Only the IQ-challenged, they say, support this administration and its legislative allies.
Now I understand the frustrations of these decent citizens, but their “prognosis” flies in the face of facts. As the history of humankind plainly and painfully shows, highly educated people are not immune to stupidity, thievery or outright barbarism. For me, the most unforgettable scene in “Schindler’s List” was the one in which a German officer was brilliantly playing a classical piece on a piano while his men machine-gunned Jewish kids hiding in a ceiling. There are so many other similar massages, er, examples in real life I can cite, but you should now see my point.
Here in the CNMI, the supporters of the administration are proud of their educated governor and lt. governor. The speaker of the House is an engineer and so is, come to think of it, the Senate president. (Lang Tenorio graduated from Marquette U, is a former senator and three-term Washington representative before serving for four years as governor.) Among the people who surround these officials are other U.S.-educated professionals. A lot of voters who went to college in the states backed the ruling party last November.
Conversely, and surely everyone can attest to this, not all HA supporters can claim intellectual superiority.
The reason, in any case, why the BE team won in the runoff also explains why the so-called opposition members of the Legislature don’t seem to share their constituents’ indignation over massage-gate:
Last November, slightly more voters believed that it was in their best interest to see this governor re-elected. Right now, the GOP lawmakers don’t think that it is to their political advantage to take on, this early, a governor who holds most, if not almost all, of the government’s levers of powers. And anyway, where is the people’s outrage over the governor’s abuse of power?
Now why should we consider a person “stupid” for voting for someone who either gave or promised him or members of his family a government job/contract, particularly in this economy? Why is it “idiotic” to support a politician who rewards your loyalty? Even principled voters expect something in return — honest government, better public services, etc. — from their candidates.
Clearly, the Covenant supporters have, at least for them, “reasonable” reasons. We disagree, and we’re sure that the consequences of re-electing this governor will validate our concerns, but I don’t think calling them stupid will make them see the light.
People will always disagree. Unanimity is for the ants. Intellectuals, of all people, seldom agree with each other.
Happily, in a democracy, we can all agree to disagree and make decisions through the ballot box.
Now that we’re stuck with this administration and Legislature for three to five years, the task for those who want to see real reforms is to show the people why 1) tolerating incompetence and corruption in their government is not in their best interest; and 2) like government, like people, which means change must begin with ourselves.
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