The events surrounding the ARRA issue offered the conditions for a good political lesson and I was more interested in the future effects of the lesson than the right here and now. It was never personal and the purpose and need for the lesson far outweighed the interest of a single individual. Below are the answers or factors in the Political Science Lesson I wrote entitled “Challenge Accepted but not Appreciated.” The lesson would be rated at the Masters Course level in Political Science.
1. Base your arguments on the accepted values and principles we live by as Americans — a solid foundation with character that can’t be broken or blemished.
2. Base your arguments on the law and the facts.
3. Take a real stand and defend your arguments based on the merits with the tenacity of a Clarence Darrow and the heart and passion of the founders of America and always keep in mind our sons and daughters who put their life on the line for these values and principles you are arguing for (police officers, rescue workers, firemen, military and the lists goes on). Put your heart in your argument and give it feeling, meaning and a purpose. Learn to tell the BEST story when compared to your opponent’s because the lawyer who tells the best story is usually the lawyer who wins the case, John Quincy Adams.
4. Politicians and Cabinet members should never pick a fight with a voter, especially a well known activists unless they have all their Ts crossed, all there reports and documents lined up, all their facts and answers with all the solutions. The average person informed on the ARRA issue knows Sec. Ada could never be prepared to satisfy all these factors.
5. Good politicians don’t try to “flip” an issue on the opposition when YOU are the ONLY ONE being held accountable — do your homework and be prepared to defend yourself.
6. Good politicians are always professional enough to be tactful, polite and respectful when you KNOW you are being confronted by a person capable of costing you political Real Estate. This is especially true when the politician has EVERYTHING to lose in an election and the individual has nothing to lose.
7. Good politicians and public servants who should process “civic virtue” don’t put personal preference over the law and fail to perform their sworn duty when they are accountable, especially, when the issue has the potential to come back and literally bite you on the daggan. The failure to appoint a Teacher Rep is your reference for this answer.
8. Good politicians, especially at the Executive level must stay AHEAD of the game and get their act (Cabinet & plans) together for what is coming down the tubs — they knew ARRA was coming long before we got ANY money. There should have been plans ready to execute the moment the law was signed, especially when the law was meant to help people and it had RUSH stamped in bold letters on the front page figuratively.
9. Good politicians, especially at the Executive level can’t afford for their administration to come in “dead last” when being compared to the other counterparts in the American political family, especially at election time.
10. KNOW your limitations and abilities compared to your opponent and exploit their weakness — NOT their strengths. Make the phone call to activists. Writing a public challenge in the paper to someone like me was a master disaster that played into one of my strengths.
I hope these answers are appreciated and will help our future politicians and maybe even help to make a difference in the present politics of the CNMI. If I’m going to write, I may as well make it worth while by teaching a lesson that will have the potential to make the politics of the CNMI more professional, more efficient in governing and to continue building awareness of citizens by exposing the need for real accountability and transparency in our government. I know the opinion haters will always try to twist this as they usually do but the fact is I’m doing this because I’m a graduate student of the intellectual game of politics and I care about our students who want to become REAL politicians one day and govern over the CNMI. One people one direction for improving the politics of the CNMI.
AMBROSE M. BENNETT
Kagman, Saipan
