Listening to the politicians from both the governing Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and the Opposition People’s National Party (PNP), one can safely conclude that the silly season of elections — local or general — is upon us.

It wouldn’t be the silly season without the politicians frothing at the mouth and trying to outdo each other in their mindless quest to rile up the campaign crowds in a mad dash towards the bottom of the pit.

Speaking of the bottom, what does it profit Government Senator Charles Sinclair and JLP Member of Parliament Homer Davis of St James Southern to be preoccupied with the physical attributes of their PNP opponent, Ms Nekeisha Burchell’s breasts and buttocks, whether fake or not, as they seemingly contend?

“Mr Homer Davis took an alarming and inexcusable path, resorting to body shaming and personal attacks rather than addressing the pressing issues facing the South St James constituency,” said the president of the PNP Women’s Movement, Ms Patricia Duncan-Sutherland in a press statement. “Senator Sinclair made disgraceful insinuations about Ms Burchell, characterising her as the ‘3 Bs’, referring to her bosom and derrière. These references are entirely inappropriate and unacceptable towards a female candidate who has courageously offered herself for public office,” she continued.

Drunk with the adulation of the frenzied supporters, the two senior party men could find nothing to say about what Jamaicans need to improve their lives and how they would be able to contribute their talent to the attainment of that goal.

As their party’s standard bearers in St James, Messrs Sinclair and Davis would have us believe that the JLP has no message of hope for the poor of Jamaica or any plans worth discussing about development of Jamaica to advance the welfare of the nation.

That the top-tier leadership of the party, said to have been present, has had nothing to say since Sunday’s utterances, suggests they find nothing wrong with the approach taken by Senator Sinclair and MP Davis. What does that say about what one should expect of them in another term at the helm?

With that said, we in this space would ordinarily have agreed with the fiery response to the attack on Ms Burchell by her colleague, the PNP Women’s Movement president, but for the abject hypocrisy.

The youth arm of the JLP, Young Jamaica — and we are not fooled by their transparent attempt to negate the potential fallout from the demeaning of Ms Burchell — nevertheless points to a previous alleged attack on the party’s Portland Eastern MP, Mrs Ann-Marie Vaz, by the very Ms Burchell, a deputy general secretary, no less, of the PNP.

Young Jamaica accuses Ms Burchell of “demeaning, downright disrespectful and sexist comments” made about Mrs Vaz in a social media post, describing her as “Drunking Ann” and “pretty dunce”.

Both parties have called on each other to have the offending persons apologise and resign. Given the number of them who have been afflicted with this foot-in-mouth disease over the years, there would be no one left to lead the organisations, should they all acquiesce to this demand.

There are no saints on either side here. They just need to grow up and show more respect for the electorate who deserves better, in this 61st year of our Independence.