AT some point, someone in the United National Congress needs to tell their leader, “Yeeeaaahhh, maybe don’t say that” or just “no.”
It seems that the leader of the Opposition Kamala Persad-Bissessar is surrounded by “yes” men and woman, who feed into this delusion that everything she says is perfect, magical, 100% right, 100% of the time.
An example of no one telling Persad-Bissessar that maybe she should “take a deep breathe, go for a walk and try again when you are calmer” was this week’s congratulatory letter she issued on behalf of the Opposition to President of the United States of America Donald Trump, upon his inauguration.
Now, Persad-Bissessar has a certain level of admiration for Trump and the Republican party. Whether it is genuine, or a ploy to entice the disenchanted voters, she’s recently gone from “mother of the nation” to queen “they gave us fake vaccines” (despite her encouraging people to be vaccinated) and “load de matic!”
It wasn’t a surprise to me that she was quick to congratulate Trump with a heavy dollop of posterior smooching. What did surprise me was her venomous attack on former US Joe Biden. From a foreign relations point of view, her sharp criticisms of the Biden administration and the “far left, woke agenda” pushing Democrats, were extremely unprofessional and as my tween daughter would say “cringe.”
There are some situations where you must act unbiased, this was one of them. She may not have agreed with all Biden’s policies, but her asserting that his and the Democratic party’s leadership was, “a disaster for the American people and the world” was extreme and dangerous for any future relations she may wish to have with a Democratic party led US Government.
For argument’s sake, let’s say Persad-Bissessar and the UNC win this year’s general elections (a term that will last until 2030) and then in a twist of fate the Democratic party wins the 2028 US elections, would she be forced to backtrack on her statements regarding the Dems. Would she spin it, and congratulate them as a modern, more in tune with the needs of the people Democratic Party? Or would she stand her ground on her distaste for their “wokeness.”
Speaking of “wokeness,” I didn’t realise recognising people’s space in society, and understanding we are all different, and all deserve not having our civil rights stripped from us was a huge problem. Yes, there are extremes in “woke” culture, the same way there are extremes in anti-woke culture, but grouping everything together is a bit ridiculous, especially since the UNC had previously supported what many now see as “wokism.”
Take for example LGBTQ rights. In 2012 it was Persad-Bissessar who promised to end discrimination against those in the LGBTQ community. It was her that proposed the development of a national gender policy to uphold the rights of all citizens regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation.
She was our nation’s first female prime minister and appointed our nation’s first transgender senator… woke as can be in a small conservative nation.
When it comes to immigration, before she went all “deport them!” she was rallying for the regularisation of Venezuelan migrants. In May 2023, she put out a press release calling for the government to “integrate” migrants in society through allowing them to obtain drivers’ licenses, get NIB numbers, open schools to their children, and begin basic Spanish language training for our doctors and nurses to better serve the migrant community.
The UNC policies during their last term as government can also be argued as liberal. Persad-Bissessar focused heavily on social programmes, like the Baby Grant, laptops for students, increased government-funded housing and other grant programmes, all of which are similar to policies pushed by the Democratic party.
So why the change Kamla? Some will say nine years later it’s different T&T and she’s had to go hard. Some will say she’s lost it and thinks mimicking Trump will win her votes.
Persad-Bissessar, if serious about having any chance at winning the upcoming elections, should focus less on “woke culture” and more on the issues that are more critical to the people of T&T. I don’t want to hear about tampons in boys bathrooms (a claim that is not true, by the way… someone should have fact checked for her…), I want to hear clear policies regarding proactive measures to crime, addressing how we can increase our manufacturing and export markets to earn more foreign exchange, and how we can eliminate governmental corruption starting with policies that forbid those with matters before the court from hold governmental positions.
That’s what the “yes” people around Persad-Bissessar should be encouraging her to focus on.
Only ‘Yes Men’ Around Kamla
AZP News Commentary
AT some point, someone in the United National Congress needs to tell their leader, “Yeeeaaahhh, maybe don’t say that” or just “no.”
It seems that the leader of the Opposition Kamala Persad-Bissessar is surrounded by “yes” men and woman, who feed into this delusion that everything she says is perfect, magical, 100% right, 100% of the time.
An example of no one telling Persad-Bissessar that maybe she should “take a deep breathe, go for a walk and try again when you are calmer” was this week’s congratulatory letter she issued on behalf of the Opposition to President of the United States of America Donald Trump, upon his inauguration.
Now, Persad-Bissessar has a certain level of admiration for Trump and the Republican party. Whether it is genuine, or a ploy to entice the disenchanted voters, she’s recently gone from “mother of the nation” to queen “they gave us fake vaccines” (despite her encouraging people to be vaccinated) and “load de matic!”
It wasn’t a surprise to me that she was quick to congratulate Trump with a heavy dollop of posterior smooching. What did surprise me was her venomous attack on former US Joe Biden. From a foreign relations point of view, her sharp criticisms of the Biden administration and the “far left, woke agenda” pushing Democrats, were extremely unprofessional and as my tween daughter would say “cringe.”
There are some situations where you must act unbiased, this was one of them. She may not have agreed with all Biden’s policies, but her asserting that his and the Democratic party’s leadership was, “a disaster for the American people and the world” was extreme and dangerous for any future relations she may wish to have with a Democratic party led US Government.
For argument’s sake, let’s say Persad-Bissessar and the UNC win this year’s general elections (a term that will last until 2030) and then in a twist of fate the Democratic party wins the 2028 US elections, would she be forced to backtrack on her statements regarding the Dems. Would she spin it, and congratulate them as a modern, more in tune with the needs of the people Democratic Party? Or would she stand her ground on her distaste for their “wokeness.”
Speaking of “wokeness,” I didn’t realise recognising people’s space in society, and understanding we are all different, and all deserve not having our civil rights stripped from us was a huge problem. Yes, there are extremes in “woke” culture, the same way there are extremes in anti-woke culture, but grouping everything together is a bit ridiculous, especially since the UNC had previously supported what many now see as “wokism.”
Take for example LGBTQ rights. In 2012 it was Persad-Bissessar who promised to end discrimination against those in the LGBTQ community. It was her that proposed the development of a national gender policy to uphold the rights of all citizens regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation.
She was our nation’s first female prime minister and appointed our nation’s first transgender senator… woke as can be in a small conservative nation.
When it comes to immigration, before she went all “deport them!” she was rallying for the regularisation of Venezuelan migrants. In May 2023, she put out a press release calling for the government to “integrate” migrants in society through allowing them to obtain drivers’ licenses, get NIB numbers, open schools to their children, and begin basic Spanish language training for our doctors and nurses to better serve the migrant community.
The UNC policies during their last term as government can also be argued as liberal. Persad-Bissessar focused heavily on social programmes, like the Baby Grant, laptops for students, increased government-funded housing and other grant programmes, all of which are similar to policies pushed by the Democratic party.
So why the change Kamla? Some will say nine years later it’s different T&T and she’s had to go hard. Some will say she’s lost it and thinks mimicking Trump will win her votes.
Persad-Bissessar, if serious about having any chance at winning the upcoming elections, should focus less on “woke culture” and more on the issues that are more critical to the people of T&T. I don’t want to hear about tampons in boys bathrooms (a claim that is not true, by the way… someone should have fact checked for her…), I want to hear clear policies regarding proactive measures to crime, addressing how we can increase our manufacturing and export markets to earn more foreign exchange, and how we can eliminate governmental corruption starting with policies that forbid those with matters before the court from hold governmental positions.
That’s what the “yes” people around Persad-Bissessar should be encouraging her to focus on.