The Editor,
The CDC does not need Senator Jewel Taylor and her husband, the jailed former dictator Charles Taylor’s National Patriotic Party to win any elections, but a coalition with other politicians with “clean hands” will greatly help the chances of the CDC.
This has been my argument since, and I wish the CDC would look behind the notion of guilt-by-association as Vice President Joe Boakai is being painted with the brush of corruption.
When has a Vice President wielded any power in Africa, let alone in Liberia under these absolute dictators that roam the Continent?
Vice Presidents historically in Africa and in Liberia in particular are the equivalent of the “good old boys”, never to be seen as a menace to the all-powerful Presidents.
This is the dilemma in which poor country boy Joe Boakai finds himself. He therefore becomes the logical coalition partner with Senator George Weah and the CDC to win in a first round knockout in 2017, provided the CDC cuts its ties to the NPP and other shady political characters who want to ride the political coattails of the popular Senator Weah.
The argument that Mr. Weah has the right to associate with the convicted former President Taylor, his wife and whatever is left of the once repressive NPP is to commit political suicide and kiss the presidency goodbye.
Like it or not, the road to the Liberian Presidency goes through Washington, DC. If the CDC is smart enough to realize this, its best route to the Liberian Presidency is to tag team with Vice President Joseph N. Boakai, unless the CDC is prepared to wait it out another 12 to 24 years.
I say these things because events in Liberia are shaped by forces outside of Liberia. Just this week, the Liberian Ambassador to the United Nations, Lewis Brown appealed to the United NationSs to allow the UN Peacekeepers in Liberia to remain in Liberia until a new President takes over from failed, lame duck President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
Who do you think pays for the salaries of the peacekeepers who have been in Liberia since 2003? Which country contributes the bulk of the UN operating budgets?
The United States taxpayers. Which country has been babysitting Liberia since 1822?
The United States of America. Which President told Liberian dictator Charles Taylor to pack up and leave Liberia in 2003?
US President George Bush. Which country provides the most financial aid to Liberia each year? The United States. Which country does the National Elections Commission of Liberia run to most for money and logistics to conduct elections?
The United States of America. Now think hard.
But there is a new no nonsense Sheriff in the White House.
His name? Donald Trump. He is about to shut down the US free money pipeline to rogue regimes around the world. Consider the party over.
I hope some of our friends in the CDC will pay attention to these warnings.
A small shame is better than a big shame. Senator George Weah and the CDC have far more in common with VP Boakai than with Jewel Taylor and the NPP. I hope it won’t come down to “I told you so.”
Jerry Wehtee Wion,
Journalist and Political Commentator,
Washington, DC, USA