While pointing out that Official Opposition Leader Loretta Butler-Turner can appoint whom she wishes to the Upper Chamber, Senator Keith Bell said governing members of the Senate will not allow opposition members such as controversial community activist and talk show host Rodney Moncur to turn Parliament into a "fish market".
Bell was asked for his assessment of Butler-Turner's Senate choices.
Moncur and Democratic National Alliance (DNA) Leader Branville McCartney, who was appointed leader of opposition business in the Senate, have been the most controversial picks by far.
"Some are still in shock, some are dumbfounded, but for me, it is democracy at work," Bell said.
Bell continued, "She can pick the common man off the street. She can pick a political activist.
"She can pick anyone from any part of society.
"That is up to her and it is not really for me to comment on her choosing; whether it is the right or the wrong thing.
"But, as the honorable attorney general said in the Senate, we are going to ensure that we maintain our standard.
"We are not going to allow the standard to be lowered in the Senate.
"It is not going to happen. You cannot make any statement off the wall.
"...We are not going to allow him (Moncur) to come in there and make it a fish market."
Explaining her choices and responding to the mixed reactions to her naming Moncur in particular, Butler-Turner said at a recent press conference that the senators represent a microcosm of Bahamian society and their differences "show the ability of a leader that is confident, that has the ability to respect people for their differences, and able to work around them".
Shortly after being sworn in to the Senate, Moncur confronted Tribune Deputy Chief Reporter Khrisna Virgil for questioning his position on marital rape, insisting that as a 60-year-old married man he should be able to "climb on top of" his wife when he chooses.
Days later, Butler-Turner issued an apology for Moncur's behavior saying a balance must be struck between free speech and the accepted standards of "decency and courteousness to others".
Asked whether he is concerned about Moncur's antics, Bell said, "No, because we know how to deal with it, very effectively."
He did not speak to the matter involving the media specifically.

Collapse
Pointing to the split in the Official Opposition, Bell said the Free National Movement (FNM) has undergone a "complete collapse",
Tension existed within the FNM for months before seven FNM MPs wrote the governor general on December 7 to have FNM Leader Dr. Hubert Minnis removed as leader of the opposition.
The move prompted Minnis to invite them to resign from the FNM or face disciplinary action.
The MPs refused on the basis that they followed a constitutional and democratic process available to them.
However, Bell said that argument cannot hold up.
"I think for me, the bigger picture here is that you must have order within a house," Bell said.
"You must have order in society; otherwise there will be anarchy and chaos.
"It is no different. If you have a party and the party has a constitution, and the constitution is to be followed to the letter of the law then there cannot be deviation.
"When there is deviation, there is conflict.
"Where there is conflict it must be resolved through that constitution or the constitution must be thrown out."
Bell said there is a lesson to be learned from what he called the disconnect between the FNM's constitution and the constitution of The Bahamas.
"If you are saying you are part of a party, and the party elects a leader through its convention and then the (country's) constitution says the leader of the opposition will be the person who is able to command the majority [of opposition MPs], the lesson to be learnt here is that [party constitutions] ought to comply with the constitution of The Bahamas a bit more, so we don't have this disconnect in the sense that you have now," he said.
"You have a major stumbling block whereby the former leader, Hubert Minnis, is no longer the leader of the opposition in the House, and his FNM members of Parliament have determined that they want to stay, but he wants and the party wants them to go."
McCartney has called on Minnis to resign as leader of the FNM, given the expression of no confidence in him by the majority of his parliamentary colleagues.
The FNM has appointed a three-person tribunal to review the actions of the MPs in question.
Minnis has maintained that despite the longstanding internal matters challenging the organization, the FNM remains resolute.

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