DEMOCRATIC Party executive director Carlo Branch has advised all Democratic candidates not to answer the surveys sent to them by We Are Guåhan and the Guam Chamber of Commerce.
“The way the surveys are constructed does not allow for Democrats or Republicans to give people a full understanding of their positions,” he said.
Branch explained that “yes” or “no” surveys or “sign a pledge” or “don’t sign a pledge” actions don’t allow voters to hear the reasons as to why a candidate is running.
“We’re open to answering surveys and we’re open to participating in forums. But the way these two particular surveys are structured make it look like the left are anti-buildup – like the one with We Are Guåhan – while the right favors the buildup at all costs ... with the Guam Chamber survey,” Branch said. “What we think is that a majority of the people of Guam want a buildup that is somewhere in the middle.”
He emphasized that if candidates answer the surveys, then that is the decision of those candidates.
Sen. Judi Guthertz issued a news release on her response to We Are Guåhan’s survey and stressed she appreciates the organization’s efforts. But she said to simply answer “yes” or “no” to questions “are inherently unfair and will certainly lead to misunderstandings and innuendo.”
“Therefore, I decline to answer the We Are Guåhan questionnaire with simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ responses that may be misinterpreted or taken out of context,” Guthertz said.
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Second, this is not the "compromising" crowd. When those who were strenuously for the buildup proposed to incorporate culture and language into their workplace, and they have, I said at that time that these overtures will not be met half-way or anywhere. The search for the truth is a wonderful thing, but with uncompromising folks, not unlike some in Congress, reason and logic do not apply, only sentiment, made up or otherwise. (A little like religion.)
Third, as far as the linkage of the political status and the military build-up, one has nothing to do with the other. The wealthy in this community, by and large, do not want any rearrangement of the political relationship. When they feel that it is time for a change, then there might be some impetus for said change. Poor folks are not going to start a revolution, Haitian or French versions, because they are taken care of. Middle-class tend to leave, which is why the build-up presented an opportunity to rebuild that portion of the economic middle. But the 'new intelligentsia' derailed it.
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