Partisanship revisited
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Outgoing Chairman of the Board of Directors of GNNL, Mr. Keith Burrowes

IN A previous instalment of this column, I’ve had occasion to touch upon, either at length or in brief, the issue of partisanship, particularly the sort of blind, politically motivated partisanship that

refuses to budge to context or other prevailing factors.
A clear example of this, and the reason behind this present article, concerns the U.S. economic crisis which by extension really concerns all of us. Less than three months into his presidency, Barack Obama is being bombarded by a Republican machinery that has been unrelenting with the propaganda that the new administration is not only somehow responsible for the economic downturn America is undergoing, but also somehow hell-bent in making things radically worse.  According to a recent AP report, “…Republicans are showing no signs of letting up, taking to the airwaves to press their case that Obama is leading the country down a dangerously socialist path of big government control.”

When Obama referred, earlier this year, to Rush Limbaugh as the leader of the Republican Party, he probably was not too far off.  Many Republicans, including former Presidential candidate, Mike Huckabee, seem to have rallied behind the Fox News pundits in denouncing the American president’s economic stimulus package not only before it gets put into operation, but going against the grain of popular sentiment, majority informed opinion and just plain good sense.
When the markets were at their lowest, pundits like Limbaugh and Sean Hannity were at the forefront of linking Obama’s “socialism” to their failure to rise, with both men virtually predicting a non-stop downward slide.  In recent days, with the stock markets at their highest in months, there has been no backing down in the gloom and doom talk – indeed, whereas the prognosis was that there would be no recovery, the new prediction is that the stock market will inevitably start sinking to a low again.

I believe,as I have stated before in this column,that certain issues should be above partisanship.Crime,for example,should be one such issue; political bickering and wavering provide the perfect environment for criminal enterprises to flourish.

The major problem I have with partisan politicking, in America and in general, is that it does not recognise limits, decency or the need for consensus.   The Democrats, I should probably add, while they might not have been as rabid, have had their moments of blind partisanship too, particularly over the war in Iraq.  I recall that when the Bush administration took the initiative to undertake an upsurge in troops to quell the violence against civilians, many Democratic commentators were virtually disappointed that it was working – it was somehow more expedient to their politics for more people to die, than for there to be consensus in getting both the Iraqis and American soldiers out the quagmire in which they had found themselves.
Recently, a former senior Guyanese government official, in reference to what I also consider a petty debate about the parliamentary merits of two late and respected politicians, had cause to complain about the “political rancour” which seems to affect every single issue in Guyana.
I believe, as I have stated before in this column, that certain issues should be above partisanship.  Crime, for example, should be one such issue – political bickering and wavering provide the perfect environment for criminal enterprises to flourish.  More in keeping with the theme of this week’s article, bread and butter issues – the economy, employment – should also be above partisanship, particularly in weaker economies such as ours.
Policymakers, and people who influence public sentiment, need to be aware that partisan pessimism serves nothing except self-fulfilling prophecy.  I am no financial expert but I am sure that there has been a direct link between the prevailing mood and the economic environment – people who are optimistic about the economy tend to put their money into it and keep it thriving and prevent it from going under; pessimism causes people to withdraw and often cause a marginally bad situation to transform into a major disaster.
I believe that what is going to be best for the global environment is a balancing act between optimism and practicality; an outlook that recognises the pitfalls ahead but is ready with solutions to avoid them – and while criticism is certainly welcome in such an environment partisanship, and the attendant pessimism, has no place in it.

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