I originally made this post in jest. You can head over to Scott Yorke’s place to see why I don’t find it particularly humorous any more.
Just a few brain-still-trying-to-figure-out-what-the-fuck comments:
Taxing people “almost to breaking point”? ”Refuses to”? Josie Pagani had a big rant about how there’s no “right wing propaganda machine” … clearly a point of view held by people so deep inside said machine they can’t see the big RIGHT WING PROPAGANDA MACHINE labels all over the outside of it.
Labour: now the party of people who listen to talkback radio. Because that’s a huge demographic. Any day now Michael Lhaws is going to appear on their party list and we’re not even going to be surprised. I just hope it happens after Cunliffe decamps to form an actual liberal left party.
Further points: ”At the risk of being treated like Josie” – nice pre-emptive martyrdom plea there, Trev. Because it must be so hard for Josie Pagani, being able to make utterly ludicrous political statements under her own name in mainstream newspapers backed up by the [currently] second-biggest party in Parliament. So hard.
Also: COMIC FUCKING SANS. If nothing else, you’d think that would tip a social media guru like Mallard to the thoughts contained therein being entirely composed of crap.
I did a bit of research and found other people who shared that jpeg: Georgia Young Americans for Mitt Romney, JonathanJosephGOP (this guy: https://twitter.com/JonJosephKYGOP), Young Conservatives (https://twitter.com/The_Youth_Vote), The Kerala Conservative, CafeMOM (‘this says it all about TAXES!’), the FB pages for Global Military Supplies (UK) and the racist group I’M ENGLISH NOT BRITISH, the appalling supremacist website chimpout (dot) com and assorted others, none of whom could be connected in any way or form to any leftist or progressive organization or cause.
Well yes yes yes, but they obviously meant it in a bad way. Trevor meant it in a good way. As Josie Pagani explained, if rightwingers do it, it’s beneficiary bashing. If Labour people do it, it isn’t. Because duh.
My point is that if there are Labour people doing it, it’s just him and Josie. Which could potentially give him pause, if only he had that setting.
Nah, just means they’re the only ones who Get It. Certainly he had enough support on Facebook, of the “Fuck you hippies, I’m going to buy even MORE Hell Pizza after their rape jokes!!!” variety.
He had to delete the comment though. In fact what will stay with me is the devastating social media and general comms ineptitude of one of the principal guys in charge of finding ways of making the party’s proposition appealing to the public.
Why does this drongo still have a job again?
Sadly, that’s the power of a 4-5,000 electorate majority. On the plus side, Cunliffe’s majority is slightly bigger (phwoar).
I mean a job as strategist. I’d keep him strictly for barking in the House and in case the electoral commission decides to introduce a chrono stage in the proceedings.
Ah. As to that, I have no fucking clue. Unless it’s like the Friedmanite answer to why Chile was still fucked after sweeping free-market reforms: “Oh, it wasn’t free-market ENOUGH!”
We’ll be able to confirm this when Labour issues a media release announcing Shearer’s having facial reconstructive surgery so he can look more like Smile&Wave.
I think it was the Comic Sans that offended me most about that image.
At least it wasn’t written in Papyrus…
Such a party already exists – it’s called The Alliance.
As for what Mallard did – well, it’s just one of the reasons why I’ve been saying that the Labour Party is right-wing party for the last few years.
If David Cunliffe hopped ship to lead the Alliance … well, that would just be weird. I like the Alliance, but their obvious problem is not having any kind of public profile these days (especially compared to a non-Parliamentary party that gets ridiculous levels of publicity, i.e. the Conservatives).
I guess my point is that any new party needs an already-visible, charismatic leader, preferably with a safe electorate seat. Now whether Cunliffe could hold New Lynn without a Labour rosette would be an interesting question, but a comparative (obviously more-radical ergo less-successful on the party vote side of things) example would be Harawira/Mana.
I don’t think it would be. Reading some of David Cunliffe’s speeches he seems, IMO, to be more aligned with the Alliance these days than with Labour. To me it seems that Labour are following NACT to the right while DC wants to go to the left.
I think he’d hold it no matter which party he was in. The Alliance isn’t a new party and got ~7% of the vote in 1999. It was the BS with Anderton in 2k2 that killed it by removing the high profile leader and showing signs of it being fractious. DC standing for the Alliance would get it back in to parliament and with probably with a great deal of support.
Of course, I don’t think it will happen – I don’t think DC will leave Labour which is probably for the good in the long run as he’ll be able to pull Labour back to the left later.
One can only hope. And pray. And make sacrifices of oxen.