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Thursday, May 31, 2012

An Idea for Shane Jones.

Become the new leader of the Maori Party. Both the Maori Party co-leaders are retiring at the end of this parliamentary term.

That's if the rumour is true that he's contemplating  quitting the Labour Party.

http://www.whaleoil.co.nz/2012/05/jones-to-leave-beaumont-packing-her-bags-ctd/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+WhaleOilBeefHookedGotcha+%28Whale+Oil+Beef+Hooked%29
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Monday, May 28, 2012

Labour's Leadership Options

 

Thinking back a few years ago Labour had plenty of seemingly able contenders for the top job.  Fast forward to 2012 & it's amazing how many of these candidates are now under a cloud.

 

- Shane Jones; porn & 'cash for citizenship' scandal   

- David Cunliffe; ABC (Anyone But Cunliffe).  And that's the Labour party caucus's feeling.  He's the Kevin Rudd of NZ politics.

- Andrew Little;  Currently being sued for defamation.

- David Shearer; The current Labour leader who's performing with mixed results.  Some on the left have already called for his head.

- Phil Goff; Had his day - Mr. 27%.   

 

IMO the likely untarnished successors for the Labour Party leadership, ranked in order, are:

 

- Grant Robertson

- Jacinda Ardern

- David Parker

 

Grant may have been a lacklustre shadow health spokesperson, but he's really proving his worth in his role as the new deputy Labour leader.  He communicates his lines very well.  When listening to David Shearer's clumsy Budget reply speech you could not help but think that Grant would be doing a far superior job.

 

Of the 'tainted' potential candidates I reckon Shane Jones would've made a strong Labour leader.  But with the current 'cash for citizenship' scandal he's beyond approach right now.

 

 
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Mallard served by Old Lady


This made me angry; Trevor not only posted a photo of the lady who served him his court papers but also tries to demonize her for doing so. What was Trevor thinking? That it would garner him public support?


The NZ Labour party would be better off without Mallard. 

http://www.whaleoil.co.nz/2012/05/mallard-served-by-old-lady/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+WhaleOilBeefHookedGotcha+%28Whale+Oil+Beef+Hooked%29
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Monday, March 26, 2012

Classic 5th Labour Govt Lines

http://m.kiwiblog.co.nz/2012/03/paul_buchanan_on_kings_claims.html

If you ever wanted a reminder of how the 5th Labour Govt operated, read the Kiwiblog link above.
Apparently no one in the government knew about the Tuhoe raids.


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Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Gower on Shearer

http://www.3news.co.nz/Politics/Goweronpolitics.aspx

"Shearer is trying to be different to Phil Goff.
There's some spin going around that Shearer not wading into this is part of this image.
Yes, Goff would have jumped right in on this and got into the gutter if need be.
And like I said, I've got a bit of time for Shearer's anti-politician image."

I couldn't stand the way Phil Goff use to over-egg pretty much any issue he could use to his advantage complete with his simulated rage.  More often or not it would blow-up in his face.
And given Gower is known as a grade-A arsehole who's natural instincts are that of a political mongrel, I therefore think Shearer's response has been rather good.  But I suspect his colleagues maybe less than impressed.  

I was a fan of Dr Brash's mild manner apolitical style.  So if Shearer managers to emulate that then at least I'll like his style, if not his policies.

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Saturday, March 17, 2012

Shearer wants to change the flag & for NZ to become a republic

 


  Image and video hosting by TinyPic
 
"New Labour leader David Shearer is a republican who supports a new national flag".
 
 

David Shearer said this on the 17t of Dec 2011. 

 

He could hot have got off on a worse foot for me. 

 

For reasons I find hard to explain, but I like the flag & NZ's connection to the monarchy. 

 

 
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Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Who do I vote for? #voteNZ

Only three days until the election. I've made a pros and cons list of my top 5 choices but I've already narrowed it down to either Key or Brash.

John Key
Pros:  the best PM in my life time. Superb response to the earthquakes. Good demeanor & style of government (not as intrusive as Labour).  Good policy mix from the left & the right. 
Cons:  the easy choice 

Don Brash 
Pros:  my personal political hero. Not a natural politician & all the better for it. Cuts through leftie spin with clear explanations of economics and policies.  Good humour & demeanor. 
Cons: 2005 was Don's Waterloo - has his time past? He aggravates the left for some reason. Needs to embrace his social liberal side more.  John Banks.

Phil Goff
Pros:  Some surprisingly bold policies with CGT & raising the age of retirement. $5K tax free income threshold. Would probably run a less intrusive govt than Clark's administration. Hard working & a decent guy. 
Cons:  A politican in every sense of the word. Simulated.  Presents a totally unbelievable fiscal picture for NZ given spending commitments and spendthrifty Labour team from the Clark years.  

Russel Norman
Pros: Modernised the Greens with minimal blood letting. Good response to 'sticker-gate' - perhaps trying to fill Rod Donalds shoes as the honorable parliamentarian. 
Cons: at the end of the day he's a luddite and a ginga. Wants to ban everything.  Every Greenie is ultimately a hypocrite. 

Winston Peters
Pros:  articulates a point well. Really socks it to the arrogant media. Good in opposition when on your side.
Cons: a liar. Untrustworthy. Full of bull. 

Key vs. Brash

I'm torn between wanting to get Brash back into parliament & getting National a majority. 

Reasons to vote Brash:
- Would make an excellent finance minister
- The nonconformist option
- Supporting my person political hero
- Probably my last ever opportunity to vote for Brash.

Reasons to vote Key:
- Best PM in my life time. 
- A National majority govt would be good for NZ.
- A majority govt would stick it to Helen Clark and her legacy (political utu)

After much deliberation I have decided to vote for Key.  I was very proud of Key during the Chch Earthquakes & the Pike River Mine tragedy and feel I should award him accordingly.  I just hope Brash makes it back into Parliament without my vote.
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Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Differences between 2002 & 2011

http://m.kiwiblog.co.nz/2011/11/will_it_be_2002_reversed.html

In my opinion the key difference is no Winston Peters.
When it became apparent National didn't have a hope of winning in 2002, many national voters changed horse to Winston because it seemed like he'd be a stronger voice in opposition to Helen Clark's Labour than Bill English.
There was the Peter Dunne worm-riding effect which turned a few voters from both National & Labour.
Helen Clark also faced a scandal with the whole 'corn-gate' thing where she called John Campbell a 'creep' (can't imagine John Key saying something like that). 

And to top it off MMP was still pretty new so people were experimenting. It was a perfect storm of factors which lead to Nation's lowest election result ever.

Fast forward to 2011 - the election date has been known for most of the year thanks to John Key (2002 was a snap election). Winston Peters & Peter Dunne are irrelevant. There are no significant new players. The leaders debates are only between John Key & Phil Goff - minor parties don't get a look in. The public have wised up to the workings of MMP.

And the most significant factor of them all - John Key is not Helen Clark.






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Tuesday, November 8, 2011

JK's response to Goff's Top Ten List

http://i.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/campaign-trail/5925786/Goff-needs-to-get-with-reality-Key

"When it was suggested to him that Goff labelled him smug, Key responded: "I don't really care what Phil Goff thinks....I work 19 hours a day, seven days a week to try and make New Zealand a better country.""

I don't particularly like this response. It sounds like something Helen Clark would've said.

There's no question JK works damn hard - but it's important he maintains a work-life balance. Especially for a family man.

A good manager shouldn't need to work 19 hours per day.

After all the last thing I want is for JK to burn himself out - he's the best PM this country has ever had.


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Thursday, November 3, 2011

The Left seek to distort social media

As we get closer to the general election #votenz all of a sudden you see a whole lot of anti-National stuff in all forms of social media which will quickly abate after the election.  I'm talking about Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and comments sections on Herald and Stuff.  It's apparent to me because I follow politics all year round.  

No doubt Labour activities, unionists, & paid lap-bloggers are working over time trying to foster the perception that Labour is on a come back. That Phil Goff is winning the debates. 

Two prominent examples is John Pagani stating Goff "absolutely smashed" Key in The Press debate.  And today 'Eddie' at The Standard stated the "Polls are good for Left". 

But a cursory look at the polls show there hasn't been much movement at all!

There's something deeply dishonest about flooding social media with essentially lies. 

While I find such distortions a bit of a morale sapper it is worth remembering that 'the right' tend to be the silent majority.  

Take for example the 2005 election.  Dr Brash achieved 39.1% (2% shy of Labour) of the vote in the face of unprecedented vitriol. And in 2008 John Key had to deal with leftie protests on the campaign trail just because he was ahead in the polls. 

So - Keep calm, carry on, trust the voters. 
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