Right-whiner: Paula Bennett

Written By: - Date published: 9:53 am, December 12th, 2011 - 33 comments
Categories: election 2011 - Tags: ,

Paula Bennett did pretty well in 2008, she won a seat that gave more party votes to Lab+Greens than Nat+ACT. But she was a bad MP. The electorate swung away from Nat+ACT and Bennett lost. But does she take it with grace? No she whines that Labour used “nasty and vicious” tactics like “mobilising the left” and getting out the vote on election day.

Here’s Bennett in the Herald:

Labour had run a “negative and vicious” campaign. “They really mobilised the left vote. They had unions out here 24/7 and stuff has gone on like doorknocking on election day”

Yup. Labour has supporters both within the party and the affiliates, and in the broader movement – and they help the party win elections. One of the things they do is go around knocking on (selected) doors on election day and remind people that it is election day, tell them where the polling booths are, and offer help with special votes etc. It’s perfectly legal – see the rules here. And, although Bennett clearly feels otherwise, it is a good thing when people vote. There’s nothing ‘negative’ or ‘vicious’ about the left voting or Labour getting out the vote – it’s democracy.

One of the results of Labour’s strong campaign in Waitakere was that turnout dropped by only 0.5% compared to 4% nationally, and the Lab+Green vote rose by 2.5% (353) while the Nat+ACT vote (which was just 511 votes behind Lab+Green in 2008) fell 9% (1,226).

Of course, Bennett would rather that 12 poor people hadn’t been mobilised by Labour’s get out the vote drive on election day, then she would still be MP for Waitakere. That’s understandable. But she can try to take it on the chin and be a good loser, rather than another right-whiner.

33 comments on “Right-whiner: Paula Bennett ”

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  1. Carol 1
    12 December 2011 at 10:08 am

    Labour had run a “negative and vicious” campaign.

    A lot of Paula Benefit’s oppponents responded to her “negative and vicious” campaign against benficiaries.

  2. mickysavage 2
    12 December 2011 at 10:20 am

    Labour’s campaign was underhand and vicious.
     
    It is really underhand getting people registered to vote, especially the poor and dispossessed.
     
    It is unfair to doorknock on election day and remind people to vote.  Everyone knows that the more people that vote the better the left do.
     
    And it is vicious to remind people of what National is doing to our country.  That is really unfair.  How is the born to rule party meant to maintain its god given right to power if people are made aware of the stupidity of its actions?
     
    Congratulations to Carmel and her campaign manager Enzo Giordani.  They performed welcome miracle.  And may Paula now realise that wearing leopard tights and talking trashy does not make you a westie.

  3. randal 3
    12 December 2011 at 10:41 am

    it looks to me like justice was done in Waitakere.
    the people have spoken and bennet is now beenit.

  4. Anne 4
    12 December 2011 at 10:49 am

    “They had unions out here 24/7 and stuff has gone on like doorknocking on election day”

    Oh yeah… doorknocking on election day by political parties has been going on in NZ for a hundred years. Each party will go to areas that are known to favour them and encourage people to vote. The truth is the Tories have become too lazy to do it any more. They pay big bickies for cold phone-calling instead.

    What an ignorant, pea-brained, illiterate woman.

    • Anne 4.1
      12 December 2011 at 2:00 pm

      Well, well… I’ve just heard that the ignorant, pea-brained and illiterate Paula Bennett has been promoted to the front bench. That goes to show what an appalling lack of ability, substance and integrity exists inside the Nat. Party caucus.

    • drongo 4.2
      13 December 2011 at 2:51 pm

      Yes, I’m forever stunned to see how thick she really is.

    • drongo 4.3
      13 December 2011 at 3:00 pm

      It’s great she’s been shunted to the front bench because she’ll make it that much easier to show the greediness and incompetence behind all of the nasty things these greedy and incompetent people try to foist upon the population.

  5. Anthony 5
    12 December 2011 at 11:12 am

    Those ungrateful plebs voting in Carmel, expect Bennett to knock another couple of rungs out of the ladder as payback.

  6. Craig Glen Eden 6
    12 December 2011 at 11:15 am

    This from the woman who in 2008 stood on street corners saying “its my turn” well I guess your turn is over. As for being nasty hell she should listen to her own supporters at public meetings swearing and cursing about beneficiaries and solo mums.

    News to the National Party every Kiwi gets to vote poor or rich, don’t like it tough!

    Finally its not negative or nasty to tell the truth and nasty is when you try and bully people publicly, who dare to speak out against your policy.Just as the National Party are trying to do in this article.

  7. numeric 7
    12 December 2011 at 11:18 am

    Apologies if I’ve got it wrong, but won’t she get into parliament on the list ?

    • McFlock 7.1
      12 December 2011 at 1:04 pm

      yup, but now her only claim to popularity is in the nat selection panel, not amongst normal NZers.

  8. kriswgtn 8
    12 December 2011 at 11:20 am

    This from the woman who in 2008 stood on street corners

    haha and hopefully will be back in 2014 doing exactly that [deleted] 😛

    [lprent: tasteless, sexist and irrelevant. ]

  9. fender 9
    12 December 2011 at 11:42 am

    The way a person reacts after a loss can give a great insight into their true personality. Bennett has just confirmed shes a mean-spirited pig and a sore loser.

    All she needs now is to be put back on a benefit in order to lose weight, let her starve like all those 200,000 kids she raises her middle finger to.

  10. Cin77 10
    12 December 2011 at 12:13 pm

    Aw poor Paula Bennet 🙁 Good fucking job, she’s a nasty hippocritical bitch. Shame shes a list MP, parliament would be better off with her gone completly!

    Me and my mate were just laughing coz my friend put in a special vote for Waitakere for Carmel!! She’s thinking of getting a t-shirt that says “I was one of the 11”.

  11. Ms X 11
    12 December 2011 at 12:32 pm

    I’m still waiting for the tee shirts that say “don’t blame me, I voted Labour” – since the last election.

  12. Blue 12
    12 December 2011 at 12:41 pm

    Seems to me that Paula Benne-basher needs to work harder if she wants to keep her (electorate) job.

    She can either knock on a few more doors or kiss JK’s arse a bit more to get a safer electorate seat next time.

    • bbfloyd 12.1
      13 December 2011 at 12:28 am

      she’s way ahead of you on the jk thing already…she makes up a nice litlle cabal of syncophants surrounding the precious jewel….

  13. seeker 13
    12 December 2011 at 1:49 pm

    I could not believe the arrogance and ignorance of the “spokeswoman” for Paula Bennett in the Herald today when responding to yesterday’s truthful outing of Bennett’s ‘benefit bashing’ as the probable cause of a voter backlash

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10772672

    She said:
    “More than 13,400 people clearly support Paula Bennett because they voted for her to be their MP so with a difference of just 11 votes, they deserve a recount, not a tirade of abuse from Carmel Sepuloni.”

    It was the words “tirade of abuse” that enraged me for that that is exactly what Bennett and her party have perpetually rained down on beneficiaries in order to besmirch them and present this offering of a ‘perceived common enemy to the economy” on the ‘propaganda altar’ of their right wing church.

    That her spokes woman, should call the truth a tirade of abuse and relate it to the deservings of her ‘comfortably off’ right wing voters, just shows how well they would put up with the soul destroying real ‘torrent’ of abuse poured on vulnerable beneficiaries . Tragically,some have paid the ultimate price with their lives, such is the debilitating state they find themselves in thanks to Bennett, Key, Rebstock and cult followers.
    Bennett and her spokeswoman, do not know what abuse is. The actual perpetrators often don’t.

    One last thing . The old saying that those who dish it out can’t take it coming back at them. is particularly true of Bennett. Look what she did to the two mums who dared to question her about the TIA, and according to her, caused the Labour Opposition to go on at her about it and she didn’t like it. Look where her need for vengeance took her ? She was so hell bent on revenge, she broke the law to get at her perceived ‘abusers’.

    Well done to Carmel -not only for winning-but for standing upto a bully and a nasty retalistor of the first order. P.S.Watch your back

  14. Claire 14
    12 December 2011 at 3:18 pm

    Long time reader, first time writer. While I am delighted that Carmel Sepuloni got in as MP for Waitakere, and while I think Paula Bennett is a bit of a sore loser and possibly doesn’t quite know the rules of elections, as a woman, I take absolute exception to the some of the language and sentiments being used to describe her in this comments section. Yes, say that she is an awful representative. Yes, say that she is a beneficiary-basher. But calling her names like ‘pig’ and ‘bitch’ makes left wingers here sound just as bad the vitriolic right-wing commentaries you can find on the internet. Maybe you should ask yourself if you would refer to her in those terms if she was a male MP?

    And, actually, once you’ve done that, maybe you should ask why, despite this fantastic win for Labour in Waitakere, did many ‘poor’ (and therefore, traditionally Labour) areas in New Zealand have a majority for National in the party vote? I suggest that arguing that it was 12 poor people voting for Sepuloni that won her the seat is both a bit presumptuous and possibly inaccurate.

    [As one of the moderators I have to say I’m inclined to agree with you regarding some of the language that has been used around Bennett. First up; Bennett really doesn’t interest me all that much and I’ve not paid this thread any attention so far today. Secondly; moderation isn’t perfect or complete. We try and catch the most egregious cases and trust that most of the time, most people contribute positively and with self-control. If I tried to stop every last damn thing I thought might need moderating I’d soon degenerate this site into me and one or two other people in a very lonely echo chamber.

    But yes it is also true that there’s been a long-term drift to letting stuff through about Paula Bennett that in hindsight I’d prefer hadn’t been allowed. On balance I’m willing to take your comments into account in future. I am of course speaking pretty much for myself; Lynn P may well have his own take on this and as he’s the SysOp.. he’s the God of All Things Grumpy around here…RL]

    • Draco T Bastard 14.1
      12 December 2011 at 4:16 pm

      +1

    • framu 14.2
      12 December 2011 at 4:30 pm

      to be honest – im pretty free, easy and “equal opportunity” with my sailor talk – but im in agreement with this comment re: language.

    • felix 14.4
      12 December 2011 at 5:23 pm

      Yeah I agree. There’s plenty to criticise her for without stooping to sexist bullshit and lame fat jokes.

    • fender 14.5
      12 December 2011 at 6:26 pm

      I called her a mean spirited pig and base that on her desire to see others don’t enjoy the services she used to further herself.
      Brownlee too is the same according to many in Chch.
      Muldoon was one also.

      But I agree we shouldn’t mirror right-wing blog bigotry

    • WAKE UP 14.6
      14 December 2011 at 10:39 am

      ” Maybe you should ask yourself if you would refer to her in those terms if she was a male MP?”

      Depends…if it was Chris Carter, we might 🙂

  15. Brian 15
    12 December 2011 at 6:02 pm

    Odious woman.

  16. Vicky32 16
    12 December 2011 at 6:20 pm

    The bad news is, she’s still Minister of Making Life impossible for Beneficiaries… 🙁

  17. drongo 17
    13 December 2011 at 5:06 pm

    I think this term will one where the general public will see the emptiness in the likes of Bennett and Key, which means their popularity will wain. A rejuvenated Opposition will help, as will Key’s attempts at over-the-top reform which will wake the public up. Still lots of work to do, though, but we might just be okay.

    • Roy 17.1
      15 December 2011 at 11:11 am

      I sincerely hope you are correct. The blindness of the general public to the real nature of these people astonishes me.

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