The inability to take no for an answer can be a good thing, particularly if you're in sales, but I'm not so sure it's doing the provincial Conservatives much good these days.
The upstart party, which surged into relevance on B.C.'s political landscape following the acclamation of John Cummins as leader in the spring of last year, has been mired in some in-fighting in recent times thanks to a faction that doesn't want to see Cummins continue in his role.
No political party is going to enjoy 100 per cent support for its leader, and there's no doubt Cummins' take-no-prisoners style can rub some people the wrong way, but at some point the will of the majority must be accepted.
I imagine these dissidents think what they're doing is, in the long run at least, in the best interests of the party, but from the outside looking in it appears they're simply unwilling to abide by democratic principles.
The party asked members whether they wanted to hold a leadership review and 71 per cent said they didn't think it was necessary. That should have been sufficient to put the issue to rest. It obviously wasn't the result some wanted, but in a democratic system you learn to live with the wishes of the majority.
Still, some party members couldn't leave it there and have continued to call for Cummins to be replaced. So rather than preparing for a provincial election, one that's just over six months away, the Conservatives have been forced to expend energy, including a classic Cummins' ultimatum to the malcontents, to deal with this internal strife.
Not only has it stunted the party's momentum in the polls, it's created a sideshow that has made voters skeptical about this right-of-centre alternative to the governing Liberals.
Who needs political enemies when you've got discontent on the inside?
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It was good to see civic officials listened to the concerns of merchants and postponed the intersection work planned for Ladner Trunk Road and Arthur Drive until after the holiday shopping season.
I don't think many in the business community are opposed to the project, which should provide a more functional and visually appealing entrance to Ladner Village, but the timing of it, well, that was another story.
Fortunately those over at municipal hall recognized the unnecessary hardship the timeline would have created and pushed the November start date back to January.
