Comments on: All about Cunliffe

By: SPC

SPC — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 07:08:07 +0000

Some months ago someone claimed that a third party was/is trying to cause Shearer-Cunliffe conflict.

http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/shearer-deserves-greater-loyalty-ck-126742

Then on 16 November they made a call for Shearer to resign so Cunliffe could take over. This presumably was submitted before any events on that Friday.

Was he referring to himself in the linked article?

By: Reid

Reid — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 07:03:27 +0000

…he should never have been put there in the first place…

None of them should have been David. Some fools fail to understand this and keep voting for them.

By: David Garrett

David Garrett — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 06:47:53 +0000

There are many here with a lot more experience and smarts than me…but do any of you really believe Shearer will survive post February 2013??

The man is toast…he should never have been put there in the first place….

By: Reid

Reid — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 05:52:24 +0000

I’m afraid I agree with Hooton here in his comment last Monday politics on RadioNZ to the effect that in Cunliffe his ego shines through, he just can’t help himself. It’s bursting.

And you can see it on telly.

So I’m personally really hoping he keeps trying to become Leader because he’ll never be accepted against Key, and neither will Shearer. It’s such fun. Watching the veteran warhorse battle battle the prancing, preening, rearing stallion while Key swims away, like the lucky little swan he is.

By: Matthew Hooton

Matthew Hooton — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 00:19:23 +0000

Yes Yvette, that is exactly the post I referred to. I called it marginally more cerebral but equally psychotic, compared with what is found on The Standard.

By: Yvette

Yvette — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 23:44:55 +0000

Matthew Hooton – OK, so you mentioned Brian Edwards, only gave a link and really said nothing of Brian’s views –

A little bird (not David Cunliffe) has told me that in the run-up to today’s emergency caucus meeting a number of Labour MPs, probably a majority, were rung by David Shearer or one of his apparatchiks seeking a cast-iron guarantee that they would be supporting Shearer today and in the constitutionally mandatory confidence vote in February.

This is both unethical and against Labour’s constitution.
It makes nonsense of yesterday’s ‘unanimous’ vote.
And it makes nonsense of the February vote. If a majority of Labour MPs have yielded to this monstrous piece of bullying, that vote has in effect already been taken.

Should Shearer prove a disaster over the next three months those MPs who assured him of their support in February will have no choice but to stand by him, regardless of the damage this might do to the Party.
And finally it makes nonsense of the most essential feature of any caucus vote on the leadership, that it is a secret ballot.
Shearer now knows with reasonable certainty how each of his MPs intends to vote in the ‘secret’ February ballot.
And there can be little doubt that there will be a witch-hunt if the vote is not heavily in his favour.

Meanwhile, Cunliffe has been banned from talking to the media about what actually happened at yesterday’s emergency meeting. No-one in fact other than Shearer himself can say anything about what went on. Cunliffe has been charged, found guilty and silenced.
So much for fairness.
So much for openness and transparency.
So much for Labour.
– http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/nice-david-shearer-reveals-his-bully-side-ck-132626

By: Pete George

Pete George — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 23:40:39 +0000

Basckster – before it gets to a party vote 40% or more of caucus have to vote for a leadership contest, otherwise it won’t happen.

By: ChardonnayGuy

ChardonnayGuy — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 23:32:33 +0000

Sorry, B. I hated the seventies and the awful pop musak was one contributing factor to that

By: Matthew Hooton

Matthew Hooton — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 22:56:51 +0000

Yvette, I most certainly do mention Brian Edwards. Click the link David has provided and you’ll see what I have to say about him.

By: bhudson

bhudson — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 22:54:20 +0000

No ChardonnayGuy. With the prescience that can only come from such sages as The Carpenters, “It’s only just begun…”

By: backster

backster — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 22:45:40 +0000

It will be interesting to see how it all plays out in February. Does every registered member of the party get an individual vote or do delegates put forth collective branch votes. Likewise the affiliated Unions does Helen Kelly vote for them all or does each have their own percentage of 20% vote. Seems to me Taito was perceptive, Clark’s legacy makes Robertson the winner.

By: ChardonnayGuy

ChardonnayGuy — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 22:23:44 +0000

Whatever. It’s over now, Shearer has prevailed and succeeded in a show of strength. Time to stop focusing on the peripherals and get on with policy focused decisions and related news coverage.

By: Monique Watson

Monique Watson — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 21:45:55 +0000

Cunliffe didn’t overreach himself. He just didn’t adhere to the “Labour vision”. That vision is exemplified by Robertson, Shearer, Ardern and those women who have been in the Labour Caucus for far too long and not done anything, such as Moroney. “Socialism by Stealth”.
Cunliffe was too right wing for his former boss who is now at the UN banging on about how the middle class have too many LCD TV’s. That kind of vision puts workers out of jobs but this doesn’t matter because we have such a fine welfare system.
It was classic watching the fine citizens at The Standard pull for Cunliffe because Shearer made one speech ( the Gobshite on the Roof speech), extending alms to Waitakere Man and the small business owner. I doubt Cunliffe would have much truck with the Greens.Perhaps another Mike Moore?
He’s poked if he stays within labour. They’ve still got to get through Robertson and Dolly before anyone considers Cunliffe a contender again.
It’s of note that McCarten considers that Shearer is the corect leader for Labour. That tells where the socialist heart of the party is.

By: ross69

ross69 — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 21:45:48 +0000

> Matthew Hooton in NBR is less generous

Good God, Hooters is again criticising a Labour MP? Who would’ve thunk it?!!!

By: questions

questions — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 21:04:28 +0000

Hooton has no credibility, he should stick to chasing down mean mean people saying mean things on blogs.

By: Yvette

Yvette — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 20:32:10 +0000

Hooton says –The new story being put about by Team Cunliffe is that all the speculation about a leadership challenge at Labour’s conference was a right-wing media construct.

But doesn’t name Brian Edwards, and various others who worked up a frenzy over Shearer having to make the speech of his life to ward off a doomed career. The housing policy announcement was crafted for that – and was totally lost in the fallout [as again anything Labour stands for was destroyed by those who stand for Labour]
After more than a week of media specualtion about the Leader’s suitability to actually lead, it was almost an after thought to question who could replace him, and that appeared to only occur again to the media after the rules on coups was passed.

Labour lost the Election because they didn’t change Leader when they had already decided they should have, and they are still fucking around doing the same, and will carry on screwing about until at least February.
They may sort it out just in time to buy shares in the state assets they were going to stop from being sold.

By: orewa1

orewa1 — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 20:23:30 +0000

Labour MPs should rise above all their bitchiness and recognise that Cunliffe has talents in abundance – clearly more than any other member of their caucus.

Practically all the criticism of him has originated from within. Very little from the real world. Maybe this says a great deal about the caucus culture post-Clark. In the surreal atmosphere of the party caucus room, logic gets trumped by spite and jealousy.

I’ve worked with Cunliffe quite closely for several years. I’d be very happy to have him as a neighbour and invite him to my barbecues.

However, it may all be irrelevant now – the constitutional changes may have made the party unelectable.

By: Manolo

Manolo — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 20:06:41 +0000

All the above said, he could well be PM come November 2014.