulating the rise of the BC Liberals in the late 90's, only now the challenge for the party leadership is going to happen before the election and gaining seats in the house, as opposed to after.
What I am most annoyed about is the fact that this little fight helps the NDP, not the BCC. I think Dix is laughing more than the travelling Zalm Band.
Christy laughing too. Hopefully not for long.
I know it makes you sick thinking about it!
I think JC could have come out on top if he had called a leadership convention a while ago instead of poo pooing it all. He would have stood 10 ft. tall for facing his dissenters and relieved doubts among members about his leadership. He probably would have gotten a lot more members too.
It would have been better than leaving a smouldering fire to flame up. But I'm not privy to the inside info so… just the way I see it.
Best wishes for you all tomorrow, sincerely.
But, Sue, he has been the official leader for barely a year. What would have been the point of "facing the decenters" before that. The AGM is the appropriate time, if it has to be held at all. I am disappointed at the self-interested glory hounds that are attempting this little coup. It does NOTHING to help the party, but helps the opposition immensely.
Right on it’s all about their little empire and that’s it.
I agree with you but ignoring them has perhaps made it worse. It's a tough call but you're right; the dissenters should have waited until there was a unified party; no doubt about it.
Exactly.
Mostly you are right except that I don’t think Dix is laughing.This splintering hurts the NDP because if it is not corrected there will be fewer choices in May. Remember, selfishly the NDP has built the Conservative party up over the last year.
Its going to be a wild day… Wish you guys could be there. Wont be the same without ya. 🙂
I know it will be different!