Posts by Don Christie
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That was because on June 18, 2003, while National's associate transport spokesman, he criticised the Government's competing bid with Toll to buy back the rail tracks without declaring his shareholding.
But her attack backfired when Mr Key told Parliament the trust had sold the shares before he made those comments and that Helen Clark had misled the House.
A spokesman for Mr Key said yesterday the shares were sold on June 9, 2003, and June 12, 2003. The spokesman also said the shares had been sold to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest and to the best of his knowledge Mr Key had not made any comments about the company while a shareholder.
But Deputy Prime Minister Michael Cullen last night pointed to questions Mr Key asked in Parliament on April 9, 2003, while he still owned the shares.
Ah Craig, you weren't being a little...Rovian...yesterday, were you?
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Craig, once again you completely miss the point. It is not that Clark's tactics were tasteful, clearly they were not. It was your immediate and rather lame attempts at equivalence to Rove that drew attention.
And, Don, you really need to try and mount a defence that hasn't been scripted by a surly teenager still using the moral reasoning skills of a toddler.
Try reading back through a day's worth of your language in PA before you dare start throwing that sort of garbage at people on this forum.
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Now, folks, how are we going to blame National and Crosby/Textor for this little Rovian smear (made under parliamentary privilege, naturally)?
Good grief Craig, you seem to be popping up all over the show with this comment. You really need to check out Rove and C/Ts track record before making such idiotic comparisons.
As far as I can see Clark was one year out on this and quite frankly, National have been hanging Government ministers out for far less than this over the last 3 years.
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I really struggle with these sorts of statements. The Nats and Labour are effectively carbon copies of each other.
Pretty shallow analysis. Seen from the extremes of left and right it may be the case, just because Labour has not rushed into whole sale nationalisation (or pick your favourite Marxists doctrine) and National are not espousing the destruction of Gummint does not mean they are the same.
Their underlying philosophies are quite different and it is probably worth understanding that before casting your vote. Where they are the same is that, on the whole, both sides of the house think they have the best formula for make the country a "better place". Being an optimist, I think most of them believe that is why they are in Parliament.
Anyone up for a $5 bet Key won't last the 1st term whether he wins/loses/draws the election?
I'll see you and raise you $5. Underestimating the talents of the man is plain silly. He's not George Bush no matter how you might like to believe that.
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In the benign circumstances we currently enjoy
Yes, quite. People died and still die for the right to a secret ballot, they did so because they knew it was critical to having their voices heard in a fair and equitable manner.
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I can't comment on specifics of this article but I will give an anecdote.
At the last election my daughter was 6. She put a lot of effort into understanding what all the bill boards were about, what an election was about, even the main policy thrusts of all the parties.
So, when we turned up at her school to vote she was ready. Waiting patiently in the queue for her turn to express her democratic right.
Only thing was our democracy was not ready for her. I had no idea that she was planning to vote until she asked the polling station officer, who also happened to be her teacher, for a ballot paper. Her disappointment that day will live with me for a while and I very much hope that when she is able to cast her vote the drama, sense of occasion and sense of civic duty will remain as Graeme describes it.
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Nah, doesn't cut the mustard, Craig. See, if the USA engages in an unjust war like Vietnam or Iraq, I don't immediately equate Kennedy / Bush to Hitler, who also engaged on unjust wars.
But, if you can't see differences of scale and substance I will leave you to your true absolutism.
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saw the now notorious "3 am" advert could be forgiven for thinking
Sorry Craig. How does that equate to claiming McCain fathered illegitimate black babies, doctoring photos of desperate refugees to make out they were drowning their babies or the FUD attacks on Gypsies or the outright lies and innuendo spread about Kerry? This is Rove and C/T all over. That's what I am talking about.
Really, if that Clinton ad is the best "on the other hand" you have I think you simply prove my point.
I find distasteful is having Labour hacks complain about their precious Government being "stolen" from them for months or years afterwards.
Wasn't that the meme from National after the last election? Remember Brash "demanding" a snap election as soon as possible? Talk about corrosive.
Otherwise, I think folks like Russell recognising that changes in Government colour occur in democracies is hardly earth shattering. But it can happen without either side resorting to bottom sucking.
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I assume the guys behind the Standard work in the Labour Party Research Unit
Do you assume that because you know? Because if you are correct then I assume they have been very misleading about their connections. I think you should back up that claim.
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It seems to me that Labour party supporters at PAS are building themselves a narrative to explain their parties upcoming annihilation and the Cosby/Textor
Maybe. Not for me though. I have just seen what these guys have done in the past and it disgusts me. No doubt Craig has an "on the other hand" waiting in the sidelines but in my experience of countless watching elections around the blocks for many years (sad but true) only Karl Rove comes close.
And yes, I have heard Helen Clark called "smug" on numerous occasions recently which as has been pointed out hardly seems to describe her weaknesses accurately. It's just a convenient label to start throwing around.
Note to The Standard..."Slipper" is equally useless.