Give voters a chance to fix it

Give voters the chance to take back control of our government by signing the referendums and the economic initiative. By signing the referendums you will be sending a strong message to our leaders to always respect the will of the people—no means no. I’m sure most adults remember their parents repeating the same sentiment to them! We can laugh about it now, knowing our parents were right but back then as a child it was hard to swallow. Well, our leaders are acting like hardheaded children being naughty with this casino stuff and the only thing we have to put them in their place is our vote. Every voter needs to tell every voter to sign the referendum and the economic initiative and these are the reasons why:

The referendums do not kill the casino; it just forces the casino to be decided by the people so even if you are for the casino you should sign to be fair to your fellow citizens. By refusing to sign, you are saying to hell with how other voters feel and if we the people can’t stick together when we know our leaders are wrong, we deserve all the problems we get so let’s do it the right way.

Some people feel the casino is already a done deal and that is a big mistake because it sends the message that you have given up. Well, I taught and instilled in my students and my children that a winner never quits and a quitter never wins. If you give up, we the people will lose again and again in the future from the same bad behavior. Would you give up on your child? No! Then don’t give up on your government. Do something for God’s sake and sign the referendums and the economic initiative and tell your friends to sign too!

The referendums and the initiative are two pieces of legislation for the ballot that will truly be driven by the people, unlike the legislation on the ballot from our Legislature. So do readers want to support the people for a change or continue listening to a Legislature that told you only casino for 10 years? Help the people in this election, not politicians who have betrayed their oath of office and the trust of the people.

The economic initiative offers the people the opportunity to fix our economy because it’s clear our leaders failed miserably. The public service ferry system, the Micronesian convention complex, the poker arcades, the legalization of pot, and the creation of an elected economic advisory commission of experts will fix our economy and make sure it remains fixed.

If the referendums and economic initiative were being promoted on the mainland, there would be long lines but in the CNMI it is like pulling teeth to get voters to be active. Heck, I was the only one protesting for our off-island students and it was only one brave lady protesting for the impeachment.  The Retirement Fund almost died and not one protest by the leaders of the retirees- there is just too much watching things happen on the part of the people and not enough making things happen.

I will be on Tinian this weekend at Natibu Park at noon to present the referendums and the economic initiative and to answer questions. If it rains I will be at the Gym.

P.S.: FYI readers, the founders of America told us in the Federalist Papers that the two keys to a successful government were informed and active citizens; it is that simple.  But it is obvious our leaders don’t want the people to even have a chance to fix anything or be active, given their disrespect with the casino and now a vote against the Article 12 initiative, taking away another chance for the people to decide when it’s the people’s government! They are playing political gods with everyone’s future and refusing to even give the NMDs a chance to say what they want, need, or desire. It’s a sad state of affairs when the voice of the people is denied an opportunity to speak but thanks anyway for trying, Rep. Dela Cruz.

Ambrose M Bennett
Kagman, Saipan