Posts by Chris Waugh
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Hard News: So long, and thanks for all…, in reply to Henry Barnard,
And what would that proof be?
Just as a start: not ramming through poorly thought out legislation that screws over a major part of its core constituency (foreshore and seabed) or apparently out of vengeance (electoral finance). Dropping the attitude that the Maori seats and the working class and progressive vote generally belong to Labour as of right.
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Hard News: So long, and thanks for all…, in reply to Bart Janssen,
The Greens are trying, their push to become evidence based on most (but not all) of their policy is helping, but I doubt they can convince the electorate of a lack of loony* by 2014.
Agreed. In many respects I naturally sympathise with Greens policies, but they have a couple of tendencies which are major deal breakers for me.
And Hebe:
rather than their present rather regal approach.
That's a politer way of putting it than I'd use. I really dislike Labour's attitude sometimes. National has the arrogance of the born to rule, Labour often shows the arrogance of the successful revolutionary.
So, assuming my wife gets her visa early enough for us to get back in time for me (and her, assuming she gets PR) to vote in the next election, who would I vote for? I really don't know. I strongly dislike the typical Green response to the word "China", and both parties' strains of economic nationalism have me worried, and yet they're the parties that push the policies I like most.
And is Mana going to take off, or is it doomed to the same fate as United Future? And if it does take off as a political movement greater than its sole MP, how will its policies evolve?
But it certainly is interesting watching the dynamic on the left. I've been wondering if Labour will self-destruct and the Greens mainstream themselves enough to take over as the major party of the left. Similar processes have happened in the past. And now the Labour leadership situation throws a new variable into the mix, I'm really curious.
And I'm really supposed to be preparing for an exam tomorrow rather than idly bloviating about things I know precious little about....
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Drizzly afternoon reflections.
On the way home from kindy.
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Hard News: So long, and thanks for all…, in reply to Tom Semmens,
Pointing out that making a gay machine politician from Wellington leader will do nothing to win them back is not being a bigot.
Certainly did seem to imply that Labour's core constituency is still a touch on the bigoted side.
It just means you need to start talking about what is relevant to those who labour. Housing. Wages. the cost of living.
Alright, my view from 11,000km away may be a little skewed, but I was under the impression Labour had been talking about that, and like what Keir said, housing in particular. Like, for example, saying they won't let non-resident foreigners buy houses...
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Speaker: Naked Inside the Off-Ramp, in reply to Ian Dalziel,
He put his head above the parapet, and tried to sell himself as someone who cared, someone who might take a stand, and then just sold himself…
Well yes, and I see how his actions are deserving of scorn, but the abuse he's been subject to seems a bit more than necessary to me.
David Shearer has resigned as Labour Party leader apparently!!
Wow. This is getting interesting.
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Speaker: Naked Inside the Off-Ramp, in reply to Idiot Savant,
since all it leads to is SIS politicisation
I thought that happened a long time ago.
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John Key has become a smaller man, more petty than we’ve seen him before.
This. And:
Spoken like a tactician
And that, I think, is a major problem in NZ politics. Does our political class have any strategists? The Greens seem a little better than most at long-term thinking, but I'm not convinced.
And what's with all the hating on Peter Dunne? I don't see much reason to like him, and I agree that he should've voted against the GCSB Bill, but he's not the real enemy. Does he actually deserve all the venom being spat his way? I can imagine John Key sitting in his office smirking as he thinks of all the attention being directed the wrong way. Could he have created a better diversion himself?
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Speaker: Naked Inside the Off-Ramp, in reply to bob daktari,
I loathe the use of the term inside the beltway, it supposes the general public don’t care or understand…
I loathe the term because it refers specifically to a highway, I-495, surrounding Washington DC. Using "inside the Beltway" to refer to anything in NZ politics makes as much sense as referring to the Governor General's residence is l'Elysée, the PM's place as Downing St, or the Beehive as the Kremlin. It would be nice if our political journalists would stop being so bloody lazy and dream up a more appropriate metaphor.
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Somebody decided to turn the south gate of campus into advertising for an electric appliance chain...
Mixed hydrogen and petrol car? That's what it says.
Who are you looking at?
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Russell, definitely the best way to visit the Forbidden City is on your own in the middle of an epidemic of some new respiratory illness. My first trip there was in the middle of the SARS epidemic. I was bored out of my brain and decided after all these years I should finally visit the Forbidden City, biked over there in the mid-May bright, sunny day warmth and somehow passed the fairly cursory "have you got a fever? If so we'll lock you away until you catch SARS" test, and then it was awesome. You don't get a feeling for the scale of the place when it's as insanely crowded as it usually is, but when the only people in the nested square within a nested square are yourself and one nuclear family of good One Child Policy size..... wow. But yeah, it's certainly not a very exciting museum. I guess Chiang Kai Shek having carted half the treasures off to Taipei in '49 didn't help, but still, it's not really set up to show anybody a slice of imperial court life at all.
But now I really want to visit Avondale Market! And should you be in Beijing anytime between now and (NZ Immigration Service permitting) our departure, I'll happily show you equally cool markets around this way.
