The Marianas “No Variety”

After clearly violating the Federal Hatch Act, Democratic political hack David North was forced to retire from the US Interior Department. Don Young’s Congressional investigation exposed the political shenanigans of our partisan Interior detractors. Because of a Bush victory over Al Gore, Bruce Babbit is no longer the Interior Department’s Secretary. Al Stayman is history, and so is his former sidekick, Ferdinand “Danny” Aranza, the Pinto boy himself. The Interior Department is now headed by Gale Norton, a conservative Republican sympathetic toward State’s rights and local self-government. We no longer have to worry about hostile political maneuverings from the Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs.

Democrat Danny Akaka, our ardent Hawaiian detractor, is a minority in the U.S. Senate. George Miller, our prominent detractor from California, is a minority in the US House of Representatives. The Clinton boys are out of the White House. At the moment, we have no reason to fear overzealous protectionists driven by their labor union special interest groups and their left-wing, anti-business ideology. These partisans do not threaten us from the US Congress or the White House. They are now in the minority.

At the moment, we are not threatened by protectionists in Congress or in the White House. At the moment, we are not threatened by labor union activism or left-wing Democratic politics. We are not threatened by the Bush administration or its various Federal agencies, including the Department of Interior. OSHA itself has commended our garment industry for its terrific health and safety improvements. At the moment, the mainland media smear campaigns against the Northern Marianas appears to have subsided.

In short, at the moment, everything seems fine and dandy where the garment industry and the Federal takeover are concerned. External grounds for worry appear to be rather absent at the moment. The CNMI is presently enjoying considerable success in warding off a hostile Federal takeover.

That success is due, in no small part, to Speaker Benigno R. Fitial and his impressive contacts in the nation’s capital. Indeed, Speaker Fitial is probably the most well-connected CNMI leader in Washington, DC. He has the respect and support of key leaders in the nation’s capital.

But you would not know any of it from reading the “No Variety.” The “No Variety” consistently supports the Federal takeover position. The “No Variety” consistently supports the liberal anti-garment, anti-business view. The “No Variety” is apparently committed to smearing anyone associated with (or formerly associated with) the garment industry, including promising candidates for public office.

There can only be one reason for this: The “No Variety” hates the fact that it has a strong business competitor. For more than 20 years, the “No Variety” was the only show in town–a veritable monopoly. It owned the print business in the Northern Marianas. Its business competitors came and went–until now. The “No Variety” simply cannot get over the fact that a competitor is here to stay. As a result, it will stop at nothing to smear the industry that sustains its business rival and makes real editorial variety possible.

Strictly a personal view. Charles Reyes Jr. is a regular columnist of Saipan Tribune. Mr. Reyes may be reached at charlesraves@hotmail.com