10 thoughts on the Chris Carter affair
- Chris Carter’s political career is over. He will have a very lonely existence in Parliament until the general election.
- Carter will be expelled from the Labour Party on 7 August
- His anonymous letter against Goff will go down as the worst backfire in recent political history
- I have no doubt that his motivation was to get back at Goff for taking Foreign Affairs off him, not a genuine concern that Labour would not win under Goff
- Carter’s actions has ironically guaranteed Goff will remain in the job
- However his actions has also made it much tougher for Goff to win the next election, with Carter’s effective pronouncement of Goff as unelectable a quote that will resurface. Goff will in all probability lose the election and then be rolled afterwards.
- Carter’s suggestion that he knew the letter would be traced, and he is glad it is out there is bullshit. He is trying to make an act of treachery look noble.
- Carter’s letter was not grossly inaccurate. That is not the sin. The sin is circulating such a letter anonymously to the gallery. What is even stupider is that there was no need to do so. He could have verbally leaked to some journos, and got an anti-Goff story up without fingerprints.
- Carter’s comments that Labour can only gain power with the help of New Zealand First should serve as a warning about what it will mean if people vote Labour in 2011.
- Carter’s rationality has been questioned by some Labour MPs. This is a fair point. I’ve never known someone to declare the Leader must go, when there is no candidate willing or ready to challenge.
I’d love to see the text messages between New York and Te Atatu over the last 48 hours.