TVNZs Q+A yesterday had National Party Assassin Michelle Boag on. Allowing Boag on with polite left wing panelists tends to end up looking like a nature program where the Hyena eats weak babies and Q+A was no different.
Boag flashed her fangs and boldly proclaimed that with National at 50% and a world beating growth rate, the Mt Roskill win by Labour was meaningless.
Let’s be honest about National’s recent poll rating that the mainstream media tried to use to strangle Little last week leading into the by election. The reason National are at 50% is because of a biased mainstream media and a property bubble that creates an illusion of wealth.
With Paul Henry in the morning to Mike Hosking at night, it’s surprising that National aren’t 60% from the white noise of pro National propaganda while everyone who owns property believes they’re a bloody millionaire and because Key is giving them untaxed capital gains that are 3 times the average wage, who are you going to vote for?
The other reason economy is doing ‘well’ is because of natural disasters, you can’t simply hope for earthquakes to rebuild from. That’s not economic stewardship, that’s blind fate. Add to this a Government who have opened the floodgates on migration allowing work and student visa scams to erupt puts pressure on social infrastructure, housing and flaccid wages.
So a biased media, every landlord with an illusion of wealth and rebuilding from national disasters are what is keeping National’s support so high. Hardly an unassailable target.
Social media will undermine the mainstream media’s role in the next election, our housing bubble will pop the moment the Fed puts up interest rates and allowing huge migration will have serious electoral consequences.
National’s inflated poll numbers are as self delusional as the housing market. Once the property market pops, so will National.
Even supposing the numbers were not manipulated ( a very optimistic supposition given the desirability of 50% with its implicit ‘most people prefer argument’) National are not on 50% in that poll. 16% were undecided or wouldn’t say, so the poll result was half of the remaining 84% or 42% for National.
Just for starters if our economy is doing so well;
Why is the police budget cut so much that Northland and most other areas around NZ short of police, support staff, logistics, facilities and stations and in part lawless?
Why is cancer treatment times in all but one DHB hopelessly behind?
Why is Wellington DHB unable to operate within it’s cut budget?
Why are junior doctors not paid properly and allowed to work reasonable hours?
Why are the very educational standards National campaigned on slipping?
Why are teachers not paid a decent salary and constantly expected to do more with less?
Why are we second to last in productivity in the OECD?
Why is funding for mental health, social housing, disaster managent, maritime NZ all been cut?
Why was Housing NZ essentially insolvent?
Why is RNZ’s funding frozen?
Why is our debt climbing and so high anyway?
I mean we should be rolling in money, we are Rockstars are we not?
Why?
Because Nationals growth and Nationals competent economic management is a lie!
I can see no reason why Andrew Little, among others, try to pretend they are comfortable with their low numbers.
Perhaps they should say up front that they are of course very concerned for the future of the country, ask directly for the ears of those who care about poverty, housing, work income, education, healthcare, our relationship with the rest of the world and inequality at home and then launch into an analysis of the difference between the Left and the Right, making clear that realistically Labour will never have all the answer and appreciate the alternative perspectives allowed by MMP. But reiterate that Labour is really the only potential unifying core of any alternative government.
MMP has always worked against a portmanteau reform party like Labour, when you can shop around for the alternative of your choice. However Labour is still quite strong enough to lead an alternative administration. The media should not be allowed to characterize the electorate choice as a dichotomy between the two historically major parties when the true split is far closer.
There are two worlds: the fantasy world of politicians and the media, and the real world. The gulf between the two gets bigger every day that passes.
There are two kinds of people living in NZ: those who are connected to reality, and those who are not. Those disconnected from reality apparently outnumber those connected to reality in a ratio of something like 100 to 1.
As the population ages and dies, and as the landscape becomes more urbanised, the portion connected to reality declines and the portion disconnected from reality increases.
It seems that National is onto a winner in the short term because each day that passes the populace becomes more brainwashed and psychotic, and in that brainwashed, psychotic state will vote for their own enslavement and demise.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychosis
The mass psychosis that characterises NZ (and other industrial nations) will end when factors in the real world terminate present living arrangements, some time between now and 2025.
Pick your terminator:
1. Abrupt Climate Change.
2. Peaking and decline of hydrocarbon extraction.
3. Unravelling of Ponzi economics and finance.
In the meantime, look on in bemused horror, knowing every day that passes, the government will make everything that matters worse.
A friend of mine -connected to reality, of course, and despairing of the trends in society- recently told me about the latest manifestation of the sickness that characterizes NZ and most of the western world, which he had seen in the home of a family member: a black Christmas tree.
I’d never before considered how much ‘assassin’ looks like ‘asinine’. Or that ‘assassin’ could be shortened to ass, ‘arse.’
Every time Boag opens her mouth I know what to expect. With that connection of assassin and arse it is all so clear. What comes out is easily labelled.
Why are we cheering on a Labour victory, when the Labour Party is completely dominated by unreconstructed Centrists and Tory-lite careerists?
The NZLP shows absolutely no sign of having learned ANYTHING from Jeremy Corbyn’s successes. And the only recognition of even the existence of Momentum is a few mumbled marketing bytes on Social Media.
Labour is running its old Revolving Door strategy; Wait for the inevitable political rotation. Wait for the incumbent party to burn itself out. Promise nothing, offer nothing, and above all, keep the workers sedated.
The NZLP is NOT a Workers Party! Stop cheering for these people to win! They are the same ilk as their Establishment comrades in the National Party – whatever their stripe, their job is, as Marx said, to ensure the continued dominance of the Ruling Class. Period.
We must begin holding Labour to account for their Centrism, their support for outrageous Capitalist programs like the TPP, and their toleration of mass surveillance and the erosion of social justice and equality in this country.
If now is not the time to hold them to account, then when? When they are in office, and they have everything they need and want? Make our support conditional on acceptance of an iron clad agreement to support a new social agenda. Or brace yourself for the inevitable betrayal, when the New Zealand Labour Party gets its marching orders from International Capitalism, and we are all powerless to do anything about it.
Michele Boag is loud enough mouthpiece for the National party without having to endure it on what is supposed to be unbiased current affairs platform.
Except it is not and Boag is not reined in or seriously challenged on her fanatical fantasies, only a union leader speaking for the left can argue strongly and take Boag on from what i have seen.
The lady looking to replace David Cunliffe in New Lynn was totally ineffective in countering Boag and when she did attempt to highlight John Keys negative character and honesty she was shut down as was Andrew Little by Jessica Much in his interogation.
Martyn the housing millionaires club has sucked a lot of people in to Keys web and once as you say the Fed moves interest rates climb the illusion will be shattered.
When that happens is anyones guess and as for the quakes that effect does not build and sustain the economy long term but suits Keys short term objectives trying to look like their is activity but that only lasts a short time.
50% is a hard rd for Labour to compete but there is a constituency out there including all those who dont vote for Labour to reach if it is serious about offering a real alternative in peoples lives and communicating that message as they did in Roskill.
Let’s be honest about why National are 50% in the Polls:
Andrew Little’s Labour is a continuation of third-way neoliberalism with a dose of conservative nationalism. Little’s Labour silences Labour’s base and prevents any sort of momentum. Voters will stick with Key’s National instead of trying the pale-blue neoliberal apologists.
Maybe by 2020 Labour will return to its roots and stop being a party for landlords. But I doubt it.
Now that Key has goooooooone.
It’s time for Michelle to put her money where her
fangs aremouth is, and push for a Prime Minister-ship outside of Parliament for herself.Nobody is good enough for her. Jim Bolger wasn’t. Jenny Shipley wasn’t. Bill English wasn’t (and still isn’t). Don Brash wasn’t. John Key isn’t (and wasn’t). If Judith doesn’t step up now, it’ll be too late for her and Michelle.
Dildo Baggins might get it? Simon ‘2 out of 12’ Bridges might get it? Gerry the Whale Rider might get it? Todd Boris McLay won’t get it and neither will Aaron Gilmore .
But, they all better hurry, before Michelle decides who gets it instead of her.
Wait till overseas interest rates rose and the property bubble bursts , then we’ll see the middle classes squeal like stuck pigs!!
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