THERE is a “direct correlation between the Senate and the Welfare of the CNMI,” as the Senate is the People’s last “check & balance” on the Executive Office, like we are now seeing with the Impeachment Trial — a Trial the Senate is clearly trying to FIX for the Governor to be acquitted. What’s getting to most voters is they are not even trying to disguise their malfeasant behavior (Malfeasance — the performance by a public official of an act that is legally unjustified, harmful, or contrary to law; wrongdoing).
These Republicans continue to make me introduce new vocabulary words to describe them and their behavior which has gone from “lying with deflecting, to gaslighting, to poli-tricking and now it’s their malfeasant-behavior with their Kangaroo Rules” and even un-ethical behavior refusing to let their fellow Senator testify as a “citizen.” These Republicans are literally getting away with “the MURDER of our Laws, especially the Open Government Act by Rep. Tina Sablan, how prophetic is that FOR voters to remember. Republicans have ALL the Power and don’t believe they can lose it, which is WHY they are behaving this way and WHY voters need to teach them ALL a poli-tricking lesson. Pretend you’re going to vote for them but once in the voting booth “go BLUE to be THROUGH” with ALL of their malfeasant behavior, as this is what they do to us — humbly begging for our vote but once in office they thumb-their-noses at OUR Laws and at us — for REAL! I sure hope & pray the silent majority voters have a Poli-trick in store for Republicans.
It is no secret that the Senators from Tinian & Luta have banded together to control the Senate, which is all the more reason NOW more than ever that the voters on these two islands “rethink and even renew their representation in the Senate.” I know there will be those complaining about “Ambrose the outsider trying to tell them what to do on THEIR island” but I humbly and respectfully beg for you to consider the reality that “I am not the enemy.” I didn’t do anything to harm your islands but in-fact I have been promoting them. It has been your Senators who have allowed your islands to be turned into ghost-towns with the death of the casinos on these two islands can in-part be contributed to your Senators who voted for the Saipan Casino and didn’t stop your demise and even helped to kill the economies on Tinian and Luta.
The Divert Airfield is really the only major reform of the Republicans in the last two-decades, and it even took them almost two-decades to get THAT done, which should tell voters it’s time to really get better leadership. But it is really no secret about this Governor and his “Photo Ops” that has been going-on EVER-SINCE! I have written about how HE wants to claim the credit for EVERYTHING even when it was others who actually did the work. Now he has the NERVE to get in the newspaper trying to act like he’s not concerned about a Photo Op when it was clear that he planned the Photo Op for the Divert Airfield to ONLY benefit HIM and his running mate. This entire Photo Op issue is just more proof that OUR Government has turned into “the Torres Loyalty Government”!
I listened to the President’s State of the Union Address and it dawned on me the last time I remember the Governor making a “State of the Commonwealth Address” was when he told the BIG LIE of PROSPERITY in 2018, to get elected, which voters should not forget. But the main reason the Governor has IGNORED this Constitutionally Mandated YEARLY Speech is “he doesn’t respect OUR Laws he can’t lie anymore and he doesn’t have anything good of real substance to tell us-folks-in-the-cheap-seats.” It was also funny to see the Lt. Governor on Kandit recently proclaiming how “the people should be allowed to comment on the actions of the Senate.” Well, he seems to forget when he was the Senate President, he came into a Committee Hearing and slammed the table at me in anger stopping my testimony because I was getting on the case of the Senate for “poli-tricking with the Marijuana Law, using it to get elected spanning two election seasons” as they just played with the Bill & Voters for four long years before making it Law.
I was cut-off before my time was up and denied the right to complete my testimony and I was even on the front-page of the Variety the next day as a result of HIS ugly behavior and the Senate refusing to let me testify. They didn’t like what I was saying just like they didn’t like Senator Manglona’s intentions to attack their Kangaroo Rules, HOWEVER, it is their fiduciary duty, even when they don’t like what is being said, to allow the People they work-for to say how they feel about what THEIR employees (Senators or Representatives) are doing! Our leaders should actually depend on comments for Bills not shun them.
Giving the People only three minutes to comment is an ugly joke on those who OWN the Government. It should at least be 5 minutes and even for “major legislation the People should be given 1 full hour that can be shared by those commenters who are present,” as one-hour is the LEAST they can give their BOSSES! But when these Republicans get elected, they quickly forget that “they work FOR the People,” not their Party and the Governor, which is why ALL of these Republicans need to be taught a “poli-tricking lesson” and voted OUT! I also noticed the Lt. Governor use the word “diatribes” being used to infer opinion writings are “unwarranted attacks and/or senseless ravings.” But he’s just deflecting and trying to dismiss the concerns about his “blind-eyes.” I don’t know whom he was referring to, but “I’m holding HIM & OUR Government Accountable.” So he couldn’t be talking about me because to this VERY DAY after three decades of writing, no one has EVER accused me of lying — meaning I have only been telling the TRUTH and showing the awful CONSEQUENCES that WE the People are being forced to endure — for TRUE!
Saying “civility should prevail” coming from the Lt. Governor who sat and watched this stinking mess cooking until it boiled-over for three years and didn’t say nor do anything expecting the People who OWN the Government to just be calm and civil — he thinks WE are stupid too! I don’t think any CEO of any business is going to be civil and calm if his company is being run-into-the-ground like him and the Governor have done to OUR Government! So, expecting the People to just take all this “lying, blind-eye & deflecting, gaslighting and now malfeasance in the Senate mess calmly without protest is really REDICULOUS as if We the People are STUPID owners of OUR Government. Him and the Republicans are lucky this is not the mainland as there would be monumental PROTESTS of momentous proportions!
It should really be clear to voters now more than EVER that WE the People are truly going to have to RE-TEACH to these Republicans that “this is OUR Government & OUR Laws, not their Party’s and not their Governor’s” — for TRUE!!! Your Judgment Day is just right around the corner and I’m LOL to keep from crying over what WE are seeing in the Senate. But I wouldn’t be surprise to see Senator Hofschneider even trying to appoint Republicans to represent the House, as anything is possible with crime! But PLEASE KEEP-IT-UP so EVERY Voter with common sense can see and be totally disgusted with Republicans — Thank You Republicans for continuing to show your true “Torres Colors of BETRAYAL to OUR Constitution, Laws and the People”!
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
