If National wins ...

[BlackPeter]

BP, I'm not sure where you're dragging this rubbish up from, but are you trying to say that there is no-one on the leftie side of Labour's ranks who has any chance at all? Even compared to the blithering idiots in National's ranks? National is holding itself in power with money, they buy votes with money, they conduct dirty politics in the social media, they contract in neoliberal lobbyists C-T to make it work. If they don't get enough cash in from big business, they take taxpayer borrowings and splash it around. How hard is that?

Conversely, Labour paid off a lot of old debt and ran the country superbly for nine years. You are just doing the C-T bidding by repeating that unfounded rubbish every chance you get - FP does it, too. Must be something in the water down on the Mainland.

Look EZ, neither party is going to change the population ... and in any population there are something like 30 to 40% left or hard left voters, about the same number of conservative voters (including hard right) and the balance are swing voters including liberals.

Neither the right nor the left is able to govern without the Liberal part of the population (unless they are all so centred that Left is able to work in a government together with the conservatives - as e.g. currently in Germany)

Nobody I know of on the Left side of NZ Labour and NZ Green is currently willing or able to work with the Liberals (I mean people with Liberal views, not necessarily the liberal party relics we have her in NZ) ... and this means, none of them will ever make it into any government (unless, of course, they change). Just think about the reasons why the NZ Green party never made it into any government and the Left side of Labour is left of Green.

No rocket science - just plain common sense.

[Daytr]

Are you looking EZ? You have been told twice;-) I wonder where BP picked up that saying from...

[winner69]

Just about finished reading the new chapters in The New Confessions of an Economic Hitman - John Perkins.
http://www.amazon.com.au/New-Confess...onomic+hit+man

Found the original version fascinating - the new 'confessions' are even more fascinating. Nothing's changed and you have to wonder whether NZ is on the hit list

[winner69]

NZvAU cricket test only good viewing if you Aussie - Khawaja hits yet another boundary

John Key jinxed NZ team by being 'honoured' to present the cap to mark BMacs 100th test

[Major von Tempsky]

The NZ Left (and British and Australian and US) are congenitally, intellectually, unable to grasp the simple fact that to gain government they need to move their policies, and personnel to the right.

It's no good telling the majority of voters they are wrong and abusing them that doesn't gain their votes. It's no good smearing the existing centre right parties and personnel that won't gain their votes.

Nicky Hager has run out of tricks the majority just doesn't believe him anymore.

Time for you (EZ, Daytr, Uncle Tom Cobbley and all) to have a fundamental rethink!

[Daytr]

MVT the left have been in government for 8 years in the US! LOL
And if Trump wins the Republican nomination I think we will see another four years with either Sanders or Clinton winning.
With Sanders gaining strong popularity it suggests quite the opposite to what you suggest.
In Europe its the same. People are fed up with the bank bail outs, white collar crime and the growing disparity of wealth.

[fungus pudding]

MVT the left have been in government for 8 years in the US! LOL
And if Trump wins the Republican nomination I think we will see another four years with either Sanders or Clinton winning.
With Sanders gaining strong popularity it suggests quite the opposite to what you suggest.
In Europe its the same. People are fed up with the bank bail outs, white collar crime and the growing disparity of wealth.

It's easy to throw around left right labels, but the democrats are near equivalent to national, while republicans have developed into a bunch of lunatic God bothering nutters.

[Daytr]

There is some truth in what you say, however Obama's Medicare & environmental policy are certainly policies that are aligned to the left. The TPPA is something that is more aligned to the right & that's why he's struggling to get support for it from within his own party.
Sanders however who could be the next president is certainly a lefty .

It's easy to throw around left right labels, but the democrats are near equivalent to national, while republicans have developed into a bunch of lunatic God bothering nutters.

[elZorro]

I think I should read that book, W69. By the way, did you go to the TPPA protest, or are you too comfortable? Mixed messages, that's what I'm seeing.

[elZorro]

I think if I was voting in the states, I'd go for Bernie Sanders for president. This guy is a real veteran politician, formed his socialist-leaning views early, and stuck with them. Some great political advert ideas here too.

http://thestandard.org.nz/saunders-v...-campaign-ads/