November 20, 2008

I AM a Bermudian living abroad in the United States. I am a white Bermudian, and as my mother is American, I have had the privilege to vote in the most recent Presidential Election.

While it may shock our Premier Dr. Brown, I voted for Barack Obama. I am 26 years old, and for the first time, I was voting because I was truly excited about a candidate. Young people came out in droves, white and black alike, to support a man that they believed in; in whom they saw a beacon of truth and dignity. I voted for Barack Obama because in him, I saw a true leader for an America who has seen better times. I saw in him hope, a future I can look forward to, and a change in the way that Americans see race and politics. When Barack Obama speaks, he does so with conviction and an unwavering faith in what America is, and what it will be again under his leadership. He is a head of state to be proud of, to be boasted about.

Do not make the mistake Dr. Brown, of comparing yourself to a Barack Obama. While Obama seeks to reach across partisan lines and racial barriers, you seem to welcome the divide, even add fuel to an already roaring fire. Why ask the question of whether white Bermudians would vote for Barack Obama in the first place? All you and your administration are doing is creating an atmosphere of hate and a culture of fear. In making a sweeping generalisation like that, you only push more Bermudians away from you and your camp. This is where you and President-elect Obama differ. Where Barack Obama seeks to unify, you support a divided Bermuda. Where Barack Obama represents a change, you represent stasis, a lack of effort to create a unified Bermuda under one banner, not multiple races.

So in short Dr. Brown, I voted for Barack Obama for all the reasons that he is different from you. I think you should count your lucky stars that Barack Obama is not the head of the UBP.

GRAHAM OUTERBRIDGE

New York City/Pembroke

27 November 2008

I WRITE to clear up any misunderstanding your readers may have about the right of businesses to vote in City of Hamilton elections following an unfortunate story in last Friday's Mid-Ocean News.

The headline said, "Businesses 'May Soon Be Ineligible to Vote in City Polls'."

This is not true. The right of businesses to vote in city elections will not change under the Corporation of Hamilton's proposed changes to the Municipalities Act, unless, of course, Cabinet or Parliament takes a different view.

Members of the Corporation are fully supportive of the business vote in municipal elections.

I encourage voters to look at the Corporation's proposed changes to the Municipalities Act on our website, www.cityhall.bm. You can also obtain a copy of the drafting instructions at City Hall. We encourage feedback and have set up a special e-mail address for comments: actcityhall.bm.

EDWARD BENEVIDES

Secretary, Corporation of Hamilton

November 24, 2008

I HAVE been a member and supporter of the United Bermuda Party all of my life (and I ain't young).

I support the ideology, the philosophy and the viability that this Party has had over the years but there is no doubt that my support for the Party arises partly from tradition, indoctrination and, on an even more subliminal level, support for "management" versus "labour".

That does not mean that I don't see the value of both but, in Bermuda, the politics of the past was basically "if you aren't management, you're labour'"

I see the value of a strong Opposition but there aren't many people I know who work for one Party or the other, who want to be in Opposition ...we want to be the Government.

In a democracy, if you want to govern you should be the Party that represents the political beliefs of the majority of voters but in Bermuda, politics has not been about politics for some time...it's not been about issues, ideology, public service, change, doing what's right....politics in Bermuda is today, pure and simple, about race.

The viability of the United Bermuda Party is very questionable. It may have taken 47 per cent of the vote but it has now lost three elections; has very little ACTIVE support from it's supposed supporters; and although it MAY represent the views of a majority, the baggage and image it carries is very, very heavy.

More importantly, the presence of the UBP is making it very difficult for the next generations to develop their own representation.

In short, the best Christmas present the UBP could give Bermuda is to step aside and disband and dissolve.

The people who represent the UBP in Parliament are hard working professional businessmen and women who earn their living by going to work everyday and relying on their intellect and business skills.

On the other side, the majority take a paycheck from Government's Patronage Payroll in one form or another. When you actually have to earn a living by working, who has the time to compete with people who can just sit back and live off the fat of the land....and the people ?

There are thousands of voters who say they support the UBP; who tell the Party what to do and how to do it; who say "Don't change because we are the UBP....and we got 47 per cent of the vote....and you don't see the Democrats, the Republicans, the Conservatives or Labour dissolving when they lose". But the average age of a UBP ACTIVE worker is someone with a free bus pass; the number of "talkers" far exceeds the number of 'doer's'; and the number of dollars being sent to the UBP to back up the talk is maybe enough to take a taxi to the airport...!

This is your daddy's UBP and it is outdated, out financed and out of touch.

It's time for Bermudians under the age of , say, 45, to take a stand and either stand up and fight for their views or sit back and let the Ewart Browns of this world run riot over the quality of life that they think will last forever. It's time for the Old Guard to step aside for the New...and it cannot be done within the confines of a UBP which carries baggage that no porter can lift.

And the reason that I argue for the dissolution is pure and simple that it is an outdated distraction and, rightly or wrongly or as misguided as it might seem, the younger people in Bermuda are never going to get off their butts while it looks like someone else (in the image of their parents) is doing some sort of job for them. These people are making money and having fun and they will never see the need nor the opportunity until the distraction is gone. And, quite frankly, why would any member of the UBP want to continue to sit in Opposition knowing (and they MUST know) that there is no hope of winning now or in the future ?

I don't begrudge the supporters of the PLP their views but I don't support that Party for whatever reasons I choose. My point is that there are many, many young Bermudians, of all races, educational and social backgrounds who do not like what they see happening in Bermuda today and, in particular, cannot relate to the racist politics practiced by the PLP but who cannot support a UBP which represents the old ways and not the new; which is controlled by the older generation and not them; which seems to be dissolving in dissent and nastiness; which seems to have no new ideas; and which does not seem to represent the views of the next generation of Bermudians.

There are people in the hierarchy of the UBP who will never give up. They will tell us that the UBP CAN survive and that the PLP will eventually fall on its sword. There are even people who will tell you that the demographics of births and deaths related to race are changing dramatically and will alter the racial landscape in the years to come. To me, none of this matters very much. The next generation need to be given the option of developing their own form of representation and they cannot (or, maybe more accurately, will not) do it while the UBP of their parents is still plodding along.

MOVING ALONG

City of Hamilton

November 24, 2008

THE US. Ambassador to Zimbabwe James McGee, said that dictator "Mugabe has bolstered his power through a political patronage system". Sound familiar?

POLITICAL PUNDIT