the blog and turfs and the brandywine bankrompers

I was seriously considering throwing in this blogging thing earlier today - as an experiment, it's essentially failed (if you take aside its initial incarnation as a diversion while at work and the brief flurry while I was at school).

That was until I read an old compadre of mine this afternoon that incensed me for no apparent reason. It's an innocuous entry that makes a small contribution to the ongoing battle between Lew and Chris Trotter over the future of the country's political left.

Yet it was this simple statement that got my goat (my emphasis added):

Lew at Kiwipolitico has the kind of post up at the moment that reminds me why mainstream media is such an unsatisfying read/consume when it comes to political commentary.

There's a common refrain in the blogosphere that the mainstream media has failed, yet I remain unconvinced - yes it has its short-comings, but it can't be everything to everyone.

And that seems to be the over-riding concern for a number of my friends - it doesn't coin things in a paradigm that they've bought into.

For every lament as to why our top political commentators aren't delving into the growing divisions of the Labour Party movement, we get insightful pieces from the likes of Colin James, Pattrick Smellie (I'm contractually obligated for this one), and Fran O'Sullivan as to how political language is being re-written, why Don Brash is a naive idealogue rather than the spawn of Satan, and what the government is doing wrong in addressing youth wages.

They are doing what they do, and the majority of them do it very well, even if it doesn't touch on a number of keystone issues that the blogosphere wants to enter the main lexicon.

To be honest, the internal politicking of the wider left-wing movement in New Zealand isn't actually that important when it doesn't have any power, or prospect of taking power in the next five years (just saying).

What I'd be much more keen on seeing would be the internal divisions of the labour movement, which will have a lot of power in the coming years.

So I guess this is really just a gripe, and I've fallen into that trap that so many bloggers (and New Zealanders) do of identifying a problem without providing an answer. So let's pull a Kevin Smith a la Zack and Miri and tack something into the credits: ummmm, bloggers can do thier ultra-specialised commentary that will be taken with a vat of salt and MSM columnists (why am I even getting worked up over columnists - excepting Garth George, Michael Laws, Jim Hopkins, Richard Long, etc etc etc) can stick to their turf of churning something out in 40 minutes as deadline looms.....

Oy vey...

PB.

Paranoia's not the problem - it's the reptiles that we should be worried about

I dutifully read Fran O'Sullivan this morning and thought well done. Well done indeed. It's given me the opportunity to fly the latest in my long line of conspiracy theories that I often keep under wraps, and both Bomber and Jafapete have only themselves to blame (points were deducted from Jafapete for hat-tipping to the Standard - loverly guys but this vid was a poor piece of propoganda).

Theory number one comes from people (like myself) who like the long game. I've had theories about how the Hon Bill English is one of these people - I won't bore you with the details, but the general gist is this. If you go back to the end of last year, Fran's wish-list for the top stories of 2008 holds this wee gem:

4. John Key and Bill English cut succession deal Key offers English a secret deal that he will step down as Prime Minister after two terms in favour of his Treasurer (English). The former currency trader recognises that English - who virtually single-handed ran the Electoral Finance Bill story that catapulted National back up the polls - deserves to succeed him. This assumes Key has read the lessons from the reigns of Tony Blair and John Howard about what happens to unity when talented finance supremos are left to fester for too long.

Lew will pooh-pooh me as he thinks Key is "It's a dog eat dog world and I've got bigger teeth than you," but I like to think of Fran in her Winebox days - if something smells fishy, that's probably because there's a snapper lying around.

Tenuous correlation number two came from reading the Armstrong-O'Sullivan combo, and isn't linked to the above at all. Yoda wrote:

National will know soon enough from its own private polling just how big a hit it has taken. Many people will wonder what all the fuss is about. Others will simply blame Labour for the dirty tricks. As a minimum, however, National can probably wave goodbye to securing a majority in its own right. (My emphasis)

Obviously, it was the last line that caught my attention.

I've got a bet with a few friends that ACT's going to ring in 6% of the vote. Seems obvious to me - you've got 5% of the population who are libertarian, neo-lib, and neo-con nutters, just like you've got 5% of the population who not only like Winston, but actually believe him too.

The issue is that 45% is not too much of a stretch for the Nats, and if you tack on ACT in a formal coalition you've got a prime opportunity to go back on any promises you made on the campaign trail ("we don't want to, it's Rodney's and Roger's fault"). Expediency is a wonderful thing.

This is only wild speculation on my part - I'm sure there are many minds that can rip this flight of fancy to pieces - but if our next Government (and even this pinko commie's coming around to a centre-right coalition) is blue and yellow, I'm looking forward to front row seats. I was too young for Lockwood's about-face last time and I wouldn't mind witnessing a repeat.

Hermes is a better name

Mercury Energy, the gift that keeps on giving. By now, you will all know that Folole Muliaga's funeral was held today, and our PM made an appearance, paying tribute to the family for daring to forgive. Not something done too regularly in New Zealand. Well the media continued, well and truly, to dig deep in this story. There are still things to come out, and it is with baited breath that we wait.

Paul Holmes continued his stream of consciousness on the issue, tapping the spirit that is NewstalkZB's political editor, Barry Soper, to update the issue. Barry's a good Labour man, so obviously Helen was looking after the issue well (he is loathe to condemn her), and he gave us a quick rundown of how the Government plans to stop their heartless SOEs from squeezing the bejeezus out of us. I actually thought Fran O'Sullivan's column on the issue (thank you Mr. Farrar) summed up the dichotomy of trying to run an efficient business while being socially responsible fairly well (it surprised me too). Next up the gnome on the hill had Shane Jones and Katherine Rich punch out their predictable party lines. Nothing new for the punters to read there.

Leighton (and the thought does make me a little ill) held his line that there were a number of factors in the death of Folole Muliaga, although he did have the tact not to criticise her obesity in light of the fact that her funeral was held today. Credit's always given when it's due. The Government, of course, was making the wrong decision in regulating. Why can't they just privatise everything and be done with it. The market is a much better decider than any kind of socially responsible collective. Oh, and local government's no better with the ratcheting of water rates, and rates in general. Just in case you couldn't figure that one out.

Willie and JT over on RadioLive roused their usual rabble. JT managed to get the first half hour by himself, as Willie was at the funeral, and managed to dish out a salient ramble on how Ms. Clark had no other choice under the current realpolitik but appear and speak at the funeral, but man it's sad that she has to do so. Willie, when he finally stormed in, roundly condemned JT and his sycophantic callers, all heartless bastards the lot of them, before standing up and saying Helen really does care for us all. And she's doing good things for his underprivileged Samoan brothers. Bit of a headtrip listening to the Brown Brothers. One works for the evil forces of the Right, the other for the extreme forces of the Left. What's a simple media monitor to do?