The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

Senator Lanisha Rolle has been a terrible embarrassment to the FNM. Out of the blue she was leapfrogged over seasoned and veteran FNMs to become a senator.

She was promoted as a personal favourite of FNM Leader Dr Hubert Minnis after he dumped former Senator Heather Hunt. Minnis reportedly promised the post to several people – as is his habit – but in the end Rolle won his favour.

The capable and intelligent Ms Hunt was a former FNM candidate and a rising star in the party. Minnis’ stated reason for getting rid of Ms Hunt, his desire to rotate senatorial appointments, didn’t stand up to scrutiny as he kept Senator Kwesi Thompson in place.

It is clear that Minnis wanted to install Ms Rolle for his own reasons. She was a poor choice. She is way out of her depth. At a recent Majority Rule church service, she was Minnis’ personal representative.

Instead of choosing someone more capable and senior to deliver remarks, Minnis chose Rolle, who said almost nothing about majority rule. She embarrassingly and incorrectly stated that President Obama was the Leader of the Opposition in the US before he became president.

It is shocking and embarrassing to the FNM that a sitting senator did not know that there is no Leader of the Opposition in the US. One can only imagine the many other basic things she does not know or understand.

As someone who has to vote on the national budget she did not understand how much money the PLP government borrowed this term, stating incorrectly that the PLP has borrowed $6 billion. She seems not to understand the difference between annual deficits and accumulated debt.

As someone who sits on the FNM Council, she mistakenly confused convention delegates with members of the party’s council.

Ms Rolle should never have been appointed a senator. Her latest embarrassment to the party was her public and very personal, angry and nasty attack on Long Island MP Loretta Butler Turner, a senior member of the party.

The attack was unprovoked. Even as Rolle was talking about unity, she was sowing the seeds of disunity. Under the circumstances, it is reasonable to assume that she was given the greenlight for her attack by Minnis or people close to him.

In her breathless support of Minnis, she publicly tore down a fellow FNM parliamentarian over the radio. It was a disgraceful and petty act. It has been rebuked by many FNMs and most of all the public. It should be publicly rebuked by Minnis.

Rolle has demonstrated that she lacks the depth, intelligence, judgment and temperament to be a candidate for office. Minnis reportedly wants to give her a safe seat. The FNM Council should reject any nomination for her.

Rolle’s elevation is an example of the poor judgment Minnis exercises in picking people he wants in his inner circle and is an indication of what he would do in the unfortunate event he becomes prime minister. The party and the country deserve better.

FNM SUPPORTER

Nassau,

January 23, 2016