Comments on: The Herald joins the Nandor Fan Club

By: StephenR

StephenR — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 00:06:56 +0000

Im sure i posted this before…

Thanks toad, just ignore me for a week or so.

sigh

By: Ari

Ari — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 03:13:50 +0000

Are you sure you’re not posting this in response to the wrong story?
http://blog.greens.org.nz/index.php/2008/01/29/watermelons/

By: unaha-closp

unaha-closp — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 03:09:15 +0000

Labour is about to jump into the political centre offering taxcuts and welfare to middle income NZers. This is a good time to elect a leader less focused on being green and with more socialist credentials to perhaps secure some of the left wing Labour voters who will soon feel abandoned by their party.

By: kiore1

kiore1 — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 01:35:31 +0000

I also can’t understand the reference to Russel being a foreigner. If he has New Zealand citizenship (which he would have to in order to enter parliament), then he is a New Zealander, whatever his origins. The Greens are not anti-immigration, quite the contrary, so pointing out that Russel (like a large proportion of New Zealanders) was not born in the country is just nonsensical.

By: ned

ned — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 23:22:42 +0000

Russel’s doing a super job. When the voicepiece of a multinational corporation (the Herald) thinks you’re worth attacking, it’s surely not a bad sign. I agree that it’s a personal attack, and a fairly pathetic one. They criticize the guy for his age, his class, that he was born in Australia and that he (like most New Zealanders) kept working when Hillary died - 3 out of 4 of which are beyond his control - is this really news? Tomorrow will we be reading about his waist measurements and his star sign?

I’m truly impressed that Russel’s gone from no profile, to having his vital stats critiqued in the Herald in just 18 months. I’m even more impressed by the passion and knowledge he brings to his work.

ned

By: ZippyGonzales

ZippyGonzales — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 07:33:46 +0000

The Greens made a mistake not making Nandor co-leader. You could have had a yin-yang and instead you ended up with only one co-leader with reputation, balls and charisma, and she’s retiring soon. You could have avoided all those democratic paradoxes before you now. Stalemate, mate.

By: bliss

bliss — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 06:57:25 +0000

StevenR, Big Bro

Class is a personal matter. It is irrelevant to ones political job (unless you are a Marxist).

Middle aged? What has that got to do with anything?

‘Junkie’ on its own is a pejorative term.

It was a personal attack.

peace
W

By: toad

toad — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 06:38:15 +0000

StephenR said: He even says on his Greens website profile (among other things) that conservatism for him is not just and interest, but a “passion�?. Stephen, his website actually says "Conservation (a passion)", more than a slight difference from "Conservatism (a passion)�? methinks.

By: StephenR

StephenR — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 06:26:35 +0000

Maybe they want him to be ‘young and radical’. Pfffft whatever i guess

By: toad

toad — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 05:49:29 +0000

“Middle-aged”? Yes, I supose at 40, technically so, just. But he is the youngest Leader of any Party in Parliament, so the NZ Herald are playing games here. Labeling someone comparatively against the age of the general public, rather than the political elite of Party Leaders against whom he should be being compared, is deceptive.

And “middle class”. Well, looking at is website CV, his pre-politics occupations include “farmhand on organic farm, gardener, car assembly-line worker, sheetmetal worker and nurse’s aid�?. These are hardly the occupational preserve of the comfortable middle classes. Just because someone has achieved academically and therefore no longer has to work in the manual jobs and trades that Russel worked at in his earlier years doesn’t mean he has abandoned his class roots.