OPINION
The Labour Party are finding out a terrible truth right now: that no one cares what they or their lickspittles in the media have to say anymore. Voters simply do not believe a word they say and have literally switched off.
The media are making fools of themselves too, constantly dribbling on about National’s fiscal hole. Perhaps the worst is Lloyd Burr, who is looking increasingly unprofessional as he moves from outing poofs in parliament to making stuff up and pursuing Christopher Luxon about the tax plan.
While Labour politicians are banging on about it, and the media are repeating their silly attack lines, all the voters are hearing is that National is planning tax cuts. The more Labour and the media bang on about it, the more voters realise that Labour and their lickspittles have nothing to give us with regard to their own plans.
Michael Bassett sums it up nicely in a recent blog post:
If Labour ministers and our left-leaning media knew more about New Zealand’s political history they would stop giving so much publicity to National’s tax-cut plans, ill-advised though they might be. The attacks are only increasing the likelihood that National will be elected. In one celebrated election, 1928, the government and the media concentrated so much of their time on the Opposition’s mistake that they succeeded in electing the tired, frail Sir Joseph Ward to office.
By that time Ward, at 72, was half blind. At his campaign opening in Auckland’s Town Hall, the former Prime Minister and our longest-serving cabinet minister suffered a diabetic blackout and mis-read his speech notes. Instead of promising to borrow £70 million over 10 years to expand the economy, he promised to borrow £70 million “next year”. At the time it was the most extravagant election promise in our history, and brought howls of criticism from the media and from the government of the then Prime Minister, Gordon Coates. Such was the racket that people with only a slender interest in the details of politics and economics pricked up their ears and decided a bit of loose cash sloshing about sounded good to them. Ward was triumphantly elected, but none of the money was ever borrowed, and he was dead within two years.
In this election campaign, the racket from Chris Hipkins and Grant Robertson, and from journalist dimwits, means that National’s promise of tax cuts is now known to everyone and even factored into some household budgets. TV3’s Lloyd Burr smugly excelled himself on Saturday evening, pursuing Chris Luxon around town wanting more information than he was going to get. Since the hullabaloo began about whether National’s promise can be paid for, or whether tax cuts are even wise in the current inflationary environment, National has been rising in the polls and looks likely to take office with ACT’s assistance on 14 October. The left, as it has often done, seems intent on scoring another “own goal”. Next Tuesday at the first leaders’ debate you can count on hearing more about National’s tax cuts. If Chris Luxon holds his ground he’ll be the likely long-term winner.
Michael Bassett
Michael Bassett is dead right and, more importantly, no one cares if National has a hole in their budget. All they care about is hearing National will cut taxes.
Labour and Chris Hipkins should just fold their tent, get some moving boxes out and start packing up their offices because in under a month they are getting the big DCM (Don’t Come Monday).
Their best tactic right now is silence. They should emulate Joe Biden and sit out the coming maelstrom in the bunker or basement or under Mummy’s desk. It’s that bad for them.
What I am hoping is for Winston Peters to have a ready-to-go media utu plan, where he goes after all the media who suckled from the public teat and corrupted themselves by taking PIJF cash. That would be a sight to behold.
Meanwhile all we can ask is for media to do their jobs, but chance’d be a fine thing.
Labour should just hush down. No one wants to hear a thing they’ve got to say anymore. People will be crossing the road to avoid talking to them or banging in to them. Labour know they are toast…it’s just a matter of how burnt that toast will be.
Right now all we want to hear from Labour is the sound of silence…just shut up and go away…like your former leader.
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