FAR from being an unusual event, the ongoing train wreck that has engulfed the B.C. Conservative Party and its leader John Cummins is actually pretty standard fare in B.C. politics.
For sure, the BCCP seems particularly inept and buffoonish with its antics, but when it comes to a party trying to take out its leader, British Columbians have seen that movie many times before.
Some recent history is in order here. Let us review:
We start in 1986, when a few members of the NDP caucus attempted a palace coup against party leader Bob Skelly, who looked weak, bland and unwinnable against the new and charismatic Social Credit premier, Bill Vander Zalm.
The coup was not successful, and Skelly and the NDP predictably lost the election that year - although Skelly did a lot better than was expected in terms of the popular vote. Nevertheless, Skelly knew the knives were about to be unsheathed and stepped aside in favour of ex-Vancouver mayor Mike Harcourt.
Let's not forget about Vander Zalm, of course. He beat Skelly, but quickly became his own worst enemy. Overseeing the most scandal-plagued government in B.C. history didn't help either, and he was forced to resign after being found in a conflict-of-interest over his Fantasy Gardens real estate holdings.
But even if that conflict problem did not exist, Vander Zalm would likely have been driven from office, as he was under siege by members of his own caucus and a number of Social Credit party officials.
Next up: Harcourt. He won the 1991 election, but the good times didn't last long. The so-called "Bingogate" scandal engulfed his administration and when no one in his party was willing to be accountable for it, Harcourt fell on his sword - a sword neatly sharpened by members of his own caucus, by the way.
Let's not forget the guy Harcourt beat in the 1991 election: B.C. Liberal leader Gordon Wilson. Just before that election, Wilson fought off an internal revolt over his leadership.
He emerged as the Opposition party leader after the election, but found himself presiding over a caucus that he had no history with and little in common with. Predictably, he found himself in trouble with his own crew after he become romantically entangled with caucus member Judi Tyabji, whom he had appointed house leader over the objections of some members of his caucus.
The result, of course, saw the caucus force Wilson to step down and hold a leadership election, a bitter battle that he lost to Gordon Campbell.
Meanwhile, the fellow who replaced Harcourt also eventually found himself in trouble with his own people. Glen Clark won the 1996 election for the NDP, but internal dissension started to build over his leadership even before the RCMP raided his house in 1998 as part of the so-called "casinogate" scandal.
He eventually resigned, of course, setting the stage for Ujjal Dosanjh to become party leader. He oversaw the party for a rocky two years, as about half the party never warmed up to his leadership.
Campbell, of course, won three elections but then time and the HST debacle caught up to him. He quit amid mounting internal pressure from caucus MLAs on him to step down.
Back to the NDP. Out of the blue, a dozen or so caucus members suddenly demanded that Carole James quit as leader. She did just that, albeit reluctantly.
By my count, that's seven premiers or opposition leaders who had to deal with serious rebellions over their leadership. All eventually lost their jobs.
So what Cummins and his party are going through right now fits neatly into the ongoing narrative that is B.C. politics. After next spring's election, you can be sure that the loser between Christy Clark or (perhaps less so) Adrian Dix is going to find themselves smack in the middle of a crisis over their leadership.
Cummins left the relatively stable atmosphere of federal politics in Ottawa for the more chaotic rumbles of B.C. politics. He insists he's going to stick around to fight the next election, no matter what the increasingly loud faction of dissidents in his own party have to say about it.
But he might want to review our province's recent political history. He'll find he's not in a unique position, but he'll also discover leaders seldom last long in this province when their own people start to savage them.
Keith Baldrey is chief political reporter for Global BC.
