Why you should not vote for Labour or National this election

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Why you should not vote for Labour or National this election

By Jackson Wood | 26 Mar, 2008

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Both Labour and National are lame ducks. They’re pretty much the same party. They’re both promising the same things; both have old blood that is greedy to stay in power/get back into power. They’re both complacent that they are the natural parties of NZ politics. We, the voters of NZ, have ignorantly let them continue believing this.

One thing that marks NZ politics, and other parliamentary democracies, is that we tend to vote governments out. Up until 1993 we had the choice of a lesser of two evils. Labour or National. MMP opened the flood gates for proportional representation, yet only a trickle of the new found liberty was expressed.

Instead of voting governments out, we should be voting for change. We need to teach both the big parties not to be so smug. The only thing that will do that, is to put them in their place by annihilating their electoral chances of being the largest party within a governing body.

If you’re going to vote National, DON’T! Vote ACT instead.
If you’re going to vote Labour, DON’T! Vote Greens or Progressives instead.

This is what MMP is about. It is about choice. The big parties do not give you a choice. Their policy is watered down and they need smaller parties to elucidate their roots. National, deep down in its cold right wing heart, wishes it could have ACT’s policies (and does indeed steal them occasionally). Labour wishes deep down in its fuzzy wuzzy, pinko liberal heart, it could poach policies from the Greens and Progressive.

Hold them accountable. Don’t vote for a ‘catch all’ party. Vote for change. Fuck it! Vote Kiwi Party, Family Party and Legalise Cannabis. Just do not vote for the cunts, who have screwed us over and over and over again.

Comments

Jonny
March 26th, 2008 at 9:56 pm

Just do not vote for the cunts, who have screwed us over and over and over again.
You mean Winston FIrst? Or Jim Anderton. Maybe you mean Roger Douglas -then DONT VOTE ACT!.

Jackson Wood
March 26th, 2008 at 9:59 pm

Good point! Don’t vote ACT either, vote Libertarinz instead!

Will de Cleene
March 26th, 2008 at 10:15 pm

Or ALCP, or whoever. For those who find none of the parties are just right, why not start your own party? 500 members and you’re quids in.

Conrad Reyners
March 26th, 2008 at 10:45 pm

Jackson is already on that one Will.

Will de Cleene
March 26th, 2008 at 11:33 pm

Long live pluralism!

Jackson Wood
March 27th, 2008 at 12:21 am

Sure am ;)
It is the DAFT Party. Only got a few members. I’m not doing as well as other people..

Namely one schizophrenic chap in Hamilton who has put together a party, called New World Order - or something like that - and it is enshrined in their party constitution, that members have to salute the leader when they see him.

Also who could forget the Workers Party , who have just reached 500 members and are going through the process of validation through the Electoral Commission.

There are also a few other dirty commie/socialist parties. One wonders why they don’t all join together and bring forth the revolution (or they could all just stop voting Labour). Marx knows that my wallet could do with alleviation from the pressures global capitalism.

There are not too many other interesting unregistered parties unfortunately. Bring back McGillicuddy! (take that Alf’s Imperial Army. We’re so going to wastify you on Sunday.)

ex-pat maoriboy
March 28th, 2008 at 12:20 pm

Ooooh been away to long
lots of juicy new party’s vying for supremacy and anyway what ever happened to McGillicuddy!

Ron Marx
March 28th, 2008 at 6:48 pm

Yeah lets all vote for single interest lobby groups like the Legalise Cannabis party, they must surely have an intimate knowledge of free market economics and some great ideas on how to improve our faulty DHB’s. Fuck it lets just put one of you in charge, I’m sure your not amoral war mongers or self absorbed one eyed pinko’s.

Kerry
April 2nd, 2008 at 11:48 pm

Jax:
McGillicuddies are a parteeee, not a Party, these days. They still have gatherings, and battled Alf’s down in Oamaru in January…

Maaori Party is a valid option, too. And you don’t have to be on the Maaori roll to vote for them, either, which makes them a bit more useful than the Labour-captured Maori electorate seats. FWIW.
I’d trust Harawira further than Horomia, any day.

Bags a tactical voting pattern that gives electorate votes to Greens and party votes to Maaori, for a coalition of the Sword of Damocles… :-D

Would be fun to see the coalition scrambling that might produce. Much less seemly than the last election’s 6-week lolly-throwing exercise…

Von Hayek
April 3rd, 2008 at 12:23 am

If you look at ‘The Spark’ blog it seems Joel’s wonderful Worker’s Party is actually attacking the Tibetans right now. I guess bloody old Mao is just too damn juicy to forget about. Man, I thought those guys were annoying flakes, but it seems that even Marxists these days don’t support national independence movements. (see: http://thespark.org.nz/2008/04/02/tibet-protests-grab-the-headlines/#more-64). I guess we can read Beijing for Melbourne to explain our esteemed ruler’s latest overseas junket then.

willy
September 14th, 2008 at 3:43 pm

LABOUR RULES YOU MOTHER FUKERS SO DEAL WITH IT! THEY ARE THE FUTURE!

Peter Manglethwaite
September 14th, 2008 at 8:01 pm

Well yes Willy, Labour does rule. By virtue of them being able to control a majority of seats in parliament.

I think you’ll find they’re the present, as they cannot be the future. That has not come yet. Unless you are some sort of multidimensional time travelling creature, I doubt your powers of perception.

Helen Clark does not rule this mother fucker.

Wee Hamish (who did not stop cry-- you get the idea)
September 14th, 2008 at 9:50 pm

Better than Gordon Brown, am I right?

Oh shit, here comes Dad with the jug cord…

Gordon from Glagow (who wishes he used a condom)
September 14th, 2008 at 10:26 pm

Thats it you little shite.

Take that!

[whacking noises]

WHY DON’T YOU CRY!?!?

[more whacking noises]

Is it because I’m a lousy father? Or do you just not love me?

[Crying, but not from Wee Hamish...]

House
September 14th, 2008 at 11:45 pm

The problem with what you are proposing Jackson is that while it would be nice for people to vote for who they really want to, (The Bill & Ben Party … etc) the truth is, the majority of grey, bland voters who simply vote red, or blue outweigh the “enlightened” few who have the grounding to stand up for their views.

Personally, I can’t stand Labour, but National is looking kinda suspect… so what realistically does that leave. Greens? …. sure they balance the eco-fascist side of government, but I want people who know how to run the country, not plant seedlings. Act? … and let Roger Douglas loose again, uh, no.

Fuck it, I’m moving to China, at least there you have one logical choice.

anika moa's new girlfriend
September 15th, 2008 at 10:08 am

Hm but what about a stable government that actually gets things done… do I have to invoke the example of the Weimar Republic here? And you know where that led…

Or the government of Gough Whitlam in Australia? Hm yes because when a Prime Minister/Party doesn’t have enough support in government, dismissal is the logical option and the chaos that ensues is welcomed with open arms.

You make a good argument Jackson, but I’m not convinced.

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Jackson Wood

Jackson is a destroyer of souls, devourer of delight and all round nice guy. Currently the Political Editor of Salient he has aspirations of one day becoming a Ninja, or perhaps a Man of Letters. Jackson has been described as pompous, arrogant, and most people should be warned not to enter into a binding contract with this man because he uses magic ink. Say what you like about him, Jackson doesn't really care. To him it is like whisky off an alcoholics liver.