Political whores are nothing new in The Bahamas. Perry Christie, current leader of the PLP, is famous for swimming in vomit to slink back into the fold of Lynden Pindling’s PLP.
Since Mr Christie, any number of politicians have switched political parties as often as some people change their underwear.
Bernard Nottage was dismissed as a serious politician when he left the PLP to form his own party (the Coalition for Democratic Reform), only to later jump into Mr Christie’s vomit to rejoin the PLP.
More recently, Branville McCartney, who was elected by flying the FNM flag, suddenly betrayed his party and his constituents by jumping ship in the middle of his term to form his own politcal party, the Democratic National Alliance (DNA).
Some wonder how long Mr McCartney was planning his exodus from the FNM. If it was a hasty decision, spawned by a disagreement with party leader Hubert Ingraham, it may indicate that Mr McCartney is not mature enough to lead the nation. If it was a well-planned decision, that tooks months of consideration, it makes Mr McCartney out to be a traitor who may have been spying on the FNM only to glean information for the purpose of starting his own political party. Either way he is not the kind of man who deserves the trust of voters.
Now, with the 2012 election approaching, the latest round of political maneuvering has taken political whoring in The Bahamas to new levels.
A few notable examples stand out.
After being rejected by voters in numerous consecutive elections, Bahamas Democratic Movement leaders, Cassius Stuart and Omar Smith recently jumped ship to join the FNM. This is particularly hypocritical since the pair had, for years, railed against the forces of evil both in the PLP and the FNM.
In 2007, Mr Stuart wrote on the BDM web site:
“Five years ago, Omar Smith and I handcuff ourselves to the speaker’s mace to demonstrate against the wicked practices of the then Free National Movement government…”
It appears Mr Stuart wants to be part of those “wicked practices” now.
The pair’s lust for power and lack of integrity allowed Smith and Stuart to simply change horses in the middle of the stream, and they expect voters to accept their hypocrisy as they offer lame excuses for their sudden change of heart.
But the political whore award of the decade goes to Renward Wells, the former leader of the National Democratic Party, who has set a new paradigm for such political hypocrisy.
Here is a fellow who, for years, had nothing but scathing criticism for the PLP and the FNM.
Even as recently as April 14 of this year, Mr Wells was desperately attempting to convince his party members to join Bran McCartney’s new Democratic National Alliance (DNA) party.
On April 14, 2011, Juan McCartney reported in the Nassau Guardian that, “Wells urged members of his party, as well as the People’s Deliverance Party, headed by attorney Paul Moss, and Workers Party leader Rodney Moncur, to join the DNA by tomorrow.”
NDP member Ethric Bowe sent a scathing response to Mr Wells:
“…You are creating something far worse than (Prime Minister Hubert) Ingraham could ever create. DNA appears more dangerous than Hubert Ingraham could ever be and based on what you have done to date I would prefer to support Ingraham or (Progressive Liberal Party leader Perry) Christie than DNA.”
After weeks of rumours that the NDP had already dissolved itself and joined with Mr McCartney’s DNA party, Mr Wells and several other prominent members of the NDP jumped into bed with Perry Christie and the PLP.
The move to the PLP comes only a few weeks after Mr Wells said his party had heard the nation’s cry for a viable alternative to the PLP and the Free National Movement, parties that have been heavily criticised by Mr Wells and the NDP.
“We believe that it is high time for another party, other than the PLP or the FNM.
“It is absolutely the right time to do it,” Mr Wells told The Tribune newspaper in March.
What does this sudden reversal say about the integrity of these characters?
Prostitution is illegal in the Bahamas, yet, carnal whores have over the decades caused far less damage to Bahamian civilization, ethics, and morals than these political whores.
These are the politicians who have sold their souls for money or promises of power. These are the dangerous people who are selling the future of our nation and the collective futures of our children and grandchildren for material gain and personal power.
We must avoid them like the plague.
