The battle for leadership of the Bermuda Democratic Alliance is between......

[alsys]

I wonder if this might push the PLP to call an election sooner rather than later.

I was there on Saturday and I did like most of what they had to say. There were some missteps, i'll admit. Not obvious but they were there. Understandably as most of these guys aren't career politicians. They were heavy on the rhetoric but that's all the average voter needs to be able to make their decision. Rightly or wrongly.

[Limerick]

Well, on the Royal gazette facebook page, a hot topic can draw dozens of responses. The news of the BDA leadership drew one response, and the person wasn't even commenting directly on Cannonier's victory. So, if we could use this as kind of an unscientific barometer of public interest, I'd say the general public is generally 'meh' at the moment. What CO said below is needed, with all the financial corruption buzz right now, now would be a great time for the BDA to strike while the iron is hot.

[Mysty]

But first... let's see the Platform... and what the BDA stand for....  

[Limerick]

Well I remember the debate on this forum months ago concerning coming up with a platform right away, versus crafting a platform over time with public input. There's a thin line here, because you want to maintain public interest in your group. We've had nothing but UBP and PLP for over 40 years, these entities are ingrained in Bermudian culture. Any new group trying to break into the local political arena really needs to come out swinging for the fences, not easing into things. But eh, we'll see.....

[The Honorable Casual Observer JP, MP, PITA]

@ Limerick - Agreed with respect to the need to come out swinging... One criticism of the UBP is that they too often pulled their punches to their own detriment. The PLP, particularly under EB have engrained their 'brand' and have changed the way in which political parties operate in Bermuda... Unless the BDA are prepared to hit and hit hard then they will do little more than split the UBP vote, attract a few swing voters but will not be the dynamic change that we need. It will just seem like more of the same old same old...

[eastend]

I'd  like to pass my congratulations on to the new party.
it can only be a good thing to have another hat in the ring.
With the UBP going through such an implosion its not good for any democracy to have a one horse race.

[Mysty]

I hope the BDA have a few Deep Pockets on call.. they are gonna need a "few" bucks to succeed!   

 

[alsys]

M, judging by the number of "heavy hitters" in the crowd on Saturday... yeah, I think they're pretty sorted on that front.

[Limerick]

Hmmm, wouldn't it be interesting if the BDA could somehow finance an external audit of Government finances, by pressuring the Governor into making the books available?  Ha, yeah right! But THAT would be swinging for the fences! It's going......going....... GONE!!!!

[SmokingGun]

Anybody know if anyone from No 6 made it to the event?

[alsys]

Nope... whew.

[Full_Fullish]

You guys made me laugh just now!    No, no #6 there......

[SmokingGun]

"Quote from: SmokingGun on Today at 02:03:54 PM
Which in my opinion means my vote is worth nothing. Show me a ticket that I can revoke and you might get my vote. We need change. Not just in the people but in the system as a whole. Big change. We've outgrown these shorts. Time to wear the big pants.

Quote from Limerick in response:
It's the 5 second democracy rule, Smokes. The only time you're needed, the only time politicians actually ACT like THEY work for YOU, is when they require your vote. Otherwise, WE'LL tell YOU what is best. And yes, I've said 100 times on here the entire system needs to change."

Shifted this here for emphasis. If the BDA wants my vote they should start showing they are different in a big way. Big Big Way. Missed an opportunity Saturday night by using the same template as everyone else. Now Myron is in deep meditation about whether he wants to even stay on board..... what's that all about?

[Buddha Bunny]

"It's the 5 second democracy rule, Smokes. The only time you're needed, the only time politicians actually ACT like THEY work for YOU, is when they require your vote. Otherwise, WE'LL tell YOU what is best. And yes, I've said 100 times on here the entire system needs to change."

In fact THE ONLY time you ever see them is once every five years when they're looking for that vote.  The ONE noteable exception to this rule was Colin Benbow.  

Regular as clockwork, every quarter, Colin would show up on your doorstep, just checking to see if his constituents had any issues that needed his attention.  A rare bird to be sure.

We miss you Colin... the current flock has lost its way!!!

[Limerick]

"It's the 5 second democracy rule, Smokes. The only time you're needed, the only time politicians actually ACT like THEY work for YOU, is when they require your vote. Otherwise, WE'LL tell YOU what is best. And yes, I've said 100 times on here the entire system needs to change."

In fact THE ONLY time you ever see them is once every five years when they're looking for that vote.  The ONE noteable exception to this rule was Colin Benbow.  

Regular as clockwork, every quarter, Colin would show up on your doorstep, just checking to see if his constituents had any issues that needed his attention.  A rare bird to be sure.

We miss you Colin... the current flock has lost its way!!!

I always imagined that if I ever developed enough of a masochistic streak and got into Politics, I would take a similar approach of annual or biannual visits within my constituency. Ahhh  , there you go, BDA. Another way you can differentiate yourselves from the incumbent parties. Bother to pay your constituents a visit more than once every 5 years.