Key’s rapists attack a dead cat that keeps biting

Written By: - Date published: 7:02 am, November 23rd, 2015 - 28 comments
Categories: accountability, john key - Tags: , , ,

Two weeks ago John Key was in a corner for failing to act to represent and protect the rights of Kiwis detained by Australia on Christmas Island. As usual he went on the attack, but this time he went too far, ranting that Labour was supporting rapists and murderers. Key was called out for introducing a “new level of brutality” into debate in Parliament.

Some seasoned observers suggested that this was a deliberate tactic, a “dead cat strategy”:

Today, John Key threw a dead cat into the middle of New Zealand’s Parliament.

So Key decided to get rid of all those long-term negative headlines by gifting the media a short-term negative headline instead. That’s the strategic thinking behind Key’s disgraceful performance in Parliament today, when he said any politician looking for humane treatment for detainees on Christmas Island was “backing the rapists” and “putting yourself on the side of sex offenders.”

Unfortunately for Key the backlash was strong and sustained. Audrey Young tried to draw a line under it in the weekend:

A week’s a long time in politics

It is a frosty start to a long week with John Key. Several of the travelling media, including me, have been highly critical of Key, not so much for accusing the Opposition of backing murderers and rapists but refusing to apologise after offence was taken.

The outwardly pleasant and relaxed Prime Minister has a bloody-minded streak to him and when that switch is on, he digs in and thinks it will all blow over, and it eventually does.

[Key] is down the back of the plane having “ice-breaker” conversations. He works the pack: Newstalk ZB, RNZ, TV3, Sky News, NZ Newswire and the NZ Herald, talking about nothing memorable. Just talking. Trying to neutralise any lingering hostility towards him at the top of the trip and eliminate any sense of awkwardness Not a word is said by him about rapists and murderers. There is no point asking him to rationalise his own bloody-mindedness.

It is left unsaid, but the visit to the back of the plane closes that chapter, for now. Time to move on.

Time to move on? It seems that sone of Audrey’s colleagues didn’t get the memo. In reaction to the 3 News poll last night:

National still ahead in polls despite ‘rapist’ remarks

The latest 3 News/Reid Research poll shows National is unscathed by John Key’s “rapists and murderers” Parliamentary attack. Although the Prime Minister’s personal popularity has taken a hit.

Mr Key has been completely unrepentant since he made the remarks, and says he’d do it all again.

The remarks seem to have had an effect, Mr Key is still the preferred Prime Minister but he has taken a 1.2 percent dip in the polls. He now sits on 38.3 percent. …

And:

‘Rapist’ comments don’t dent National – poll

National’s support remains strong despite controversy over deportations from Australia and Prime Minister John Key’s assertion that the opposition was backing “rapists and murderers”.

Support for Mr Key as preferred Prime Minister did dip slightly to 38.3 per cent (down 1.2 per cent since September) in the latest 3 News/Reid Research poll. …

So, still very much a live issue, still in the headlines, and suggested to have cost him in the polls. If it was a deliberate dead cat strategy by Key (and it probably was) it backfired badly. Maybe the next one will too.

28 comments on “Key’s rapists attack a dead cat that keeps biting ”

  1. mickysavage 1

    What the Herald failed to note about last night’s poll is that polling would have been conducted over 10 days or so and if historical patterns were followed would have finished last Wednesday. Few of the people polled would have seen Key’s appalling behaviour. Given other recent events the poll results ought to have National very afraid.

    • Tracey 1.1

      I was thinking that too Mickey. Has anyone had the courage to write an article (MSM) pointing out that his comments, used as a weapon against innocent people, actually perpetuates the kind of culture that brought us RoastBusters 1 and 2. And yes, there has been a 2.

      • RedBaronCV 1.1.1

        I have seen odd media references to a 2 but mainly in the context of
        -talking about it any more won’t help-

        but who it won’t help was left unsaid. Anybody seen anything else out there?
        I also got a faint inkling that this was at the upper end of the income scale.

      • esoteric pineapples 1.1.2

        I wrote a letter to the editor of my daily prior to this event pointing out what a poor White Ribbon Ambassador John Key is considering how he put down David Cunliffe for speaking out as a man about violence towards women, and his persistent harrassment of a female cafe worker which showed that he didn’t understand what White Ribbon actually stands for.

    • veutoviper 1.2

      According to Stuff – “The poll surveyed 1000 people from November 9 to 17, with a 3.5 per cent margin of error.”

      http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/74289581/labour-national-unaffected-by-backing-the-rapists-stoush–new-poll

      So the poll was conducted when euphoria at the WRC win (Nov 1) was probably still reasonably high. Key’s ‘rapists etc’ remarks were on Nov 10, so within the period of most of the polling; but a lot of the fallout of the remarks, return of Christmas Island deportees etc were not until after the poll ended.

      • mickysavage 1.2.1

        Ta wrong for me to say “few” but certainly a lot of the data would have been collected prior to the repercussions of Key’s behaviour being felt.

      • Sabine 1.2.2

        Again I would like to know who was polled and the breakdown of “who” by gender, age, income, voted last election etc etc .

        If they surveyed a larger group of self identified National voter than again that poll is bad for Key and National cause he is going down in the ratings, drip drip drip.
        If they surveyed a larger group of self identified left block voters that again that poll is bad for Key and National cause he is still going down, and most if not all of self identified left block voters would not have voted for him previously and they simply still not like him. I am not too concerned about Little just now, as he has a hard time getting any press, let alone good press, the same counts for the new Co-Leadership make up of the Green Party. Both Little and Shaw are to new at their jobs to have really been making waves just yet.

        So Key is loosing support among those that at have previously voted/supported/enabled him, and going from what was something like 46 (?)% approval to %38 is a drop of 8% and no one would consider this inconsequential.

        Together this result with the last result previously discussed here that had virtually every party go up at least by a point, and effectively only saw National loose a point (and that was during the leghumping fest that was the RWC) it can’t be considered to be a good outcome that left the party and its dear leader ‘unscathed’.

        • veutoviper 1.2.2.1

          I had a quick check to see whether I could find the actual results for the TV3/Reid Research poll, but without success so far.

          However, this link to the Reid Research website gives a little information on their selection process/criteria. Mainly landline phones; and some demographically based selection – but very general only.

          http://www.reidresearch.co.nz/TV3+POLL+RESULTS.html

          The ongoing results in the link do not include the latest poll and end at mid-September.

          • Sabine 1.2.2.1.1

            as I said, too little information about the methodology to really draw any conclusion.
            Also, to early to draw any conclusions….surely with time passing John Key will find a few more groups to offend.

    • Daniel Cale 1.3

      Key’s behaviour was not ‘appalling’, it was heroic. And the sight of a large contingent of female members of the Labour and Green caucus’s claiming to have been sexually abused will have had most kiwi’s cringing. This will benefit Key, jut you wait.

      • vaughan little 1.3.1

        regardless of whether his inane comments will be beneficial, he has behaved pretty shockingly in this and other instances. “labour backs the rapists” – nothing less than open malice.

  2. dv 2

    Key’s behaviour is like an abusive husband who’s wife keeps taking him back.
    I get the feeling the Nat think that they can do anything they want to

    • Tracey 2.1

      Every opposition accuses a government of this at some point or another. Key utter those very words himself in 2007.

      THIS Government has had a very determined notion of what is best for kiwis for some time but only once 3rd term itus could be used was it suggested. The arrogance has been there some time.

      For example those who post here (BM etc) who contend that the voters know what they want… the polls are reflective of that, won’t today be baying for National to follow the people and not sign the TPP..

  3. Penny Bright 3

    ‘Mr Popularity’ John Key is now consistently polling below 40% as preferred Prime Minister.

    Any breakdown of polling figures of female (former?) National Party voters?

    Penny Bright

  4. vto 4

    I wonder if Key still gets a desire to fiddle with young girls hair?

    • Sabine 4.1

      Usually one does not get rid of a fetish just because one has been caught acting on it.
      He might be working a bit on himself to prevent himself from fiddling young girls hair, or he might only fiddle young girls hair with parental approval, but that fetish will be with him until the day he days.

  5. No Blinkers 5

    People like Key because he calls a spade, a spade.

    [r0b: Please stick to just the one alias.]

    • vto 5.1

      ha ha that saying is well past its use-by date…

      because there just aint that many spades in the world eh

      In mine experience people who claim to “call a spade a spade” usually simplify complex things to suit their small minds. It is a saying to cover ignorance with balderdash

    • Draco T Bastard 5.2

      No he doesn’t, he lies and misinforms.

      People like Key because they want to believe the lies.

    • Nah he hasn’t seen a spade in his entire career. He most likely calls a collateralised debt obligation a collateralised debt obligation. 😉

  6. mary_a 6

    “Rapist’ comments don’t dent National – poll” –

    Doesn’t that point prove the bigoted psyche of NZers polled, in particular NatzKEY supporters?

    It’s the redneck, good ol’ boys culture keeping FJK there! Them, who get their sexist, sick, perverted jollies out of FJK’s demeaning ponytail pulling activities, accusing opposition of supporting rapists etc, while in the process, offending victims (male and female) of sexual assault! And no apology yet!

    • Daniel Cale 6.1

      No, Mary, what keeps John Key in Government is the majority of Kiwi’s who bother to vote identify best with National and Key. We’re not rednecks, we’re not sick and we’re not perverted. But we are sick of living in a country of ‘victims’, where people who are totally ineffective in Parliament exhibit a faux offence to get their personal victim mentality heard. Key is a man of the people, we like him in droves, get over it.

  7. Smilin 7

    The stupidity that Key exhibits knows no shame or bounds
    If he was so keen on denigrating criminals further he could try dealing to the bs that is the gangs in NZ
    But instead he makes the people of Pike River suffer needlessly
    And has HIS National corp working like a ticking time bomb
    The following him like idiots who have no conscience or moral resolve that has anything to do with what is best for NZ
    THEY KEEP CRAPPING ON ABOUT MONEY and how great they are about fixing “the economy ” by payin for shit we cant control in other words they let anyone run this country from anywhere where Key is without a mandate from the people of this country
    Hes a dictator thats why he is still in power not because he is good for this country

  8. Bill 8

    Can’t remember if I only said this in conversation or in a comment here as well, but Key’s abominable attitude has no steam left for those wishing to use it against him.

    If you weren’t repelled by the man before his ‘backing rapists’ nonsense in parliament, then you probably won’t be repelled by him. I’m picking the poll reflects that.

    Now, if Labour had stuck to its guns on human rights for Christmas Island detainees, and had some within the party not derailed that by seeking to distance themselves over accusations of advocating for some allegedly unsavoury individuals…

    I know there are contending views on the nous or wisdom of those actions/objections by some opposition members from that first day. But whatever else might be said, it certainly didn’t damage support for the Prime Minister.

    Maybe time for the opposition to focus mercilessly on the Government of the day rather than the Prime Misnister of the day?

    • Sabine 8.1

      I think the opposition has been focusing on the government for a while now, they might not have much impact being the opposition but that is a different story.. Be it the Greens, NZF or Labour they have been going after National for a while now, and it’s always fun to watch the National Posse squirm when forced to answer a question.

      And personally as a survivor of sexual assault and rape, i was rather pleased with the reaction of the opposition, in fact would have been unhappy had they just let it passed as business as usual.

      Again, i think it depends how you want to read the polls, But all I see is John Key dropping in popularity, and the National Party not doing quite so well, while the opposition parties seem to hold ground and are gaining ground.

      And i really hope , and have had a bit of evidence of some of my politically not interested ’cause it does nothing to me for me’ friends, the ladies were not impressed with the comments screamed at the opposition, especially those that like me have met sexual assault and rape. And with saying ‘not impressed’ i am being very polite here. And there are quite a few blokes that were rather insulted by the screamed insults of the National Party Leader.

      And I care about these people more then I care about the hard core National/Labour/Green?NZF/Mana voter, as there are a million non voter in this country and if we can get them to vote for an alternative to what has effectively become John Key’s National Party than that is a good thing.

      So again, who was asked, age, gender, likely voter, etc etc etc. Or else the poll is quite meaningless, but obviously still manages to give an aura of well being to the National Party Leader.

  9. ropata 9

    Exactly Bill, Key tries to make everything into a personality drama so that his morally bankrupt party can avoid the real issues

  10. Tautuhi 10

    The MSM love him he is Ritchie’s best mate he’s the man you can have a beer with at a BBQ and shoot the shit, he was a “Rockstar” on Wall St, he donates his salary to charity however it has not been disclosed which ones, and he has lead NZ out of the Global Meltdown to become a “Rockstar Economy”.

    He is the most successful and most popular PM ever in NZ History coming from poverty and a State Housing background in the back blocks of Christchurch, what more could we as a Nation want out of a PM.

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