Posts by Paul Williams
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Hard News: Criminalising Journalism, in reply to Russell Brown,
When asked whether his complaint was a good use of police time, Mr Key said National had lowered the crime rate across the country and police had a little bit of spare time.
You know, I imagine the cops may actually take mild offence at this...
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Oddily, what I've heard is that Boscowan's regarded as a good operator by most in parliament. What is it with celebrity? Why not reward talent and application? I didn't like Simon Upton, but I respected him...
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Hard News: Criminalising Journalism, in reply to BenWilson,
The only upside for National is that it draws attention away from policy, and it draws attention from every other party away too. But it's negative attention National is getting
If National's strategy was to leverage Key's popularity, which based on the billboards, it was, then the long this goes the more difficult that becomes. National might be suffering from having few, if any, secondary brands (by which I mean the non-polarising personalities eg. Power).
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Hard News: Criminalising Journalism, in reply to linger,
... of any politician spouting waffle, really.
I'd also like to hear the line "No, seriously, what's your actual policy on this matter?" used more often. Or at all.An Australian Broadcasting Authority morning drive show, Virginia Triolli, once told the then NSW Premier Iemma (circa 2008) that she'd not be inviting him back on air as he never answered the questions and simply stuck to speaking points. Loved it.
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Now Boscowan's back in the race, who can keep up with ACT? And how's this for a doozy quote from the Dr:
"I would certainly be disappointed not to be in there [Parliament]," he said. "But when you contest an election, sometimes you have to accept that you won't win."
I think that should be never in his case.
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I'd not normally link to Perigo but since Pagani tweeted the link in the first place I thought I'd give it a quick look.
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Hard News: The perils of political confidence, in reply to Rich of Observationz,
Selfish in that they want excess money and resources for themselves at the expense of other people and the environment.
Deluded in that they believe they can actually achieve this, rather than themselves being screwed by the 1%.Apparently that's called congnitive polyphasia although I'm still not sure I agree. I suspect most adults vote based on a combination of factors that weights their family circumstances above others but doesn't exclude all others.
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Hard News: The perils of political confidence, in reply to Stewart,
Steve may have been a little harsh with his call on 'average voters' but there's no need to make out he was raving like a David Icke.
That wasn't my intent and I apologise to Steve if that's how it seemed. Coincidentally, I've spent many hours talking with family members in Epsom about why they shouldn't vote for Banks simply to avoid a personal tax increase.
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Hard News: The perils of political confidence, in reply to Stephen Judd,
I completely agree and while it mightn't do major damage in the short-term, Key's accumulating the unavoidable political biddi-bids that every PM does and which eventually turn voters off. It might be too soon to say, or I might be too partisan, either way I think Brand Key is significantly tarnished.
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Hard News: The perils of political confidence, in reply to Steve Barnes,
The average voter is pretty simple and rather gullible.
Steve, when I worked for the Labour Research Unit years back I learned that MPs give real weighting to what they hear at kindy visits, in bowling clubs and retirement villages. Maybe it's the wisdom of the crowds, I'm not sure, but these interactions provide rich data that is every bit as valid as the more removed and abstract policy musings of professionals and elites.