Dear Sir:
What should have been Prime Minister Tillman Thomas’s address to the nation turned out to be a personal attack on the former Prime Minister of Grenada, Carriacou, and Petit Martinique, Dr the Hon. Keith C. Mitchell.
Thomas’s statements was so blatantly ignorant that in ordinary times it would scarcely deserve mention, but since the NDC party officials with no record of accomplishment to run on have decided to create a fictional war on Mitchell, remarks like those made by Thomas must be called what they are: distortions, told by an unthinking member of a desperate party.
The prime minister is pointing a finger at anyone but himself. He has had almost five years to produce results; he has done nothing but talk kvetch. The people of Grenada want to hear news. That was complaining at its worst.
It’s a shame that one who is supposed to represent all of his constituency, male and female, NNP and NDC, has shown a willingness to smear and belittle so many of them. Indeed, when such poison is spewed it splashes everywhere and even taints those members of his own party who rightly believe that elections should be about issues and policies, not mud-slinging and innuendos.
His personal attack on Mitchell is misleading, unfair and untrue; simply repeating the same debunked claims won’t make them correct. Thomas has become part of the problem, and Mitchell part of the solution. Thomas cannot say what he would do if he got re-elected, which is not ever going to happen, so this is what he is reduced to doing. Since Mitchell is one of our most effective and productive official, Thomas really is getting desperate for some attention. Someone should do him some kindness and tell him how ridiculous and desperate he is making himself sound. When politicians do this, it is time for them to retire.
A quick fact-check might be a good idea every now and then, so you don’t keep coming up with false information and derogatory remarks. It’s the economy that has to be addressed. We have to do something to bring jobs back, not be sidetracked by the NDC, which has never got around to offering solutions for the mess they have got us in.
They didn’t offer any solutions or say what they did in the last four and a half years. Thomas talks the talk, but does not walk the walk. How else can Grenadian citizens hold their representatives accountable besides voting them out of office? If we don’t demand that they lead with principle and keep their promises, they will continue destroying Grenada unabated. Grenadians simply cannot vote NDC again. Too much dysfunction.
Thomas does not have opinions of his own on any issue, so he can’t join in the conversation. Up until now, the people of Grenada have not heard Thomas issue a single word about any issue that matters to them; whether they be men, women, or children. The leader of the New National Party has ideological views, and he certainly does not agree with your comments, and the New National Party has been clear in its denunciation of your burning grudge against its leader.
Mitchell is a leader with the skills, the background and the character that our country needs at this crucial time in its history. Following almost five years of failed leadership, the hope of our country is growing dim, and we need someone to revive it. Mitchell is the man for the moment.
Ordinary Grenadians citizens are tired of the same feel good politicians who promise change yet deliver either more of the same or misery. Thomas’s proclivity for fostering uncertainty about the long-term shape of the unemployment situation is particularly troublesome. He has embraced one temporary solution after the next, while rejecting permanent adjustments that would bring some predictability and stability to investment decision-making. Grenadians are complaining about businesses refusing to hire, the prime minister should consider the impact of his own policies on that state of affairs.
Reducing and stabilizing our economy is essential, but breathing life into the present anemic recovery will require fixing the nation’s economy to focus on jobs and growth. Tillman Thomas’s NDC campaign has failed miserably to make its case, on just about every level.
The people of Grenada believe there is no person in Grenada, who is better prepared, because of his achievements and excellence in so many different areas to lead Grenada at this point in its history. Let me say a word about the man Dr Mitchell will replace. In his first four and a half years, with his party in complete control of Grenada, he has not passed a single item on his agenda. In fact, we find ourselves in a nation facing doubt, fear, and despair.
This is the worst economic mess in years. Unemployment has been the highest it’s ever been. Families are hurting. Two out of three Grenadians are living in poverty, the worst rate in a generation. Mothers and fathers are struggling to make ends meet. All household incomes have dropped over the past four and a half years.
Whatever the explanations, whatever the excuses, this is a record of failure. Thomas and his NDC cabinet have refused to make difficult decisions, because they are more worried about their next election than they are about the next generation. We might have been able to get away with that before, but not now. We’re in a different and dangerous, moment, we’re running out of time, and we can’t afford five more years of this.
The NDC politicians have made empty promises to the Grenadian people, which have become broken promises, with painful consequences. We need to act now to change this situation. The New National Party is focused on solving the problems that confront our country, and turning ideas into action and actions into solutions. The New National Party is committed in heart and mind to putting that experience to work in a Mitchell administration. This is a crucial moment in the life of our nation and it is absolutely vital that we select the right man to lead Grenada back to prosperity and greatness.
Mitchell says, “Over these last four and a half years, I have seen and heard from families, from those running small businesses, from people who are in need. But what I have heard lately troubles me the most. There is something different in their voices and in their words. What I hear from them are diminished dreams, lowered expectations, uncertain futures. I hear some people say that is just ‘the new normal’ but high unemployment, declining incomes and hunger is not a new normal. It’s the result of misguided policies.”
After the New National Party government settles down into office, our economy will begin a comeback, with Mitchell’s plan for a stronger Grenada that will lead to more jobs and more take home pay for working Grenadians. Grenada is on the wrong track, but Keith Mitchell and the New National Party will take the right steps in the right time, to get us back on the right track.
Grenadians believe Mitchell’s record of getting things done in Congress will be a very helpful complement to the NNP leader’s executive and private sector success. Mitchell will work closely with the NDC and the NNP to advance an agenda for economic growth, fiscal discipline and job creation.
Senator Gregory Bowen says, “I’m proud to stand with a man who understands what it takes to foster job creation in our economy, someone who knows from experience that, if you have a small business, you built that.” As former prime minister, he balanced budgets, lower unemployment, increased income and improved people’s lives. In all these things, Keith Mitchell has shown himself to be a man of achievements, excellence, and integrity.
We need a change in leadership, otherwise the next five years would be no different. No one is saying the work ahead will be easy, it will be hard, but these times demand the best of us, all of us, regardless of political orientation and we can do this together.
Senator Gregory Bowen says, “His New National Party will make this campaign one about thoughtful policy and not about mindless mudslinging.”
Mitchell has shown that he has the experience, commitment and vision to lead this country forward. Grenada has known Dr Mitchell first hand. I think the NDC officials should rethink their plan to demonize him. After almost five years of getting the run-around by NDC, Grenada needs a turn-around by NNP, and the man for the job is the Rt Hon. Dr Keith C. Mitchell. It is time to end this era of absentee leadership in Grenada. We have to focus on the importance of having politicians who lead and not those who pander.
We Grenadians look at one another’s success with pride, not resentment, because we know, as more Grenadians work hard, take risks, and succeed, more people will prosper, our communities will benefit and individual lives will be improved and uplifted. But our beautiful Grenada is more than just a place, it’s an idea. Our rights come from nature and God, not government. We promise equal opportunity, not equal outcomes.
The idea is founded on the principles of liberty, freedom, free enterprise, self determination and government by consent of the governed. The idea is under assault. So we have a critical decision to make as a nation, as a country, as Grenadians. We are on an unsustainable path that is robbing Grenada of our security. It doesn’t have to be this way. Mitchell and his NNP make this commitment. They won’t duck the tough issues, they will lead, they will take responsibility. The New National Party can turn this around. Real solutions can be delivered. But it will take leadership and courage. Mitchell is this kind of leader.
“I’m excited for what lies ahead and I’m thrilled to be part of Grenada’s come back theme, and together we will unite Grenada and get the job done,” says Senator Gregory Bowen.
The former Prime Minister Mitchell says that he accepts ‘the duty to lead our country out of the job crisis and back to prosperity, and all the serious issues facing our country. It is no secret that this country is experiencing a tough economy and Grenadians are struggling”.
Mitchell is a proven leader and continues working on vital issues throughout Grenada, Carriacou and Petit Martinique. The NDC has failed to deliver a promised economic recovery for Grenada, their promised policy decisions have failed and they refused to even attempt to tackle the tough issues, like unemployment, which means they can’t run on their record, leaving them the only option of dirty politics.
Let’s judge them on what they have done for this country. It’s about their actions, their deeds, not what they are promising again to do. Let’s judge them on what they have done. They can be passionate in their view, be steadfast in not yielding on their principles and aggressively defend who they represent and what they believe without being petty, gratuitous and nasty.
If a candidate can’t be civil, they aren’t worthy of being elected and holding public office. Every candidate should forgo personal attacks and character assassination and focus on issues affecting their communities and what he or she intends to do to address them.
The New National Party guarantees that their message, certainly subliminally, perhaps explicitly, will be Tillman Thomas immaturity, which is writ large in the childishness of his characteristic rhetorical evasion. The maturity gap between the two tickets is underscored by the serial buffoonery of the NNP candidate for national office. The NNP fellow currently a heartbeat away from becoming prime minister again.
There are some people in Grenada who by now may be lightly attached Tillman Thomas voters, people who like the idea of him, but not the results of him. Thomas’s great political talent has been his knack for granting his admirers permission to think highly of themselves for thinking highly of him. Mitchell’s great political challenge is to wean them away by making them faintly embarrassed about their former infatuation.
Poet and songwriter Bob Dylan wrote, “Get out of the new road if you can’t lend a hand, for the times they are changing.” Prime Minister Thomas should do exactly that. It’s been a one-term failure. Five more years of joblessness, unemployment and despair is unacceptable.
What a disaster his leadership has been. Why anyone would want to continue on this path is baffling.
Helen Grenade
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