Deborah Coddington has called for ACT to become the "hard-ass" party. They should select candidates that don't mind being called right-wing because the attempt to explain ACT through the 'liberal' tag failed.
The trouble is I do mind being labelled right-wing. Not being left-wing doesn't make one right-wing. And extreme right-wing is synonymous with racist and redneck which is why ACT shouldn't accept the label.
But Deborah makes a few suggestions for potential candidates, one being Peter Douglas. From what I remember of Douglas he was one of the rare Maori prepared to speak against welfare. As head of Maori Strategy for CYFS he called for a review of the DPB in 2001 saying, "I think we should be thinking about the damage that those benefits do to some communities. Because it takes away the need for ambition, it takes away a sense of responsibility and sets young people on a trail of entitlement.”
Having a candidate like Douglas would give those Maori who want to vote based on race a real alternative. But he shouldn't be there for that reason primarily. He should be there for the ideas and the ability to implement them.
I was also interested in her comment that Rodney opposed the 'liberal' tag because "it wasn't true". I take this to mean that he thought at the time ACT was still a mix of liberal and conservative elements. It doesn't follow that he should drop it now.
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D.C. was always a bit flaky. This is absurd. Rodney's politics are not right-wing but classically liberal. This is just projection. She could never make up her own mind about what she believed and now she thinks the party is like her. She was mistake for ACT and a mistake that is now corrected. Unfortunately she stills spouts opinions she gets second hand from others.
There is nothing wrong with stating a right-wing view on politics. But that appears to be anathema in today's New Zealand.
The Kiwi Left has set the political discourse for so long that anybody expressing a dissenting opinion is cast aside and ridiculed.
ACT's next months will prove interesting. Winning Epsom is critical, but even more getting a second MP.
ACT is having more trouble than I expected in getting the idea over that we are here to make a difference.
Rodney is leading us toward being a smart party, a party that gets things done. Improves government policy! Not play games, but to get it done.
After the weekend this communication should be solved.
See you there?
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