Posts by Danyl Mclauchlan
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Our friends at Scoop have announced their Election 08 section, which will be edited (and largely written) by Gordon Campbell. I think this is a great development, and one likely to enhance understanding of the campaign for all sides of the political battle.
Coverage spanning all sides of the political divide, from Labour to the Greens to New Labour.
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There's worse places than prison.
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I really doubt that John Key - who stood to be made Finance minister in a triumphant National Government - was leaking highly sensitive documents to Nicky Hagar the week before the election.
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Is that all it's going to be? Eve's Bite Goes to Parliament?
My prediction is that the book will have one or two genuine scoops or items of interest but that they will be lost in a blizzard of implausible conspiracy theories.
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Actually Don, I've made that very point to Ian on his blog. His reply:
Not so, Danyl, previous Prime Ministers were more tightly restricted by constitutional conventions and a more independent public service. The reforms of the past 20 years have seriously weakened the latter, whilst this administration has not even paid lip service to constitutional conventions...
MMP has not prevented Clark getting much of her agenda through Parliament, by playing one side off against the other on an issue by issue basis...
So there you have it - Clark has the kind of absolute power where you have to play sides off against each other on an issue by issue basis, which seems like a pretty crummy kind of absolute power if you ask me . . .
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it's a shame that the MSM did, and will, ignore all the underlying issues Hagar's book threw up - neo-liberal vs. conservative ideological tensions within right-wing political parties, the influence of money in politics and the debasement of our democracy...
The last two points have been addressed pretty exhaustively by the MSM over the last three years - of course its generally been the government thats been quite rightly in the firing line over these issues and not the opposition. I guess if Labour hadn't bafflingly decided to make elections and election spending an ongoing issue and defining scandal of its third term then the MSM might have paid more attention to Nationals problems. But you can hardly blame the media for that.
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I take it nobody believes Mr Hagar's claim that the material was leaked to him by 'principled conservatives' within the National Party?
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Surely the Hollow Men will be all but forgotten once Ian Wishart's biography of Helen Clark brings the Government to its knees next week.
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It's the crew: all these people it takes to make a TV, show, all so experienced, and all helping.
Just relax and before you know it you'll be slapping people for bringing you the wrong brand of mineral water.
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Despite the tribal hostility in the intranets about Obama and Hillary supporters
And isn't it fascinating to see large chunks of the Obama/Hilary cults declare that they'll vote for McCain if their rival democrat wins the nomination even though both democratic nominees hold almost identical policy views.
It supports a theory I've had for a while, that many people support politicians and parties the same way they support their local sports team: its a totally non-rational tribal mentality that leads people to vote directly against their own self-interest so long as 'their team' wins.
And I have to admit I'm guilty of it myself - I would have been significantly better off personally if National won the last election but voted with my left-wing tribal loyalties instead.