Letitia James is going to lose tomorrow

Nov 07, 2022 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

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Kaieteur News – I believe in any election, one’s choice is limited by party structure. I support the Labour Party in the UK and the Democratic Party in the US. But there are individuals in every party that voters have problems with.

The Democratic Party is billions of miles ahead of the Republican Party on issues on class, colour, rights, trade unionism, gender equality, immigration, etc. But there are persons in the Democratic Party I would have a hard time voting for if those persons are running as individuals and not part of a party slate like proportional representation (PR).

In this context, the first-past-the-post (FPTP) format or constituency system has its advantage over PR. In PR, if you like a party and dislike a few names on the list, then you have no choice because you are voting for a slate.

In FTPT, parties in order to win will have to put up mavericks or rebels or anti-establishment even though the elites in the party do not like them. It is what the constituency wants.

For example, if Guyana had FPTP, Michael Carrington would win his seat for the AFC up the Linden highway because he is a popular and likeable figure. The elitists in the AFC who do not like Carrington’s independent style will have to select him up if they want the seat.

The US primary system is a workable solution that ensures the option to choose an individual. In the primaries, one can vote for and against a particular candidate. If I had to vote, there is no way in the primaries I would choose Kamala Harris over Elizabeth Warren.

Harris is half-East Indian and half West Indian but colour and race never mattered and will never matter to me. I think in terms of policies, Warren would serve the interests of the lower and middle classes in the US more effectively.

In tomorrow’s race, Guyanese who usually vote for candidates from the Democratic Party are faced with a worrying choice. It is a difficult task facing them tomorrow but they should punish Letitia James for her intellectual mediocrity.

Guyanese should not abstain but vote against James. I think the Guyanese franchise is large enough to weaken James. She is running again for Attorney-General but she is an enemy of democracy in Guyana.

Ms. James’ understanding of Guyanese politics is narrow and silly. You wonder how she got elected in the first place if she does not understand the complexities of politics.

The essential task of any politician begging for votes is to study the variations and configurations of politics. In New York, there are groups of people that support the opposition in Guyana. There are large constituencies of Guyanese also in New York that endorse the ruling party in Guyana.

Ms. James’ requirement is to study the issues in Guyana, research the nuances and arrive at strategies. Ms. James is playing to the gallery of the PNC supporters and displaying complete contempt for the supporters of the government.

Her description of Guyana as an undemocratic state is stupid and unbelievable. She will not find support for her theories among academics in the US and within the Biden administration. You do research before you throw up wild generalizations.

Ms. James is unsure of her capacity, ability and intellectual competence. That is why in the US midterm elections which should be completed tomorrow she is the only contestant in the US midterms that chose not to debate her opponent. For the evasion of that absolute requirement, she should not be the Attorney-General of New York.

Ms James is not good for the democratic stability of Guyana that is why there should be extensive canvassing among Guyanese to ensure her opponent wins. I am told that her rival, Michel Henry has already been approached by several groups of Guyanese that have pointed out the pitfalls in Ms. James’ description of Guyana’s political sociology and the nature of its governance.

I have been informed that Henry has already been using those pitfalls to his advantage. Ms. James knows nothing about the Guyanese diaspora and therefore she made some self-destructive directions about Guyanese politics.

She is ignorant if she thinks she can go to the Secretary of State and convince him that Guyana is an undemocratic state. She will be asked for an analysis and the researchers of the State Department will juxtapose her document with what its researchers and the Georgetown Embassy have to offer.

Ms James got deceived by those who have their own agenda when it comes to Guyanese politics. That is their right to oppose the Guyana Government but Ms. James should know better. I think she is going to lose because she does not know better.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not this newspaper.)

 

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