Bradford hurting
June 1st, 2009 at 12:00 pm by David FarrarEven though all the pundits had long been picking a victory for Turei, the co-leader election result seems to have hit Sue Bradford hard. Both TV channels highlighted her absence yesterday from the Conference, and today she twittered:
Heading north to prepare for the week ahead, no shortage of work to be done but no question have lost a little heart & strength, for now
Even though politically Turei was always the more logical choice, you can understand it would be hard to lose a leadership contest to someone in their 30s, whose involvement in serious politics has been less than a decade. Two decades ago Bradford was the New Labour Party President and in 2000 the NZ Herald awarded her “Backbencher of the Year” – two years before Turei even became an MP.
Bradford will no doubt continue on for this term of Parliament. It will be interesting to see if she stands again in 2011.
Related posts:
- Herald on Bradford
- Greens abandon Bradford, she claims
- Bradford threatened to quit if Greens are not left-wing enough
- Bradford quits
June 1st, 2009 at 2:13 pm
I think that in an unusual burst of realism, the Greens recognised her as a liability to their electoral brand. I have never voted Green yet, but I damn sure wouldn’t go near them with Sue in a leadership role.
Vote:June 1st, 2009 at 2:15 pm
She would gain a bit of sympathy to recognise that her social policies were hugely unpopular and maybe she was wrong
Vote:June 1st, 2009 at 2:16 pm
Turei was the Obvious choice. Bradford should have realised that.
Vote:June 1st, 2009 at 2:27 pm
Sue may be sulking, but she’s not a quitter – she’ll stand again in 2011.
Vote:June 1st, 2009 at 2:33 pm
Nandor Tanczos lost out the co-leadership to someone who wasn’t even an MP at the time. Sue Bradford should mull over that instead of the sour grapes.
Vote:June 1st, 2009 at 2:34 pm
A bit of a smack in the face for her really. Now who will go to Court for this action?
Vote:June 1st, 2009 at 2:34 pm
I couldn’t care less about Bradford’s feelings, but I wish she starts a battle within the Luddite Party.
In fact, I dream of the extinction of the Green Party as a political force, but considering the ever increasing number of morons, easily-impressionable, do-gooders, tree-huggers, and gullible people in New Zealand that’s unlikely to occur.
Vote:June 1st, 2009 at 2:35 pm
If she doesn’t stand, or the ‘new look’ Greens decide she is past her use by date, then Labour will have some real problems. The only mark of differentiation between them and the Greens will be that the Greens are honest.
Vote:June 1st, 2009 at 2:37 pm
Which political party would you guess has members that are more active on the internet than any other?
Now, before you answer, it’s not NZ First.
Vote:June 1st, 2009 at 2:38 pm
And when did doing good become an insult?
Vote:June 1st, 2009 at 2:43 pm
Good ridance to the slapper…consigned to the compost heap along with that dope smoking sandal wearing idiot tanczos..oh dear what a shame…
Turei…isnt she a dyke ??
[DPF: No, and what is she was anyway?]
Vote:June 1st, 2009 at 2:52 pm
.
Vote:June 1st, 2009 at 3:04 pm
Sulking? Doubt it. Bradford was tough enough to withstand the crap you righteous right-wingers poured on her head over section 59 so this will not knock her for long. The Greens have done well here. they have Turei as co leader and Bradford still there, still strong and out of the firing line – with most of that firing coming from here (like farts under the duvet).
Vote:Starr – Bradford doesn’t want ‘a bit of sympathy’ she knows her own mind and doesn’t resile from her actions.
June 1st, 2009 at 3:04 pm
starboard…isn’t he a dick?
Vote:June 1st, 2009 at 3:17 pm
Sue Bradford’s loss wasn’t just a personal loss in the same way that it might be in some political parties – her current despair isn’t just a case of “frustrated ambition”. Bradford would have been very aware that the rejection of her as co-leader was also the rejection of a left future for the party. The choice between her and Turei was a very clear left-right ideological choice for the party, and they voted to go with a more rightward trajectory for the party. Bradford has been battling to keep the Greens to the left, and this could well have been a last shake of the dice for her. Bradford will find it increasingly difficult to live with all the pragmatic attempts to work with National, as well the reduced ability of the party to say anything too radical or leftwing.
Bryce
Vote:http://www.liberation.org.nz
June 1st, 2009 at 3:20 pm
Ms Bradford is unwanted and past her “use by” date.
The biggest service she could do now is to resign. Sadly, there is no guarantee that any replacement from the Green list would be any saner, or less alarmist.
Vote:June 1st, 2009 at 3:36 pm
Bloodnok – the Greens want her, just as they want Turei as co leader.
Vote:You are right though. It would be hard to find someone more sane than Sue, anywhere.
June 1st, 2009 at 3:56 pm
Ironically Sue Bradford’s own anti smacking bill has delivered a resounding smack to her own political backside.
Bruising her political ambitions and far left agenda along the way.
The Greens realised that she was a liability in terms in attracting a broader
range of New Zealand voters to their party.
Hypocritical of the Greens but entirely pragmatic.
Vote:June 1st, 2009 at 3:59 pm
“Turei…isnt she a dyke ??
[DPF: No, and what is she was anyway?]”
pffft…
Vote:June 1st, 2009 at 4:03 pm
pffft…was that the wind being taken out of your sails, starboard?
Vote:June 1st, 2009 at 4:07 pm
I was surprised when I first met Sue Bradford and found out how attractive she is. Every newspaper photo of her makes her look like a broom factory test pilot. That is a disservice.
Vote:Like all of my left wing friends she is a delight to wine and dine with, but like all of my left wing friends the political part of her mind is phucked.
June 1st, 2009 at 4:16 pm
The Greens would be dead in the water with Bradford as a co-leader wouldn’t they?
She has nothing to do with the environment and everything to do with workers rights, childrens rights, the rights of the unemployed etc. More sort of communism than anything.
Vote:June 1st, 2009 at 4:23 pm
go and play with ya cod piece Mr Idiot…
Vote:June 1st, 2009 at 4:56 pm
If she resigns at the next election she may be hoping that there is a vacancy on the board of Kiwibank.
Vote:June 1st, 2009 at 5:13 pm
Unlike, I suspect, many who comment here I used to admire Sue Bradford for the work she did on behalf of the unemployed. While I didn’t always agree with her methods, she was campaigning to give rights to people. Often she faced petty harrassment from the Police in trying to do so.
Yet she cannot seem to see the inconsistency of that versus her actions on section 59 which removed rights from people and most importantly, at least from my perspective, increased the risk of Police harrassment. Particularly when alternative means of achieving the same end were available, through establishing common law standards of acceptable discipline for instance.
Yes, she has a long political history. But in that time she’s moved from being something of an anarchist to a typical state-control socialist, meaning the only support she’s likely to get are from those yearning for a return to the Helengrad years. And there aren’t too many of those, I suspect.
Vote:June 1st, 2009 at 7:18 pm
Hmm, there could be an interesting new stock for iPredict…
Vote:June 1st, 2009 at 9:12 pm
Why do people associate being against smacking childre with being left wing or a hard core socialist? Hitting youngsters is a pretty punitive way to go about managing their behaviour. Totally repugnant! And if Sue gets all the blame for removing s59 then how do you explain why MPs in the centre-Right National Party also voted in favour of her Bill, as well as all Labour MPs?
Who’s surprised that the party of so-called freedom, ACT, couldn’t care less about the freedom of children and their right to live without fear of being physically abused. ACT probably believes that anyone under 15 doesn’t deserve freedoms and rights.
Keep it up Sue Bradford! You’re doing great mahi, and largely for the real battlers in this rather unhealthy capitalist society – namely children, poorly paid workers, youth workers and those turfed out on the scrap heap from their jobs.
Vote:June 1st, 2009 at 9:36 pm
The number of libertarians on the net seems to be inversely proportional to the number of libertarians that exist in real life.
Vote:June 1st, 2009 at 9:37 pm
Liking Bryce Edwards on ‘Greenswatch’ duty too.
Vote:June 2nd, 2009 at 7:58 am
Speculation on whether Bradford will throw the towel in can only come from people who have not witnessed her carrying on like a minor royal, totally in love with with the trappings and perks of being an unelectable list mp.
Vote:June 2nd, 2009 at 8:12 am
Bradford hurting? Excuse me while I cry a big bucket of Don’t Give a Fuck.
Vote:June 2nd, 2009 at 8:32 am
Boo freaken hoo.
You piss of 85% of the country you can’t expect the party to want to strap themselves into your cement lifejacket with you.
Vote:June 2nd, 2009 at 3:34 pm
Bradford has done a lot of damage in this country and it would be fantastic to see her go!
Vote: