The Left on policies and values

Written By: - Date published: 7:53 pm, August 16th, 2014 - 6 comments
Categories: david cunliffe, democratic participation, election 2014, greens, internet mana party, john key, labour, Left, Metiria Turei, news, tv - Tags:

One of the bits of mis-truth that John Key stated in the press stand up last week (as on the TV3 video) was that the Left is into dirty politics because it doesn’t want to campaign on policies, and can’t win on policies.

Key's 2 faces by Gordon Campbell

That is such a reversal of the truth.  In fact, the Greens and Labour have been rolling out far more detailed policy over the last few months, than the National Party.

What Key tries to characterise in the stand up, as some kind of coordinated attack, are 3 unrelated events. Right wingers tried to beat them up as left wing smears: 2 as Internet-Mana smears; the third was focused on the use of an anti-Semitic term by a minor Labour candidate.  They wouldn’t have been noticed very much if Key and other right wingers hadn’t spent so much time expressing outrage, in an attempt to smear and divert from significant issues.

And while claiming not to be into dirty politics, Key used some standard strategies of the politics of manipulation, to try to smear Nicky Hager as a”left wing conspiracy theorist”. Even John Armstrong was not convinced by that.

Meanwhile, Labour and the Greens continued to campaign around the country, on policies and values.

Cunliffe opportunities

The truth is far from the situation presented on TV One’s (highly selective and slanted) News tonight, which characterised Labour and Cunliffe as being only into the negative.  Get a clue, One News!  Nicky Hager put an important book out there, with a load of very serious information and questions that need to be answered. No political party or MP can ignore it.

The “Left” in the broadest sense would much prefer to focus on policies and values, rather than have to continually deal with the dirty right wing politics that have escalated under Key’s watch.

Today on Stuff, Phillip Mathews article wrote about “Clean Greens overlooked in dirty week”

It feels like the political week can be divided into two eras, BH and AH. Before Hager and After Hager. The release of Nicky Hager’s book Dirty Politics seemed to change everything and, for a day or two at least, other agendas and stories faded from view.

The Green Party’s launch of its Christchurch policy at the new Botanic Gardens visitor centre on Tuesday morning was very much a BH event. But speculation had already started. One News reporter Michael Parkin sped past the routine questions about what the Greens would do for Christchurch and asked co-leader Metiria Turei if she knew what was in the Hager book.

“I know nothing,” she said, cheerfully and theatrically, but she was “interested” to see it. As for the stoush between Prime Minister John Key and Internet Party leader Laila Harre over effigies and rallies, Turei stayed well clear of that too.

The Greens are about clean rivers and clean politics. They seem decent, principled and thoughtful, which may explain why, in this weird election campaign, they also seem to be overlooked. All the Green caucus came to town for the launch, at which the party’s positive message was reiterated. “We stand with you, Christchurch,” Turei said. “We love New Zealand, we love Christchurch.”

More about the Greens week at the link.

Tonight the TV 3 News announced the results of a Colmar Brunton poll on education policies – the winner is Labour by a nose. Take note, Mr Key!

Earlier today Metiria Turei injected a little humour into the media and twitter.

Weekend paper Turei short Norman_1

Weekend paper Turei short Norman_2

Tomorrow the Greens officially launch their election campaign in Auckland. Hope it goes well.

Sunday 17 August, 2pm – AUT, Sir Paul Reeves Bldg

Green Party election priority student 2014

 

 

 

6 comments on “The Left on policies and values ”

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  1. Blue 1
    16 August 2014 at 8:07 pm

    One of the bits of mis-truth that John Key stated in the press stand up last week…was that the Left is into dirty politics because it doesn’t want to campaign on policies, and can’t win on policies.

    This drives me absolutely nuts. He has done this on more than one occasion, and no one ever challenges him over it. National has released barely any policy. Every other party in Parliament or trying to get into Parliament has stacks of policy. National has SFA.

    But no media people ever say ‘hang on, it’s five weeks out from an election, where is National’s policy please?’ or ‘Mr Prime Minister, what are National’s top priorities for a third term?’ Y’know, basic questions that should be asked in a democracy.

    That is a real downside of Hager’s book. People are again focusing on sideshows and not on the fact that they do not have a single fucking clue what National wants to do for the next three years.

  2. disturbed 2
    16 August 2014 at 8:21 pm

    The MSM has poisoned the whole population.
    Personal Plea for the people of NZ and opposition MPs. Now we know that National have planted their moles everywhere this is what we want.
    I beg for all opposition Parties to call a stop to the clock on this sham and refuse to participate in any media shams in an embargo until a studio inside NZTV and RNZ is made available with their own appointed moderators to carry forward the election media converge of debates as we have already seen the results and will in the next negative poll that the present MSM is not giving the promised “impartial media” David Cunliffe requested, otherwise it will just get worse as we go further. We need to change the shit media circus o/k. Share this around please bloggers.

    • Thinkerr 2.1
      16 August 2014 at 8:48 pm

      Be disturbed no longer.

      I went to my local (suburban town centre) mall today, to see if I could get a copy of the book from one of the, if not the largest of bookstores around.

      1. “Dirty Politics” comes out on 20 August, so it will likely get another public airing, as the hoi polloi reads it.
      2. I was told its in high demand, and if I don’t place an order, I’ll miss out on this edition. I don’t think Hager’s mum can be buying ALL of the 1st edition copies for her friends in the Quilting Club, so the MSM will be way behind its readership, if it ignores the book and the allegations in it. This is one popular book.

      Also:
      Looking on youtube for snippets of the book, I came across Brash & Key trying to brush off the Hollow Men book launch back in 06. Almost word-for-word the same defence, I thought. Check the clips yourself…

      And

      Did you notice, at the Dunedin media conference, Key seemed pretty knowledgeable about the content, for someone who hasn’t read the book. Either he read it, or someone did a good job of summarising it for him, is my guess.

      • ianmac 2.1.1
        16 August 2014 at 9:15 pm

        Key confessed that he hadn’t read the book but he said he had teams to read for him and summarise the content for him. But when journalists asked about specific points he brushed them off with the remark that he hadn’t been briefed on that. Awkwardness for him.

    • tricledrown 2.2
      17 August 2014 at 3:59 am

      Disturbed totally agree we have our own Berlusconi Bainimarama in charge of Media subverting democracy.
      Shonkey has Joyce doing the same to Media as Ede Collins and Rich are doing with whale oil !
      Their needs to be a boycott complaints to the BSA and Electoral Commission!

  3. Stephanie Rodgers 3
    16 August 2014 at 11:44 pm

    Labour has policies to support newborns and their families, reduce class sizes, restore workers’ rights, and take real action to rebuild Canterbury. The Greens are talking about a green economy, cleaning up our rivers, rebuilding manufacturing, solar for schools, public transport.

    National have … a few bullet points (not even a “Policy” section on their website), a hashtag, and their record in government.

    It’s a totally laughable line from Key, and I think we’re really going to see that in the leaders’ debates.