Election Night Live Blogging: The Explanatory Post

Written By: - Date published: 7:01 pm, November 8th, 2008 - 32 comments
Categories: election 2008, uncategorized - Tags:

Thanks to the Standardistas for giving me a method of distraction for the evening.  I’m usually to be found at The Hand Mirror, with a group of feminist left-of-centre women blogging about various things.  Tonight though I’ll be live-blogging here at the heart of the leftwing portion of the blogosphere, and I hope I can do it justice.

My intentions are three-fold:

1.  Chronicle the ups and down of the party vote. Most important vote and all that.

2.  Squeeze in some mention of anything that happens in the coverage that particularly strikes me as worth the finger exercise. Last election there was that whole plane flying into the Sky Tower saga, and of course Peter Dunne losing his rag at the media.  Who knows what might happen tonight? I’ll be flicking around the telly channels (although we don’t have Freeview, so that means no TVNZ7 or Sky), as well as a few websites from time to time.

3.  Keep an eye on a (mammoth) list of 18 electorates (the Pivotals) which may change hands, or play an important role for some reason. These are based on my own assessment of the key spots, and may of course differ from your list.  Your electorate may not even be on it;  not everyone gets to be special, all the time.  Obviously this list may change as the night progresses.  Hopefully it will get shorter!

  • Auckland Central
  • Botany
  • Christchurch Central
  • Hamilton West
  • Hauraki-Waikato
  • Ikaroa-Rawhiti
  • Mangere
  • Maungakiekie
  • Otaki
  • Palmerston North
  • Rimutaka
  • Rotorua
  • Taupo
  • Tauranga
  • Te Tai Tonga
  • Waitakere
  • Wellington Central
  • West Coast-Tasman

What I won’t be doing is moderating the comment threads.  But don’t worry, lprent will, as always, be keeping a beady eye on us all.

Other Standardistas may also pop in over the course of the evening.  Apparently they all have actual lives though, so I’ll be handling the main live-blogging post, which I anticpate will be one (long) post that I update throughout the night.  I’m having a few friends over (who are going to find out shortly that they are helping me keep track of the Pivotals above) and if I stop updating it’ll either be technological (probably my fault) or biological (most likely baby-related).

Alright, let’s see how this goes, I’ll kick off the actual live-blogging post in a mo.

32 comments on “Election Night Live Blogging: The Explanatory Post ”

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  1. Carol 1
    8 November 2008 at 7:12 pm

    Hi. I’ve got freeview on my TV here. You can watch it online, I think? Here:

    http://tvnz.co.nz/view/news_minisite_index_skin/news_election_08_group

    I’m kind of fatalistic now, having voted. I’ll be watching to try to make sense of things and start to think what the left should be doing next.

  2. bill brown 2
    8 November 2008 at 7:16 pm

    7’s the same as TV! from 9 anyway.

  3. Monty 3
    8 November 2008 at 7:17 pm

    I was listening to Roy Orbisons “its Over” thinking how appropriate for Labour. Massive turnout in Wellington at tghe booth next door to where I live – A real feel for change out there – I am predicting a Landslide victory for the Nats.

  4. lprent 4
    8 November 2008 at 7:21 pm

    I’ve been hanging out for the blogs all day. It is amazing how boring it is when your job is to watch servers, make sure that they run properly, and nothing much happens.

    Welcome Julie. I’ll be running backstop in moderation mode. Hopefully I’ll muffle up and head to the celebration (?) party up the road later. Feels almost like an anticlimax after the work in the last few months.

    I have to say that that getting a cold 2 days before the election is a bloody bad idea. Reduces the ability to party,

  5. lprent 5
    8 November 2008 at 7:22 pm

    Monty, there was a massive turnout from what I saw. I suspect that you may be a tad optimistic. Big turnouts don’t help the right

  6. Julie Fairey 6
    8 November 2008 at 7:23 pm

    Sadly Carol my computer couldn’t even deal with the excitement of trying to watch some of TV3’s news coverage last night, but I hope you have a better time!

  7. Carol 7
    8 November 2008 at 7:28 pm

    Some guys talking over dinner to Brown, have all got Key as a very good prime minister – done & dusted.

  8. Carol 8
    8 November 2008 at 7:33 pm

    Linda Clark; Labour had not choice but to go aggressive, as 3rd term government and Nat s having momentum – but they should have ignired Key and attacked all the old guys in the Nats.

    Liela Harre disagrees – thinks Labour should have caampaigned positively on their records – that’s what union members wanted.

  9. lprent 9
    8 November 2008 at 7:35 pm

    Beady eye? No way, the glasses don’t look like beads…

  10. weka 10
    8 November 2008 at 7:47 pm

    Hey good for you Julie, and the Standard.

    I’m visiting my parents, and we’re watching TV1, mainly because TV3 graphics are too small and too fast for my parents to follow 🙁

    Anyone want to give a quick rundown of online coverage? I’ve been away from the political blogs for the past month or so, and don’t know where else is looking at the election.

  11. Carol 11
    8 November 2008 at 7:50 pm

    There’s the official results:

    http://www.electionresults.govt.nz/

  12. weka 12
    8 November 2008 at 7:54 pm

    Thanks Carol.

    Anyone got a map of where the Maori seats are? (yes, I live in the South Island).

  13. Carol 13
    8 November 2008 at 8:01 pm

    Not looking good with 5% of polling places counted. 48-49% Nat: 31-32% Labour: 6% Green: 4.59% NZF

  14. Julie Fairey 14
    8 November 2008 at 8:17 pm

    I remember being very depressed at about 9pm last time so I’m going to put off getting down for a couple of hours yet 🙂

  15. lprent 15
    8 November 2008 at 8:18 pm

    Carol – it always starts like this……..

  16. lprent 16
    8 November 2008 at 8:20 pm

    weka – there are details for each seat here

  17. zANavAShi 17
    8 November 2008 at 8:20 pm

    Hey Julie, you go gurl!!!!!!!!!!

    I’m way too depressed to turn the TV on tonight – can’t even bear to go visit the election results site either – so I’ll just hang out here with my favourite lefty peeps instead and try to focus on happy thoughts.

    Lynn, WTG for setting us up like this for election night. Hope you feel better soon and sorry I don’t have one of those modem thingees where I can IP transfer you a hot lemon toddie hehe (psssssssst, but I’ll email you a chocolate fish if you ban Monty from commenting for the rest of the weekend…)

    Go team LPG!!!! Make my day (week, month, year, decade) and prove to me that the voters of NZ are not the swarm of shallow self-centred suckers the media has been portraying them to be during this election campaign.

  18. weka 18
    8 November 2008 at 8:22 pm

    National always leads because the small rural places get their final count in first.

  19. weka 19
    8 November 2008 at 8:23 pm

    Thanks iprent.

  20. travellerev 20
    8 November 2008 at 8:23 pm

    Carol,

    Robinsod and Bill Brown warned it would be looking a bit “blue” in the first three hours what with the oldies and the farmers voting first.

    But even if the Nats get first I have a sneaky suspicion JK will be a lame duck Prime Minister and I definitely would not like to be in JK’s shoes when Fonterra falls and the farmers are going bankrupt over due to the international financial crisis and it turns out JK was selling the derivatives and shit causing the collapse. LOL.

    Oh, and let’s not forget the massive bailout for the international banking scum that we are supposed to pay out of our pockets with our hard work.

    I reckon in a few months that condo in Hawaii will begin to look mighty fine.

    Captcha: Avenue Vampire. Très Goth.

  21. weka 21
    8 November 2008 at 8:26 pm

    Wiki have a useful, brief explanation of where the Maori seats are:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C4%81ori_seats#The_2008_election_will_also_have_seven:

  22. Carol 22
    8 November 2008 at 8:36 pm

    OK. Thanks, Ev and weka. I’m not too optimistic about the results even so. Buuuut, I’m more optimistic about the next few years. Things don’t stop after the election, the world is changing, and I reckon it’ll be time for me to really get involved in a new direction for the left.

    Clinton was picked out by the camera on Backbenchers. I’ve never actually seen him before.

    And he’s doing a featured bit after the break that’s on now.

  23. weka 23
    8 November 2008 at 8:41 pm

    That’s cool Carol, if a National-led govt win gets more activists on the left then it’s not a total loss.

  24. Carol 24
    8 November 2008 at 8:54 pm

    Clinton looking cool. Asked about giving the media a hard time by bloggers: he said sometimes – calling the media to the account.

    Interviewed Kiwi Party candidate Rebecca: based on Judea- Christian values – anti the anti-smacking bill. For John Key. Cheerleader for rugby. Whats’its(?) the MC, said to Rebecca that Clinton’s a good looking man. Rebecca said ‘OK” (I think) but the MC guy thought she said ‘Gay” Some laughter. Out of the 2 interviewers (Clinton & Raw Prawn) I think Clinton got the biggest cheer.

  25. travellerev 25
    8 November 2008 at 8:55 pm

    zANavAShi

    Good to see you back here. You saved my ass here way back and not a lot of people call me conspiracy nut any more so a big thank you.

    I’m not watching TV because it would make me depressed but hanging here makes it bearable.

    On a good note I spoke to Angelina Greensill (Maori party and daughter of Eva Richard) today and boy does she not like JK or what! She’s got his number big time and she is awesome and absolutely fearless.

    Carol,

    So true the world is changing to the point of “Armageddon” in the finance world and you go and do that left thing. It’s going to be important.

  26. zANavAShi 26
    8 November 2008 at 9:00 pm

    Is backbenchers being streamed live? Can’t find it on the TV7 website 🙁

    Captcha: traveler there

    Hehehe yay Eve!

  27. Carol 27
    8 November 2008 at 9:03 pm

    There’s a link to it here. Yes it’s live cos they’re updating the elction results. Same vid on the link here as on my TV:

    http://tvnz.co.nz/view/news_index_skin/news_index_group

  28. zANavAShi 28
    8 November 2008 at 9:14 pm

    Buggery bollox, video never works for me on TVNZ site, so I missed seeing the bloggers live in action DRAT. Thanks for the link tho Carol!

    Oh hey Eve, yeh we x-posted before. I’ve been lurking all along just no time for posting lately cos I’m in house-moving hell right now. When I’m comfortably settled we must catch up tho so I can thank you properly for all your awesome research work that I have been reeling off to every potential Key fan that I meet.

    If anybody sees a non-streaming video clip of our bloggers in action tonight that I can download to watch please flick it my way!

    PS: yikes that captcha is spooky… not even gonna repeat this one out loud :O

  29. travellerev 29
    8 November 2008 at 9:45 pm

    zANavAShi,

    Yes we must. Thank you for for spreading my stuff around. I’ve been trying to ge the mainstream media interested but “frigging” no takers. No surprise there.

    I have to confess to inebriation and therefore an early retreat but looking forward to contact.

  30. Janet 30
    8 November 2008 at 11:14 pm

    Rodney already talking tough on having Roger Douglas in cabinet. John Key once said no to that. Might be interesting times.

  31. sux2bu 31
    8 November 2008 at 11:50 pm

    [lprent: deleted – banned]

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