Everything will be swept under the rug. Incompetence will be condoned. There will be no accountability. Mediocrity reigns on Capital Hill and the taxpaying public is expected to get used to it.
But this is not how a democracy works. Government officials are supposed to be answerable to the community they serve. They are expected to be qualified for the positions they hold, and the Senate is obligated to ensure that they are.
But as a concerned citizen recently pointed out, the Senate will, once again, rubber-stamp the governor’s nominations, never mind their record or even if they’re qualified. There will be no thorough review of each nominee’s background or performance in office. If a public hearing is held at all, expect the testimony to be unanimously in favor of these appointments.
But this begs the question: If these nominees are so capable why are their departments in so much trouble?
Ineptitude, however, will continue to be the norm in this government as long as you, the people, allow it.
Unity for what?
THE administration and its sycophants are repeatedly calling for “unity.” The elections, they say, are over and we must all come together. We have to get along, all of us, and support the governor and the lt. governor.
Apparently, they consider your vote a blank check or a license to do whatever they want. But again, that is not how a democracy works. Although the majority party gets to control the government, the opposition must ensure that those in power are using it wisely. This system also presupposes the existence of an independent press that provides the people with key information to help them make informed decisions on public proposals and how their government is run.
But where, you ask, is the opposition on Capital Hill? It exists only in name. Most, if not all, of the minority lawmakers will work with the administration as long as it is politically convenient. They will only act as the “very concerned” opposition in the next campaign season.
In short, there is already “unity” on Capital Hill which means that any repeated calls for “cooperation” are directed to the increasingly skeptical public and to the media, specifically this independent newspaper.
But unity and cooperation for what? For misconduct and misrule? For abuse of power? No way.
The administration should realize that though votes can be bought during elections, the support of the people and their watchdog can only be earned by efficient and ethical leaders.
For an elected AG
THE “AGO” doesn’t stand for the “Attorney of the Governor’s Office,” but that’s how it has acted and will continue to act as long as it is headed by a gubernatorial appointee.
There is no assurance that an elected AG would be a better official, but he would certainly be independent and directly accountable to the people. An elected AG, we are sure, would not defend the governor’s “right” to get an early morning massage from a detained woman facing federal criminal charges.
The CNMI, in any case, remains one of the few remaining U.S. jurisdictions that do not elect its AG. Not surprisingly, there has been no local prosecution of misconduct involving top CNMI officials. Years ago, the Babauta administration’s AGO created an anti-corruption division, but its first act was to go after the-then governor’s most vocal and relentless critic, Rep. Stanley T. Torres. During the time of Public Auditor Leo LaMotte, OPA submitted several reports to the AGO regarding corruption cases, but no charges were ever filed by the AG. In 2003, Judge Govendo noted that “there will be no rush to prosecute” by the AGO “until a fearless attorney general (most likely, elected) files charges….”
Indeed, all the high-profile CNMI corruption cases that reached the court were filed by federal prosecutors who, unlike the local AG, are not beholden to local politicians. An elected AG, to be sure, is also a politician, but it will be in his political interest to go after government crooks, and not to invent excuses for them.
Perhaps the good and decent citizens behind the Open Government initiative should once again circulate a petition, this time to put the elected AG proposal on the ballot.
