Yawn.
In the same 4 weeks the Standard were making the case for war, inadvertently backing up rape threats so as to not annoy farmers, and strangling climate change debate, the mighty voice of the Labour Party online has disappeared right into their own navel with a post so endearingly self involved it manages to sum up all the reasons the Left are going backwards.
The Standard isn’t there to attack the external enemies of the party in the way Whaleoil does, it’s there to suppress and direct the voices of the left so that there is only one narrative, and that narrative is Respectable Labour, Respectable Labour, Respectable Labour.
The same factionalised tensions that exist deep within the Labour Party are as alive and kicking on The Standard as they are in the Caucus.
The Standard want a change of Government. The Daily Blog wants a changed Government.
Meanwhile Sue Bradford and Hone Harawira are on the front lines as per usual and the next major rally against TPPA is March 7th.
When The Standard have worked through their midlife crises maybe they can get back to the rest of us on what it is the actually stand for.
Actually I think the Standard is a bit confused atm – it seems to exist chiefly to bring mindfulness to those misled by matter and subsequently entangled and entrapped in the beige limbo of Maia 😉
Your wrong about the standard, i read this blog and the standard most days and i think your twisting what the posts at the standard said.
The Standard is a collective group of voices, authors and commenters.
You are writing about it as if it is a separate, coherent entity when you – of all people – should know that it is not.
Martyn, shrug off the petty criticisms of some of those involved.
You have your cheerleaders there, in authors and commenters alike, and often TDB is linked because of the pertinent information and insights your articles have.
You don’t have to agree with every article posted, even the authors on The Standard don’t do that.
But redirect your energies to those who are causing the most harm, distributing the most misinformation – and that is not other left-wing blogs.
And understand that the way forward is not about unquestioning single-minded vision, it is more about recognising diversity and encouraging open discussions and sometimes uncovering multiple solutions. Which both TDB and The Standard endeavour to do.
Although I have tried to ignore previous posts on this topic in the past in the hopes it will die down, it has not. You seem upset to the point of ranting, and that is putting me off TDB.
PS. Don’t repeat the spin that it is “the mighty voice of the Labour Party online”.
Very few of the commenters, which provide the majority of the discussions there, admit to that! And very few Labour MP’s – if any – can be found there.
It is no doubt because you favour a more abrasive version that you are writing the Daily Blog and not restricting yourself to contributing to The Standard. I agree that the Standard might enjoy a rocket, but I hope there is still room for a variety of tones and priorities on the Left. I trust you aren’t simply proposing that the Standard come out the back and sort this out with you in the carpark?
hi martyn,
“The Standard isn’t there to attack the external enemies of the party in the way Whaleoil does, it’s there to suppress and direct the voices of the left so that there is only one narrative, and that narrative is Respectable Labour, Respectable Labour, Respectable Labour.”
and the purpose of this post is…?
cmon man, the left is made up of a diverse group of folk, engaged at different levels, doing different things.
as has been mentioned above you are being disingenuous when you again attatch the labour, labour, labour tag to this site.
i dont know what has gone on between ts and your good self but for goodness sake i wish y’all would drop it, move on and concentrate on sabin, casinos, gcsb, fracking, etc.
there is a by-election in northland that i reckon is attainable for the left to win but not if we are trying to give each other a blood nose all the time.
cheers.
Hi Martyn and Pat,
I’m a huge supporter of TDB, yourselves and am a Mana voter. I certainly have little if any time for the Labour party, and from reading through some of these debates have no doubt that some of the Standard bloggers have been very disingenuous at best.
However, even if I think you are both 100% in the right (not totally sure on that but do take your side) I think this topic and public spat is really causing damage to the (further than Labour) left. Please don’t waste your energy on them in this public space as I really, really don’t see any positive outcomes from filling TDB with it, or from giving them even more of a platform.
Those of us, who like yourselves are from left-Labour, Mana, Greens or other left groups already know what sneaky sellouts the Labour right are and will continue to be.
Please continue your awesome writing and activism and put this to bed. It won’t mean they’ve won or have convinced anybody, it just will show that your priorities are real political change, not factional arguments with a group who live for that drivel.
I look forward to your awesome future contributions.
A tabloid style ‘blog war’, a digital ‘literary spat’ is a waste of everyone’s time. Readers and commenters will vote with their clicks and taps soon on this imo.
There are some quality writers active in important parts of the real world at TDB, and that is why I visit and why the blog will hopefully continue and build after the election debacle. The Standard writers are more ‘once over lightly’ style but their comments have some interesting connections.
There will likely never be “one left blog to rule them all” so best to concentrate on respective strengths and get on with it.
Yep! I’m in absolute agreement with Molly (in particular) and also Hone Tawaroa and Nick and Gsays on this one.
Something to do with “United we stand, divided we fall”, perhaps?
I too was briefly taken in with the Nats’ propagandizing lies about “The Standard” being a “Labour party rag”. Its not; it iS however, as Molly says, a diverse collection of writers and thinkers.
“When The Standard have worked through their midlife crises maybe they can get back to the rest of us on what it is the actually stand for.”
Yes The Standard clearly does have issues to deal with and martyn is right to voice his concerns now..
My experience with The Standard showed this.
Just look back to the pre election, in mid 2014 for example.
I joined (like you all) both the Daily Blog and the Standard to vent my concerns about the Dirty politics of the National Party.
I proposed that the National plan was similar to the Goebbels/Hitler policy of pre-war propaganda machinery.
Also most disturbing was John Key’s connection to the NAZI Party foundation power group called “The Bilderberg group” as Key represented as Prime minister of NZ he was in attendance in 2011 and on their attendance list also.
When he was at their Global secretive meetings I remarked that he was possibly sent to work for the secretive elitist organisation.
This caused Ipent to warn me and the Standard was the only blog that banned me when I continued to speak out about this disturbineg trend right when the Nicky Hager book surfaced of all times.
The Standard then blamed me for what they claimed was “Godwin”.
I called it free speech and then The Standard banned me for two months in mid September before the Election, so the same subject I continued to vent on The Daily Blog as my only remaining voice was heard, so as for freedom of choice to blog award does clearly belong to The Daily Blog thank you Martyn for the rights to free speech.
I’m very pleased to be able to write for the Daily Blog, but I also value reading posts from the diverse contributors to the other progressive blogs (such as Public Address and the Standard). They often contain useful information and argument (which I may or may not agree with). I appreciate friendly debate between contributors, within and across the progressive blogs. Hopefully all the progressive blogs are increasing their readership (which probably overlaps quite a lot).
“I appreciate friendly debate between contributors”.. So would a lot more of us if that “friendly debate” not amount to back slapping among an “inner clique” that reacts very badly to anyone attempting to introduce new aspects of issues.. Or indeed, attempting to draw back to the fundamentals of issues…. My experience of that blogs “debates” is frustration at the circular, and self serving, congratulatory nature of that blogs discussions… The last straw for me was being labelled a “right wing nut job” by LPrent for trying to introduce aspects of an issue that was being utterly overlooked… My crime, it seemed was not being obsequious enough toward the inner circle…my challenge to show evidence(comments posted) of my rw trollery was met with utter silence….I put it down to a bad day for LP, but subsequent events, and posts I’ve had pointed out to me paint a different picture…. I disagree that this blog is a vassal of the labour party.. There has been too much in the way of factionalism displayed for that to be credible as a blanket assumption… Indeed, if this site is an arm of the party, then I would suggest they find a better vehicle to promote their policies, and philosophies…. These clowns are doing the nats more favours than anyone else….
I have read both the Standard and TDB for quite some time. While I noticed some changes at the Standard in moderating from mid last year, leading up to the election, and while I also had some disappointing experience with some of their “moderators”, I think it is not worth wasting time on any rivalries or spreading negative sentiment.
Now I read the Daily Blog much more often than any other left leaning or progressive blog, and the Standard only occasionally. I also read Public Address more often than The Standard. Yes, some of them writing on the Standard seem to have softened more towards Labour, and are more defensive of that main opposition party, but there are also still many diverse views and comments expressed there. The election loss by Labour has shaken many, so a more conciliatory tone has been adopted towards them.
Lprent has raised my eyebrows at times re how he moderates and bans certain people, sometimes for peculiar reasons, but as he is one of the major persons running it (especially the technical side), he has his rights to do as he does.
It would be better to simply apply the live and let live approach here, and take any disagreements off-line, and sort these out with Lynn at a different place and level.
Disagreement can be expressed re some Standard posts, but we should not blame “the Standard” as a collective for what one or the other there writes or does.
Enough with the pointless attacks on THE STANDARD, Martyn. There is plenty of room for both blogs to co-exist. If TDB and TS cannot co-exist, then it’s pointless for us to expect Labour to work collegially with The Greens and Mana.
Lead by example, sir. You are much better than this nonsense.
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