Saturday, November 01, 2008
The big boys
[SPECIAL GUEST POST: THE PAULIE WALNUTS OF NZ SPORTS BLOGGING, LEGBREAK]
Labour
The Clark government has, on the whole, been a good one.
Note the past tense.
They got elected on the back of a Winston infested crumbling and corrupt government and that's the way they're going to go out.
For all the faults in the US constitution they have that good rule that you can't go for a 3rd term. Power corrupts etc. And this latest term has proved that, in the way that the last Gin-soaked years of Muldoon price and wage freezes and the last decaying years of the Shipley-Kopu Alliance proved that.
The Clark administration was built on competence and integrity, and rightly so. Benson-Pope was dumped, drink drivers were put out in the recycling bin. At last we had standards.
But the venal apologetic way Winston has been dealt with (yes Winston) has generated a cloud over what was the biggest selling point.
And the way the beat-up over Key's (successful) past this week is probably the final straw.
He was in banking in the 80s; some bankers in the 80s committed crimes. That's right; therefore all Maori MPs are gang members and drug dealers.
And then there is Cullen. The worst Tory finance minister this country has ever had (Muldoon was a socialist).
Smug Pommie shit who wasted the Golden years.
On the positive side, Clayton Cosgrove answered our questionaire.
National
Good points; they're fresh. Well, almost fresh. And in John Key they have the only leader who wasn't around last time. And the way he stumbles over a sentence is a bit endearing.
They have Chris Finlayson; by a mile the best MP in the house.
And the haven't been in government for a while.
Bad points: All the 90s brigade. Lockwood small-hands Smith, McCully who won't answer our sporting questionairre, English, and Tony Ryall.
And the fact that Peter Dunne has lumped his support in with them doesn't look good.
The way Key stumbles over a sentence is a bit embarrassing.
Tony Ryall.
They are probably the best of a bad bunch.
That doesn't mean I'll vote for them though.
Labour
The Clark government has, on the whole, been a good one.
Note the past tense.
They got elected on the back of a Winston infested crumbling and corrupt government and that's the way they're going to go out.
For all the faults in the US constitution they have that good rule that you can't go for a 3rd term. Power corrupts etc. And this latest term has proved that, in the way that the last Gin-soaked years of Muldoon price and wage freezes and the last decaying years of the Shipley-Kopu Alliance proved that.
The Clark administration was built on competence and integrity, and rightly so. Benson-Pope was dumped, drink drivers were put out in the recycling bin. At last we had standards.
But the venal apologetic way Winston has been dealt with (yes Winston) has generated a cloud over what was the biggest selling point.
And the way the beat-up over Key's (successful) past this week is probably the final straw.
He was in banking in the 80s; some bankers in the 80s committed crimes. That's right; therefore all Maori MPs are gang members and drug dealers.
And then there is Cullen. The worst Tory finance minister this country has ever had (Muldoon was a socialist).
Smug Pommie shit who wasted the Golden years.
On the positive side, Clayton Cosgrove answered our questionaire.
National
Good points; they're fresh. Well, almost fresh. And in John Key they have the only leader who wasn't around last time. And the way he stumbles over a sentence is a bit endearing.
They have Chris Finlayson; by a mile the best MP in the house.
And the haven't been in government for a while.
Bad points: All the 90s brigade. Lockwood small-hands Smith, McCully who won't answer our sporting questionairre, English, and Tony Ryall.
And the fact that Peter Dunne has lumped his support in with them doesn't look good.
The way Key stumbles over a sentence is a bit embarrassing.
Tony Ryall.
They are probably the best of a bad bunch.
That doesn't mean I'll vote for them though.
Labels: john key, labour, national, NZ election 2008, sportsfreak, Winston First
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Lean Pickings
[SPECIAL GUEST POST: MR SPORTSFREAK HIMSELF, LEGBREAK]
Why this election is a painful one.
On Saturday week I vote in my 9th election (plus a by-election) and I have absolutely no idea where my party vote is headed. This is unique; normally I make my mind up about a year out and then stick my head in the sand.
But this time the choices are just so unappealing. Just when I think a particular party might possibly be semi-credible Cullen gets smug and prissy, Lockwood Smith reminds me he’s still in Parliament, I actually listen to what Rodney is saying or I catch a glimpse of Peter Dunne’s latest pet raccoon on his head.
So let's start with the minor parties, since they gave us a performance on TV last night which had all the freshness of Miami Vice re-runs.
Jim Anderton’s Jim Anderton Party
OK, that’s probably not the real name of the party, but we all know it should be. Time’s 1974 Politician of the Year is clearly popular in Wigram which in itself is enough to disqualify him from being taken seriously. The comically large glasses finish that off.
Why doesn’t he formally bury the hatchet with Clark or Cullen or whoever else he fell out with and rejoin Labour??? And the Cult of The Individual is a blight on most of the minor parties.
Which brings me to Winston Peters’ Winston First Party
Everything vile in politics summed up in one person.
I’ll miss the dark humour he brings to the House but not enough to hope he doesn’t get shoved out to a litigious retirement.
The Greens
Jeanette, I know the environment’s a bit of a worry but why do you always look as if you’re crying the whole time? In 1999 you were fresh and had integrity.
You still have integrity, but on the 4th time around you look as limp as those horrible vegetables you lot likes to eat. You’ve also got Keith Locke in your team, and although he is unintentionally hilarious, I wouldn’t want him anywhere near a cabinet table.
ACT
I have actually given you guys some thought. As a way for voting for a change without voting National.
But why bring back some 79 year-old who first entered parliament in 1966 as your star turn at #3 on The List? Seems a little out of touch to me. And remember, I don’t like the minor party Cult of the Individual.
Maori Party
Everyone’s current darling.
Pita Sharples is probably my favourite current politician. He certainly passes the Would you want to have a beer with this man? test.
But let's remember the rest of it. They were formed as a result of a hissy-fit around the perfectly reasonable Seabed and Foreshore bill, they are racially based; one of the few in the world.
And Derek Fox.
United Future
Bless him, and his theatrical hairstyles and his mock pompous outrage. And bless his sanctimonious Christian hangers-on. And bless his huntin-shootin-fishin followers too.
Because no-one else will.
When United was formed in the mid-1990s it was a good idea. MMP needs a coherent centrist party, and this was the obvious antidote to Winston’s popularism. It was formed by a combination of National and Labour MPs who, while not riveting were slightly above the average. But then the good ones missed out on re-election, and the party decided it needed not one, but 2 lunatic fringes to survive. And then there’s the hair.
Anyway, he looks pretty impotent without his friend The Worm.
Why this election is a painful one.
On Saturday week I vote in my 9th election (plus a by-election) and I have absolutely no idea where my party vote is headed. This is unique; normally I make my mind up about a year out and then stick my head in the sand.
But this time the choices are just so unappealing. Just when I think a particular party might possibly be semi-credible Cullen gets smug and prissy, Lockwood Smith reminds me he’s still in Parliament, I actually listen to what Rodney is saying or I catch a glimpse of Peter Dunne’s latest pet raccoon on his head.
So let's start with the minor parties, since they gave us a performance on TV last night which had all the freshness of Miami Vice re-runs.
Jim Anderton’s Jim Anderton Party
OK, that’s probably not the real name of the party, but we all know it should be. Time’s 1974 Politician of the Year is clearly popular in Wigram which in itself is enough to disqualify him from being taken seriously. The comically large glasses finish that off.
Why doesn’t he formally bury the hatchet with Clark or Cullen or whoever else he fell out with and rejoin Labour??? And the Cult of The Individual is a blight on most of the minor parties.
Which brings me to Winston Peters’ Winston First Party
Everything vile in politics summed up in one person.
I’ll miss the dark humour he brings to the House but not enough to hope he doesn’t get shoved out to a litigious retirement.
The Greens
Jeanette, I know the environment’s a bit of a worry but why do you always look as if you’re crying the whole time? In 1999 you were fresh and had integrity.
You still have integrity, but on the 4th time around you look as limp as those horrible vegetables you lot likes to eat. You’ve also got Keith Locke in your team, and although he is unintentionally hilarious, I wouldn’t want him anywhere near a cabinet table.
ACT
I have actually given you guys some thought. As a way for voting for a change without voting National.
But why bring back some 79 year-old who first entered parliament in 1966 as your star turn at #3 on The List? Seems a little out of touch to me. And remember, I don’t like the minor party Cult of the Individual.
Maori Party
Everyone’s current darling.
Pita Sharples is probably my favourite current politician. He certainly passes the Would you want to have a beer with this man? test.
But let's remember the rest of it. They were formed as a result of a hissy-fit around the perfectly reasonable Seabed and Foreshore bill, they are racially based; one of the few in the world.
And Derek Fox.
United Future
Bless him, and his theatrical hairstyles and his mock pompous outrage. And bless his sanctimonious Christian hangers-on. And bless his huntin-shootin-fishin followers too.
Because no-one else will.
When United was formed in the mid-1990s it was a good idea. MMP needs a coherent centrist party, and this was the obvious antidote to Winston’s popularism. It was formed by a combination of National and Labour MPs who, while not riveting were slightly above the average. But then the good ones missed out on re-election, and the party decided it needed not one, but 2 lunatic fringes to survive. And then there’s the hair.
Anyway, he looks pretty impotent without his friend The Worm.
Labels: NZ election 2008, Peter Dunne no longer has worms, raccoons, sportsfreak, Winston First
Friday, April 11, 2008
The abominable alternative to Winston Peters
From the NZ Herald:
Three interjections of up to 6 words each mark a noteworthy effort from this ball-scratching monstrosity of an MP ... whose grand contribution to Parliamentary debate as of November last year was five inane interjections.
For the record, the sum total the Muliaga family owed was $168, by no means a princely sum - probably equivalent to about one winter month's bill. Hardly a significant debt ... most people have probably been in the red to that amount at least once.
I'll say this much for Winston Peters: at least he has a work ethic.
Since Mrs Muliaga's death, the Government has hardened guidelines on electricity disconnections and last night Parliament passed a bill which gives it powers to regulate electricity companies if they do not comply with the guidelines.And also:
During a speech by Labour MP and Pacific Island Affairs Minister Winnie Laban about that legislation, Mr Clarkson was heard by other MPs to call out something along the lines of "pay the bill, pay the bill".
Mr Clarkson had to be persuaded by National's chief whip, Nathan Guy [Editor's note: Who?!?], to return to the debating chamber and apologise for his comments, which were labelled deeply offensive by other MPs.
Three interjections of up to 6 words each mark a noteworthy effort from this ball-scratching monstrosity of an MP ... whose grand contribution to Parliamentary debate as of November last year was five inane interjections.
For the record, the sum total the Muliaga family owed was $168, by no means a princely sum - probably equivalent to about one winter month's bill. Hardly a significant debt ... most people have probably been in the red to that amount at least once.
I'll say this much for Winston Peters: at least he has a work ethic.
Labels: Burka Bob, Winston First
