Open Letter To FNM Leaders From Pastor Keith Russell Of Freeport

Dear FNM Leaders,

Here is your moment of truth. This FNM crew in parliament, the most visible face of your organization, has done and is doing irreparable damage to who you are or purport to be.

Let me offer at the outset that your party is necessary. Your presence strengthens our fledgling democracy. Of course, I don’t support your trickle-down economics, where you feel that if you give tax breaks to the rich that they will in turn create new or expand investments so that the poor will have more available opportunities. It never works. The rich simply, and always, keeps the windfall as profit. In addition, I despise how you cater to the racists among your party supporters. You honour racists and when racists speak vile things in the public square, you refuse to call them out and defend common decency. This is sad. 

Ironically, one of the greatest initiatives your party ever introduced is the idea, promotion and celebration of One Bahamas, which you seem, unfortunately, to have abandoned. It was a step in the right direction for the healing of our racial divide. Still, your party is absolutely necessary to our democracy.

I applaud you for loving your party and supporting your party and working to make your party stronger; however, I implore you to make a distinction between supporting your party and endorsing Prime Minister Minnis and this crew, who are now sitting in our honoured house. For the FNM party to bring this same gang back to the Bahamian people in 2022, after all the lies, after all betrayals, would be insulting, offensive and an affront to common decency.

Let’s be clear. Anyone who still thinks that the Prime Minister has the temperament, the depth of required governing knowledge, the moral sensibility or the compassion and thoughtfulness to move this country progressively forward is being intellectually dishonest or disingenuous or, at best, are living inside a bubble with blinders on. To his family, friends and lovers, Mr. Minnis may be a good man; he may even be a competent physician, but he is without doubt a lousy leader and an inept Prime Minister. Of course, we were told this in no uncertain terms by the Magnificent Seven; we ignored their legitimate discontent; now we have seen it for ourselves. 

Listen; before the FNM party is even worthy to show up at the 2022 elections, you need to do at least the minimum of house cleaning. Please don’t show up with this morally flawed leader. Don’t bring Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, the two judicially condemned ones. Don’t bring anyone who can’t read numbers. Don’t bring that reprehensible Speaker of the house. Don’t bring the arrogant twins, the Minister of Tourism, who is still shamelessly taking credit for the success of Baha Mar and the Minister of Education, who believes he deserves an $83 meal, three times per day.  Don’t bring that slippery hands representative from Eleuthera either. Don’t bring the insider trader, who walked away with that slow 52 million. Don’t bring back that little boy from Water and Sewerage, who has no respect for hardworking Bahamians. Don’t bring that absentee landlord from East Grand Bahama, not unless he takes a course in postmodern economics. In fact, don’t bring any of the jesters from Grand Bahama or Abaco.

This is the minimum clean up your party must do if the Bahamian people are to take you seriously in the next general election. I know some of you out there are saying we still have two years left; you are hoping for a miracle. Don’t do it. Leopards don’t change their spots. Believe them the first time. Unfortunately, it’s going to get worst, before it gets better.

What you may want to do is call a convention and wipe the entire slate clean. Do it for the sake of country. Then you may have a fighting chance. With that kind of commitment to progress, it could be a real dog fight. And may the best dog win. Mark my word, if you show up with the jokers you have now, it will not even be a contest. And that is bad for our democracy. Shhhhhh. Do you hear that gaggling noise? That is the fat lady, clearing her throat.

I write; you decide.