Lessons
Greetings from the sanity of Dunedin North. Every pundit and their dog is opining on the lessons of Saturday, so I might as well have a go too.
Politics
political parties
Looking Ahead
Win or lose, there are never any final battles in politics. A defeat simply means the firing of the starting gun for the […]
Three more years
This election result is not the end of the world for me – because I am very, very lucky.
Next time …
National has an outright majority and the left has gone backwards. Some thoughts on what may have happened.
Green Watch
I am hoping for a good proportion of the vote for the Green Party. They got !!% of the vote in 2011, resulting in them having 14 MPs. Updated
Seat Watch – Epsom
Who will win Epsom? Will enough people rebel at John Key’s instruction to vote for the ACT candidate or will ACT’s extreme policies and Jaime Whyte’s weirdness mean that the people of Epsom will rebel and vote for Paul Goldsmith? Updated: Early, but the Act guy ahead.
From Moira
Moira Coatsworth, Labour Party President, sent this notice out to the members, supporters and volunteers.
The tweets are alive….
… with pre-election day fervour. It’s an election that’s going down to the wire. The energy is there for the left to keep talking to people, and to encourage as many as possible to get out and vote. It’s Suffrage Day – reporting via the telegraph in 1893 to the internet today. On-going updates
“We may as well kiss democracy goodbye”
The words of the title of this post are those of the Ombudsman, reflecting on yet another typical Nat government scandal as broken by David Fisher in The Herald this morning.
Three final polls
Three last polls and National’s support is declining, Labour’s improving and the Greens are stable. Things are getting very close with Winston Peters looking more and more likely to hold the balance of power. This election will be decided vote by vote.
Shout out to The Standard
A special call to work from David Cunliffe. If you don’t already have an date with a political party of the left on […]
Greens buoyant
John Key & National’s empty facade – its lack of vision for NZ – has been exposed. Opposition parties have continued to campaign positively, focusing on people, fairness, & the environment. [Update] NZ Herald video
The Conservatives in a shambles
This direct mail has gone out without an authorisation statement to who knows how many kiwi households. Add this on top of losing […]
Vote Key, get Colin
With the latest poll results it’s basically a coin-toss whether a vote for National gets you Colin Craig and his extremist mates at the Cabinet table.
Stability vs Change
This election there are two very different visions of the future on offer. I know which I prefer.
Leader’s debate IV
The fourth and final leaders debate has now finished. John Key will be pleased at his decision to limit it to 30 minutes.
Jackal: A conspiracy theory too far
Over the last month John Key has been displaying behaviour of being a raving right wing conspiracy theorist. Over the weekend megalomaniacal John Key even said that he wants the governor general to stage a coup to allow him to remain in power. The Jackal summarises recent nutty right wing conspiracy theories from the PM and others.
Flashback post: Poetic justice
Irish Bill originally posted this on 1 December 2007. For no reason at all we thought it warranted a reprint, with a guest comment from David Farrar.
Eminem sues National
Eminem is suing the National Party for breaching his copyright in the song “Lose yourself” used by National in its campaign video. Stephen Joyce previously claimed that National had the full rights to use it. But it appears that this may not be the case. Update: There may be some interesting legal issues for National if it loses in terms of its spending cap and the Electoral Commission broadcast allocation.
NZ Inc: Frightening the invisible horses of the market
The Herald is scathing of Labour’s NZ Inc policy, which defies all logic and reason by assuming that there are better ways to build our economy than flogging off profitable assets, built by New Zealanders, to foreign investors.
The blowoff stream
The queue is enormous. But here is the feed. Thanks Selwyn for the link….. 19:05: Liala Harre has been improving her speaking since […]
John Key On Trial
The latest instalment in the saga of John Key’s struggle to maintain his image as someone above suspicion has produced the amazing spectacle […]
John Key planned our mass surveillance
John Key and National let the GCSB spend 12 months on plans to conduct our mass surveillance. Without telling us. And he intends to release the details now only for political considerations. Without Glenn Greenwald’s presence we probably would never have learned about this.
Jackal: A coalition with Winston Peters
Jackal has compiled a number of the reasons why NZ First and particularly Winston Peters are unlikely to form a coalition or even to support National and John Key. Probably the way that National through their sockpuppets Act, David Farrar, and Whaleoil attacked with spurious charges in 2008. That he came back must have been a shock…
Blue on the polls
Landline polls are a traditional gripe for lefties. But this election polls look seriously out of whack with reality. Is National at 55%, 50%, 48% or 46%? But it’s always far too large for a party at National’s current stage in the political cycle. Just unbelievable and highly unlikely.
NZ Inc
David Cunliffe has announced his final big policy. It’s called NZ Inc and it’s a bloody smart move.
Greenwald on the GCSB
Glenn Greenwald has arrived in New Zealand and has been interviewed on the Nation. He has alleged that the GCSB is a fully fledged member of the 5 eyes network and has been engaged in mass surveillance of New Zealanders, contrary to assurances previously given by John Key.
The hairdressers of Levin and Foxton
John Key reckons increasing the minimum wage would hurt “the hairdressers in Levin or Foxton”. So Rob McCann, Labour’s candidate for Ōtaki, asked one how she felt about that.
Nat two track strategy – March to Sept
Nicky Hager has exposed the two track strategy of the Whale Oil, Kiwiblog, Nat smear machine. Why is it allowed to continue?
Bombs Away?
So much for any abatement of dirty politics…
Donghua Liu Letter: More Dirty Politics
Frank Macskasy at the Daily Blog has produced a timeline on the 11 year old David Cunliffe – Donghua Liu letter that shows some more seriously dodgy Dirty Politics
Campbell: Reasons Why We Can’t Afford Another National Government
Gordon Campbell posted an excellent piece yesterday on 19 Reasons Why We Can’t Afford Another National Government. I’m sure that Standardistas can add to the list…
A clear Cunliffe win
David Cunliffe’s performance in tonight’s head-to-head with John Key was exactly what I wanted to see from the next Labour Prime Minister of NZ.
Cunliffe v Key – Round 3
Round three between David Cunliffe and John Key is scheduled for tonight. John Campbell will moderate and Paul Henry will provide expert comment …
The only way National know to grow the economy
On Firstline this morning, John Key tried to compare National’s and Labour’s policies by saying “You can’t grow the economy when you restrict labour laws.” It’s nonsense, and it’s scary.
NRT: Fundamental incomprehension
Idiot Savant nails the basic issue that commentators like John Armstrong and many others simply don’t understand about the Greens. They aren’t particularly interested in the political game. They are interested in effecting change. But that’s the problem with the galley: they don’t think policy matters. The idea that some victories aren’t worth winning is something they just don’t understand.