A u-turn in 24 hours

Jordan yesterday blogged how the process for the Electoral Finance Bill is all wrong, and I said I agreed with him, and this is why the bill needs to be done properly. In 24 hours Jordan has now changed his position and made a frankly bizarre post accusing me of being both Karl Rove and Robert Muldoon and going on about redistricting in the US etc etc.

I can only assume Jordan has got flak from his hierarchy for his comments, and is now trying to beat a retreat.

The funniest thing is when he accuses National of trying to steal the 2005 general election. He glosses over the fact Labour did actually break the law and overspend by $800,000. And that this Electoral Finance Bill will legalise their illegal over-spending.

Jordan also argues this bill is following normal process, when just yesterday he laments it should have been the subject of public consultation. He argues that because the issue is being debated now on blogs, this makes it all okay. He also says the bill is not a constitutional revolution, when it is exactly that.

He also glosses over the bill doesn’t even crackdown on anonymous donations to parties because his own leader needs her dirty money so badly she pulled that clause out.

But most of all he is fake outraged by the fact I suggested that if Labour get away with gerrymandering the Electoral Act for their narrow partisan interests, future Govts will do the same. He has not a word of condemnation for what his party *actually* is doing, but gets outraged at even a suggestion that future parties might descend to the same low standard.

And just to make things worse, the Government leaked to Radio NZ that it is planning changes to the Bill, so that the Select Committee hearing the bill can then agree not to hear any submissions criticising those aspects of the bill, on the grounds the Government has already agreed to a change in that area. Never mind that what these changes are might not at all satisfy what the public want – they’ll be rammed through probably under urgency just before Christmas.