Kumoi’s coalition

Since taking public office, Senator Ramon S. Kumoi has proven himself to be a somewhat refreshing, status quo-defying politician. He is a bit of a rowdy maverick.

Consider some of the specific things Mr. Kumoi has done since taking public office. He moved out of the legislative building on Capitol Hill. He funded the e-mail service for the CNMI Scholarship Office. He exposed questionable expenses in the Senate–thereby provoking the wrath of his spendthrift colleagues. He boldly demanded accountability at the Commonwealth Utilities Corporation. He even expressed an unusual desire to eliminate his $60,000 annual official representation budget, which is completely unprecedented: imagine that–a politician actually offering to give up money–and power–to reduce the burden on the poor taxpayer!

Mr. Kumoi is obviously a maverick. Perhaps most surprising of all, he actually called for a Reform Party coalition with the Democrats.

His ostensible purpose in this scheme? Probably to unseat the entrenched Republicans.
He is no doubt proposing this alliance for pragmatic political purposes: to help his new Reform Party gain more seats.

Still, there are many unanswered questions. For instance, what does the CNMI Reform Party stand for? What does the CNMI Democratic Party stand for? Do they stand for the same things? And if so, how do they substantially differ from the Republicans?

Remember, the CNMI Republican Party itself is hardly a pillar of ideological purity. CNMI Republicans do not adhere to the same political principles–to the same political philosophy–as their counterparts in the U.S. mainland.

Does Diego Benavente hold the same views as House Speaker Ben Fitial? Does Rep. Stanley Torres always agree with Senator Pete P. Reyes, a fellow Republican? Hardly.

Let us not forget why the Reform Party was created in the first place. After a rift with Jesus C. Borja and others, former Governor Froilan Tenorio left the Democratic Party and formed the Reform Party with Mr. Kumoi. Are we to believe that the rift no longer exists–that the Reform Party and the Democratic Party agree on all major issues?

In the last general election, Froilan Tenorio wanted a flat tax; Mr. Borja did not. Froilan wanted school vouchers; Mr. Borja wavered. Froilan wanted complete local control of immigration and minimum wage; Borja wanted to federalize our wages. Froilan was pro-business and supported the garment industry; Borja had Ken Govendo in his camp–and Jeff Schorr at his Coffee Care pocket meeting.

If Froilan Tenorio, Mr. Kumoi and the Reform Party are going to support Jesse Borja, party chairman Carlos Camacho and the Democrats, heck, we might as well vote for Juan Babauta.
This time, Kumoi may have gone too far.