A reader writes on the undermining of Parliament:
When democracy was last seen she was a speck on the horizon waving a white flag.
Vexed is also right:
We are seeing a terrible erosion of Bermuda’s institutions and an incredible abuse of power. The manipulation is transparent and artless. Pure politricks.The UBP (and the soporific PLP backbench) must stop acting like someone farted at the tea party and start fighting for what they know is right. Dr Brown’s insatiable hunger has become the PLP’s problem and Bermuda’s great risk.
I've been meaning to to get to this topic, but I watched the HBO documentary on the 2000 US Presidential Election called "Recount" on Sunday night.
I've said repeatedly for years now that the PLP tactics and pathology is in lock-step with the Republicans since they swept into power in the 1994 bye-elections, while the UBP is very much like the Democrats who have lost (until recently) almost every political and policy fight of the past decade.
The following summation of the dynamic at play between Bush's recount team and Gore's sums up for me the essential dynamic between the PLP and UBP:
The avatar of Establishment wimpiness in "Recount" is Christopher, the former secretary of state who was brought in to helm the battle over the recount. Again and again, the film shows Christopher declaiming that "the world is watching," delivering lofty speeches about America's unique status and insisting Gore's team must adhere to Marquis of Queensbury rules, while Baker is revving up the full power of the well-oiled Republican attack machine. "I want our protesters down there in Palm Beach, Tallahassee and Miami," Baker tells his team. "Listen, people, this is a street fight for the presidency of the U.S. It ain't gonna get more political than this." Cut to Christopher, his brow furrowed loftily: "We want to proceed as if this is a proper legal process, not a political street fight ... chaos will not help our cause." A few moments later, Christopher says, "No lawsuits." Cut to Baker: "I want to file a lawsuit in federal court as soon as possible."On one side, a bunch of dithering, principled losers who politely ask permission to enter the ring. On the other, a disciplined, ruthless gang of brawlers burning with self-righteousness, a near-holy sense of entitlement and controlled rage. We can't say we should be surprised by the way George W. Bush has run the country -- the blueprint was laid out even before he took office.
It's probably a little simplistic, but is at it's core correct for the US on a national level.
In our case, the UBP (Democrats) are the principled losers who politely ask permission to enter the ring, cautious and respectful of tradition, institutions and rules while the PLP (Republicans) care very little for process and precedent and simply treat every issue as a political street fight where the ends justify the means.
I include myself in this. I tend to get tied up in procedural and policy arguments as I believe they are important and define crucial boundaries.
However the UBP are going to have to figure out how to not betray their principles and respect for the political system while either putting the gloves on and taking on Dr. Brown with vigor, or getting out of the way.
Dr. Brown has demonstrated beyond any reasonable doubt that he is manifestly unfit for public office of any kind, let alone the Premiership.
Even if you were willing to ignore the nepotism in his Playboy Mansion giveaway, his lack of judgment as a steward of taxpayer funds and Bermuda's reputation is horrendous.
What politician in their right mind in any reputable country would give taxpayer funds away to an event at the Playboy mansion promoting soft porn and gambling with a health care charity as the excuse?
The hubris and sheer lack of respect for the people of Bermuda is mind-numbing.
I know the complaint seems to be that the UBP is weak, and in a way they are; they haven't figured out how to fight tougher because they don't want to adopt the tactics they abhor.
However the critical weakness lies within the PLP Parliamentary group now.
Surely enough of the PLP MPs can see how bad Ewart Brown is for Bermuda; how he sees only the interest in conflict of interest; how his power hungry vendettas are dominating the Government agenda, yet they sit by like a bunch of deaf mutes.
They say there's a tipping point, the Iraq War was Bush's, what will be Bermuda's?
Posted by Christian S. Dunleavy