National in trouble? Time to dog-whistle the Middle Class! (part #rua)
.
.
When the going get’s tough for the Nats…
… The Nats get deflecting.
Issue #1. SOE partial privatisation;
Problem: theĀ wheels are falling of National’s agenda of partial privatisation,
.
.
National’s Response to issue #1:
Solution: Deflect public attention byĀ criticising and deriding Maori claimants,
.
.
Key played to National’s redneck support base andĀ low-information voters by uttering his now famous line that “no one owns the water”.
Which, when one thinks about it,Ā isĀ like saying that no one owns other finite resources suchĀ coal or oil burned in thermal power stations, or uranium used in atomic power plants.Ā Try telling Australian mining company, BHP,Ā that no one owns the oil and gas they drill for.
Interestingly, Key has not attacked Rio Tinto nor Norske Skog. Evidently, Rio Tinto’s demand for cheaper power, and Norske Skog’s threat to cut back production of pulp and paper at it’s Kawerau plant, is not a problem for Dear Leader.
But Maori calling for negotiations over water rights has prompted dismissive several responses from Key, including this statement,
āThe Government does not believe there should be a national hui; does not believe there should be a national settlement and it probably would not recognise all of the rights and interests that some Maori groups believe they have.
If the Crown was to be represented at the hui, and it wont be, because weāve said were not having a national hui, we donāt support thatā¦if you are an MP in the government you represent the Crown and any representation by my MPs at such an event would be interpreted as representation by the Crown.
Iāve made that position absolutely crystal clear..I do not accept the view that there needs to be a national hui, because I do not accept there will be a national settlement, because I do not accept itās a national issue.ā
See: Key ā Government wonāt go to water hui
So. Key (or one of his other ministerial cronies) is not even prepared to attend to simply listen?
The reactionaries, rednecks, and racists love this kind of chest-thumbing, political machismo. It’s the “we’ll-stand-up-to-them-cheeky-darkies” attutude that right wing governments love to exploit to show how “tough” they are, andĀ build up support for whatever unpleasant, unpopular policies they’re working on.
.
Issue #2. Rising unemployment and increasing redundancies;
Problem: National’s neo-liberal ideological belief that the “Market” will provide jobs, is not working,
.
.
National’s Response to issue #2:
Solution: Deflect public attention byĀ criticising and deriding the unemployed (those workers listed above who lost their jobs)by describing them as “poor by choice”…
.
.
Then as lazy druggies,
.
.
Then paint them as criminals,
.
.
And then as really, really, bad criminals,
.
.
So there we have it. Thousands of ordinaryĀ New Zealanders have lost their jobs; unemployment is rising; families are struggling to cope; poverty is increasing – and Key and Bennett respond by inferring that all unemployed are,
- irresponsible
- then lazy work-evaders,
- also drug-abusers
- and now, criminals
It would be laughable – except many low-information votersĀ are only too happy to believe what National tells them. To think otherwise means having to reconsider comfortable prejudices based on sloppy journalism and stereotypes.
Blaming the victims of an ailing economyĀ means that National can point the finger of blame at others, rather than their own incompetance and failed right wing policies.
We can expect more of this kind of desperate, disgusting mis-information and deflection as the economy and unemployment worsens.
According to John Key, Paula Bennett, et al, the unemployed are now little more than criminals. Their crime: showing upĀ neo-liberal, free market ideology as the failure that it is.
Guilty as charged.
This is how National responds to rising unemployment and poverty.
Anyone remotely doubting what I have pointed out here, I suggest they undertake a little experiment themselves,
- Find a newspaper
- Look through the political-economy section
- Count the number of stories detailing National’s job creation initiatives.
The answer will be: nil.
.
.
*
.
Otherblogs
The Standard: Trouble? Re-announce a distraction
Tumeke: Paula Bennett cracksdown on ‘Beneficiary Kidnappers’
Tumeke:Ā Citizen A with Chris Trotter & Selwyn Manning
Additional
Roy Morgan Poll: True unemployment rate ‘hidden by successive New Zealand Governments’
.
= fs =
Fiji, Canterbury, and deferred elections
Announced in July 2010,
.
.
So let’s see if this blogger has sussed this correctly…
Postponing an election in Fiji is a bad thing, with Dear Leader demanding that the Fijians tow the line,
“Nothing I’ve seen would mean that Mr Bainimarama would have any reason other than to hold elections in 2014 if he’s a man of his word.”
“Man of his word”! Good! Well said, Dear Leader, well said. CoupĀ leaders who over-turn democratically-elected institutions need to be held to account.
Uh oh…
Announced today (7 September),
.
.
???
But… but…Ā Prime Minister John Key said that pledges to hold an election should be honoured!?
What’s going on here?
Surely, Dear Leader is not having one standard for our Fijian cuzzies, and one for himself? That would be… hypocritical.
Let me say one last thing – Nothing I’ve seen would mean that Mr Key would have any reason other than to hold elections in 2013 if he’s a man of his word.
.
*
.
Other Blogs
Christchurch a guinea pig for Nationalās absurdĀ ideaās
.
.
= fs =