Election 2023 – rejoice that we live in a Democracy my fellow citizens

1. Good on you Martyn. You make no bones about your preferences but never shy away from being critical from a policy perspective no matter which side of the fence it came from. Seeing you and Damien Grant have a laugh while being two positively charged magnets, repelling each other politically, is a reminder of how things should be.

   • Well said.

2. I wonder what is in store for us from tomorrow.

3. Vote Quimby! 😀

   • For those of us what have forgot – this on Quimby.
     Mayor Quimby – Wikipedia
     Senator Ted Kennedy
     Joe Quimby is a parody of Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy and the Kennedy family. Like the Kennedys, Quimby “speaks with a Boston accent, throws money at political problems, and vacations in a coastal resort called the ‘Quimby Compound'”.
     Mayor Quimby – Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Mayor_Quimby

     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_a4BGY1SEU4
     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-zzbkT712k

     (After hearing the politician you may like better, rock band of that name. It’s an ill wind etc.)
     YouTube https://www.youtube.com › quimby › videos
     Quimby is an alternative rock band popular on the Hungarian music scene. Enjoying large crowds across the nation, they have had successes at music festivals …

4. Vote with feet youth.

5. Happy voting day everyone!

6. Voting should be a conscience vote. Not a strategic vote, not a vote “wasted vote”, not a vote for one party to keep another out – or even not voting!! The only truely wasted vote is a vote for someone who you don’t otherwise agree with the most.

   • Lovely stuff. Dream on Chris. We’re with you.

   • Agree

7. It is blogs like this that allow a voice to all and allowing people to vent their anger or joy is good for the soul .
   Well done and may the outcome be swift .

8. Dont care who you vote for in a secret ballot but please vote.

9. Well said Martyn. Yes, we are very fortunate. Your website is so important to maintaining our democracy, enabling all views to be discussed – thanks and keep up the good work.

10. I went and voted but it did feel like an exercise of ‘pin the tail on the donkey’ largely due to the complete dearth of anyone worth voting for. In general I consider all the parties duplicitous and lacking in transparency and integrity (watch the documentary ‘All Governments Lie’). I know some on this blog are very tribal and see their party as Jesus reincarnated and the other the Great Satan but life is not that clear cut. All the right wingers think the press is left leaning and all the left wingers think the media is right wing.

    Most of our MPs are stunningly inept and only there to promote their own interests, ideologies and the interests of the different groups they are beholden to – rather than the interests of the country as a whole. I struggle to think of one current MP that I would consider a statesperson with the ability to work across the spectrum of the community and bring people together. To paraphrase Rowan Atkinson: “I wouldn’t trust most of them to sit the right way on a toilet”. The friends and colleagues I ran into today generally felt the same way.

    Some of this is due to what I consider a complete lack of understanding as to the role of government, especially in a democracy. As populations increased in early times people came together into communities, which made sense, for mutual support and security. Democratic governments came into being so that all peoples had a voice. They could (or should) be heard and collectively elected people to look after common interests – primarily security/defence, supporting those going through tough times, providing group resources – health, education, infrastructure and pooling resources, more frequently money via taxes, to enable efficiencies and utilisation of skills that individuals didn’t have all of, so that collectively they could prosper and be safe.

    What politicians and governments have done is pervert this into assuming a level of control that was never intended. They believe that, once elected, they have the right to impose their own ideologies and beliefs on the collective and repress any dissenting voices and that they have the right to intrude on every aspect of their citizen’s lives to control them and to punish those who don’t agree. The arrogance is breath-taking. The whole point of a democracy is we allow everyone a chance to speak and be represented and try and come to a collective view and understanding for our mutual benefit. Now that always means that some decisions will be reached that not everyone agrees with, but I believe people can accept that if their views are genuinely listened to and respected, the group decisions are ultimately for the betterment of all and those with dissenting voices are not punished and discarded because of that.

    If present politicians had their way, all dissenting views would be got rid of and to a certain extent this happens already – sometimes quite ruthlessly. Most advances in science, technology, medicine, philosophy, belief and so on have been made by people who were considered mavericks, or worse, at the time and were often treated as pariahs, abused and even killed. Where would we have been without Galileo, Ignác Semmelweis, Joseph Lister, Emily Pankhurst, Dr Bennet Omalu, Marie Curie, Martin Luther, Mary Wollstonecraft, Rachel Carson, Jesus Christ, Socrates and so on? They would probably all be ignored by present governments.

    So I voted but I have very little faith in governments – I do have faith in individuals and community groups who get out there and do the work and genuinely try and help people. They’re the people I respect and admire.

11. Jesus – Act and National – because National alone weren’t stupid enough. Three years of bracing austerity and regressive tax policies, which will achieve miracles apparently because “this time it’s different”. Roll on the climate event that kills us all.

12. The capitalist system is inherently unstable and inherently undemocratic. The power of capital is more powerful, than the power of government, our democracy is limited. Having the right to vote once every three years is better than having no right to vote at all. But the real measure of a capitalist liberal democracy alongside the national plebicite, are the freedoms of speech, the freedom of opinion, the freedom of assembly, the freedom of association, the freedom of bodily autonomy, the freedom from cruel and unusual punishment, the right to collectively withdraw your labour. These are the true measures of a democratic society. These democratic freedoms were hard won and always under attack, and should never be taken for granted. Voting. protest, striking, are a challenge to the power of capital that capitalism tries to manage and limit as much as it can.

13. If Mr Luxon didnt look like Klaus Schwabs younger brother I may have voted

14. At last Liz Gunn’s joke of a party didn’t get anywhere near Parliament, although she got more than Tamaki, lol. I bet he’ll be giving a pretty angry sermon at church this morning, also lol.

    • More interesting is the fact that an animal rights party got more percentage of the vote than a womens rights party

      • I know right? Even the Cannabis party got more than Tamaki! 😀
        So much for “oh, I’m going to get 20% of the vote” – he couldn’t even manage 1%! He must have spent a fortune on all those billboards too.
        As to Gunn, expecting “1-2 million votes”, I don’t think she has anywhere near that number of fans outside of her head.
        Hopefully she just disappears like Ross and Te Kahika did after losing in 2020.

15. Augh, Father, forgive them, for they have not, outside greed, have a fucking clue, of the social upheaval they will create.
    Is there a wif, of Kardashian, in the wind.

16. What has happened to @Jack’s comment that was here a few hours ago, and indeed replies to it?

    Sing out @Martyn if you’re in need of an intervention and some wrap around services. There are many many many people grieving who’d be willing to provide assistance.

    • Appears Ive been canceled.

17. Amen

18. Interesting take on Luxon…

    https://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/national/luxon-can-t-avoid-m%C4%81ori-media-and-tough-questions-forever-mihi-forbes/ar-AA1iea6z?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=f8f310d3f3194cafa123d78d709d64db&ei=11

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