Rick Fox Takes the Wrong Shot

ABAGAIL CARTWRIGHT DEAN’S BLUE HOLE

For two weeks, I have argued that the FNM needs rebuilding. It needs leadership, depth and, most importantly, a bench. Last week, former professional basketball player turned Senator Rick Fox helped make my argument for me.

Fox took to social media Friday to scold Minister Fred Mitchell over a lecture he presented and hosted by the Fox Hill PLP Branch entitled “Framing The Bahamas.” His complaint? Bahamians were “locked out” because attendance was restricted to card-carrying PLPs. He called it an “echo chamber.”

Senator Fox, it was a PLP meeting.

That is like complaining that the Lakers held practice and did not invite the Celtics.

But Senator Fox’s criticism raises a far more obvious question: Why isn’t the FNM holding its own closed-door meetings for its supporters? Why isn’t the party gathering its members to have serious conversations about the future of The Bahamas and the issues it believes should define that future?

Hold your own forums. Discuss immigration. Debate taxation, electricity, education and economic policy. Develop ideas. Challenge yourselves intellectually. That is what a government-in-waiting does.

Instead, the FNM increasingly appears unable to distinguish an issue from an opportunity to make noise.

Fox’s intervention is particularly revealing, however. He once sought a PLP nomination before emerging as an FNM candidate. Now, with questions surrounding the FNM’s leadership and what any future reshuffling might mean for Senate appointments, one wonders whether these videos are less about national discourse and more about him remaining politically relevant- trying to save his seat.

And one final piece of advice, Senator: clean yourself up. A seat in the Senate is a distinguished position. The disheveled hair, unkempt beard, same red shirt and short pants may be intended to make you appear relatable, but it comes across as forced. Bahamian parliamentarians have traditionally understood that public office carries a certain dignity. We are better than that.

The random nonsensical comments on non-issues, and other disconnected commentary may keep Senator Fox visible, but the FNM does not need more content. It needs people who can demonstrate depth, judgment, and a serious understanding of the issues facing the country.

Rick Fox should understand this better than most: good basketball players know you do not take every shot simply because the ball is in your hands.

Sometimes, you pass.

Politics is no different. Not everything is an issue, and not every opportunity to criticize the government is a shot worth taking.

Finally, if this is the best the FNM can bring off the bench, then perhaps my question from two weeks ago is on target: the problem is not simply who is leading the team. The problem is that there still isn’t much of a bench.

-Abigail Cartwright