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Epsom voters: Please kill Act – you know you want to…

Written By: lprent - Date published: 12:45 pm, November 25th, 2011 - 21 comments

For the sake of your neighbors in Auckland and your extended family throughout New Zealand, could the voters of Epsom please terminate the twitching corpse of the Act party. Once they may have had a purpose. Now they just have John Banks and that other failed politician. Let us look forward into the sunset without this zombie party being maintained by the misplaced charity of the voters of Epsom.

The Goldsmith Gambit

Written By: Guest post - Date published: 3:22 pm, November 21st, 2011 - 49 comments

This will be one of the dirtiest political and anti-democratic tactics ever designed in NZ history. It has the potential of delivering a second John Key term, gifting Epsom to ACT and of discrediting MMP in one foul swoop: a true Tory Trifecta.

Ambrose to sue Key for defamation

Written By: the sprout - Date published: 9:18 pm, November 19th, 2011 - 107 comments

Bradley Ambrose, the cameraman widely maligned by John Key and his pudgey lapdogs David Farrar and Cameron Slater for daring to hold the PM to some basic standards of accountability, is demanding an apology from John Key or he’ll take the PM to court for defamation.

UPDATE: The final week of the campaign will kick off with a police raid on the Herald Monday morning.

ACT have been very stable

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 3:58 pm, November 19th, 2011 - 18 comments

We missed this at the time – thanks to toad in comments (and link to g.blog) for the heads up! Especially relevant now that John Key has personally tied himself to ACT with his endorsement.

Nats and climate change deniers

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 9:02 am, November 19th, 2011 - 45 comments

The teapot tape fiasco has forced the Nats to pretend that they are interested in policy. It’s screamingly hypocritical of them, since they couldn’t even be bothered returning answers to Radio NZ’s policy survey. But let’s not waste this new opportunity. Let’s start with asking them why they’re endorsing a party of loony climate change deniers.

‘Dying off’?

Written By: the sprout - Date published: 7:07 am, November 16th, 2011 - 116 comments

Winston Peters is suggesting that in the transcript of the PM’s meeting with Banks, John Key made some derogatory remarks about the older New Zealanders that tend to support New Zealand First, along the lines of “not to worry [about Winston’s support] they’re dying off”. Slagging off older New Zealanders (ie. the ones that always vote) is a sure way to lose an election.

Could Key really be so clueless? Well yes, when you look at the excuses he’s trotting out – probably.

Transcript Contest: Johns’ Magical Teapot Tapes

Written By: the sprout - Date published: 7:31 am, November 15th, 2011 - 26 comments

John: “I hear you might be able to get your hands on something to get me through the Election?”

Key & Banks chatted about rolling Brash?

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 8:44 pm, November 14th, 2011 - 102 comments

The tea tape didn’t interest me at first. Nats’ reaction seemed over the top but would Key and Banks be so stupid to discuss anything sensitive in a public cafe metres from the press mob? But then Key went to the cops. This said the Nats were really worried. It can only be something that cuts to the heart of Brand Key’s greatest weakness: Key’s honesty.

Epsom: spit or swallow?

Written By: the sprout - Date published: 8:59 am, November 14th, 2011 - 66 comments

Oh to be an Epsom voter – what an enviable menu of options you have. A National candidate who cares so much about the electorate that he goes to extraordinary lengths to discourage people from voting for him, or a racist former National politician soundly rejected by all of Auckland after a dismal ‘Supercity’ mayoralty who’s actively campaigning to undermine his own racist former National politician party leader.

What a shonkey farce!

A cold cup of tea

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 1:23 pm, November 12th, 2011 - 15 comments

Well, that was a let down. The much-hyped ‘cup of tea’ climaxed in Key saying that he would be voting for Goldsmith but he “wouldn’t be unhappy” if other Epsom voters back Banks. A double negative? Hardly a ringing endorsement. I think it’s too little, too late, for a man and a party that are too unpopular. All Key has done is tie his brand to extremists.

Those nice men in suits

Written By: the sprout - Date published: 8:18 am, November 12th, 2011 - 16 comments

Banks & Peters

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 4:34 pm, November 11th, 2011 - 46 comments

So the meeting has taken place, and Epsom has been asked to hold its nose and vote for failed Nat retread John Banks, and with him on his coat tails failed Nat retread Don Brash. Nice one. In other news, Winston Peters is riding a boost in the polls all the way to the televised minor parties leaders’ debate. The Nats will be spitting.

Democracy in action

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 1:22 pm, November 11th, 2011 - 20 comments

A cup of tea and a lie down

Written By: the sprout - Date published: 8:00 am, November 11th, 2011 - 34 comments

hattip: the jackal

The greatest threat to Banks: Brash (& that story)

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 10:50 am, November 10th, 2011 - 39 comments

John Banks says the brand he is campaigning for in Epsom is ‘Brand Key’, not ACT. Epsomites don’t want three-time loser Don Brash but it’s unavoidably true that a vote for Banks is a vote for Brash. This is leading to a further unattractive debacle as Banks tries to distance himself from his leader, who he’s trying to get into parliament.

“Stable” ACT

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 1:37 pm, November 8th, 2011 - 39 comments

Key seems to want ACT to beg even more for his endorsement in Epsom. No wonder their hard working supporter is getting a bit tetchy. But as for ACT being “very stable” – WTF?

More opening addresses

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 5:41 pm, October 29th, 2011 - 42 comments

Opening addresses from the remaining parties screen on TV1 starting at 7:30pm. Should be good fun for political junkies, make sure you tune in…

Death cab for Banksie

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 9:43 pm, October 20th, 2011 - 170 comments

Another Epsom poll has ACT’ stuffed. Goldsmith: 37%; Banks: 24%; Parker: 17%. However, it also says the blue-rinsers will obediently tick Banks if Key explicitly tells them to. But will he? Will the chance of saving 2% ACT be worth the nationwide loss of votes from linking Key’s brand to that mess of a party? His equivocating suggests the Nats haven’t decided.

micky savage: Is it Phil Goff’s time?

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 10:14 am, October 16th, 2011 - 88 comments

Two weeks ago I thought that Goff and Labour did not have a chance in this election. National’s lead in the polls seemed too big, the country still seemed to be in love with John Key and Goff just was not getting the media cut through necessary to change hearts and minds. Then something happened. The wheels started to fall off National’s well honed machine.

ACT Policy finally makes sense!

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 2:07 pm, October 13th, 2011 - 15 comments

Check out ACT’s policy page. It’s the most sense that they’ve ever made.

Update: They’ve fixed it. So it’s back to their usual nonsense now.

Average Joe: Don Brash withdraws from Treaty debate…why?

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 12:46 pm, October 11th, 2011 - 51 comments

Dr. Don Brash has pulled out of a debate on Treaty issues to be held on TV3’s ‘The Nation’. Which is curious considering Act’s ‘one law for all’ policy is directly concerned with treaty issues. Average Joe points out his take on why Act isn’t there. Plaudits to The Nation for having the debate, brickbats to Act for avoiding the debate – at least send along the person who knows the policy….

Chart o’ the day: failed gambit

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 11:54 am, October 9th, 2011 - 38 comments

Farrar poll sounds ACT’s death knell

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 12:09 pm, October 8th, 2011 - 40 comments

National Party pollster David Farrar has been polling in Epsom and the results are not good for the Right. Epsomites are pissed off with their seats being used as a backdoor for ACT into Parliament. They don’t like the gall of the Nats taking out Hide, slotting in Banks and expecting nothing to change. They don’t like dopey Brash.

Wedge issue

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 10:07 am, October 2nd, 2011 - 14 comments

Don Brash has weaved his magic again. He’s going to have a minder now and everything he says will be vetted. But it’s too late. His cannabis speech brilliantly highlighted the disjunction between ACT’s values and those of the man they need to win Epsom. A major ACT donor calls John Banks a twerp, while Don Nicolson has, surprisingly, sided with Brash.

Not the ACT party list

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 1:24 pm, August 29th, 2011 - 38 comments

I was going to do a post on the ACT party list. But then I realised that I just don’t care.

Equal opportunity employer

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 9:40 am, July 14th, 2011 - 9 comments

So, Don Brash is having trouble getting any Maori candidates for ACT. Apparently, he identified 3 possibles – 2 turned out to be “unsuitable” (not old white reactionaries?) and one wasn’t interested. My question, however, is this. If Brash does manage to headhunt a token Maori and give them a winnable list place, isn’t that race-based privilege?

Is Nicolson right for ACT?

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 10:41 am, July 13th, 2011 - 24 comments

There are murmurings in ACT today over their new ‘high profile’ candidate, ex-farming guy who’s on the telly sometimes ranting about climate change Don Nicolson. The party’s current policy priorities are lower wages for young people, weakening student unions, and beating up on Maori and there’s concern Nicolson isn’t the right face for the job.

Implosion-watch

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 6:49 am, July 12th, 2011 - 79 comments

Last night, two ministers went head to head calling each other racists but it looked more like two old hobos fighting over a tin of beans. Pathetic, really. Meanwhile, Key has sided with Brash and dismissed the offense many Kiwis feel over the ads by saying he doesn’t “give a toss” about ACT’s racist ads.

When will Key rule out working with Brash?

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 7:44 am, July 11th, 2011 - 73 comments

ACT adman John Ansell has resigned in the fallout from the race-baiting ad he designed for ACT, which Brash proudly endorsed. The Maori Party has effectively ruled out working with ACT. Isn’t it time for John Key to do the same? He cannot avoid responsibility. ACT lives or dies at his word. If National doesn’t try to win Epsom, that is an endorsement of Brash’s racism.