Ralston vs Ralston

Written By: - Date published: 12:16 pm, June 14th, 2009 - 16 comments
Categories: mt albert, spin - Tags:

Two of New Zealand’s top political commentators (it pains me to write that) have gone head to head over the Mt Albert result:

April Bill Ralston:

Some who voted Labour might now feel that National has not turned out to be as bad as they expected and either withhold their vote or actively support the Government candidate.

June Bill Ralston:

Her candidacy was doomed from the start when Cabinet failed to inform her there was a third option for the Waterview motorway extension, which she might have been able to better sell had she understood it before the Government dropped the unpopular bombshell.

In case no one in Mt Albert was surly enough by then, the Government then botched its chance to convince folk of the advantages of a Supercity and Lee became the target for its opponents

April Bill:

National is likely to put up a relatively high-profile candidate in Melissa Lee.

Mt Albert is a culturally diverse electorate and her ethnicity should not harm her. She is also a trained media professional, which should be of great advantage because byelections are almost presidential contests, with the candidates getting much more media exposure than they would normally get in a general election.

June Bill:

Lee was the wrong person, in the wrong place, at entirely the wrong time.

Charging into the fight in Mt Albert, impelled by her own blind ambition and a party organisation that obviously never asked itself if she had “the right stuff”, Lee crashed and burned.

April Bill:

National is in a win-win situation. All it has to do is erode Labour’s majority sufficiently to claim a moral victory…Labour could face real humiliation. It could lose the seat or, at least, have that more than 10,000-vote lead slashed to a few hundred or less

June Bill:

Yet how is Labour winning one of its safest seats suddenly a marvellous achievement?

How about winning by 46%?

I love that Ralston has a second article where he tries to distract from the Mt Albert thrashing by throwing mud at Goff.

16 comments on “Ralston vs Ralston ”

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  1. Redbaiter 1
    14 June 2009 at 12:47 pm

    Ralston is flat out this morning trying to cover for the arrogant political bias of his Labour voting media cronies.

    Sure Melissa Lee made some errors of judgment, but they were never as serious as the media made them out to be.

    David Shearer did not suffer a fraction of the scrutiny that so called journalists applied to Melissa Lee.

    Every election, Labour tees up their “journalist” mates, and says- “Standby, we’ll get you something to use as soon as.”

    And they do, and no matter how piffling, the scum left wing media beat it up for all its worth. They follow the same old same old Labour Party strategy- No discussion on the issues, just destroy the opposition candidate personally.

    Ralston’s column is just arse covering bullshit. An attempt to head off growing criticism of left wing media bias.

    No matter how Ralston tries to paint it, the media in this country are predominantly left wing in their political sympathies and that is the real reason Melissa Lee lost so badly.

    • Zetetic 1.1
      14 June 2009 at 12:53 pm

      This guy’s like Colbert. But funny.

      • George.com 1.1.1
        15 June 2009 at 9:12 pm

        Who, Ralston or redbait? I suspect one has a better handle on rationality than the other. Which one though?

        Vintage redbait however, no blame attached to the people who stuffed up, invent some left wing conspiracy. No admission that National blew it. As for Ralston, more flip flops than Don Brash.

    • Weather Eye Of The North 1.2
      15 June 2009 at 10:05 pm

      Hey, Redbaiter, you’re not the Redbaiter who figures crazily from time to time on Loopy Loudon’s New Zeal (aka Poo Peal) blog are you…..?

      You know, the one where former ACT vice-president Trevor Loud One has just trundled out his “Obama Is A Commie File # 79”

      Save us from right wing lunatics !

  2. Ianmac 2
    14 June 2009 at 12:54 pm

    Thanks Eddie. Again. I suppose that Ralston, like politicians, likes to be seen to be on the “winning” side. It takes vigilance and a good memory to reveal his hypocrisy. Ralston should stick to his fluffy stuff as in the Listener.

  3. Simon 3
    14 June 2009 at 12:55 pm

    redbaiter … your record is scratched

    You spin me right round, baby
    right round like a (broken) record, baby
    Right round round round
    You spin me right round, baby
    Right round like a (broken) record, baby
    Right round round round

    (repeat to infinity, hopefully someone will believe you)

  4. MikeG 4
    14 June 2009 at 1:09 pm

    Absolutely RB, National’s comprehensive loss was nothing at all to do with:
    – The selection of an option for a motorway that will create a permanent intrusion into many of the voters homes
    – A super-city proposal that many of the electorate are unhappy with
    – A candidate who would “open her mouth and let the wind blow her tongue around” (that quote will make more sense to us older readers)
    – Worth’s indiscretions

    Apart from those factors, I’m sure it was all the media’s fault.

  5. Redbaiter 5
    14 June 2009 at 1:15 pm

    I often wonder why the Nats don’t challenge the media. After Melissa’s concession speech, some spineless incoherent turkey from National took the mike and let the baying hyenas of the media walk all over him. Disgusting to observe.

    I don’t know what it is. Its either a lack of spine, or maybe the Nats are themselves as left wing as the media and Labour. If so, then this country is in deep trouble.

    With no cohesive anti-left force and an utterly politically corrupted media, NZers can kiss goodbye to real political choice for a long time.

    A totalitarian state is of course the left’s ultimate objective. The spineless Nats, by failing to offer an alternative poltical solution, and failing to challenge the corrupt media, are handing that outcome to them on a plate.

    • IrishBill 5.1
      14 June 2009 at 1:22 pm

      That was Jonathan Coleman. He’s the minister for broadcasting and he once described TVNZ as akin to North Korean television. I would have thought you’d recognise him as a kindred soul, Red.

      • Redbaiter 5.1.1
        14 June 2009 at 1:49 pm

        Thanks for identifying him Irish.

        If he did once say that (and I don’t doubt it) why would he not follow through with it when confronted during the Mount Albert election with an excellent example of what he might be referring to??

        Instead of back pedaling???

        Beats me.

    • lprent 5.2
      14 June 2009 at 3:25 pm

      Are you parodying yourself today?

    • Weather Eye Of The North 5.3
      15 June 2009 at 10:15 pm

      Yeah, I see that it is you Rebater. I’d recognise your angry prose anywhere.

  6. burt 6
    14 June 2009 at 1:21 pm

    Redbaiter

    As long as we have a bunch of sheep supporting either the red team or the blue team with “two ticks for status quo” the county is pretty much stuffed. The crumbs of restructure and change of direction that a “must win the center” major party offer will ensure that we have exciting sideshows to distract us from a rotten performance in the main tent.

  7. Macro 7
    14 June 2009 at 4:30 pm

    I would never have described Ralston as a top political commentator, he is too full of his own importance to be taken seriously.

  8. coolas 8
    14 June 2009 at 4:46 pm

    Ralston’s a National hack and makes no apology for being one of ‘hey look’ Johnny’s mates. He’s part of the cabal. One of the lads. None of them will accept that Auckland issues have been handled badly. They’ve squandered the good will of the people. National & Act are in trouble in Auckland. Ralston knows it and so do Key & Hide. Spin it as they wish. The rot has set in.