Democrat response

A few weeks ago, the chairman of the Republican Party, James Ada, took a stand against Rep. Tina Sablan for factually pointing out dishonest and unethical acts committed by Gov. Torres. The information she provided were all documented and not based on hearsay. Rather than educate the public with his disagreement on the merit of the facts, as presented by the representative, he engaged in misinformation, innuendos, and defamation of her character.

The chairman’s op-ed on the representative’s fidelity to our citizen’s right to know the facts about our government and its leaders speaks well of the very essence he was trying to dispel—Republican leadership just can’t handle the truth. His attempt to divert away from the facts ironically cast aspersion on his real motive which is, “subversive coverup.”

Diverting away from the facts, coverup and vilifying citizens who speak the truth is a political ploy unhinged Republicans and their dominions are so good at. They mastered their trade by portraying someone as evil, or as worthy of contempt or blame in order to defend against any potential threat to their power. Thankfully, though, our people are finally standing up against corruption, dishonesty, self-enrichment, and widespread nepotism, not to mention sheer incompetence.

The dreadfulness of the current leadership conduct is so deplorable that lifelong Republicans who are against corruption in our government are now speaking out. Not only are they speaking out freely, they are lending support to Democrats throughout the Commonwealth to help bring economic stability and financial prudency, put a stop on predatory self-enrichment scams, and restore decency and dignity in the people’s government.

No matter how hard the chairman tries to spin the fact that Gov. Torres is a dishonest and unethical leader, by smearing Rep. Tina Sablan’s reputation for publicly exposing the governor’s misdeeds, people are just plain tired of all the financial shenanigans and public disdain. No amount of political spinning, by the chairman or anyone else, would change the fact that our people have already formed their opinion about Gov. Torres.

Shooting the messenger may be a time-honored emotional response to unwanted news, but it is not a very effective phycology on the well-informed. While we are on the opposite side of the political divide, I consider the chairman a friend and I wonder if he is not be in favor of the truth? Unless, of course, he is also part of the problem.

I hate to disappoint the chairman, but his effort and those of the governor’s enablers are fruitless because Rep. Tina Sablan has an impeccable character, integrity, and genuine sincerity. A woman and a leader of impeccable character, her quiet and inoffensive manner endears her to all who have the pleasure of knowing her. Tina Sablan is just the opposite of the person the chairman adores.

By the way, the chairman still hasn’t responded to our January letter calling for a public forum between his party and the Democratic Party on the issues of mismanagement and corruption in government. That letter was hand-delivered by me to his office couple of months after the governor was subpoenaed by the FBI.

Daniel O. Quitugua (Special to the Saipan Tribune)
Daniel O. Quitugua is vice chairman of the CNMI Democratic Party.