If David Farrar in his Kiwiblog accuses the Greens of a dirty deal in Northland then they must be doing something right.
The cause of Mr Farrar’s concern is the announcement of the Greens that “It is our strategic assessment that we should not run in the by-election and instead focus on our nationwide climate change and inequality campaigns.”
It beggars belief that Farrar – one of the cabal of the National Party’s Dirty Politics – has the audacity to accuse the Greens of
National Party tricks. Has he forgotten Ohariu-Belmont and Epsom just 6 months ago ?
This clearly demonstrates not only the double standard of the “Right” but also the weakness of the “Left” of politics.
In over 50 years of observing and participating in politics I have again and again found the weakness of the “Left” arguing among themselves on points of principle Socialists vs Communists vs Marxist vs Stalinists vs Leninists vs Trotskyists vs Maoists and the list goes on. While the “Right” with no ballast of principle keeps the eye on the ball, which is power at all costs including dirty politics.
Mr Farrar does not mention that the National Party dirty politics lead us into this mess where the tax-payer has to spend a million dollars plus on a by-election just 6 months after a general election.
What we do know is that ex-MP Mike Sabin
has been under police investigation well before the general election. The National Business Review reports what the Prime Minister calls “family reasons” is actually an assault complaint and the NBR understands the PM was first made aware of the assault complaint in April last year, months before the September 20 ballot – and that the National Party knew before the 2011 election.
Still Mr Sabin did not only got again selected for the safe National seat but after the election made chairman of Parliament’s Law and Order Select Committee overseeing the same police investigating him. Mr Sabin himself knew and accepted it.
This is really bad if even Rodney Hide gets agitated:
TV One has reported that police were investigating Sabin in August last year. It’s inconceivable to me that they would not have told their minister and the Prime Minister.
It’s especially important that they would do so with Sabin because he’s ex-police and on October 22 he was elected to chair the law and order select committee.
That’s the select committee that scrutinises police performance on Parliament’s behalf.
Hang on. According to One News the chairman was under police investigation. And the Prime Minister didn’t know?
True to form John Key denies any knowledge and again nobody believes him.
All that matters to him is that his pollster tells him that his target group “the overwhelmingly male, determinedly anti-intellectual, painfully inarticulate, culturally moronic and sports-mad portion of the New Zealand population” (Chris Trotter) don’t seem to care when he knew and the dirty dealing behind it. And accordingly he refuses to answer all burning questions.
Most interesting however is the fact that Farrar – the National Party pollster – gets so exited by the fact that the Greens are not fielding a candidate in Northland. He must know that National is in real trouble.
On the other hand we cannot expect Labour to be as smart as the Greens and give Winston a clear run. In that case according to normally well informed right wing commentator Matthew Hooton on National Radio’s nine-to-noon this week the National Party would loose the seat.
The end result would give more power to the jokers Seymour (Epsom) and Dunne (Ohariu-Belmont).
Would that be a good thing ?