Who is trying to play who?

Edward Hutcheson

I was listening to  talk show host Steve Mckinney give his reasons as to why the Prime Minister should call an early election and it did not make sense to me. With all that is going on with the Unions and all the demand making that is happening, the word “orchestration” comes to mind.  There are many shock-jocks and personalities in the local radio industry who think that they know what is going on but they are working within a perception that is flawed. Mr.Mckinney may be the most impactful because the radio station he is a part of has a listening format that takes the listening public  back to an era when Bahamians voted in a particular way; but this is a different era.

There were attempts to have the bell rung earlier, but I think that those who wanted that to happen were showing signs of desperation that they were having problems containing. The mistake that is most evident is  the underestimation of their opponent’s political acuity. The U.S. economy is picking up, although you would not know it if you listened to the Republicans and the Road Project is winding down and regardless of all the money spent there, will be some closure as far as the driving public’s agony is concerned. It may be time for the detractors to take another tack because the every day  reality  that the road system is improving will be hard to speak against.

The public expects a competitive election, but it is possible to take one’s party out of the running if it is not realized that this is a “different era”. The public is not oblivious to the fact that most of the “union activity” is being done at the expense of the Public Treasury,  and how can people who are middle to upper class who are supposed to have sense, take their cues from short sighted speculations that are meant to make them uneasy or fearful in a time when an economy is trying to recover. Any politician who seems  hell-bent on using our fears against us should be kicked to the sidewalk; if he can make his presentation in a way that makes me understand what he is saying is factual, then that is a different story. However, many of us have to embrace the fact that above a particular socio-economic level there are no FNM’s or PLP’s, all of these persons  share common interests and even  own businesses together. Only those of scrambling around under the table and fighting like angry dogs keep the insanity alive, while the fellows go home and sleep, peacefully, and live without discord among their peers.  There have been very blatant instances of persons being sacrificed by a fellow party member so that somebody on the other side -who is higher up in the pecking order-  could be accommodated.

In spite of these realities we still have to vote and exercise our privilege and it may be a more competitive election if it was called earlier, but with two months of traffic ease before the end of August it would be laughable and a misstep if the election was called early.

Who is trying to play who?

March 26, 2012