Truth 73: Adios Tribune and a Democrat’s message to Democrats and voters!
The truth of the matter is we owe the Tribune a great deal of appreciation for their years of public service and that they will be missed—thanks and adios! But the acting Democrat Party chair is right on the need for the 2026, efforts of the party to begin now, as the race to win in the political arena is marathon that requires a full team effort, which has been the fatal flaw for our Democrat Party. For too long the Dems have left it up to the party chair to lead, but in Political Science 1 will learn that the highest elected person(s) in the party is viewed as the leader(s). Just look at how Trump took control of the RNC and the party and won against all the odds. I know some Democrats will complain about me exposing the Dems’ mistake, but I know from experience that my admonishments on the website don’t carry any weight and even complained about—no self-support in the party. But I pray this will be received as genuine constructive criticism to help the party, especially for those who aspire to be governor one day. As I told the party in the beginning when Tina was running that it is all-important to have a full slate (full-team) if the Democrats are to capture the governor’s office, as this will solidify promotional and voting efforts in every precinct.
FYI Democrats, I witnessed firsthand how Ralph secretly stole the Republican Party from then governor Babauta, which he did by organizing his team. In fact, it is well known that Ralph was the biggest recruiter for the party candidates, and I know for a fact about two Ppople in his administration he asked to run but they said they were going to run as Democrats, so they were fired—true story! Not that Democrats should use the strong-arm methods that Ralph used to recruit, but indeed it is time for the top elected Democrat officials (senators) and/or those wanting to run for governor to start creating their team (a full slate of candidates) and stop putting it all on the chair. Your power as an elected Democrat is far more powerful and respected than the chair with recruitment, as creating a real team is the key to becoming governor. The Republicans have proved their recruitment methodology and the destruction of the Democrats recruiting works, which is how they have won for the past 30 straight years—it’s really now on Democrat-senators who want to be governor to make sure the Democrats have a complete team, for true!
I was the first to start pleading with the then independents to join the Democrats, which they did and truly made the party stronger, but it wasn’t enough with a shorthanded team. I can remember pushing for the early selection of candidates on the committee to select candidates when Tina ran for governor but there was a Republican operative within our committee (you know who) who actually stopped the early selection. There is also the big-tent phenomenon that the Republicans project as they gang up and support each other but I can’t get a Democrat to even give me a thumbs up, as internal party support is lagging and even absent in some cases. It doesn’t bother me but it sends a message that the Democrats are not united nor serious, which needs to change first and foremost for the people to have real confidence in the party. Just check out the comments after this for yourself that will be a bombardment of GOP character assassination attempts, as I would be shocked to see if Democrats weigh in at all.
And please don’t self-destruct fighting among yourselves over who is going to run for governor, as all of you are young having time on your side, as patience and waiting for your time is a key variable to winning in the political arena, as timing is everything—flip a coin and accept the results if necessary. Stop taking politics personal, as if you are a Democrat and can’t accept and respect constructive criticism from a person who was born a Democrat, lived 73 years as a Democrat and will die a Democrat, then maybe you are in the wrong party. I am not spitting on the party but trying to wake up the party to see it win for the people who have suffered enough the pass 30 years under Republicans! I pray for the sake of the CNMI that this advice will not fall on deaf ears and will help the Democrats in getting their act together now, as we need you and it’s too late once election season arrives because most of the race has already been run by then and Democrats will be playing catch-up again, the advice of a real political scientist. One people, one direction and thanks Tribune!
Ambrose M. Bennett is an economist who minored in sociology, political scientist, a retired teacher, and former CNMI Board of Education member, a James Madison Fellow (U.S. constitutional scholar), a Fulbright-Hays and lifetime humanities scholar who resides in Kagman III in the CNMI.
