Hard News: The Ides of Epsom
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Sacha, in reply to
One of the joys of moving away was to feel like a voter again
Please do tell that story, widely.
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Polling has revealed National's chances of winning Epsom have risen sharply after viewers watching Q+A assumed the Bag of Flour WAS National's candidate. Many Epsom voters noted that the Bag of Flour made more sense, looked more confident and understood the issues better than ACT's David Seymour.
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Yes, it is uncanny how some on the right wing cannot see the parallel between regulating to retain the characters of their neighbourhoods and regulating to avoid stuffing up the atmosphere or waterways where people are used to freely polluting. If they owned tall apartment buildings in Epsom, would they support legislation to ban them?
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This seems as good a time as any to share part of the 3-page ACT pamphlet I received, laughed at, and scanned a few years ago to provide laughs for future me.
I point especially to number 6, column 'Countries where similar policy works well'. At one point Phil Heatley came back from Houston and said exactly the same thing. Those must've been some strong Texan drugs.
Also enjoy 'Get rid of all nutty regulations' as a policy platform.
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Sacha, in reply to
but wholemeal?
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Ianmac, in reply to
Note No 18. Low Carbon tax. So ACT Green could work together? Who would have thought.
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Banks robbery...
Demise-Day = June 13th
So was John Banks advised to beware the 'ides of June'?Looks like ACT has his back though...
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Brent Jackson, in reply to
People who psychologically prefer to back the winning team will have good reason to hedge and go for one of the little middle parties, NZF, UF, Maori. They might even go Labour.
This is something I've never understood, but I've met people who vote as though they're betting on which team will win. This was back before MMP, but if they have continued with this mind-set they can only vote National nowadays.
If anything, I have the opposite attitude. I was immensely proud of my special vote cast in London in the 1987 General Election, where it was the only overseas special vote in the Auckland Central Electorate for the McGillicuddy Serious Party. 1 out of 1 - you can't get more meaningful than that :- ).
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Brent Jackson, in reply to
If they owned tall apartment buildings in Epsom, would they support legislation to ban them?
Probably. Keep the supply side as limited as possible, so their existing building can exhort monopoly rents.
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BenWilson, in reply to
This is something I’ve never understood, but I’ve met people who vote as though they’re betting on which team will win.
Well politics can certainly be seen as a spectator sport. Everyone's got an opinion, most people have very little influence other than adding to the roar of the crowd, it's got teams, characters, a backstory, plenty of stats, triumphs, reversals, neck and neck races, strategy, tactics, and then finally, a result.
It seems to be another manifestation of the rational voter paradox, that if one's influence approaches zero, then one takes what one can get out of it. The grumpy abstainer from voting is not the only way to be apathetic, since it does risk social disapproval, and the old chestnut that one should not be allowed to comment if one doesn't vote. For no cost, one can get a ticket to the big game, and have a punt, and be a part of the zeitgeist. Then at the water cooler on Monday you can go "In your face, Lefty!", or "Take that, Capitalist!!", and revel in the look of bitter defeat in the faces of anyone who actually cares (and lost), and party on with the "winners".
I'm pretty sure there's a lot of people who really don't care much more than that. They know that, come Monday, it's not going to make any difference to their pay packet or their school zoning, and even in a few years, given that the decisions are made by compromising representatives facing constantly changing conditions, that how it affects them then is probably somewhat random. When they couple 2 parts: Extremely small influence on result, and highly dubious connection between result and their own general welfare outcome, they really do feel they gain the most utility out of just treating it like a game that they don't have anything real invested in.
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Eoin Ryan, in reply to
Wow. +1, Like, tweet, etc. Just because it describes all the attitudes (others and at time mine, I've to admit) I've encountered over the years.
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BenWilson, in reply to
I don't even think it's entirely irrational. Outside of the actual business of politics, or peripheral ones like the professional media, what does one actually gain, for the most part, from a strong interest in politics? I'd say it's mostly from how it affects our interactions with people we interact with. How does our opinion convey our character? Our intelligence, our level of generally knowledge? Our aspirations? Our allegiances? These conveyances can actually have quite a big impact on our lives, which is why it's often considered unwise to discuss politics with any seriousness in workplaces. It might not make much difference to any policy that affects me whether it's Labour or National in power, but it could make a difference all day every day, if I'm in disagreement with a co-worker or boss who is seated near me. It most certainly can and does cause massive disharmony in families that have differing political opinions - to anyone that values harmony, they either don't discuss it, or just adopt the family attitude. Tribalism can be as much a function of ongoing influence as of mere upbringing.
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Moz, in reply to
I was immensely proud of my special vote cast in London in the 1987 General Election, where it was the only overseas special vote in the Auckland Central Electorate for the McGillicuddy Serious Party. 1 out of 1 - you can't get more meaningful than that :- ).
Darn! The best I've ever managed was being 4% of the Communist Party vote in Chch Central. It seemed more meaningful that being part of a 10000-ish margin for the Labour candidate. At other times I've also voted purely in the hope that my vote will help a candidate get their deposit back.
This time I'll be voting against Nick Smith in the hope that Labour will pull off a miracle in Nelson. I'm almost tempted to actually visit Nelson so I can spend some time volunteering, but it would be a hell weekend, so I'll probably just aim for something social in Chch.
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DexterX, in reply to
Did he/she give you back your car?
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Richard Aston, in reply to
I still have one of those Brethren pamphlets, just for unintentional humour value. It’s one of those ones that basically say “rejoin ANZUS or we’ll all be speaking Chinese and Arabic”.
They could have been onto something Red , I often find myself waking up at 3 in the morning speaking in Chinese and Arabic, alternatively. Its a worry .
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Will the good people of Epsom wake up and vote with integrity or will they just do as they are told ?
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Tim Michie, in reply to
As many who happen to live within the electorate boundaries without the median income wonder as to when we'll be represented.
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Andre Alessi, in reply to
It most certainly can and does cause massive disharmony in families that have differing political opinions – to anyone that values harmony, they either don’t discuss it, or just adopt the family attitude.
Interestingly, I think something that does tend to impact voters' views of what their vote is worth is the impact of policies on family members' workplaces. My sister has started working as a social worker in South Auckland, and at the family dinner last night I was pleasantly surprised to find that the stories she was bringing home* had converted most of the rest of the family (including our parents) from "agnostic-to-apathetic" to "raving social justice warriors". I know that most people in my industry lean right/libertarian, so it's nice to have a family environment that backs me up.
*-Note that the stories themselves weren't nearly as pleasant as the change in political conviction.
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BenWilson, in reply to
Yes, but she kept my cat. I think it was a symbolic gesture.
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David Hood, in reply to
I often find myself waking up at 3 in the morning speaking in Chinese and Arabic
I don't think that is quite what the Brethren had in mind about speaking in tongues.
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In 2011 the Act Party Vote collapsed - The obsession with Epsom in the media is just that - everyone, after all, looks at the man in the clown suit.
Act taking Epsom is moot, they will sit below the 5% list threshold on 0 to 1 of the party vote.
If there is a swing against the govenemrnent and Act have a party vote of no consequence which they seem to be on target for - then the government will change.
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Craig Ranapia, in reply to
Will the good people of Epsom wake up and vote with integrity or will they just do as they are told ?
Maybe everyone can just stop being so condescending to the electors of Epsom? Sorry if they keep returning MPs you don't happen to approve of, but to use a technical term: Tough sodding titty. One of the most pleasant, if least remarked upon, features of Election Day is the utter irrelevance of the pundits and self-appointed arbiters of electoral correctness.
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DexterX, in reply to
The thrill had gone -
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Richard Aston, in reply to
Maybe everyone can just stop being so condescending to the electors of Epsom? Sorry if they keep returning MPs you don’t happen to approve of, but to use a technical term: Tough sodding titty. One of the most pleasant, if least remarked upon, features of Election Day is the utter irrelevance of the pundits and self-appointed arbiters of electoral correctness.
Fair enough Craig I could have put that differently. I have friends in the Epsom electorate who like Tim feel under represented, other friends there are conservatives who would normally vote National but it seems pointless to them.
Will an ACT candidate really represent Epsom people? Considering the whole thing seems to be a deal to build a better majority for National in the house.
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Kumara Republic, in reply to
I know that most people in my industry lean right/libertarian, so it’s nice to have a family environment that backs me up.
Which one? Finance/Insurance/Real Estate? Oil? Military? Police?
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