Memorable Quotes from Trini Politicians

[Scorpio]

I think we have a rich history of memorable quotes from Trini politicians, some are funny, some are just plain dumb, some are scary *****.

For instance when Panday blurted out on a political platform "Put Yuh X by de Baliser" (that one funny, dumb and is scary ***** :D )

Ease up on de political tension for a minute and post memorable political quote you remember here. :D

[Scorpio]

"The fete is over, the nation must go back to work" - From the one and only George Chambers.

[King B]

Not a damn seat fuh dem, dey too wicked.

George Chambers


We will fight them in the east, fight them in the west, fight them in the north and south for great is the PNM and it shall prevail!

Patrick Manning

[Maccogirl]

Is licks, licks, and more licks ...Patos

[citizen]

This one goes back some years:
Chanka Maharaj, MP for St Joseph, was not too bright, but honest. His spelling of bread can easily be recalled. At a public meeting he was urging his constituents “if you vote for me you will get cheaper b-r-e-d.” Someone shouted “Chanka, you leave out de a,” and Chanka responded “b-r-e-d-a,” much to the amusement of the small crowd.

[JPersad]

As long as Patrick Manning is the PNM leader , I will be Prime Minister ...... BASDEO PANDAY

[halo]

"The only way we can afford milk is if we buy a second hand cow."....Jack Warner- Campaign 2007.

" I'd like to welcome on stage a fellow jailbird like myself.."...Basdeo Panday-Campaign 2007.

Seriously, you can't beat the UNC platform for the best picong. All others just dull... :D

[Parsifal]

"Vote meeeeeee.......Ghaaaannnnyyyyyy!" - Ghany versus Wallace in Barataria - 1960's

"This the voice of Raymond Hamel-Smith. The voice of Raymond Hamel-Smith is the voice of the people. The voice of the people is the voice of God. So I, Raymond Hamel-Smith am the voice of God!" - Raymond Hamel-Smith running in the POS municipal elections in the late 1950's

I got these two from my father who turned 80 last month.....and is still batting strong!

[peanut]

ALL AH WE TIEF ... DESMOND CARTHY Election Campaign 1986 :mrgreen:

my bad ah was thinking about the "give Chambers a chance" Campaign of 1981 :lol: :lol:

[Parsifal]

ALL AH WE TIEF ... DESMOND CARTHY Election Campaign 1981 :mrgreen:

Oh gorsh Peanut how you of all people could get the date wrong!....It was 1986.....and that was the death knell for the PNM!

The amount of "fatigue" I got in school for that line from the old Desmond Cartey! That was pressure! I and all started to wonder what I tief! :lol:

[peanut]

ALL AH WE TIEF ... DESMOND CARTHY Election Campaign 1981 :mrgreen:

Oh gorsh Peanut how you of all people could get the date wrong!....It was 1986.....and that was the death knell for the PNM!

The amount of "fatigue" I got in school for that line from the old Desmond Cartey! That was pressure! I and all started to wonder what I tief! :lol:

EDITED :P :lol: :lol:

[Parsifal]

Okay Peanut.....I am glad you picked it up too.

I was getting some serious "flashbacks" there for a while. :lol: :lol: :lol:

[vaio]

That's insulting! - Basdeo Panday (alot of times)hehe :mrgreen:

[Parsifal]

"If you have the evidence then take it to the Police" - Basdeo Panday.....every Monday morning while he was PM.

[Sumana]

This one goes back some years:
Chanka Maharaj, MP for St Joseph, was not too bright, but honest. His spelling of bread can easily be recalled. At a public meeting he was urging his constituents “if you vote for me you will get cheaper b-r-e-d.” Someone shouted “Chanka, you leave out de a,” and Chanka responded “b-r-e-d-a,” much to the amusement of the small crowd.

hahahahah my uncle alwayssssssssss tells me that story

[Scorpio]

If yuh see Panday and a lion fighting, feel sorry for de Lion !!! - Bas at his best, circa 2000

[Scorpio]

The PNM fights alone, wins alone and loses alone - Patos, sometime around 2001, I think.

[Parsifal]

"When I am speaking....not a damn dog bark!"

"One from ten leaves nought!"

....and the all time classic....."....let the jackass bray!"

- Dr. Eric Eustace Williams

[JPersad]

The parasitic oligarchy !

[Maccogirl]

In my fathers house there are many mansions...Patos

[Scorpio]

I come to you tonite, not just as the Prime Minister, but as the father of the nation - Patos in a TV address during his first term of office.


(not sure if those are the exact words)

[Somebody007]

I remember when Basdeo Panday said he will sleep with the devil to get rid of Manning. What year did he say this.

[vaio]

I said i will sleep with the devil before not I will sleep with the devil's father this time - Bas UNC Rally 2007

[Scorpio]

The future of de nation is in the children's schoolbags...Eric Williams, sometimes, long before I was born. :D

[Somebody007]

The future of de nation is in the children's schoolbags...Eric Williams, sometimes, long before I was born. :D

That is a nice quote.

[Scorpio]

"Vote meeeeeee.......Ghaaaannnnyyyyyy!" - Ghany versus Wallace in Barataria - 1960's

"This the voice of Raymond Hamel-Smith. The voice of Raymond Hamel-Smith is the voice of the people. The voice of the people is the voice of God. So I, Raymond Hamel-Smith am the voice of God!" - Raymond Hamel-Smith running in the POS municipal elections in the late 1950's

I got these two from my father who turned 80 last month.....and is still batting strong!


rofl at that one, Parsifal... :D

[peanut]

The future of de nation is in the children's schoolbags...Eric Williams, sometimes, long before I was born. :D

That was a part of his speech on August 31st 1962 in his admonition to the Nation's youth.

[Scorpio]

The future of de nation is in the children's schoolbags...Eric Williams, sometimes, long before I was born. :D

That was a part of his speech on August 31st 1962 in his admonition to the Nation's youth.

1962 :shock: I wasn't even dreamin to born then, but I wonder if Eric Williams was admonishing the nation's youth 45 year ago, what he woulda say about the youth today ?

[Scorpio]

I not sure who said "MONEY AIN'T NO PROBLEM" , but dais a classic, I think it was said in the context of an oil boom?

[lou_uk]

"if there is somebody that likes this country more than me please tell me! Because we have reached a point that that is the fundamental pillar of our philosophy" - Winston Dookeran ietv clip that plays around 6.30pm news time. Check it out!

"we had government in we mouth, after being in political exile for thirty years.." Anand Ramlogan Friday 25th October 2007 in reference to Ramesh Lawarence Maharaj on taking opposition forces out of power.

[Parsifal]

I not sure who said "MONEY AIN'T NO PROBLEM" , but dais a classic, I think it was said in the context of an oil boom?

It was Dr. Williams.

The actual quote is "Money is not the issue." He was speaking in the Lower House on a supplemental bill to develop the lands of the King George V park into a sporting facility.....1977/1978.

The Express headline the next day read "Williams - Money is no problem"

So in the end one of the most repeated Williams quotes was really a misquote. Williams never publicly corrected the newspaper. 10 years later by 1986 this "headline" morphed into one of the NAR's rallying cries as an example of PNM "squandermania".

This is a very good example of how if you do not instantly correct a bit of political "misspeak" it can evolve into a myth then legend then "political fact".

[Parsifal]

"Vote meeeeeee.......Ghaaaannnnyyyyyy!" - Ghany versus Wallace in Barataria - 1960's

"This the voice of Raymond Hamel-Smith. The voice of Raymond Hamel-Smith is the voice of the people. The voice of the people is the voice of God. So I, Raymond Hamel-Smith am the voice of God!" - Raymond Hamel-Smith running in the POS municipal elections in the late 1950's

I got these two from my father who turned 80 last month.....and is still batting strong!


rofl at that one, Parsifal... :D

When my father gave me that one about Raymond Hamel-Smith I was first in disbelief but then I realized that it could only come from a mind adept at extrapolation and "linear" thinking!I mean if A=B and B=C then A=C.....simple maths! :ugeek:

Raymond Hamel-Smith was a barrister and he headed the Independent Labour Party. He went on to become the mayor of Port-of-Spain by a technicality in the election rules......so maybe he was indeed the "Voice of God". :mrgreen:

At this time every 5 years, i like to read Naipaul's "The Suffrage of Elvira".....it puts so many things into perspective about our brand of representative politics.

[strombo23]

This one goes back some years:
Chanka Maharaj, MP for St Joseph, was not too bright, but honest. His spelling of bread can easily be recalled. At a public meeting he was urging his constituents “if you vote for me you will get cheaper b-r-e-d.” Someone shouted “Chanka, you leave out de a,” and Chanka responded “b-r-e-d-a,” much to the amusement of the small crowd.

that real funny :lol: :lol: :lol:

[lou_uk]

I was born here, and here I stay, with the people of Trinidad and Tobago, who educated me free of charge for nine years at Queen's Royal College and for five years at Oxford, who have made me whatever I am, and who have been or might be at any time the victims of the very pressure which I have been fighting against...
From Public Lecture at Woodford Square, 21 June 1955 Dr. Eric Eustace Williams (1911-1981)

[Parsifal]

jeez....anyone could ever come close to touching that man.

[bluemellow]

my contribution:

"Put yuh X by de balliser!!!!!"- Basdeo Panday 1995?

[ghost]

"Mr. Patrick says, to tell Keith and Daphne, that, the police are coming ladies and gentlemen, the police are coming !" (Patrick Manning elections 2001)


"He doesnt like my tie, and i dont like his politics" (patrick maning elections 2007)

[JPersad]

my contribution:

"Put yuh X by de balliser!!!!!"- Basdeo Panday 1995?
I :D

[lou_uk]

"If the COP did not split the votes, the PNM would be in Govrnment today......... would not be in Government today" Basdeo Panday after achieving Opposition 6th Nov 2007.


"As long as he is dere, I'll be here" PM Patrick Manning mass meeting "on d" Croisee, Constituency of San Juan/Barataria Friday 26th October, 2007

[peanut]

Don’t worry .... there’s light under the tunnel .... :mrgreen: Martin Joseph on crime 2007

[sam48]

TUB BUTLER being heckled at a campaign meeting.

Heckler: "Butler where is your manifesto" "Where is your manifesto"
Butler,not having a written manifesto retorted " I have shown it to your mudder it is six inches below my navel."


The one that has done great damage to the work ethic of the country:
"Massa day done" By E.E Williams.

[peanut]

TUB BUTLER being heckled at a campaign meeting.

Heckler: "Butler where is your manifesto" "Where is your manifesto"
Butler,not having a written manifesto retorted " I have shown it to your mudder it is six inches below my navel."


The one that has done great damage to the work ethic of the country:
"Massa day done" By E.E Williams.


Yuh hadda be joking on that ... right? :lol: :lol: :lol:

[sam48]

If yuh asking about the retort from "The Chief Servant" dat eh no lie, he wasnt easy.
The meeting was at Frisco Junction in Pt. Fortin.

[sam48]

Eric Williams was a master of picong and is immortalised in song by The mighty Sparrow.
"Mr Speaker they envy me for my African safari" in response to oppossition complaints about the cost of his visit to many African states in one trip.

On a campaign platform about the opposition: "Mr Chairman they running all over the country like a zandolee that cannot find its hole"

[raider]

my father told me about a politician, i believe it was the previously mentioned chanka maharaj, who upon completion of his speech, told the people: 'i thank you from the bottom of my heart...and my wife thanks you from her bottom too.'

or so the story goes...

[Parsifal]

Good one there raider! That one was a classic!

[six4]

Politics has a morality of it's own - Basdeo Panday.

[six4]

Are you sure about that?

I always thought that quote...money is no problem was made when Eric Williams greeted Hansley Crawford at the Piarco Airport after he won the gold medal at the Montreal Olympics. He promised to name a plane after Crawford and someone in the crowd shouted where were we going to get the money to buy this airplane? and Williams responded by saying money??...money is no problem.

Of course that version could be urban legend, but I believe that is where that quote originated.



I not sure who said "MONEY AIN'T NO PROBLEM" , but dais a classic, I think it was said in the context of an oil boom?

It was Dr. Williams.

The actual quote is "Money is not the issue." He was speaking in the Lower House on a supplemental bill to develop the lands of the King George V park into a sporting facility.....1977/1978.

The Express headline the next day read "Williams - Money is no problem"

So in the end one of the most repeated Williams quotes was really a misquote. Williams never publicly corrected the newspaper. 10 years later by 1986 this "headline" morphed into one of the NAR's rallying cries as an example of PNM "squandermania".

This is a very good example of how if you do not instantly correct a bit of political "misspeak" it can evolve into a myth then legend then "political fact".

[rivers]

As long as Patrick Manning is the PNM leader , I will be Prime Minister ...... BASDEO PANDAY


Hahahaaaaaaaaaa. sign that man up for the improv, he is funny too bad

[sam48]

The Quote was really "I thank you from the bottom of my heart .. and my wife bottom too"

A sawmill proprietor contesting the Siparia seat "I have helped many people in this area when dey building house ah give all ah dem wood, ah give dey sister wood, ah give dey mudder wood, ah give dey brother wood an all"

[peanut]

The Quote was really "I thank you from the bottom of my heart .. and my wife bottom too"

A sawmill proprietor contesting the Siparia seat "I have helped many people in this area when dey building house ah give all ah dem wood, ah give dey sister wood, ah give dey mudder wood, ah give dey brother wood an all"

Lawd, wood from he and pipe from Kamla ...... :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

[Scorpio]

LOL this is a hilarious thread !!! I wish I had more humor to add, but all I can remember is an NAR minister on his feet in paliment on Friday, July 27, 1990 saying something like "who is your leader" (or was it "where is your leader") just as the muslimeen storm in with the sound of gunfire in the background. :shock:

[sam48]

Scorpio,
That was Joseph Toney who was NAR Minister of National security to boot.
It was a serious occurence, but after the gunsmoke cleared the trini penchant for humor and picong took over. He was throwing picong at the newly founded Club 88 members who had crossed the floor with Panday.Within no more than five seconds after he taunted them by asking "who is your leader" his eyes bulged out of his head and he ducked for cover as the the sound of gunshots was heard.
The humor was in the irony that here was the minister of national security no less,giving out robber talk and beating his chest and a couple of seconds later cringing and ducking for his life with his eyes bulging.

[Scorpio]

^^^ Sam48, I have seen that tv clip a few times, and really, it's hard to decide weather to laugh or cry at the whole thing. :?

Thanks for filling in the blanks.

[cool3ni]

"Great is the PNM,Great is the PNM,Great Is the PNM"-Patos at his wining constituency seat,2007

[peanut]

"flukk You" or was that "love" you ....... Larry Achong :lol: :lol: