When scaremongering becomes self-parody

Written By: - Date published: 7:02 am, September 18th, 2017 - 34 comments
Categories: election 2017, labour, national, same old national - Tags: , , , ,

Excellent Q+A interviews with political leaders yesterday (transcript of Ardern, transcript of English). This summary of the English interview gets right to the point:

English raises prospect of slaughtered cows, depopulated cities

National leader BM English defended his party’s attack ads during an appearance on Q+A.

Asked if he felt personally comfortable with lines like the $11.7 billion hole and other lines of attack politics, Mr Englishe [sic] replied, “Yes. I do, because […blah blah lies blah blah…]

The National leader also dropped dark hints about where Labour-Green environmental policies could lead.

Asked whether the water quality at Lake Elsmere had degraded over the past 10 years, Mr English said, “No. Lake El—Well, it’s degraded over the last 30 years. What I can tell you is the serious effort gone in in the Selwyn River catchment and Lake Elsmere catchment over really complex, challenging issues. I mean, there is one answer – slaughter the dairy herd. I suppose that would help. Then next thing they’ll be talking about how to depopulate cities because they cause pollution. Well, that doesn’t make sense.”

The rest of the interview carries on in a very similar vein, with English attempting to justify lies, negative campaigning and scaremongering.

CORIN It is just part of a concerted scare campaign, isn’t it? You haven’t been able to run on your record. You have run on a negative campaign. Add this to the $11.7 billion hole, which does not exist, and you’re just out there to scare voters. Are you not proud of your record?

BILL I absolutely disagree. We are very proud of our record. We are running on our record. But more importantly, we are running on a plan for the next three years, the next five years to take advantage of the strength of the New Zealand economy. The Labour Party and the other parties have the obligation to answer the questions that New Zealanders are asking.

Ohh look – straight back to Labour.

Why is Bill English such a scared little man? Why doesn’t National have the confidence to run a positive campaign on its policies?


https://twitter.com/nealejones/status/909231757278326786

34 comments on “When scaremongering becomes self-parody ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. Sanctuary 1
    18 September 2017 at 7:12 am

    Election pro tip #1 –

    Set up your troll accounts on Kiwiblog early, so can you can add that extra spice of fun to next Sunday by informing them all of your plan to immediately begin the calvary of the cows.

  2. Psycho Milt 2
    18 September 2017 at 7:25 am

    I laughed when I saw the desperate stuff about Labour slaughtering the dairy herd and depopulating the cities. “Well, that doesn’t make sense,” said Bill.

    Quite, Bill. Just so. You’re making no longer making any sense. Time to go, mate.

  3. The decrypter 3
    18 September 2017 at 7:31 am

    “Cows with Guns—–run cows run—-

  4. eco maori 4
    18 September 2017 at 7:31 am

    Wow what a Coincident that this pipe line with aviation fuel is accidentally cut a week before OUR ELECTIONS now I don’t believe in coincidences . I wonder how long national have had that emergency plan in place.
    Now with the early polls we all no that the neo liberals have a life style that enables them to vote early and US Laborers are busies working our assess off in this ROCK STAR ECONOMY trying to keep afloat so we vote later Labour the Greens and Tops will storm home.

  5. Incognito 5
    18 September 2017 at 7:37 am

    Leaving National to govern for another term will increase the risk of having a scorched Earth.

    • greywarshark 5.1
      18 September 2017 at 11:55 am

      Scorched earth! I think that the extremes will just widen, in the climate as the one between the uber rich/rich and the vast poor. The seven years of drought in the bible will come to pass, and then perhaps seven more years just to show us how bloody insignificant we are, and then the rains will come onto the scorched earth, hard baked. As hard baked as our sons of farmers, and the daughters of the pioneers are, generations after the first ships.

  6. AsleepWhileWalking 6
    18 September 2017 at 7:55 am

    Mebey just slaughter a city by bringing in “The Purge”. Much more efficient.

  7. Molly 7
    18 September 2017 at 7:59 am

    Time for some TS Eliot:

    We are the hollow men
    We are the stuffed men
    Leaning together
    Headpiece filled with straw. Alas!
    Our dried voices, when
    We whisper together
    Are quiet and meaningless
    As wind in dry grass
    Or rats’ feet over broken glass
    In our dry cellar

    Shape without form, shade without colour,
    Paralysed force, gesture without motion;…

    … This is the way the world ends
    This is the way the world ends
    This is the way the world ends
    Not with a bang but a whimper.

    Nicky Hager chose well for his book title.

  8. Carolyn_nth 8
    18 September 2017 at 8:07 am

    Where does veal come from, Bill?

    What happens to cattle bred on dairy farms, that are no use to the dairy industry?

    Isn’t slaughtering cattle part of what farming does?

  9. Tracey 9
    18 September 2017 at 8:42 am

    Did Nats polling suggest some rural voters were turning on Nats cos he would seem to be preaching to the converted.

    • Pat 9.1
      18 September 2017 at 8:54 am

      good point…..does that also then mean that they have conceded and are now trying to limit the extent of the damage?

      • tracey 9.1.1
        18 September 2017 at 8:58 am

        They still have a minimum of 40% of the voters… unless their own polling is lower?

        • Pat 9.1.1.1
          18 September 2017 at 9:28 am

          thats what i was inferring….could be they are bleeding more support than the public polls indicate.

          • Tracey 9.1.1.1.1
            18 September 2017 at 11:16 am

            I guess I mean that despite the now proven and media highlighted lies they still have that kind of support.

            • Pat 9.1.1.1.1.1
              18 September 2017 at 2:46 pm

              saw somewhere that 80% of electorate don’t take an interest past the headline (probably an arbitrary figure) and there is certainly a huge chunk either disengaged, time poor, or self interested to support a number like that….a site like this is populated by outliers (kiwiblog on the other hand is populated by outright liars)

              • Pat …
                18 September 2017 at 6:29 pm

                its worse than I thought….

                “One of the most consistent findings in political psychology is that voters are, for better or worse, less informed than your Civics instructor might hope. In fact, some estimates suggest only two percent of the population think in “ideological” terms—the “gold standard” for sophisticated reasoning about politics”

                https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2017/09/17/48066/the-psychology-of-how-we-vote

                ‘Regardless of how, or for whom, you decide to vote, only one thing truly matters on Election Day and that is that you get out and vote.’

  10. Anthony Rimell 10
    18 September 2017 at 9:26 am

    “When they go low, we go high”

    Except that the media feast on negativity, and the populous seem to love blood sport.

    It’s very sad: but it shows too that we MUST not only paint our vision but decry their lack of same.

    And to the young people (who probably don’t read this blog, unfortunately) please please PLEASE for the love of …: Enrol and Vote.

  11. mpledger 11
    18 September 2017 at 9:38 am

    Fonterra must be tearing their hair out. All the money they spent on making townies love dairy farmers and Bill English wipes it out.

    • tc 11.1
      18 September 2017 at 10:49 am

      They’ll not care, their hides are as tick as David Seymour with the arrogance and sense of importance not too far behind.

  12. ianmac 12
    18 September 2017 at 10:35 am

    English constantly says that Labour is causing the Rural Urban divide. Huh? There is just one MP doing that and it is English! Which group is marching on the streets having been roused by English? The farmers in Hamilton today.

  13. adam 13
    18 September 2017 at 11:08 am

    Really the labour party are the Khmer Rouge, how much more retarded can the Tory elects get in this country?

  14. tracey 14
    18 September 2017 at 1:40 pm

     So stuff is headlining “farmer’s revolt”. No hyperbole there. Winston is crevving them up and now we know why English has been playing to the farming base. Am sure his brother helped organise behind the scenes for Fed Farmers, as a volunteer.

    Ardern has revealled that there are 3 water consents around Morrinsvile so farmers there are unaffected by any water tax. She also points out low use of irrigation by Dairy Farmers. So again English has wrongly frightened farmers with made up shit.

  15. Darth smith 15
    18 September 2017 at 2:23 pm

    Nacts heads are really exploding they just can’t cope without power I wonder how many dyelections after the election nacts haveing mental brake downs

  16. cleangreen 16
    18 September 2017 at 3:04 pm

    A letter sent from Bill English to voters today;

    Here is where we are with the National Party lies today!!!

    To all you candidates; – read this and respond to these lies that the National Party are telling the electorate right now.

    From Bill English;

    “With five days to go in this election campaign we’ve got great momentum and we’re looking forward to a huge final week.
    If you want a National-led Government then you must PARTY VOTE NATIONAL. Voting any other way risks a Labour/Greens Government that will take New Zealand backwards. You will not help us by giving your party vote to any other party so please PARTY VOTE NATIONAL.
    It’s now down to a very clear choice – going forward with National or backwards with Labour’s very different economic agenda, which includes more taxes, more spending, more debt, higher interest rates, and trade and industrial relations policies that would be very harmful to Kiwi businesses trying to compete around the world.

  17. Christine 17
    18 September 2017 at 9:26 pm

    English’s dopey comments about Kelvin Davis on TV3, comparing him with Paula Bennett for heavens sake, are yet another new low because everybody in N Z – except apparently English – knows that Kelvin Davis is a very good man – and I voted Green !