Dr Andre “The Seatless Wonder” Rollins has reached a new low in his descent into political obscurity.
In an unabashed attempt to ingratiate himself in the favor of the Butler-Turner cabal, he has relegated himself to being a Little Tommy Tucker.
The lead article in Friday’s Guardian had him singing away, albeit, discordant and out of tune.
It is beyond me how The Guardian can dedicate all four articles on its front page to its anti-FNM campaign when the real news of the day appeared on page two.
It stated that Dr Duane Sands, Mrs Loretta Butler-Turner’s running mate in her latest bid for the FNM leadership, has pledged his support for Dr Minnis.
He said that as a consequence of the decision of the FNM’s convention, the highest body, not to elect Mrs Butler-Turner as leader, “I made a decision that I would support the leader of the party, Dr Minnis.
“It would be very disingenuous of me to accept and keep a nomination on a ticket headed by him if I did not support him.
“My commitment to the leader is to always be honest…However, when we go out in public I have to either support my party and my leader or I can do the honorable thing and resign.”
Asked if he believes Dr Minnis is fit to lead the country if he were to become prime minister, Dr Sands said: “Dr Minnis is the leader of the FNM, and it is my stated goal to have the FNM win the next election.
“Dr Minnis would therefore be the prime minister, and I expect him to lead and serve with distinction and to do a good job for the Bahamian people.”
Surely The Guardian, its editors and reporters know what news is. And Rollins’ regurgitation of the anti-FNM Minnis-must-resign mantra, is no longer news.
It has been worn out and is of no effect, unless the Butler-Turner bloc is seeking to make the FNM out to be a scape goat for their defeat in the upcoming elections.
In her continued quest to wrest the leadership of the FNM, Mrs Butler-Turner and six FNM MPs invoked the Constitution and had Dr Minnis deposed as Leader of the Opposition in Parliament. She assumed the post. He remains leader of the FNM.
There have been calls for Dr Minnis, therefore, to resign as leader of the FNM.
There is no need at this time for Dr Minnis to resign as FNM leader. He is leader of the FNM because that is what the FNM wants. When the FNM no longer wants him to be their leader, there is a procedure to be followed.
He was set to take the overwhelming support of voting delegates at the last convention when Mrs Butler-Turner, also a contender for the post of leader, dropped out of the race.
Must Dr Minnis, the winner, now resign because Mrs Butler-Turner lost?! The honorable thing for her to have done was support the democratically-elected leader until next convention.
Moreover, even if Dr Minnis resigns as leader of the FNM, there is no guarantee that she is going to win the run-off.
And with months left before elections must be held, chances are it will set of an acrimonious internecine war that will definitely doom the FNM this time around.
This has nothing to do with Dr Minnis not having political flamboyance. Sir Kendal Isaacs, as FNM leader, was not a razzmatazz politician either, yet, under his leadership Bahamians flocked to the FNM.
This is pure vindictiveness my the monied backers by persons seeking to set up their personal government of the Bahamas by funding ambitious politicians whom they can easily manipulate.
And realizing Mrs Butler-Turner’s penchant for dictatorial expressions, that would be dangerous. What comes to mind is the erosion of the rights of Bahamians, especially where they check her political ambitions. Based on her performance so far, she is a danger to democracy.
And through Rollins, she speaks, and through her speak those who have been continuously threatening the FNM with withdrawal of campaign financing if she was not given the nomination to a safe FNM seat, and then made the leader.
Rollins, who has no credibility in the political arena is made to say: “We are organizing to remove any possibility of having Hubert Minnis lead the opposition into the next general election. Dr Minnis…is utterly incompetent as a leader.”
Who are the “we” who are seeking to overthrow the democratically-elected leader of the FNM, he did not say. Moreover there is a subtle threat in “remove any possibility”. Are they planning the assassination of Dr Minnis? Could they be that desperate?
And here is Rollins with a big blob of bibby in his eye, telling Minnis to wash his face, calling him incompetent as a leader.
Firstly, he was elected to the House of Assembly on the PLP’s ticket as the representative for Fort Charlotte.
Without even letting his constituents know, much less getting their consent, he cut a deal with the opposition FNM and joined that party.
I am told the PLP-voting Fort Charlotte never knew of the move until the day he “crossed the floor of the House” and officially became an FNM member of the Parliament.
That sparked wide spread debate as to how it is, an MP can so readily change parliamentary political allegiance, even against the wishes of those who elected him/her to office.
If Rollins, having been elected to Parliament a PLP, wanted to become an FNM, he ought to have resigned the seat causing there to be a bye-election. Then he can contest the seat as an FNM. If the voters wanted to change to FNM they would have voted him so.
But to go against the expressed will of the electorate is reprehensible. That is especially so since within the five-year parliamentary period, there is no way a constituency can change a representative no matter how poorly he/she may be performing.
No sooner was he comfortably in the FNM than he fell into the orbit of the ambitious Mrs Butler-Turner and became part of a conspiracy to overthrow Dr Minnis, the duly elected leader of the FNM.
It was a stormy relationship, Rollins and Butler-Turner. At one time she publicly slapped him down because he “provoked” her, whispered “horrific” things in her ear, and would not let her go, she said.
Rollins denied making any derogatory comments to her and encouraged here “to seek therapy because of her outbursts in the House of Assembly.”
The feuding continued up to the day Mrs Butler-Turner was ratified the FNM candidate for Long Island. She even accused Rollins of attempting to “take over” a rally called to officially endorse her.
How can the electorate put confidence in such instability?
As his opportunities at another free ride at the public’s expense are fast fading away, “The Seatless Wonder” Rollins is getting desperate.
With no chances left at winning a seat in Parliament (no party would nominate him), a desperate Rollins has set about prostituting himself for first shot at the crumbs that fall from the madam’s table.
(On The Scene With Gladstone Thurston @ Facebook)
