With the ruling party preoccupied with byelections in Durham, Victoria and Calgary, the timing could be deadly. As electors in Ontario, B.C. and Alberta reflect on their choices in the Nov. 26 vote, headlines about the scandal — carrying with them squalid allegations about how Cons conned their way to majority control — may have seriously unhelpful consequences for Stephen Harper’s party.

In Calgary, in particular, the latest developments have left unhappy Conservatives even unhappier. Calgary Centre is ground zero for modern Canadian conservativism.

There, a gormless Conservative candidate — who has dodged debates and the media, while actually calling our largest trading partner “a basket case” — is teetering on the edge of a humiliating defeat.

The news about the robocalls controversy, long dormant, is happening on multiple fronts. Elections Canada has now announced its intention to probe the practice.

Drop out.

We live in one of the world’s great democracies, and it goes without saying that any citizen should be able to run for any post he or she desires. The Liberal Party, too, should be open to the ambitions of any Canadian who shares its views.

But just because you can run for something doesn’t mean that you should.

Just because you want to be a leader of a political party doesn’t mean that everyone else thinks so, too.

It gives me no pleasure to say this, but Deborah Coyne, David Bertschi and Martha Hall-Findlay need to seriously reconsider their bids to lead the Liberal Party of Canada. They need to call it a day.

I’ve met Coyne, and have known David and Martha for a long time.

All of them are the kind of people the Liberal Party needs.

All of them are the kind of people we need more of in Parliament.

Smart, decent, hard-working and dedicated to public service.

Some of them asked me for advice. “Keep doing what you’re already doing,” I said. “You’ve got a centrist Calgary mayor and a centrist Premier, both of whom beat the Right. You guys are already doing what you need to be doing.”