One of the Jamaicans who seems insistent on taking us to the rest of the world is Delano Seiveright. As a new member of parliament (MP), he swept to victory with magic and since then has not failed to reach just about every part of his constituency by reaching out to the little people and the business class while knowing that it takes the melding of all to be a successful MP.
Recently, we were reminded that the MP is a master of approval and excitement when it comes to encouraging people of all kinds to step up and show how well others want to see them. But before we even go there, it is useful for us to have a flashback and recall that the young Seiveright has rubbed shoulders with the super parliamentarian, worked alongside Ed Bartlett, and travelled across the globe with him.
We were also exposed to Masicka via Facebook, where the young MP introduced him with much fanfare. It reminded me that Seiveright was a University of London alumnus, while the elder statesman, P. J. Patterson, a 91-year-old, was educated at the London School of Economics and Political Science.
People like the ‘little people’ such as Barrington Wignall, who attended Calabar High School then became no less than a Jamaica primary and all-age school principal, with his wife, Erdie, a vice-president of Jamaica Primary and All-Age.
Years ago, when Lane 85 was a troubling thoroughfare, my friend and I would carefully stop there for a drink. Seiveright’s involvement has today made that lane a place to stop off at and feel no fear while one is there. The same can be said for most of the once-troubled places where my friend and I would stop off and have a beer while feeling fear and staring up and down the narrow lane.
When young Seiveright stands up to address one of his constituents, or it is Masica before an international audience, there is no doubt that Jamaica is standing there representing us. Even if it were Stevie Wonder, Seiveright would be comfortable in his surroundings. At this point, there is no better Jamaican representative from St. Thomas to Negril than young Seiveright. None.
US MIDTERM ELECTIONS
We had the midterm election on November 3, and the Democrats did very well. But it was not the Democrats’ message that did well for them. Rather, it was the voters sending a strong message of rejection to the Republicans. The misconceived Iran war, high gasolene prices, the high cost of living, racism, corruption, and a tone-deaf president are what motivated voters to voice their discontent. President Trump quickly distanced himself from the electoral pounding by saying he was not on the ballot, so that is why Republicans did not do well. That is fiction. The reality is that voters are not happy with the president. In the 2024 general election, he stated that once in power, the cost of living would go down. Once he started the Iran war, the cost of living soared.
The voters also are not happy with the way immigration policy is being handled by the administration. The president stated that only the violent, dangerous criminals would be removed. Truth be told, ICE is rounding up everyone and being very cruel. Many decent souls, who may have violated US immigration laws but have worked very hard and lived decent lives, have been removed. But the economy has felt the harsh intrusion by ICE. Americans do not want to clean hotel rooms, cook food in hotels, clean bathrooms in airports and public places, pick agricultural produce in extreme heat and cold, look after farm animals in extreme weather conditions, put roofs on people’s homes in the summer and winter, care for people’s lawns, work in supermarkets stocking shelves, and many other manual labour jobs. It is the immigrants who do the work, never complain, and keep the US economy strong.
The voters see that the president, his family, and his cabal of loyalists are monumentally corrupt and are using power to enrich themselves. The voters can barely pay for gasolene, and the president is at least US$2 billion richer since returning to power. The alleged practice of paying for pardons for criminal convictions and the rich getting richer have really irked voters.
Republicans want to keep America “white” and behave in very racist and intolerant ways, and the voters were not having that.
But let us not fool ourselves. The Democrats cannot bring the cost of living down anytime soon. They cannot end the war with Iran. They cannot have any real impact on US foreign policy as that is the exclusive domain of the US president. So the Democrats must be careful how they proceed; otherwise, in 2028, the voters will do to them what they did to the Republicans on November 3.
Mark Wignall is a political and public affairs analyst. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and mawigsr@gmail.com.
