Everybody knows
It hurts to grow up
And everybody does
It's so weird to be back here
Let me tell you what
The years go on and
We're still fighting it, we're still fighting it
And you're so much like me
I'm sorry
Song by Ben Folds
Good morning lovely people, and thank you for the many kind birthday wishes. Today some words from birthdays past.
Before that I feel I ought to say something about yesterday’s newsletter. The feedback was a bit more mixed than usual, to be fair I don’t usually criticise the left.
My comments on Greg O’Connor irritated some so I’d just like to say I wasn’t suggesting they hang, draw, and quarter the man, simply that he ought to be a bit more circumspect with his comments. I have nothing against the bloke, I just really want to see the coalition voted out.
Next election, which is not that far away - two years from now the campaign will be kicking off, is going to be really bloody close I reckon. As awful as we on the left consider the current government the truth is Kiwis seldom elect a one term government and if there is to be a change it will be tight with no margin for error.
When the Nats were in opposition we saw what years of infighting, backstabbing, constant leadership changes, and basically being unelectable looked like. For the left to win next time they will have to be unified, disciplined and on message.
So yes Labour is a broad church and there should be room for someone at the more centrist, conservative end - even if those attributes are not exactly my cup of tea.
Truth is it’s not my church and for the left to regain power we’ll need all sorts of people moving in the same direction from socialists and greenies, to atheists and religious folks, through to more centrally minded folks who could go either way but are concerned by the direction this country is now going in.
So yes, you’re right with your comments, he’s not a bad bloke. We shouldn’t throw him over the side, but let’s concentrate on rowing in the same direction. I’m sure we all remember those adverts of the left going nowhere in row boats to whatever soundtrack the Nats were using “pretty legally” that week.
So there we go, I hope that makes sense. We’re going to need a clear message and strategy from the left to overcome an avalanche of misinformation. I’m not saying we should lower ourselves similarly, the truth matters, ideas matter, but let’s not shoot ourselves in the foot, or give those who wish to paint the left negatively any ammunition - the stuff they will make up is bad enough.
Ok that’s enough of a rant, as I said at the start I though I’d share a few memories that came up in my feed on what looks like being a lovely day. This photo is from my back deck just now.
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