Two stories today illustrating the above concept in the context of Judith Collins’ attempts to prevent National’s poor polling turning into an electoral rout.
In the first, Collins makes an ostentatious display of praying in a church, looking for all the world like someone whose idea of praying comes from illustrated story books, in an attempt to stem the loss of voters to the religious loon party, NZ Conservative.
In the second, Collins warns voters against the “Marxist” threat posed by the Green Party, which resulted only in an opportunity for media to video James Shaw laughing out loud at her when he was told about it by (one imagines, gleeful) journos. That one was on one of the TV news this evening, but I’m not sure which story. The “Marxist” claim is mentioned in this Stuff column.
I can’t imagine the pressure that being this far down in the polls puts on a party leader, but given the way my fellow authors wrote about Goff, Shearer and Cunliffe not all that long ago I’m not going to let empathy keep me from shit-posting about Collins experiencing it.
No Minister 
“but given the way my fellow authors wrote about Goff, Shearer and Cunliffe not all that long ago I’m not going to let empathy keep me from shit-posting about Collins experiencing it.”
Diddums. I hope it makes you feel better, Milt, but whining like that makes you look pathetic.
I just don’t get this strategy from Collins and the Nats. It’s clear as night follows day that she needs to take votes off Ardern, and these voters are mostly liberal/soft women or swing centrists. She isn’t going to win by grabbing all of the New Conservative’s 1%. Maybe she knows something we all don’t, from her polling and focus groups, but as an outside observer she’s just going to spook the horses with this stuff.
I’d hardly call one visit to a church a strategy. It’s not like Collins does this church thing day-in, day-out. One day it’s a kiwifruit packing house, one day it’s a church, one day it’s a boardroom… Seems people are as triggered by Collins going to a church as some are by Ardern going to a mosque. At least Collins didn’t dress up in a nun’s habit.
If she was hanging around churches all the time I would take your point. As it is, I would say she’s casting around for votes anywhere she can get them.
And those Christian voters aren’t just in the traditional conservative bloc. There’s a huge Christian voter group in the South Auckland, Pacific Island demographic.
I suspect their polling shows they’re fucked and Labour’s going to win, so the focus is on preventing a 2002-style rout and that includes trying to tempt back some of the voters they’ve lost to NZ Conservative and Billy TK. Beats me why she’s going that way rather than trying to bring back the ones lost to ACT – I mean, at least the ones who’ve gone to ACT aren’t strangers to reason.
The empty pews are a sign of how few Kiwis are prepared to “bend the knee” to a myth.
Jesus taught that there were 2 kinds of prayer:
Showcase prayer, wherein the person praying wishes to draw attention their faith;
Relational prayer, wherein the person praying is seeking personal time with God / Jesus, and is done for the purpose of receiving instruction.
No chocolate fish for picking which one Collins indulged in.
Jesus also taught that prayer was not necessary. “When you pray, do not babble repetitiously like the Gentiles, because they think that by their many words they will be heard. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him” (Matthew 6:7-8).
But as I have always maintained, nothing is as effective as prayer.
Oh dear. For once I followed an MSM link and ….. painful… while also causing me to chuckle.
It’s not really your fault Judith. Muller and Covid really screwed the scrum on this one. Having said that the sad fact is that people just are not seeing much difference between National and Green-Labour. I think they should but that’s what happens when you spend ages shadowing the government on issue after issue, only to start trying to talk up the differences at election time, hence Shaw’s laughter.
I can’t help thinking that National is going through the same experience that the GOP did under the influence of the Bush family thorugh the 90’s and double-0’s. It’s no longer enough to talk about little tax cuts plus some restraint in spending and managing all of the Left’s institutions “better” than Labour can.
National are really going to have to try and shake things up for 2023 but that’s not in their nature. I’m reminded of my snarky piece from last year, viewing National in 2026, and of course Nikki Kaye is already not part of that.
As is usually the case they’ll more likely be saved from having to do anything dramatic by the incompetence of the Labour Party for three more years as the economic COVID fallout continues, combined with arrogant overeaching by the Greens.
And BTW – you can reach a situation that’s short of communism but where government control and regulation is overwhelming in every part of your life. I’m quite sure that outside of drugs and sex that’s where the Greens will take us if given the chance. Shaw can laugh because he somehow imagines that government command and control means only good things for everybody.
…you can reach a situation that’s short of communism but where government control and regulation is overwhelming in every part of your life.
I realise that’s how the right sees it when businesses are forced by government control and regulation to act like workers and the environment are things that have to be given some consideration, but most of us find that quite chuff-worthy.
I’m quite sure that outside of drugs and sex that’s where the Greens will take us…
And having left people to live their lives as they choose when it comes to drugs and sex, a Green-run society would still be significantly more free than a conservative-run one.
Heh. You keep telling yourself that it’ll just be businesses. No, in order for it all to work it’ll have to be everybody, in almost every activity in life, down to the smallest task of the smallest minion.
That’s how you see it, sure. I see conservatives the same way.
Reference has already been made to the shrinking pews of the religious and explicitly Christian or very Conservative Party’s have never made much headway in the polls. If they had the numbers then your fears of their control would be reasonable, but they’re not.
As opposed to your Greens; above 5% and with continuous representation in Parliament for twenty years now and growing influence within Labour. Fear of ever-growing controls from them are entirely reasonable and rational, especially in the face of the growing “Climate Emergency”. California leads the way on this, from Reason magazine:
And Governor Newsom has already announced that IC cars will be banned in the state by 2035. I’d bet the same will happen here if your lot have their way.
As usual Tom uses twenty words when one will do, speculation where none is called for. To sum it up.
Desperate situations call for desperate measure’s, they are stuffed so it’s all hands to the pumps. You don’t think for one minute she would have gone down the “lets talk to the fairies” routine if they were ahead in the polls
Psycho: you’re in good company, mate, W Peters agrees with you. According to Radio NZ she was asked to pray before voting. If she’d declined that would have been the story. I suspect it’ll make little difference. If there is a God, and she would undoubtedly support ACT, then her ability to change people and their vote would be nil. Hasn’t worked with you, for example.
Two standards … Ardern praised by the Psycho Milts of this world for her cuddling up to the Muslim community and committing to expanding Hate Speech legislation to include anyone blaspheming against Allah while at the same time lampooning Collins for going to Church … this excerpt …
‘There is a form of poverty in this country, but it has little to do with poverty in a monetary sense. The poverty of which I speak is a poverty of responsibility, a poverty of courage, a poverty of truth, a poverty of love, and a poverty of faith. And that brings me to my final point. I stand for the dignity of the individual. I believe in God, and I believe that every human being is created with free will to do either good or evil’.
Different strokes for different folks.