I don’t usually read the Dimpost but Not Right Turn put me on to a remarkable post by Danyl the other day.
Now, as you know, it’s reasonably straightforward to get a reading on people’s politics from what they say and I had Danyl down as a leftie. Sure, a bit of a contradicted arty liberal yet conservative elitist leftie who uses satire because it’s an easy way to attack without having to put his own ideas up for criticism, but a reasonably intelligent leftie nonetheless. So, this surprised me:
Actually my mood has swung recently, from my four year long pessimistically pro-National sentiment to an ‘I still hold them in contempt and can’t believe I’m thinking of voting for them but whaddya gonna do?’ pro-Labour sentiment. You let me down, National. Really, what kind of unbelievable assholes stand around doing nothing while unemployment surges and wages stagnate and then decide that what the country needs is tax cuts for the rich and ‘radical welfare reform’? Fuck you.
That’s right. Danyl voted National and switched to them about the same time as John Key became leader. And now he’s all surprised and upset that National is governing like a centre-right party, and has come to the conclusion that he isn’t going to get the leftwing policies he wants by voting rightwing.
I mean, it’s not like there was a shortage of clues this would happen.
There was a website that pretty much devoted its first year to warning that what has come to pass would happen if National was elected (what was that website’s name again? Oh yeah The Standard).
There were tapes of senior National MPs admitting their rightwing agenda and that they were keeping it under wraps so that people would vote for them.
And then there was the fundamental fact that National is National. It always has been, is, and always will be the party that represents the interests of the business and farming elite in this country. Parties don’t change the essence of what they stand for (even in the 80s, Labour still advanced leftward on social issues).
National is governing like National governs. And any political watcher with a clear head foresaw this.
So, welcome back to the land of the clear headed, Danyl, but I’m curious as to what caused the brief flirtation with National in the first place. If there are any others who went over to Key’s National but have since become disenchanted, I’d be interested in your responses too.
I have a few theories:
– A msm-style post-ideological view of politics that views political parties as akin to sports teams ultimately devoid of meaning and capable of taking any side on any issue.
– A genuine belief that Key would do the ‘what works’ and, because one obviously believes that the things one believes in are ‘what works’, that would mean Key would do good things, leftwing things.
– A demented need to punish Labour for various, poorly defined, crimes, just like the msm had been telling you to. As if cutting off your nose to spite your face is a sensible approach to politics.
– That winning grin ‘with a smile and a wave like that, you know Key’s going to govern in the interests of Kiwi families, not just the elite, of whom he is a part, who founded and fund the party he leads.’
I’m being harsh but I am genuinely wondering: if someone is smart enough to see that Key’s government is a failure now, how were they dumb enough to ever believe things would be different and get suckered into voting for him in the first place?
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