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Have you noticed something about the Brown Government that carries the harsh edge of American-style right-wing politics?

It sounds absurd, I know, but statements have been made that started me wondering: What is this Government's philosophy. It is certainly a valid question, because after eight and a half years of the Progressive Labour Party in power we have a government that is less about progressive, less about labour and a lot more about, well, I'm not sure.

Here's where my wondering began. A few weeks ago during a late-night session of the House of Assembly's Budget debate, Dr. Brown rose to defend his decision to shut down the Medical Clinic.

"It's important to understand what happens to people in a welfare state," the Premier told the House.

"I have lived in the U.S. and seen what happens when people have their entrepreneurial spirits and ability to self-sustain taken away from them because the state came in to provide for them.

"We don't want that and we are not going to have that in Bermuda."

Forget for a moment the Premier's references to entrepreneurship and self-sustainability. They have nothing to do with the issue. The Clinic cares for people who live at the edge of our society, either because of age, illness or mental problems.

They are the very people Government should be helping. But the Premier seems to be moving Government away from its well-established role as the helper of last resort to something harder.

If you step away from his rhetoric and consider the result implied, the Premier wants clinic patients to get out of their wheelchairs, throw away their canes, get a job, get a cab and stand tall in the queue for treatment at private clinics.

This "let's get tough with those who can't" is not the kind of thinking one would associate with a Progressive Labour Party, which came into existence to form governments to help people overcome circumstances beyond their control.

The PLP was supposed to be more caring about people, more about using the power of government for positive, humanistic change, but the record shows as clear as day that they're not really about that. Dr. Brown's statement could have been a one-off, but then his leader in the Senate, Lt. Col. David Burch, took a leaf from the Premier's book and boiled it down to its most acidic, hard-hearted base.

During the Senate's Budget debate, while attacking UBP Senator Gina Spence Farmer's support for the squatters at Club Med, The Royal Gazette reported him saying: "If you ever attempt to govern, those very same people you have turned into thinking government will be my mamma, my nanny and change my diapers and do everything for me will be the same monsters that we are having to deal with today."

Is there something to all of this? Is the PLP aligning itself with the Newt Gingrichs of the world? Who are they? Does anybody know anymore?

Shawn Crockwell is the Chairman of the UBP.[[In-content Ad]]

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