Dear Editor,
When Barack Obama ran for President of the United States, the Democratic Party felt energized and even those loyal to the Clintons abandoned ship for the skinny guy with a funny name, although he was a political newcomer. The Clinton machinery is a powerful one and to walk away from Hillary (with her 18 million cracks in the ceiling) and Bill (understanding that we get two for the price of one) was not easy, but the Democrats wanted to assure themselves of victory at the polls and they were convinced that Barack was the way to go. They did the right thing.
Likewise, the Peoples’ National Congress delegates to the Special Congress need to forget about friendship and loyalty to individuals who would not make a difference, period. This is not about who was in the party from the cradle and has entitlements; this is about selecting the best candidate with the momentum to take the reins of power from the PPP.
Further, we must continue to appreciate and commend Mr Corbin’s standing down (as a presidential candidate) and agreeing to this process; however, it cannot be business as usual for party faithful. We have been in the political wilderness for too long, and February 26 is an opportunity to change the status quo; we cannot let the usual suspects get away with playing the politics of division and diversion any longer.
Evidently, some are not comfortable with a Granger candidacy and they are doing all they can to derail his nomination. It is said that Carl is one of the boys, and they feel more comfortable with him; hence, I am forced to ask, can the PNCR or joint opposition win with Carl Greenidge? This is where we should be looking and thinking. Do these people really want to be rid of the PPP? It doesn’t look that way.
The PPP is at its most vulnerable to date, but that does not mean the opposition can field any candidate and defeat them. The argument that it is the institution that matters and not the candidate is baloney; the Peoples National Congress has lost four elections in a row (the last being the worst). There must be a candidate that resonates with the masses to make a difference. Brigadier (retd) David Granger is that candidate, like it or not! He has the charisma, eloquence, integrity and discipline to take Guyana forward. More importantly, he is not from the mould of the usual hopefuls. He is a leader who is respected by even those who do not like his quiet calm style.
It would be remiss of me not to echo Malcolm Harripaul’s sentiments, “Guyana needs a special leader to take it out of its current morass by swiftly removing the drug lords and their machinery from society. This is the first prerequisite to restoring law and order and morality. And only Brig Granger can do it.” This is someone who knows the Brigadier well. The same sentiments were expressed by ex-soldiers who did not like him very much but they acknowledged that he is a tried and tested leader. What then is the debate about? Someone suggested (correctly) that the nominees should all rally around the Brigadier and save us from ourselves; we have always been our own worst enemy.
From the outset, the Brigadier stated clearly his vision for a new Guyana; he is someone we can take at his word; could we say the same for the others? Can the others explain publicly what is frightening about a Granger candidacy? The North America Region has agreed to support Granger, but some individuals are now hemming and hawing; have we not learnt anything from being almost nineteen years onthe fence? Do we really care about all the sufferings of our people? Or is it that we are just interested in shared governance? If we are claiming that the PPP are not fit to govern, for the life of me, why would anyone want to share governance with them? It is time for them to go.
Some on our side need to take heed of their record. Every delegate from North America must vote their conscience. This is about our people’s future and not about us. In good old USA, both parties field seven or eight candidates but at the end of the day they do their utmost to select the candidate who resonates with the masses and is more likely to win.
Let us stop playing hard ball and vote for change now. David Granger is definitely the go to guy.
Yours faithfully,
Errol Lewis
