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 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 lost the election that year. Skelly 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.
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 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.
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 after he become romantically entangled with caucus member Judi Tyabji, whom he had appointed house leader over the objections of members of his caucus.
The result saw the caucus force Wilson to step down and hold a leadership election that he lost to Gordon Campbell.
Meanwhile, the fellow who replaced Harcourt also 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 as part of the so-called "casinogate" scandal.
He eventually resigned, setting the stage for Ujjal Dosanjh to become 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 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.
That's seven premiers or opposition leaders who had to deal with serious rebellions over leadership. All eventually lost their jobs.
So what Cummins and his party are going through right now fits into the narrative that is B.C. politics. And after next spring's election, you can be sure that the loser among Christy Clark or Adrian Dix are going to find themselves smack in the middle of a crisis over their leadership.
Cummins insists he's going to stick around to fight the next election, 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.
