THERE are people who claim the Parties in the CNMI are not like the Parties on the mainland, which tells me, as a Social Science Teacher & Political Scientist, that they are NOT Political Scientist nor did the pay attention in their U.S. Government Classes in High School. In fact, the politics of our Parties are almost IDENTICAL to the politics of both the parties on the mainland, which is Republican Conservatism v Democrat Liberalism. If you check the History Books, the two parties in the CNMI actually changed their names to identify with the Democrat & Republican Parties on the mainland when the NMI became the U.S. Commonwealth of the NMI. While over time the relationships between the Parties on the mainland and our two Parties have suffered “intermittence and even non-existent relationships” at times, more recently there has been a re-emergence of the ties between the parties on the mainland and our political parties.
The Democrats in the CNMI have become much closer with the Democrats on the mainland that is now even providing “campaign-funding” to our Democrat Party. While I don’t know if our Republicans are getting campaign funding from Republicans on the mainland, you don’t have to be a political scientist to see and know that our Republican Party is behaving like the Republicans on the mainland, especially when it comes to “protecting & serving the top executives.” The Republicans on the mainland are “rejecting & fighting against the January 6th probe which is why our Governor is fighting the JGO. If the situation was reverse, WE know the Republicans would also be crying foul and complaining as the nature of our politics is confrontational.
But it’s obvious the Governor is following Trump’s & the GOP’s Playbook — to the letter which is why he is behaving in such an un-realistic, un-ethical and even criminal behavior. The Governor has LEARNED and literally brought the GOP’s UGLYL-PATHETIC Poli-tricking from the mainland to our door-step which is why WE see Republican Senators “protecting & serving the Governor” just like the Republican Senators did on two occasions when Trump was impeached. Our politics are virtually “a distorted mirror image of the politics on the mainland” just a “smaller scale with some variation on the issues” but the ideologies of conservatism v liberalism in our CNMI parties and their counterparts on the mainland are indeed the SAME for those who didn’t know this FACT! Our challenge as voters is to choose “the lesser of the two evils” when it comes to political parties, as neither party is perfect but at least WE know our Democrats can be trusted and they are known as the “People’s Party” for good reasons in our past, present and the FUTURE!
Criminology
I can remember teaching ALL my students in my Social Science Classes that “prejudice and criminal behavior are LEARNED behaviors.” I also told them that “there are people in our government who are criminals, but they just never got caught” which is why WE see our Governor following Trump’s criminal behavior and our Senate following the illegal behavior of Republicans in the U.S. Senate — they learned this behavior. These problems with the Governor & Senators behaving like criminals is a behavior Republicans used successful on the mainland but WE the People shouldn’t reward the Governor and Senators who have clearly become criminals in the eyes of many citizens, as “power corrupts and absolute power absolutely corrupts” which is what happened to the Governor & Senators. Voters must send a message that “criminal & unethical behavior will not be tolerated” or the CNMI is DOOMED to face the same ugly criminal behavior over & over again.
A final note on crimes, Republicans have “protected & served the National Rifle Association (NRA gun-makers)” through one mass-shooting after another but won’t change the gun-laws to “protect & serve the People” for too long. Well, hand-guns are now legal in the CNMI and do WE the People really want to keep electing these same Republicans who promote & protect Gun Rights & Usage in the CNMI until WE have a shooting at one of our schools??? Heck, the Governor even purchased a “rifle carrying-case” with OUR money and claims it wasn’t illegal — need I say anymore on what needs to be done to “protect & serve our children.”
Sex offender
A real Sex offender in the CNMI but Ms. Grace hasn’t said anything about him. He has been commenting to my op-eds and even having the nerve to talk about me getting in trouble nearly 50 years ago. Well, I received an email from a “reputable source” that PROVES Tom Mitchell is a “sex-offender.” The Website reads “Thomas Christopher Mitchell is a dangerous pedophile currently living in Saipan” and you can go to https://sodomhussein.com/ to see for yourself. His picture is also on the Website which proves he’s the Tom Mitchell attacking me. But this should be a warning and a reminder to ALL of the Governor’s emissaries who figuratively “stab-me-in-the-back in the comment section” like Robert Hunter, Ms. Grace and others who may have skeletons-in-their-closet, as there are thousands who read and even support my op-eds & Letters to the Editor who will blow the whistle on you. But THANKS to the Whistleblower who told me about this sex-offender in our community who is obviously trying to help the Governor and the Republican Party by attacking me instead of trying to help our Commonwealth by offering “constructive ideas & criticism” like a professional in the comment section — but he’s Republican. Na na nana, Na na nana, Hey-Hey-Hey Good-by Tom Mitchell as I’m sure I won’t be hearing from you anymore unless you are a “you-know-what” along with being a sex-offender.
On a final note, there is literally only a “handful of Republicans who are actually honorable and deserve to be re-elected as the Governor, Arnold, Angel Demapan, Hofschneider, Cruz and Hocog for SURE must GO! It’s time to “Rebuild our Government and our Economy with NEW and BETTER Leadership who WE the People can already TRUST” — it’s that simple for TRUE!
To be continued: One people One Direction.
The writer is an Economist, Political Scientist, retired teacher, former CNMI Board of Education Member, James Madison Fellow (U.S. Constitutional Scholar), a Fulbright-Hays & Humanities Scholar who resides in Kagman III.
Ambrose M. Bennett
