Hard News: The Mood
256 Responses
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Bolger really is the Stateman Moore wished he was.
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Bolger really is the statesman Moore wished he was.
Them's wise words.
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Bolger really is the Stateman Moore wished he was.
.... and just about half the statesman Lange was.
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So National can pass a few acts in their first month in government and sort this out, and then every thing will be sweet! :D
Robyn - can I quote you on your masterful summation?
And to your list, may I add:
- Global Warming
- The pending collapse of the world finance system
- Asian immigration
- Third World Health provision
- High interest rates
- Dog attacks
- P
- Gangs
- Dodgy finance companies
- Poor public transport
- Underinvestment in infrastructure
- Crap weather (I'm from Auckland)
- John Banks (see above)Some questions:
Will the mood of the electorate swing against National (assuming they win) once they prove as unable to do anything about petrol and food prices, as it appears to be doing in Australia against Rudd's Labour Govt?
Just what level of crime does the Sensible Sentencing Trust and others concerned with crime expect? None?
Just what IS National offering us, other than 'not Labour'?
(just joking about John Banks, of course. He's out of the National fold - they won't do ANYTHING about him)
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That Kiwis Care thing must have been one of the strangest fleeting movements in NZ history.
1981 was a strange year though; that march, the Bok tour and riot police, Joy Division making #1, the All Whites Road to Spain, and Muldoon somehow getting back into power.
And overseas there were assassination attempts all over the place and some Royal Wedding.
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I have to say, I am completely bemused and a little bit saddened by the current mood.
What happened to the rational, reasonable Kiwi ethos of giving everyone a fair go, and watching out for your neighbour? Instead there's this shrill, selfish yapping from across the country, and it's racist and short-sighted and blind and ultimately self-defeating. I wish I could tell whether it's a genuine sea-change, or simply the echo-chambers of Your Views and Kiwiblog and talkback radio.
The thing I find most discouraging is that so many people seem blind to their own best interests, yet seem to lack the wit and the inspiration to think their way to a better future.
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I didn't find Jennifer Lees-Marshment the slightest bit insightful, more like stating the bleeding obvious. The left wing bloggers and fellow travellers such as Hagar & Laugeson take from the employment of the Tories Aussie advisers that they are going to go negative, but the fact that the party has used them for so long and not really done so surely indicates the exact opposite! I thought you were all trained journalists - please take off the blinkers and make some sort of effort at being objective. I don't blame Labour for attempting to blacken John Key, they've got nothing to lose, but I can't understand intelligent observers falling for such obviously desperate spin.
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Holy crap. I missed the interview with Peter Low on Morning Report today.
He admits to hiring triad members for personal security ("I got money, I can do anything") then loses it ("don't make me angry!") when Sean Plunket calmly asks him "WTF?".
Plunket's been quite good value during the recent craziness, actually.
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Robyn - can I quote you on your masterful summation?
Of course you may. And if anyone else has any things to add to the list of things of which ordinary Kiwis have had a gutsful, please do.
Oh, and I've just thought of something that needs to be added to the list:
- petrol prices
- food prices (especially cheese)
- leaky homes
- taggers
- truckers road usage fees
- crime in South Auckland
- ineffectual police
- Global Warming
- The pending collapse of the world finance system
- Asian immigration
- Third World Health provision
- High interest rates
- Dog attacks
- P
- Gangs
- Dodgy finance companies
- Poor public transport
- Underinvestment in infrastructure
- Crap weather (I'm from Auckland)
- John Banks (see above)
- Lightbulbs -
I don't blame Labour for attempting to blacken John Key, they've got nothing to lose, but I can't understand intelligent observers falling for such obviously desperate spin.
I was fairly appalled by Clark's attempted hit on Key last week, and said so, but I'm not sure what the rest of your rant means.
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__ Bolger really is the Stateman Moore wished he was.__
.... and just about half the statesman Lange was.
But still twice the statesman Key wil ever be.
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Anyway, if we're all going to be doing apocalyptic banality here's how:
Craig, I love you.
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If National continue as they have done, raising hopes that can't be met, they will soon be as unpopular as Bolger/Richardson in 92/93, and MMP will mean a one-term government.
Or less, because if they're not a majority government, then they'll have a coalition or cooperation partner who may decide to pull the plug and be hailed as heroes rather than go down with the sinking ship.
(This, IMHO, is a feature, not a bug: a real check on the ability of governments to lie to the public and hide their agenda. But in order to work, it requires minority government, which is not what the polls are telling us ATM)
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Jude Dobson should be PM having succeeded Judy Bailey
Now that is a good idea instead of endless hours of political name calling in the name of electioneering we could have a homeopathic hour with Jude telling us what remedies to take to make us get better!!
It could be used reduce health spending and encourage people to lose weight. There are so many benefits that would come from having Jude as PM. She might also know enough to reorganize Pharmac and get a higher priority for all those drug companies excellent products she is always telling us about.
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And if anyone else has any things to add to the list of things of which ordinary Kiwis have had a gutsful, please do.
Junkets (defined as "any New Zealander going overseas not wearing military or sporting uniform").
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Like all incumbent governments in the western world, the decline of the popularity of Labour can almost exactly be matched against the burst of the housing bubble and the soaring price of energy. Never mind both of these issues are the result of forces beyond our control.
Given that this may be the start of a period of prolonged global economic downturn, here is something to think about when you contemplate all these oxymoronic and vague desires for authoritarians who can free us from the nanny state: All fascist movements of the 20th century emerged as a vague anger in an impoverished middle class.
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impoverished middle class
we're not quite there yet
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Junkets (defined as "any New Zealander going overseas not wearing military or sporting uniform").
Everytime I went overseas in either Army or Sports uniform it was most definately a junket.The most dangerous place I've been to overseas while paid by the Queens Shilling was the bar.
Others have faced danger and been couragous - not me though & very happy for it :) -
In truth, we don't know whether, or to what extent, the unusual public mood is a product of anyone's spin, let alone (as Laugesen admits) Crosby/Textor's.
Section 59 cost 4-6% in polling and EFA another 2-3%; both have been sustained losses. These were political missteps Labour took in a belief that they were "the right thing to do".
The 2008 economy is down, unemployment up and Labour has lost another 8%.
And Labour is currently rushing to introduce an ETS scheme prior to the election that is complicated, costly and likely damaging. It is highly compromised and will be viewed negatively by everyone with a platform on the enviroment or the economy. Only one question remains - how many votes will an ETS cost Labour?
It is entirely possible C/T are all miracle working, genius-class, spin doctors, but they have to be LOLing at how every 6 months or so Labour kindly hands them some more gold plated ammunition.
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Executive retreats at luxury backpacker resorts!
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"We're not quite there yet."
Recent (June 08) national polling data I came across shows that 63% of respondents consider themselves 'middle class' and a further 16% consider themselves 'upper middle class'. Moreover, on the subject of financial wellbeing, 45% say they 'live comfortably' and 36% say they 'meet basic expenses with a little over for extras'.
So, 79% self select as middle or upper middle class, and 81% are doing okay financially.
The Crosby Textor 'dog whistle' has been worth every penny.
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That Kiwis Care thing must have been one of the strangest fleeting movements in NZ history.
You're not wrong LegBreak.
I watched the march from the Rip it Up/SnakeShirts window above the Queen & Victoria Streets intersection. To prove the crowd's malleability Hal Chapman leaned from the window and exhorted the crowd to sing God Defend New Zealand. A few of the Caring Kiwis actually took it up, in a rather self-conscious and faltering fashion. Later that year, from the same window, I witnessed Dean Buchanan's near-single-handed hijacking of a pro-tour march. Masterful stuff.
Once again, we live in interesting times.
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Section 59 cost 4-6% in polling ...
Possibly, but whoever managed to make the public forget that National voted in favour of the same bill certainly has something going on.
The 2008 economy is down, unemployment up and Labour has lost another 8%.
As The Standard pointed out, the number of people receiving unemployment benefits fell to 17,465 last month -- the lowest figure since 1979. Sickness benefits were down 3% for the year too.
I think the "time for a change" meme is still the most powerful driver. And Labour can certainly blame itself for not even trying to look renewed until it was too late.
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There was certainly something quaintly nostalgic about the 2 protest events over the last few days. Hence the Telethon analogy I guess.
The thing that always cracked me up about the Kiwi Care “movement” was when several media outlets kept on calling Tania Harris “charismatic”
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Holy crap. I missed the interview with Peter Low on Morning Report today.
He admits to hiring triad members for personal security ("I got money, I can do anything") then loses it ("don't make me angry!") when Sean Plunket calmly asks him "WTF?".
His interview on 3 News last night was hilarious! He threatened to "kick the bloody ass" of the reporter if he twisted his words
The guy is GREAT entertainment, I can't believe any politician has taken his rants as anything more than Little-Britain-esque sketch comedy...
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