B.C. Conservative Party Prepares To Implode

...if it hasn't already yet.  Ian (Is Hitler To Blame?  Men Love Sluts!) Tootil is back in; relatively sane leader John Cummins is apparently on his way out.  Who knows, maybe kooky boy Dean Skoreyko, who played a significant role in the coup that hobbled Cummins and crippled the BCCP, will run to replace the man?  After all, the new party strategy is apparently to embrace teh crazy, not run from it.  And Dean is teh crazy in dork glasses and a bad suit.

B.C. Is Special

From The G&M:

The Conservatives have always seemed like a party that was a few slices short of a loaf. For years it hung around the fringes of the B.C. political scene, switching mostly unknown leaders between elections while fighting a reputation for attracting oddballs and religious zealots. To the extent that it existed at all, it existed mostly in name only.

[...]

Clearly, the Conservatives are in complete turmoil. Mr. Cummins can attempt to minimize the problem if he wants, but plugging his ears and wishing his troubles away won’t help. Last month’s leadership vote clearly did not address internal issues. At this point, Mr. Cummins would seem to have little choice but to either resign or announce that he is willing to face a challenge from other candidates.

Gary Mason, author of the above, apparently thinks having a divisive leadership race that will end a couple weeks before next year's election is called will somehow put the B.C. Tories into contention.  But let's face it--Cummins is the provincial equivalent of Elizabeth May: a mainstream figure drafted-in to make a party of  largely weirdos appear normal to mainstream--to, in this case, non-Zalmoids.   The "rank and file" should be kissing his ass, but instead they seem intent on dumping him and reclaiming the fringe right.

And if you want to meet the jilted Tory lunatic who's largely behind the internal revolt, well that would be Dean Skoreyko.  If Christy Clark wins again, something that can no longer be consider beyond possibility, she should appoint him to something.

Tory Turmoil In Beautiful B.C.

You heard it here first…

It was only a matter of time before John Cummins’ bovine stubbornness and deep-seeded arrogance would be rewarded with a full-on mutiny.

And you thought the federal Libs were fratricidal.  And this is all apparently over the fat that Cummins'
actually wants to draw a salary from party coffers rather than rely on his MP's pension.  Way to self-immolate, B.C. Conservatives.

John Cummins To Bail On B.C. Conservatives?

Dean Skoreyko may be a few cans short of a six-pack, but he does seem to have an in with the B.C. Conservative Party.  So when he writes that party leader John Cummins will resign next week, I would certainly pay attention, through perhaps not place any bets on the matter.  And when I read that one of the reasons party rebels are down on Cummins is that he actually wants to get paid to lead them to a political breakthrough in next year's provincial election (instead of relying entirely on his MP's pension) I think...yeah, that sounds like B.C. politics.

Somewhere, Christy Clark is smiling.

PS.  Worth noting that the B.C. Conservatives booted Dean's ass out of the party a few years back and he's been pissed-off at them ever since.  Although, to be honest, Dean seems permanently pissed-off.

Crazy Guy Has Inside Track On BC Conservatives

Dean Skoreyko is an angry flake, perhaps best known for getting thrown out of the BC Conservative Party. But he still seems to have connections in that particular political clan, and he was blogging the story of an incipient party coup for weeks before the MSM caught on.  The short story, the dickey doo, as we Irish say, is that factions in the party want to oust their leader John Cummins and replace him with a nobody just a few months before a provincial election where they might actually win a bunch of seats for the very first time.  And Dean is cheering them on!  Someone in Christy Clark's war-room is smiling tonight.

Northern Gateway: B.C. Conservative Leader John Cummins Speaks Out Re Northern Gateway

July 23, 2012 – Vancouver – John Cummins, Leader of British Columbia’s Conservatives, today announced the conditions that a new BC Conservative government would require for the construction of Enbridge’s Northern Gateway Pipeline and any other projects that aim to open up markets in Asia for Canadian energy.

“First, the current pipeline proposal, Northern Gateway, must pass the strict and rigorous environmental assessment process currently underway, and must satisfy any conditions imposed on it by the assessment,” said Cummins.

“Secondly, British Columbia should be compensated for having Western Canadian oil cross our province. BC is well positioned to take advantage of projects like Northern Gateway and LNG projects that bring opportunities for individuals and families.”

...sounds alot like Christy Clark.  So now all the major parties are on the same side of the issue.  So far, Alberta Premier Alison Redford is committed to despoiling the province next door without incurring any kind of cost.  Good luck with that, cowgirl.