Last Updated on March 25, 2024 7:16 am by Editor
Guest Editorial
The drama unfolding in the DLP camp over delay in re-accepting Mr. Thorne to its ranks may be a blessing in disguise. But if- and only if- Mr. Thorne has had a true epiphany. That word, whose root meaning has to do with the manifestation of Christ, is also generally used to mean “a moment of sudden and great revelation or realization”.
If Mr. Thorne has had a true epiphany, our thesis is that the DLP does not deserve Mr. Thorne. Our argument is simple. The DLP, like the BLP from which Mr. Thorne resigned just over a week ago, is no fount of morality and is no better than the BLP.
The indisputable fact of the matter is that the DLP needs Mr. Thorne more than Mr. Thorne needs them!
We hope Mr. Thorne knows a little about cooking because that will make it easier to understand our basic recipe. Depending on what meal you want to cook, you need to decide whether you are going to use a pot or kettle. But a pot cannot call the kettle black! Furthermore, you really have to know what you are doing to avoid going from the frying pan into the fire.
Our thesis, then, is that Mr. Thorne acted hastily by applying for membership of the DLP. Despite the hard work and stone turning required, he should form his own party if he wishes to make a significant contribution to this country.
A member of the “opposition camp” inside the DLP has intimated, by a voice mail making the rounds on social media, that Thorne’s gravitation towards the DLP was influenced by people like Bobby Morris and Hal Gollop. Here is an excerpt edited for pitch and potential defamation:
Even though some diehards in the party would like to have us forget, just over five years ago Barbadians rejected the DLP comprehensively for its economic and moral bankruptcy, aka corruption. What has changed in the party since then? Anything that we can tell?
In our last video statement, we poopooed both the idea of the party hiring a chaplain as well as the BLP government hiring spiritual advisers. We stand by that statement which was issued before Mr. Thorne’s about turn.
Dr. David Durant is pastor of an evangelical church and a staunch member of the DLP. We are sure there are other members who would claim to be Christians in the party. Why is he or they unable to get the organization to conduct itself “differently” especially when in government? Can anyone explain?
There comes a time when, even if you have the best intentions, you have to “come out from among them”. That is what Mr. Thorne did by leaving the BLP. We are taking him by his word at this time.
We understand that one of the motives behind the open arms welcome to Mr. Thorne is the idea that the party will benefit from a financial subvention if Mr. Thorne joins the party.
We agree with the author of the voicemail alluded to above that that should not be the reason for re-admitting Mr. Thorne to the DLP, if indeed that is true. It is as corrupt a reason as any of the shenanigans committed by either party.
We repeat: There was absolutely no need for Mr. Thorne to rush to make a decision to join the DLP notwithstanding the usual self-fulfilling prophecies of Peter Wickham, Dr. George Bell and the other pundits.
The simple point of the matter is that a growing segment of Barbadians are utterly fed up both of these so-called established “mass-based parties”. There is a good reason for the meme “BDLP”. It is a sarcastic way of saying that there is no perceived difference between the BLP and the DLP. Let the past testify.
Track Record
In 2018 the DLP left government with one of the highest levels of borrowing in this country’s history. The BLP was very critical of it, came into power and now is trying to outborrow the DLP!
On top of that, it is a government trying to corrupt our children and take away every ounce of freedom in pursuit of a so-called New World Order/WEF/ UN/Globalist strategy. Which Barbadians want to “own nothing and be happy about it” a clause attributed to the WEF (World Economic Forum)?
As the PM has said in relation to the National Insurance Scheme and in the context of the intense debate over the increase in retirement age to 68, the DLP’s hands are not clean either.
The late David Thompson was the Minister of Finance who presided over the government’s guaranteeing a loan in excess of 120 million to the defunct Paradise Beach Ltd (Four Seasons) / Clearwater Inc project.
To make a long story short, either through corruption or through stupidity, the then DLP government had to pay off the loan. From where? NIS funds! When the BLP came to power it wrote off the loan robbing NIS taxpayers of a cool 125 million dollars! A company called Blue Development Ltd is now the owner of the property at Paradise Beach and not a fellah has been held accountable for this malfeasance.
The cynical, and perhaps the conspiratorial among us, might argue that this is just a case of one party covering the naked bottoms of the other. But we are not conspiratorial, just cynical!
So, is this what Mr. Thorne wants to get himself into? Indeed, is Mr. Thorne complicit in anyway with this matter? What did he have to say vis-à-vis the write off that NIS money in the house?
Mr. Thorne needs to take his time and let the euphoria of his switch settle. It was not an inconsequential decision.
Barbadians should celebrate minor victories but not lose sight of the long term and the key objective. Barbadians have practiced and have been encouraged to be short-term in their thinking. That practice of seeing just beyond our nose is exactly why we have been led by the nose as lambs to the slaughter for such a long time!
The view of the BLF is that our primary objective as a country, at this time, is to get a long breathing space from these two Ichabods so we can think through what we need to do for a better life.
We understand Mr. Thorne’s tacit admission that he has not the inclinations nor skills to develop a new party. Not a problem. But why should it be left to him alone? We salute him for choosing two very good persons of integrity to sit in the Senate. So, what is the way forward?
Looking Ahead
If Mr. Thorne just wants to ride out this session of parliament and retire from political life that’s fine. There is no need to consort with the DLP or any other party.
Perhaps, Mr. Thorne does not see himself as Prime Minister material. If so, he is short-changing himself. We venture to say that some Barbadians, even if not a majority at this time, beg to differ.
Many Barbadians are thirsty for a strong, moral government led by a person absolutely committed to God’s ways because nothing short of a miracle is going to get us out of the stinking economic and moral mess these two parties have got us into over the years.
To tell us that we must revert to the same two parties or that individuals of integrity, who want to make a clean contribution, cannot find any other like-minded people with whom to associate, is an insult to our intelligence and education. We refuse to accept it.
And we are not alone.
Across the western world, people are beginning to choose conservative or right-wing governments. Without getting technical, that phrase means a government that subscribes to a Judeo-Christian worldview, for example, recognizing that marriage is reserved for a man and woman, accepting that there are two genders and that parents, not the state, are the ones with the sole responsibility of bringing up their children in the fear and admonition of the Lord and so on; the real old- time values and beliefs. This is a simplification of course.
The BLF has a declared Judeo-Christian philosophy and has begun to roll out its six key philosophical principles for public consumption. Read what we have said so far.
The People Strike Back
Across the world, the idiotic excesses of the leftist-cum-communist-cum-globalist, arrogant fringe have so infuriated ordinary people that they are recognizing them for what they are. Therefore, they are turning to conservative or so-called right-wing governments. Check the running battle in the USA.
Several European countries, Finland being the latest, have gravitated towards a right-wing government. The election of Nayib Bukele as President of San Salvador in 2019, Giorgia Meloni as PM of Italy in 2022 and recently (2023) Javier Milei as President of Argentina are examples of the move towards a conservative, Judeo-Christian government.
We are now on the cusp of the same wave of change in Barbados and therefore, Mr. Thorne must not see this as just about his convenience. This is going to be hard work.
If Mr. Thorne wants to really change things and make a lasting contribution he needs to start with a clean slate. The heavy lifting and stone-turning of a new party should not be his to bear alone. The three in parliament is a good start. He can build from there with the assistance of those who how to bring new products to market, because that is what a new party is: no more no less.
Mr. Joseph Atherly had the same start -even if for different reasons- but he blew it; either deliberately or because he failed to listen to the professional Marketing advice freely given. Our considered opinion is that it is more of the former. After all, if your pension is already secured, why bother with the headache?
If Mr. Thorne is as serious as we are, he should seek and knock. Those who seek find; those who knock will have the door opened unto them.
