Everyone within the party needs to give up their bitterness and get on with the task at hand.

Over the past few days, I have seen a real outpouring of emotions from members from all sides of the leadership debate.  And, to say that they have been raw, heated, and even venomous, is an understatement.

Once again, speaking from outside the party (even if I wanted to join,  I couldn’t due to the stupid rule of requiring membership in the federal party if you sign up as a provincial member), the party has a very small window in which to get its shit together.

I have a feeling that whoever wins the BC Liberal leadership is going to consider calling an election within months of their victory (likely after the delivery of a budget).

That means that the party not only has to pick a leader that is going to be better than Carole James in terms of public popularity (a task that, in spite of the declarations of some, is much easier said than done), but it also has to repair the deep rifts that have been created and are sure to widen in the months ahead.

The NDP is in a hole because even though both the BC Liberals also in the throngs of a leadership battle, the NDP process is destined to be significantly impacted from all the dirty laundry that has been aired over the past month or so.

Because of this and the factions that have clearly emerged in such a transparent fashion, the momentum lies with the BC Liberals, in spite of polling that is currently being conducted with the events of the past few days (on a side note, all polls that are being conducted right now when it comes to voting intentions should be considered useless, as the possibilities of matchups in the next election are endless, and the eventual showdown will be the most important determining factor in gauging public opinion).

If the party has any shot of coming out of this leadership battle ready to fight a snap election, the rifts have to be repaired – all sides must come to the table and agree to put forth a publicly united front regardless of the end result of this upcoming race.

Otherwise, a victory will be far from guaranteed, in spite of Campbell’s legacy and the BC Liberals toilet-based public approval ratings.

What is done is done.  Now it is gut check time, where each and every member has to decide what is more important – their chosen candidate’s fate, or the possibility of sitting in opposition for another 4 years.