AFTER the assassination of President John F Kennedy in 1963, his Vice President Lyndon B Johnson launched a successful election campaign for president, trouncing the Republican nominee Barry Goldwater. Johnson carried 44 states plus Washington DC and Goldwater a mere six.

The Republican’s presidential loss was compounded by a savaging in the House where, as Donald Rumsfeld once said, “There was so many Democrats (in Congress) that some had to sit in the Republican side of the isle.”

As such, the viability of the Republican Party had been put into question and a young generation of Republicans, unhappy with the direction of the party, broke off forming a clique that would later become known as The Young Turks.

The Young Turks, who were led by Congressman Gerald Ford (later the 38th President of the US) made their move to take control of the House and replace the top Republican leadership in Congress which was precipitated by the successful ousting of the presiding House Minority Leader, Charlie Halleck.

In the last election cycle, the Young Turk du jour - as far as Bahamian politics is concerned - was current leader of the DNA Branville McCartney.

After spending many years as a card carrying FNM he gained the party nomination for Bamboo Town defeating the incumbent Tennyson Wells in 2007.

He was appointed a junior member of cabinet by Prime Minister Ingraham, first in the Ministry of Tourism and Aviation and then in the Department of Immigration.

It was while in Immigration that cracks in the relationship between Mr McCartney and the party leadership began to show. Mr McCartney’s disaffection with the FNM eventually came to a head with his resignation as a junior minister after the and a half years of service.

“I resigned for many reasons,” Mr McCartney told The Tribune in an interview yesterday, “I believe that we were not doing all we said we were going to do for the Bahamian people and I didn’t like the direction the country was heading,”

Although without any official responsibilities, Mr McCartney remained a member of the FNM until one year later on the eve of the debate on the sale of BTC.

On May 12, 2011, along with current DNA Deputy Leader, Chris Motimer and others, he foundrd the DNA a mere 11 months before the next election.

The party fielded 38 candidates in the 2012 election obtaining 13,000 votes, nearly nine per cent of the all available ballots. The DNA spent $2.8 million on the campaign sourced from a hand full of persons in and outside of the party.

Mr McCartney suffered the same causalities as his former FNM counterparts and lost his seat in the House. Today, he faces the challenge of bringing a party of virtual unknowns to a level where they can be viable alternatives to older political institutions in the country.

While acknowledging that persons have criticised the DNA for being reserved in their opposition to the political establishment, Mr McCartney said that their public voice has been consistent, with the party making many pronouncements in the media. Mr McCartney’s aversion to “off season” political rallies perhaps is evidence of his dislike of perpetual campaigns.

“The DNA does not believe in talking for talking sake. I believe the people have voted for the government and they should hear from the government. I believe after the election the colours come off. This is something I believed when I was in the FNM and I believe that now. The government is the government of all. When they do something wrong we should point it out when things go well they will be congratulated,” Mr McCartney said.

The party leader claims that there has been no reduction in the public’s excitement level for the DNA and the party is still receiving “interesting” requests “from both sides of the political spectrum” from persons wishing to run under the party’s banner in 2017.

A return to the FNM is not in the cards for Mr McCartney and at the moment – no one from the party as approached him to rejoin their ranks. But as the DNA approaches their second anniversary Mr McCartney states that the direction of the party is not dictated by one person, a mistake he believes that his former party made.

On the night of the FNM’s defeat in 2012, former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham announced that he was stepping down as leader of the party and as a member of the House of Assembly. On 9 May 2012, Dr Hubert Minnis was elected by the members of the FNM to succeed Ingraham as Leader of the Opposition.

Mr McCartney has little – if any – criticism of Dr Minnis’ leadership, saying that in the wake of the 2012 election, Dr Minnis took over a party that was completely broken, in disarray and abandoned by its former leader.

“Dr Minnis is a good man and I respect him highly and what he has is a party set adrift after being dominated by a former leader who was a one man show,” Mr McCartney said.

The DNA leader was reluctant to say if there was still some underlying resentment between he and Mr Ingraham, but mentions that it has been a while since he has seen the country’s second prime minister.

“I sent messages with friends of his asking how retirement was treating him. I hope he got them,” Mr McCartney said.

Although Mr McCartney continues to be reviled by members of his former party who blame him for leeching votes from the FNM, the attorney said that it is Mr Ingraham, not he, who is responsible for the FNM’s demise.

“The FNM had been around for 40 years with a leader who boasted about his proven leadership with more financial capital than DNA could ever dream of, so I don’t take credit for the FNM loss. How could we? But if they want to give us the credit then we will take it. The 2012 election was a referendum on Hubert Ingraham,” he said.

The DNA has an up-coming convention where all positions in the party will be up for grabs, including the leadership. Each generation of politicians in the Bahamas has their Young Turks – most famous among them are possibly Prime Ministers Ingraham and Christie – but none of them have enjoyed the relatively immediate success of the Ford/Rumsfeld group.

For Young Turks in the Bahamas, the gold ring of success and the highest office in the land has been a game of patience, a dream deferred so to speak.

Meanwhile, Mr McCartney says that the DNA is the country’s best chance for advancement, believing that Mr Chritie and Mr Ingraham’s generation has taken it as far as it can go.

“The country is moving backward – way back and for the good of the country things must change because the present government can’t take us any further. More persons voted for the FNM and the DNA in the last election so they are managing a minority government that is bankrupt of ideas,” Mr McCartney said.