Premier Ewart Brown, in his latest speech:
"Lately we find ourselves in a media frenzy usually reserved for election campaigns. It's unfortunate that election-style tactics continue to be the only means by which some can dialogue. You know what I'm talking about."
Yes, I do! You're talking about the PLP blog, aren't you?
"Well, an elevated level of debate on the issues is what I covet."
Bullshit.
If you wanted an elevated debate you wouldn't have threatened to physically assault Grant Gibbons in the House of Assembly, or called him a racist.
If you wanted an elevated debate you would have told us how much it would cost to provide free daycare to otherwise eligible non-Bermudian families, and why you think that's too high. You wouldn't dismiss those suggesting it as wanting to put the interests of foreigners above Bermudians, or disparagingly brand them as "pro-guest worker".
If you wanted an elevated debate, David Burch would not have sneeringly dismissed Michael Dunkley's objections to the dentistry bill (which were shared by every non-PLP senator) as worthless because "a milkman is unlikely to have legal expertise greater than people in the Attorney General's chambers".
If you wanted an elevated debate, you wouldn't seize a picture posted by a notorious right-wing commenter on an online forum and cite it as proof of the racism of the UBP.
If you wanted an elevated debate you would have passed Public Access To Information legislation months ago, the better to ensure that any debate is an informed one.
If you wanted an elevated debate you wouldn't be whining about how the UBP is always criticising you. You know they have a responsibility to do so. You'd be explaining why the UBP's criticisms are wrong, or their proposals wouldn't work.
If you wanted an elevated debate you wouldn't be only publishing complimentary comments on your blog while leaving unpublished the critical ones (however polite). You'd publish them all, then rebut them.
If you wanted an elevated debate you would engage your critics, not attack them or seek to portray them as a vast UBP-orchestrated conspiracy.
But an elevated debate is the last thing you want. You're not confident that you could win if you had to compete head-to-head with the UBP on ideas alone. Much easier to simply fan the flames of racial injustice and xenophobia instead.
