Rick Lowe
Mr. McCartney recently resigned from the government, (as he should have), remaining in Parliament as an independent MP, and rumour has it he will start a new political party to contest the next general election.
Upon hearing this one of my nephew's e-mailed from Abaco to say how exciting this was and felt this new party would win if they could field some good candidates.
My response, after consulting my political crystal ball, was that he might not even win the Constituency he currently represents, (Bamboo Town) again, much less the government based on what we know about him and his policies and how he proposes to implement them to date.
Exactly what do we know about Mr. McCartney so far?
1. He thinks illegal Haitians should be repatriated.
2. He thinks Bahamians should be able to succeed.
3. He is opposed to Cable & Wireless buying BTC.
Now what do we find when we look at what the FNM and PLP think about these things?
Believe it or not, Mr. McCartney, or "Bran" as he is affectionately known, agrees with both the major political parties on the first two points, and agrees with the PLP on the third, since they changed their position on privatisation that is. So what's he got that the other two parties don't have? Problem is we don't know yet.
Until Mr. McCartney releases a position paper on major issues and how he will "plan or fix" things so Bahamians can get to know him, he stands for nothing original at this point. In fact he just might be so nationalistic that he sets the country back even further than the "devils" we know.
This quote from Nobel Laureate and economist, F.A. Hayek from his masterpiece, The Road to Serfdom, seems appropriate:
"The effect of the people's agreeing that there must be central planning, without agreeing on the ends, will be rather as if a group of people were to commit themselves to take a journey together without agreeing where they want to go; with the result that they may all have to make a journey which most of them do not want at all."
In the mean time it will be fun watching the political posturing until his cards are played for all to see because at this point Mr. McCartney is little more than an enigma.
I say let’s hear what he has to say, let’s give him a chance to tell us his ideas. I like the idea of the possibility of a third party and I think a lot of the country feels the same way. The Bahamian people are fed up and I believe they are ready to try something new.
The point of the post is that he must give us his ideas.
I have no difficulty with a third party or independents running for Parliament.
Bahamian people are fed up for different reasons. How does a politician please everyone with anything more than rhetoric though?
In fact I do not know of any policy statements he’s ever made other than the three outlined above.
So right now, Mr McCartney is an enigma.
Oh, and there’s no silver bullet or magic wand either.
He just needs to take a stand on whatever it might be, stand on his principles & who is for him will be for him, who is not, tough dodo, let the chips fall where they may.I believe the problem comes in trying to please all which you will not.
Well apparently he isn’t trying to please everyone, because quite a few people were in favor of BTC being privatized and yet he voted against it.Personally I think Mcartney just used the BTC issue, simply to do what he wanted to do for a while and probably should have done, which is to leave the FNM.
But if he has the big money backing him, like what is being reported in today’s Tribune and could find decent candidates, then he stands a chance, because voter apathy is quite high. But the point does remain, what exactly does his party stand for, but then again you could also asks what do the FNM and PLP stand for?
Am all for having a viable third party, and hopefully their plans/manifestos will have more than just broad conceptual ideas, but real details about how they plan to achieve their goals
Mr. McCartney and anyone else has the right to pursue whatever they wish in the political field. He and his so called candidates need to look back and she what happened to others who left their parties and went on their own or formed parties. For instance, when the dissident eight left the PLP the next election they ran NONE of them won a seat. The only seats won was predominantly UBP seats. Then came the merger of the two groups and the following elections same thing. It shows that there was a nucleus of supporters for the UBP still out there. After this it took 20 years before the PLP lost an election. Take note of who the leader was and where he came from when this happened.
When the chips are down PLP’s will still be PLP and FNM’s will be FNM.
Bamboo town is a FNM stronghold and more than likely they will still vote FNM.
I believe if Mr. McCartney had not had smoke blown up his …. by the PLP he would have still been in the FNM and would have had a better chance of ultimately reaching his goals from within the party.
It appears that he did not want to be bound to collective responsibility as cabinet ministers are and this may show that he could be a loose cannon whenever he can not get his way with whomever he may become associated.
It is a sad reflection on someone who SEEMED to have potential.
By-the-by it is interesting to read of the millions he has pledged. Dont spend them until the cheques clear the bank.
It is not so much what is his platform or his positions are, but can he create a tribe from scratch?
Money can do that, and for the majority, politics is tribal.
but I am with you on the rational front Rick, because consistency of lawful leadership guided by rational direction and vision is what we need.
Badly.
Unfortunately rational thinking and direction are sorely lacking, for example the face of resurgent nationalism in the face of fiscal ineptitude and required liberalization Aka BTC.
Thanks everyone.
The difficulty he faces is if he tells the truth about how he can “fix” education for example, he has to tell the people he will fire some teachers etc. And that just will not fly.
The same applies to the National Debt and so many other problems our nation faces.
Someone said a caller to one of the local radio shows the other day was complaining that COB had kicked her daughter out for non-payment of fees, but she knew “Bran” was a compassionate man and would sort things like that out!
Oh what a tangled web we weave.
Over the past fifty years of my involvement in politics I have witnessed them come and go, usually with a lot of hot air left in their wake. Too many times with a PERSONAL agenda rather than what is good for the people who they purport to represent. There is a saying which I like, “TOO SOON WE GET OLD, TOO LATE WE GET SMART!” Hope this does not apply to “Bran and his band.”
You are right GQ. There have been rare exceptions to break away candidates.
Nothing wrong with Mr. McCartney’s feelings being hurt that Mr. Ingraham snipped his feathers a bit, I’m sure he has to do that to his employees once in a while.
You think Mr. McCartney’s employees get upset when he brings them in line?
But if that’s his sole motivation it will do him nor the country any good, I agree. And we’ve seen that in the recent past.
As Churhill is reputed to have said:
“When I was 18 my parents were so dumb.”
“By the time I turned 25 I was surprised how much they had learned.”
Rick and others,
I’m reading your comments and unfortunately I can see that your country seem to have the same problems as ours ( Canada). By March 31, 2011, Canada’s federal debt is expected to hit $564,497,000,000.Just in our province, the Quebec government’s 2011-2012 Budget states that the public sector debt has risen to 235 billion dollars on March 31, 2011, an increase of 13 billion over last year. Representing 74% of GDP, this debt is even more of a concern in the context of the aging of the population and of current deficits. The government have over 400 departments or gov agency, the gov expenses is near 245 billions.
Could you tell me what is the GPD of the Bahamas and their total debt and debt per capita. Your unemployment rate is it low?
thank you very much for your time
Hi Liberty:
Debt is 52 – 55% of GDP. Far too high.
Unemployment is said to be at 14%. Anecdotal evidence suggests it’s higher.
Debt is around $10,909 for every man, woman and child.
We have some 200 government departments, agencies etc.
See http://www.nassauinstitute.org for more info.
You might find Abaco is not as directly impacted by the Nassau government if you move there.
Thanks for stopping by.
Liberty:
I know some firends in Abaco if you are interested in visiting for short or long term. If you are interested write Rick a short note and give him your e-mail and he can pass it on.
Sure I will do Thanks very much.