By Phyllis Thomas, News Editor 
THE JAMAICA Labour Party (JLP) knows how to self-destruct and has set itself on that familiar path once again. Yet another round of bitter and disgraceful bloodletting is on and promises to get even more so by this weekend when another important round of party elections take place.
It had been simmering ever since party leader Edward Seaga instructed James Robertson not to oppose Olivia 'Babsy' Grange in the deputy leadership race and Robertson defied him.
Tension heightened with the sound whipping that the young reformist gave to the Seaga loyalist. A bitter and ungracious Miss Grange said there and then, that there was corruption in the election and she would not be part of it. She said she would not be working with Mr. Robertson.
Then as the week progressed the rift in the party widened with Mr. Seaga telling the Breakfast Club that he had information that tainted money had been used in the election. He further defined tainted to be illegal and restated a demand he had made earlier that he be given a list of all the donors to the election
campaign.
If indeed Mr. Seaga has information that illegal money was obtained for the election then he has an obligation to go to the police with this evidence and the police would be duty bound to investigate and apply the law where necessary. If, on the other hand, Mr. Seaga does not furnish the police with this, he must shut up! But more than that. If no such evidence is brought forward then Mr. Seaga's action should be regarded as an unfortunate piece of public mischief for which he should be censured by his party. If they have the guts to do so.
OTHER SERIOUS IMPLICATIONS
There are other serious implications in the charges being made by Mr. Seaga against the Robertson campaign team and by extension, against Mr. Robertson himself, the man he first brought into the JLP as a senator.
Mr. Seaga's charges bring into question the integrity of Mr. Robertson and a person with such questionable integrity would no longer have the moral authority to represent people at such a high level as the honourable House of Representatives. So if Mr. Seaga has the information he claims to have, he should go one step further. He should not only seek to have Mr. Robertson's election as deputy leader declared null and void in the courts, he should seek to have him removed as the representative of the people of Western St. Thomas as well.
The question though is, whether there is in fact any evidence of tainted money finding its way into Mr. Robertson's election campaign.
The issue of funding of elections and the sources of funding is not new. There have been questions about where some of the funds were obtained but these concerns usually dissipate after the holding of elections. The matter of state funding has also been raised but there has been no decision one way of another on that issue.
So with this being a topic for discourse usually around the time of general election and with the political parties pointing fingers at each other, it is significant that Mr. Seaga has called attention to what he is indicating could be tainted money in an election within his own party.
The question is why? Was his action because Babsy Grange lost to James Robertson? Are we witnessing a change in Jamaica's political
culture?
Much of what we are seeing could well speak, not to any reform, but to the state of democracy within the JLP and failure by the party to plan for succession. It becomes a question of democracy because of reports coming from out of the party that Mr. Seaga didn't want Mr. Robertson to run against Miss Grange; didn't want Horace Chang to run against Ed Bartlett and is telling persons in the upcoming race for chairmanship and general secretary who to run against whom and who not to run.
DISSENT
The JLP is not known for any democratic principles. If Mr. Seaga can dictate who to run, when, where and against whom then the foundations of democracy on which they claim the party is built is weak, to say the least. Dissent has not been taken graciously over the years in that party. That is always seen as an attempt to "get rid" of Mr. Seaga. And the consequences we all know for example, the Gang of Five and the Western 11.
It is the same old, same old in the party. Mr. Seaga's way or the highway. Argument done!
All of this is due to insecurity. People are after the post he holds as leader. And they are not even capable of running the party. So plans for succession are non-existent.
Meanwhile, they bicker and bicker about everything and nothing. They take one step forward today and leap backwards the following day. And all the PNP needs to do is to sit back and watch. And win another election.
We were always expecting fireworks out of the JLP conference. And this historic conference - their 60th anniversary has found them at their disgraceful best.
Babsy Grange denied reports that she cried when the results revealed the thrashing she got from James Roberts. But shedding tears, like the PNP's Roger Clarke did, would have been better than what is now transpiring. At least they could console her with the position deputy leader emeritus and all would be well.
Sir Alexander is probably rapidly revolving in his grave over what these people, who claim they are going to follow Bustamante till they die, are doing to the party that he formed.
FLASH: Mr. Seaga has since said that Mr. Robertson was able to satisfy him that his sources of funding were clean. This, after Mr. Robertson has provided him with information on the sources of his contribution.
Somebody lick dem head. I swear!
Comments? You can email me at phyllis.thomas@gleanerjm.com
