There are critical lessons to be found in Donald Trump’s win for those willing to listen and learn.
I am no fan of his. If I were an American, I’d have cast my vote for the much more sane (and much less criminal) Kamala Harris and not thought twice about it. She ran a great campaign that attempted to climb the Democratic Party out of the hole it dug for itself by sticking with the aging Joe Biden for two years too long.
It wasn’t enough. The campaign could not credibly address the universal issue that men and women of all races, stripes, and affiliations cared most about – their individual quality of life.
In the FNM’s time in opposition under its new leader, it has found reason to criticize everything under the sun, from the government breaking procurement laws to its constant reluctance to be fully transparent with the Bahamian people.
While all these things are true, procurement laws don’t pay the bills. Secret settlements don’t affect the price of tuna and grits. In the words of Bill Clinton’s strategist Jim Carville, “It’s the economy, stupid!”
I may not have been around for a long time, but even I can tell that living a comfortable life in The Bahamas has never been this difficult. A University of The Bahamas study revealed that a family of four needs to make over $100,000 a year to make ends meet, set aside a little something in savings, give their children a good education, and eat a diet that checks all the boxes. Meanwhile, the average Bahamian has less than $1000 in their bank account.
College graduates are overqualified and underpaid. Housing is either unavailable or unaffordable. Government service quality is piss-poor. I’m paying more than I did for everything four years ago, while getting less.
What Bahamians are experiencing today is also being felt by millions of Americans. The perceived poor state of affairs ensured a Trump victory.
Voters were willing to ignore a laundry list of ethical, moral and political deficiencies to vote for the man they thought better understood their plight. A vote for Harris meant endorsing the current state of their lives, and 2/3 American voters thought the country was on the wrong track.
A vote for Brave Davis is a vote for a Bahamas on the wrong track. The FNM needs to keep it simple.
“It’s the people’s time” propelled the FNM to victory because it was a populist message. It wasn’t rocket science. But too often, the FNM beats around the bush with high-brow, pedantic politicking. The Democrats tried that and got whacked across the map.
The FNM doesn’t need to be Trump, but it can’t afford to be bland. The fire is missing.
Pintard is a dynamic speaker who has made a career relating to young people and entertaining the masses. That is something to brand, exploit and unleash.
If they don’t, the FNM will, like the Harris campaign, be forced to ponder what went wrong after it’s too late.
Written by: A Zillennial Bahamian
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