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April 7, 2013 9:00am by David Farrar

Hooton on beltway politics

Matthew Hooton has a very good piece in NBR on beltway politics.

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Comment33

NZ Politics
Matthew Hooton

Comments (33)

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toms

The right has been trying to run a nice line of diversion over this. While Joe and Jane Sixpack might not give a stuff about how the head of GCSB was appointed, they do give a stuff about a shifty eyed John Key lying through his teeth about it. And that is what this about – John Key’s arrogant and compulsive need to lie rather than take questions seriously and answer them responsibly.
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April 7, 2013 9:05am
duggledog

Yes that’s right Toms, John Key should remember exactly what he said to every person he talks to every minute of the day for the last four years.

God he’s so arrogant and compulsive, imagine forgoing Hawaii the nice wife and kids for trying to revive the cluster fuck Labour left behind, why he bothers I don’t know
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April 7, 2013 9:12am
emmess

Anyone trying to suggest they can remember phone calls from three years ago

1) has a photographic memory
2) is a lying POS
3) having ‘reverse brain fades’ them self
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April 7, 2013 9:20am
All_on_Red

“The morons on the left have been trying to run a nice line of diversion over this. While Joe and Jane Sixpack don’t give a stuff about how the head of GCSB was appointed, they do give a stuff about how incompetent Labour and the greens will be at managing the economy.. And that is what this about – Robertson and Normans compulsive need to lie rather than take questions seriously and answer them responsibly.”

There, fixed it for you.
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April 7, 2013 9:20am
Spam

Extending Hooten’s analogy, can you imagine how it would be if shareholders in public companies tried to apply this much scrutiny to minor shit companies did? You’d get to spend about an hour a day actually running the company, and 10 hours a day trawling through old emails to find out who was on the invite list to a dinner you had seven years ago, in case their was a perceived conflict of interest. And then if anyone ever sent an email in error, you’d have to lock-down the company and stop producing anything until there had been three investigations.
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April 7, 2013 9:33am
Pongo

The level of hysteria over this is a bit out of hand. Maybe Hooton could do a follow up on the press gallery who suffer the worst sort of groupthink for supposedly educated people, maybe we should get a psychiatrist to offer a diagnosis on their OCD.
The country is in pretty good fettle and most people are getting on with getting on and couldn’t give a flying fuck the way someone gets a job as long as they are competent to do it. Happens everyday in the real world and let’s face it Labour arnt exactly squeeky clean when it comes to appointments.
Claire Curran, Ken Douglas, Angela Foulkes, the entire HRC and can anyone name an SOE board that Mike Williams didn’t sit on.
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April 7, 2013 9:50am
flipper

Toms
What world do you live in?
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April 7, 2013 9:50am
toms

“…why he bothers I don’t know…”

I wish he wouldn’t. I mean, if your poor-little-rich boy whining is any guide to Key’s mindset then clearly the privilege – and that is what serving the New Zealand people is, a privilege – of being elected Prime Minister is completely lost on John Key.

Something a lot of us have suspected all along.
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April 7, 2013 9:51am
dime

toms – lets just hope he stays in long enough to give me another tax cut 🙂

stupid little communist that you are.

want to know the upshot of this entire saga?? the left wing media lose more respect from the “waitakere man”. as does labour.

try generating policies that arent garbage and you might get some traction labour
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April 7, 2013 9:59am
Lloyd

You may remember that Helengrad became entrenched by NEVER answering on the hop. All that she said was planned, often written by Brian Edwards and generally contained obfuscation and circumlocution and ad hominem off-topic attacks. This meant she never had to have a memory. If JK seems suddenly human, it is because he has manifestly NOT tried to build a similar edifice as the Helengrad bastion. I am still a fan.
Oh, and if you think that Labour didn’t make appointments doing this sort of thing, you are dreamin’. Anyone remember how the NZ Forest & Bird organisation suddenly had their lead spokesman appointed to the PM’s dept? Anyone remember Claire Curran’s abrogation of all the public service tenets?
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April 7, 2013 10:02am
YesWeDid

Hooton’s analogy is missing the part where he calls his wife ‘low rent’ and a ‘knuckle head’ and refuses to talk to her unless she submits all questions in advance in writing.
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April 7, 2013 10:48am
ChardonnayGuy

Lloyd: And if you think National, or centre-right parties, don’t take advice from PR consultancies about moderating their public image, might I point out that current British PM David Cameron worked in precisely that line of work inbetween periods within the UK Tory caucus?
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April 7, 2013 10:57am
Ross12

Toms
Even your mate Brian Edwards thinks this whole episode is just a beat up of no consequence.
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April 7, 2013 11:15am
stigie

Yes, good post from Hooten. Looks like Key will be handling questions from the journalists and the
MSM more carefully in future. Good on him i say.
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April 7, 2013 11:29am
duggledog

‘Something a lot of us suspected all along’

A lot of us? No you’re in the distinct minority Toms. As evidenced at the last two elections!
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April 7, 2013 11:39am
mavxp

I think they caught John Key on a bad day, and he got grumpy about it. While the press crow at their ‘victory’ over the PM, I am worried he is not getting enough sleep. He’s still the best PM we’ve had in decades.
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April 7, 2013 11:56am
PhilP

I listened to John Key’s radiolive interview with John and Willie and it’s great that we have a PM as pragmatic as him. He is not afraid to say he has stuffed up and will in future not give an off the cuff comment to a question unless he has it in writing so he can research it first before comment. That will really piss off the left and the MSM. It’s good he can learn by what some call mistakes or brain fades or forgetfulness. Liarbore, Gweens and Winston First will be fuming when he says, in a supplementary answer, put that in writing and I’ll get back to you. Haha Good on John Key I say.
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April 7, 2013 12:09pm
tvb

No one is suggesting Mr Fletcher is unqualified. No one is suggesting he is a political crony of John Key. Does anyone seriously suggest the Labour Party did not place their political friends in positions of influence. . The public service is honey combed with lefty types in key positions. The National Party tolerates them providing they keep their political leanings out of sight. John Key has been upfront with this even if for nano secocond initially he was not clear about the exact sequence of events. This us the sort of stuff that bothers Geant Robertson and his lefty Wellington mafia.
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April 7, 2013 12:13pm
Black with a Vengeance

Oh haha hee hee…spin it all you like but people outside of Wellington do give a shit that John Key is a habitual liar.

It fucking matters. We deserve better!!!
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April 7, 2013 12:32pm
expat

Blackie – no they don’t.
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April 7, 2013 12:39pm
stigie

Hey there BWAV, hes the best PM we have had in a generation.

Put that in ya pipe…….eh…?
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April 7, 2013 12:40pm
Elaycee

Black With a Permanent Chip On The Shoulder: I can understand why you comment here both as BWAV and as Pollywog – as soon as you accrue a total of 100 negative karma hits, you switch to the alias.

What next – Pollywannacracka?

Or: Tanned With A Tattoo (aka TWAT)? 😯
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April 7, 2013 12:44pm
PhilP

Excellent Elaycee, I love it, best laugh of the day so far 🙂
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April 7, 2013 12:55pm
Kacang

You can see why that great NZ. Born Aussie Joh Bjelke-Pederson called his press conferences “Feeding the chooks”
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April 7, 2013 1:54pm
Yoza

Anything that gives publicity to the GCSB and allows people an opportunity to discuss the legitimacy of such an institution must be a good thing. I don’t think it really matters that much who ‘runs’ the GCSB, the only candidates recognised are those who have demonstrated a rigid adherence to the political dogma under which the GCSB operates.

Interesting to see a former director of the GCSB, Bruce Ferguson (2006-2011 – Director, Government Communications Security Bureau [GCSB]), come out and criticise John Key.
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April 7, 2013 2:05pm
Black with a Vengeance

Heh…think and say what you like, but the simple fact remains…

JOHN KEY IS A HABITUAL LIAR

…and people outside of Wellington are slowly becoming wise to it.
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April 7, 2013 2:34pm
dime

“JOHN KEY IS A HABITUAL LIAR

…and people outside of Wellington are slowly becoming wise to it.”

ya know no matter how many times you say it, its not coming true.

it just makes Dime happy that he makes the far left so unhappy 🙂
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April 7, 2013 2:42pm
Elaycee

dime:

ya know no matter how many times you say it, its not coming true.

Yup – by now, BWAV / Pollywog / TWAT will be apoplectic that no-one has agreed with him.

That chip on his shoulder must be the size of a log.
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April 7, 2013 2:46pm
Black with a Vengeance

No matter how many times you deny it dime…it is true 🙂
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April 7, 2013 4:11pm
OneTrack

Yoza – “Interesting to see a former director of the GCSB, Bruce Ferguson (2006-2011 – Director, Government Communications Security Bureau [GCSB]), come out and criticise John Key.”

Of course he was critical of it. He was one on the short-list who was declined. Not exactly an independent voice.

But anything goes in order to “Get Key”, right?
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April 7, 2013 7:17pm
Yoza

“Of course he was critical of it. He was one on the short-list who was declined. Not exactly an independent voice.”

From what I understand Ferguson wasn’t on the shortlist, rather, he or some other military spook had nominated a senior underling in an attempt to bequeath the job to him. I am sure Key has upset the clique to which Ferguson belongs by not appointing a successor they had hand picked from within their own ranks.

Then there is Iain Rennie ducking for cover by questioning Key’s judgement in making the phone call to Fletcher.

“But anything goes in order to “Get Key”, right?”

I think Key is just another courtier functionary, in a long line of courtier functionaries, whose masters are not those that elected them, but unelected concentrations of capital and authourity. I don’t think there is anything special or unique about
Key when contrasted against such like minded functionaries as Clark, Shipley, Bolger, Moore, Palmer or Lange.
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April 7, 2013 8:29pm
UpandComer

BWaV

Nope everyone’s salience levels are taken up by mumblefucks massive bank account stupidly not paying the mortgage. that’s sth ppl can understand.

I promise you, only loser ex debaters give a fuck about how John Key appointed a great guy for the job. Also, try and remember everything you said.. yesterday.. you can’t. You eejit.
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April 8, 2013 4:05am
tvb

John needs to take a deep breath before he answers ANY reporters questions especially when he is being asked to rely on memory. Just today he made a hurried comment about getting involved in a Korean conflict before hurriedly backtracking. Yes he tired. Yes he has a million things swirling inside his head. OK no harm done, but surely he could just be a little more disciplined in what he says especially to reporters
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April 8, 2013 10:41am

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