Written By: - Date published: 1:08 pm, July 31st, 2008 - 117 comments
Categories: john key, same old national -
Tags: sexism
Speaking in Rotorua earlier this week, John Key offered the following reason why you should vote for him to be Prime Minister:
“The only time we’ve won the rugby World Cup we had a male Prime Minister.”
You make my stomach turn, Mr Key. You’re just another sexist old bigot.
Facebook
Twitter
Scoopit!
Personally I wouldn’t give a penny to sport past the school levels. Sport is something you do rather than something you sit on your arse and watch. If you’re an adult then pay for it yourself. My neo-con streak is showing…
Frankly who cares if some idiots want to batter themselves around a field?
Well actually I do – they block Auckland traffic. Worse than those bloody stupid international conferences. Thank god the V8 (or whatever it was) racing went to Hamilton.
Bah humbug….
Anita said: “My question in response, however, is why so little diversity on the front bench? Why so few highly ranked women?”
National has two women on the front bench of ten, Anita: Judith Collins and Anne Tolley. Labour also only has two women on the front bench of ten: Helen Clark and Annette King.
I could make a cheap shot and ask what value Judith Tizard, Sue Moroney, Lynne Pillay, Jill Pettis and Lesley Soper bring to Labour’s caucus. They’re never going to be front-benchers are they? Actually, I suppose even saying that is a cheap shot, but I will live with it.
All of the new women candidates National has selected for this election have the potential to become front-benchers. Will they become front-benchers? Potentially. Only time will tell.
Both Labour and National have failed in the past to select significant numbers of potential women front-benchers, or even “diversity” front benchers. Labour has certainly selected people who are little more than lobby fodder for their caucus. It may be that somebody like Louisa Wall, if she survives this election, will be on Labour’s front bench some day. Moana Mackey maybe, and Maryan Street definitely. But only if they survive this election, and that is a big IF, because they are all list MPs and are very vulnerable when Labour’s poll results drop as they are dropping at the moment.
National suffered similar losses because of a bad result in 2002: a lot of diversity MPs who were list MPs, who would be front benchers now if they had survived the 2002 rout, lost their opportunity. Labour has the same problem this time. The only new Labour woman MP in 2008 is likely to be Claire Curran. Very hard to promote people to the front bench if you don’t have credible new people coming on board. Even harder to do it if you’re losing the current people who might make it.
Labour could have bitten the bullet this time and got rid of some of the dead wood, like Harry Duynhoven and George Hawkins, and promoted competent women into one of those roles. They missed the boat on that, and won’t be able to do real renewal until 2008.
John Key has the luxury of being able to bring in a new crop of MPs this time, whereas Helen Clark doesn’t. He’s followed a strategy of diversity. Several of the new diversity MPs will pick up safe National seats. In the long run, that’s the only way they will make it to senior cabinet level. It’s just too hard to do as a list MP because your position is so vulnerable when the tide goes out.
Hey LP how come my comments are being moderated? Did something I write look like spam?
Another good post Tim.
We ‘haven’t won’ the world cup four times, the only time we actually lost the World Cup, we had a male prime minister. A National male prime minister.
I’m just saying.
People make fun of my beard too, I don’t care.
You call that a beard? Actually, last time we won the W0rld Cup you couldn’t even grow a beard. Still cant – but at least you can now grow hair.
First let’s clarify something about Judaism. Judaism is a religion not a human species. A Semite is someone who speaks a Semitic language. This includes Hebrew, Arab, Iraqi Arab and the list is very long. Since John Key calls himself a non believer and in all likelihood does not speak any Semitic languages he is neither a Jew nor a Semite. He is a descendant from a line of people who at some stage practised the Judaic religion, that’s all. For him to present himself as a Jew when it suits him is therefore is as disingenuous as presenting himself as Christian or religious in the first place.
About slippery John’s sexist remark the following: John Key worked, hell he was a CEO at one of the most sexist banks in the US history; Merrill Lynch. Read about here, here, here for starters.
According to a female banking friend of mine (yes, I actually know and love some bankers) sex club visits are used to keep female bankers out of big deals.
In the last whitewash piece in the NZH John Key was actually lying about his visits to stripclubs
I am a women with pretty liberal views as far as sex is concerned and everybody makes silly remarks but John Key has survived and thrived in a hugely sexist and cynical industry for 21 years and come home with 50 million to his name.
I put it to you that a man who has thrived in that environment and who thinks it’s OK to make remarks like that about a powerful, intelligent and hard working woman (and no, I won’t be voting for her. I come from a country were I can trust the multi-party system and it’s great because you can vote according your heart) has very little respect or regards for decency and civility.
Is this someone you would like to be your PM?
“First let’s clarify something about Judaism.”
Well, there is a distinctive genetic profile amongst the diaspora population. See Abraham’s Children by Jon Entine, or this article by Rabbi Yaakov Kleiman.
http://www.aish.com/societywork/sciencenature/Jewish_Genes.asp
“but John Key has survived and thrived in a hugely sexist and cynical industry for 21 years”
This could apply to any number of industries. Is there any evidence of him treating female colleagues in a disrespectful manner?
Well at least that prick didn’t say ‘the last time we won the world cup was under a prime minister who had children’…
Yeh, particularly when it is used by a deranged coot like Garth George in this apalling article, even for an old fart:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/466/story.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10524434
He might have missed 91 and 95 perhaps? (when was potato nose rolled?)
You are on the money Steve it is a National cheap shot, and an attempt to show ambition by wishing the country was in the 1970s.
I know we might get done for libel and all…what with the 4th Labour govt being what it was…but surely
‘Last time we won the world cup we had a Labour Prime Minister.’
In fact in triplicate-
Mens
Womens
Hosting rights
…..
;-
Ben R,
I can’t believe we are getting into John Key’s genetics but here you go.
It seems we all stem from app.550 individuals in East Africa. So would I call myself an African?
John Key could call himself a Viking or Norman too since his father is from England. Genetic testing has showed that many English people can trace their origins back to those groups too.
This is what Orthodox Jews have to say about it.
As I said, A female banker friend of mine told me that going to strip clubs was an active act of her colleagues to keep female bankers from joining the old boys network. The fact that John Key took clients to strip clubs implies that John Key did not refrain from this sexist behaviour. Judging by his history, the amount of females in the top of national, the remarks he has made about young single mothers (DPB mothers breeding for business) and the fact that he is dogwhistling with regards to Helens gender I would have to conclude that he is a sexist and as such not deserving of female votes.
Maybe you as a man think that that kind of behaviour is OK in the man who wants to be our PM, but as a woman I know only too well what it means to have guys like John Key and Bill English get into power.
What does it mean Eve?