TDB Video: The Daily Blog Breakfast Club, Live from Verona Cafe on K-Rd, Auckland – a weekly current affairs show with TDB Editor Martyn Bradbury. This week AUT Associate Professor Dr Wayne Hope and former leader of the Internet Party, Laila Harre.
This Week:
- Issue 1 – How much of a win for civil rights is 24 hour warrantless surveillance?
- Issue 2 – Why is John Key still in contact with Cameron Slater?
- Issue 3 – Rate Little’s shadow Cabinet
…and can you ask Laila Harre if she did indeed go on a skiing holiday with mathew hooten ?
well she has never done anything for me. I cant make head or tail of what she stands for. Maybe I am just thick ?
Laila has disappointed me too, she is too much about herself. But Wayne is an honest, well studied good sort, who speaks the damned truth!
” she is too much about herself”
What does that actually mean, Mike? How was she “too much about herself” that other political leaders weren’t?
That criticism, by itself, is meaningless.
Frank, Laila had her better, more productive and contributing times in politics, going back to the Labour and Alliance government that did not last.
Her role as leader in the Internet Party did worry me, as she was getting paid by Kim Dotcom and earned a healthy salary that serving MPs get. So she seemed to get some preferential treatment by a well resourced sponsor. Some of the interviews during the election campaign and her speech on election night finally disillusioned me about Laila.
She seemed out of touch with reality, at various moments, defensive and self assured, while too many things turned to crap. Now she is resigning from the Internet Party and leaves the marginal party to others to fight for.
It is a bit like leaving a sinking ship, but she herself so often presents herself without self criticism, like of course also many other politicians.
I am tired of politicians that cannot admit some own shortcomings. Apart from that I wish her well, but I fear she may not have much of a future given Internet Mana’s disappointing performance. Surely the Greens are no longer interested in her, so are few others.
Mike, let me repeat what I wrote under the blogpost by Martyn Bradbury, “Has Laila Harre been blacklisted from Radio NZ?”;
MPs problems started with (1) the very public outburst by Pam Corkery (2) the very public and bizarre ranting by Georgina Beyer and (3) strategic mistakes by Kim Dotcom to be so prominant on September 15 at “The Moment of Truth”. It ended with an unholy alliance to remove Harawira from Te Tai Tokerau.
I’ve known Laila since our days in The Alliance, and she is a shrewd, dedicated, and honest political activist. With her, what you see is what you get. I honestly believe that Mana-Internet’s goal was to get an extra two or three MPs into Parliament, on Harawira’s “coat-tails”. (Whether we like the coat-tailing provision is another matter entirely. Them’s the rules, and that’s the only game in town. Try playing it any other way, and you’ll be playing into National’s hands, thank you very much.)
I’ve heard criticism that Mana accepted KDC’s money.
To which I reply with a straight-in-your-face: SO FUCKING WHAT?!
Because if we’re going to play that game and accept the narrative that MANA was somehow corrupted by KDC’s money – then what that means is that parties that represent the poor and dispossesed must, themselves, remain poor – and dispossessed. Because MANA’s constituents won’t have a hope in hell in donating sufficient cash to match National, ACT, and Labour.
In effect, it means that critics of KDC’s funding are suggesting with a straight face that parties of the poor must be poor to be credible.
If parties of the poor obtain meaningful funding (eg, KDC), then that – according to the populist bullshit narrative – implies “hypocrisy”.
In plain english: it is a narrative designed to keep parties like MANA cashless and powerless. Especially powerless. Definitely powerless.
Money is power and it was only when KDC funded MANA that the full forces of the Establishment (National, ACT, Labour, NZ First, et al) came crashing down on MANA. Before then, no one took MANA seriously.
That is what is really being discussed here. Everything else – bullshit. A distraction.
National and it’s right wing allies wanted MANA destroyed, to preserve Key’s prospects for a third term in office.
NZ First wanted MANA destroyed because Harawira threatened Peters’ chance as “Kingmaker”.
The Maori Party wanted MANA gone – because it threatened their own existence.
And Labour and the Greens wanted MANA obliterated because it drew activists from their own support base.
That is what I mean by MANA being a threat to the established power structure of this country. That is why the Nats, Labour, NZ First, and (reportedly) the Maori Party, joined forces to endorse Kelvin Davis to win Te Tai Tokerau.
Laila’s only “crime” is that she became a threat to the political establishment in this country. To which her enemies replied with a viciousness that has damaged the public perception of her career; her integrity; her character.
And ironically… she is probably one of the most honest politicians this country has ever had.
That is why, it seems, that only rogues, scoundrels, and grinning liars make it into Parliament. The honest ones don’t stand a chance.
Indeed it was a major mistake to have Dotcom take such a prominent position in the campaign, and he did sadly not stick to his earlier comments, that he would leave the political work to the politicians and activists (in Mana and IP).
Despite of what some activists believed, the campaign started going down the wrong track with Dotcom speaking at the road show meetings in a rather prominent role. And also him trying to present stuff at the moment of truth, that could in the end only be presented in part, that disappointed many.
The MSM were instrumental in it all turning to crap also, but all senior candidates involved, and of course Pam and Georgina, made mistakes that allowed the media hacks to discredit Internet Mana.
Of course it cannot simply be blamed on Laila what happened, but she played her role in it, and has now opted out again, leaving it to others to try and rebuild.
In my view in hindsight, it was a mistake to go it with Dotcom and with allowing him to play too much a role in the campaign. A meeting could have been held to make clear to him to take a background position, and simply donate the funds. But it is my firm view, that the progressive left needs to return to the roots of organising at base level, that is to attract paying members in larger numbers, to stay independent from the kind of “donors” the right is known for. That does not mean a “poor” party. Numbers of small fee payers and donors can make the difference, one or a few large donors may be seen to try and wield some influence that may not be good.
So there lies the challenge, I fear, and the risk that was taken did not result in what was anticipated, for a number of reasons.
Freddy – really? She “never did anything for you”? Like what; mowed your lawn? Washed your car? Bought you a slab of cold ones?
What were you expecting her to do for you – considering she hasn’t been in Parliament since 2002.
More importantly though, I wonder, what did you do to try to rid this country of National?
It’s an idiom, not literal. It means she wasn’t (politically) attractive to him. She personally never made him a fan of her actions. Look it up to find better explanations.
Well, never mind the “idioms”, K. Let’s try for accuracy instead, eh?
I feel a bit the same way these days. I think the thing about Laila is that she has no political foundation as such. She doesn’t answer to any specific party and has no allegiance to any party’s philosophies and policies. She is “left wing” but that’s about as far as it goes really. Members of the Labour and Green parties ultimately have to answer to something bigger than themselves. Laila doesn’t.
That’s a strangely ‘Stalinist’ view, Fambo.
I’m a Green Party supporter. Does that mean that, in your view, I must” answer to a specific party”?
Ditto for this comment,
What does that mean, “answer to something bigger”?
What political “foundations ” are you referring to?
I could say the same about you or anyone else for that matter.
These are ridiculous propositions and I submit to you that they are made up to simply create criticism where none exists. To suggest that someone in politics “must answer to something bigger” is patently absurd. The only thing we (activists) answer to is our consciences – and if we stand for office, to the public.
Garrrrrrhhh!!! – as soon as we can get rid of this banana republic ‘ prime minister ‘ the better . That’s the sort of thing tin pot dictators do ….getting their secret service mob to put down opposition party’s through using misinformation .
You know…we need to have on TDB a permanent list of lies by John XkeySCORE, – one that is regularly added to. Put it to the side so it can be seen by all. Name and shame. Title it the lies of John XkeySCORE .Dedicate a page exclusively to it. And then have links and opinions attached. Any newsmedia want to check back on all the long forgotten lies and deceit ,- it’d be there all for the taking.
As for Slater ,and his close ties to the neo liberal right wing Israeli Likud party, Farrar as well,- you think they would be that foolish not to have their insurance policy of recording all John XkeySCORES shortcomings?
SIS watches Slater , J .XkeySCORE panders to the USA , the TTPA, and the five eyes. And the USA supports Israel. So you’ve got a triad of groups and individuals watching each other.
Like a cheesy cowboy movie as the baddies eye each other up to see who’s going to draw the colts first.
This ‘ prime minister’ habitually lies. And to date , the media can see no wrong with all the other blatant lies the guys told. Or his mealy mouthed doublespeak crap. The lie he told in parliament a few weeks ago is among the least of them.
His ‘office’….more like his bloody ‘orifice’.
His ‘capacity as leader of the National party not capacity of the bloody Prime Minister’…..what sort of garbage truth twister is this guy???!!!
He should hear the name-tag ”John XkeySCORE ”!!! ” John XkeySCORE”!!! ringing in his ears as the final political epitaph before he is kicked out of parliament for lies,corruption and treason.
Lets hope when Little gets in power, he’ll trim back a lot of all this secret cloak and dagger nonsense. Lets hope that becomes material for a u-turn…that’d rip their nighties.
Very, very good, I wish we would get such a show on Freeview!
Sexist ad hominem deleted. Plus a week time-out. – ScarletMod
“Only in New Zealand…”
*sighs*
So true…
Freddy said She (Laila) “never did anything for you”?
Laila put herself out there to get rid of Corrupt Key, what did you do?
Probably told everyone to vote for Key?
Sorry you have a lazy attitude to changing the system unless you happy with the status quo?
Martyn, a fab show we enjoyed thanks for your efforts to get a local freeview micro chat show going.
Hope you begin a full blown show on TV 83 or some other likewise thinking TV channel.
Good to see some videos, “the young turks” in america is pretty popular if you were to think about doing something similar here.
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