THE SEARCH FOR RELEVANCE
Submitted by Caleb Pilgrim
While one must never forget the past, nothing is to be gained by overly rehashing the historic failures of the previous DLP Administration. These speak for themselves. Cheap excuses do not suffice, either.
Nor do recent attempts by “the old guard” to reincarnate and resurrect themselves after their May 2018 near absolute annihilation. Pray tell what is their relevance today in terms of party viability, political vision, and Barbados’s future? Others have already asked what do they offer now that they could/should not have offered before. They would better be invited to rest in perfect peace.
But, in moving forward, let us essay a slightly different approach, notwithstanding partisan chatter about the “Deceased Labour Party”.
Assume that women make up a rough majority of the Barbadian people, say 51%+/-. Assume further that the Barbadian women MPs, in terms of Parliamentary seats, typically number at most a disproportionate 20%+/-, despite the fact that women make up more than a 51%+/- majority of the population.
Recognizing such widespread disparities in demographics, a number of universities long ago introduced programs aimed at empowering women and helping to enhance their prospects for electoral success, e.g Women Political Campaign & Mentorship Schools at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and the Institute of Politics; the short annual Women’s Campaign School (WCS) at Yale Law School; the LBJ Women’s Campaign School at the University of Texas at Austin; courses at Fordham University; the University of Florida; George Washington University. etc. There is obviously a reason for the existence (raison d’etre) of such campaign schools.
The DLP’s “old guard”, given what some perceive as their apparent hubris, their previous erratic behaviour, perhaps their inattentiveness amid other paramount concerns, must or should have known of such women campaign schools at some point during their ten years in office and utilized such training opportunities to mobilize a cadre of more representative candidates.
One example, the WCS curriculum at the YLS, includes staple topics such as:
- Fundraising
- Budgeting
- Messaging
- Paid Media
- Press Operations
- Grass roots organizing
- Voter targeting
- Ethics
- Polling and research
- Get out the vote
- Speeches and interviews
- Digital campaigns
Participants have come from far and wide including Panama, Mexico, Zimbabwe, Australia and the UK.
The course purports to be intensive and involves 12 hour work day each day and the basic cost is a mere US $1,800. Arguably, a minor investment, where materials, tactics, strategies and information can be adapted, and participants encouraged to share if not teach other would be candidates in different constituencies. Other courses, including those at graduate level, point to the professionalization of politics rather than the usual jokes and tragicomedy.
Finally, while the BLP has proposed referenda on transition to a Republic etc, the DLP should not shy away from big issues, e.g whether there should be a referendum as to Barbados establishing a system of proportional representation (PR) instead of the old “first past the post” system which, among other causes, brought the DLP into the political wilderness. (Obviously, with a 30-0/ 29-1 majority there is no incentive for the current Administration to entertain PR; but all other parties and interested individuals might see it differently).
Barbados Underground 
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Santia shoiud be more concerned aboiut her COWARDICE and INABILITY to stand up to and CONFRONT the CXC organization and she should tell the people who elected her and pay her a salary WHY…and stop trying to deflect and DISTRACT..
damn bunch of COWARDS OF PARLIAMENT…they only know how to confront, reduce and destroy their people who elevated them to the parliament but everyone else they are afraid of…but ya got much more to be scared of now..
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the Minister of Education never fails to disappoints. how can she equate a member of the senate with a member of the lower house which Franklyn said he would not entertain? Forde’s commentary as to the cross over between union leadership and the HoA is a point well taken however.
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@ Akanatyl:
Re your attack on the validity of established political campaign schools and the professionalization of politics, (your “pure hogwash” comment), my sincerest apologies for throwing a few pearls before swine (as in the swine-ishly stupid).
You have obviously attended some of the Campaign schools and know far more than their organizers, their presenters and attendees. Thus, the raw sewage coming out of your mouth. Ditto TheO.
There are eminently good reasons why such campaign schools exist.
We can also reasonably assume that in the Age of Covid-19, and its political, economic and social fallout, campaign organizers and presenters should/would reasonably include the Pandemic in their current or coming syllabi.
The year 2023 is not too far away. In a context where the DLP President and the Fmr GS have never held elective office, your purblind, dim witted approach merely guarantees another reckoning, where some are weighed in the scales yet again and found wanting. So, Ak, please try hard not to be too simple (as in simple minded), or glib and superficial like TheO. Steuppsse…..
PS: You may have the last word.
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Looks like all these shenanigans were orchestrated in advanced
What we see happening is the neutering of Unions
Eventually the Unions would be only in name as a symbolic gesture
When i see the undermining of governance being played out bold faced in public arena
I am quick to ask myself whose hands and voices are they that are doing the bidding
I am also reminded of OSA words stating after the IMF and govt shook hands
OSA words are really prevalent at this time and carrying much weight words to the effect that barbados is being controlled by a shadow govt
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“the Minister of Education never fails to disappoints. how can she equate a member of the senate with a member of the lower house which Franklyn said he would not entertain?”
Because Caswell is an Opposition senator and is therefore political. Neither Jerome, Kay nor Lisa is in the Lower House but is a Cabinet member.
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Well Santia is not using Caswell to deflect and distract from the issues at hand, either way… so she can sit in her littel corner, unless she grows some gonads and confront CXC publicly in a more believeable manner.
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Ms. Bradshaw seems to have a new role in concert with her daily duties i.e. attack dog for the BLP, she should relax and take a valium Caswell isn’t running against Ms. Moore although he is a burr under the BLP saddle.
I have no doubt the bye election will follow the same script (and result) as the last bye election occasioned by the elevation of David Simmons to the CJ role but Instead of preaching about the virtues of Ms. Moore they have spent time promoting that what’s good in 1940 is good in 2020; Nelson was positioned at the top of Broad St. since the 19th century that doesn’t make him relevant at that location today.
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🙂 🙂
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Who wants change when you can have moore of the same?
How regularly do you fix things that wukking?
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With all certainty silly season began in SGN last night even Mia couldn’t help but to go the route of gender bias
It only proves what most are saying about Toni Moore that her record for the past two years for workers has been a colossal failure
Hence govt has to draw a wedge between genders in hopes of attracting and appealing to the female voter what a ting doah
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So yes Mia, i see where you think you will shed Elizabeth and still continue the same tired archaic system of destroying black people with racism, colonization, thefts, exploitation, oppression, generational poverty and your partner in crimes against black people, the minority controlled prison industry.. …..but guess what….ya can’t move or shift your body without it being EXPOSED going forward….on every social platform across the earth…..either get rid of the colonial system you use to ROB YOUR OWN PEOPLE….or…..it will be removed for you..
“Another point worth making is if, in making a Republic, the choice is made for an Executive President (as recommended by a Constitutional Commission headed by Henry Forde in 1998) no change in the system of government will occur in Barbados or any other county that follows that pattern.”
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Moving right along questions her two year history as a Senator how does it adds up in favour of workers she represent
Why didnt Mia talk about that which is relevant to Moore representation in the past two years for workers
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I have come a long way. Once upon a time being called glib would have driven me crazy and result in a response. These days I smile and I move on.
Turning the other cheek.
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Some would come here and pretend they are doing ‘advance calculus’ when in reality all that is required is elementary mathematics.
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Moving right along Mottley tirade was littered with insulting language whereby she accused barbadians of slander and being wicked all because they question the validity of Toni Moore candidacy
Have govt/ PM reached a level of frustration that outbursts laced with intolerance are meant to silence opposition opinions
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Mia should be telling the BLACK PEOPLE who elected her why she ran around for the last two years amending the Constitution for mostly frivolous shit but did not see it necessary to amend it to REFLECT THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE through referendum to DECIDE on republic status, the only Caribbean island that does not have that mechanism in place and one would think she would have PUT IT IN PLACE BEFORE her worldwide announcement of PURE BULLSHIT….while not having a blueprint to remove the colonial system because she and her riffraff believe they will keep the people in eternal bondage..
Did Hilary Beckles mention that CXC reviews TAKE YEARS…all of them tend to believe they got the people FOOLED..
All these lawyers sat for decades on end knowing the bar lawyers were robbing the people nonstop, said not a word, lifted not a finger, but are now trying to save a corrupt bar reputatioin, while knowing that despite two checks being cut in personal injury matters that lawyers STILL TRY TO FIND A WAY TO STEAL FROM THEIR CLIENTS AND DISENFRANCHISE THEM OF THEIR COMPENSATION…
She being Woodstock-Riley:
“She said this had now become the practice with the payment of personal injury claims and there was a proposal to adopt this stand in relation to other money matters.
“[The] proposal is to take the funds out of the hands of lawyers. Real estate transactions – withholding funds is clearly the area of most, if not all, of the cases of disbarment. There is a reasonable solution and it is pursued in personal injury claims where the payee writes two cheques – one to the attorney and one
to the client, so the attorney does not have the client’s funds.”
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Oh…and as many of us thought, the lastest corruption brouhaha, this time with bank records, instead of Paradise and Panama Papers, actually implicates Barbados’ banks in 55 transactions totaling multimillions between 2012 and 2015, we hope to hear the names of the culprits going forward….in this “suspicious activity”…check your newspapers it carries the story.
Maybe Donville knows who they are….
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The small time wannbe slavemasters of Barbados are now well known across Continents…in every nook and cranny…..dah is wah get for fcuking with our children.
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All that running around back patting self ceaselessly don’t mean shit if authorities put systems in place to quaratine ya ass. Breaking News outta NYC.
“(WABC) — Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that international travellers coming from what are considered Level 2 and 3 countries will have to quarantine and fill out a travel form when they arrive in New York.
Cuomo signed the executive order Monday in response to the CDC’s decision to roll back screening measures at airports amid rising COVID-19 cases across the world.
Health officials say the measure is necessary for contact tracing purposes.
The executive order builds on the domestic COVID-19 Travel Advisory already in place for states that have a significant degree of community-wide spread of coronavirus.
The 31 countries not subject to the governor’s executive order and mandatory quarantine requirement are listed below:
American Samoa
Anguilla
Bonaire
Brunei
Cambodia
Cayman Islands
Dominica
Falkland Islands
Fiji
Guernsey
Greenland
Grenada
Isle of Man
Laos
Macau SAR
Marshall Islands
Mauritius
Micronesia
Montserrat
New Caledonia
New Zealand
Palau
Saba
Saint Barthelemy
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Pierre and Miquelon
Sint Eustatius
Taiwan
Thailand
Timor-Leste
State health officials say the quarantine applies to any person arriving from an area with a positive test rate higher than 10 per 100,000 residents over a 7-day rolling average or an area with a 10 percent or higher positivity rate over a 7-day rolling average.”
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