Saturday, September 06, 2008

The Press on ACT and Rodney Hide

Can't find much wrong with this. Rodney's luck has changed. Not because he is getting a fair ride from the media. But because, with a pack of them in tow, he dared to put up an umbrella in Wellington and got away with it!





(Left click on image to read)
Posted by at

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am always amused when the press thinks they understand something and then get it completely backwards. This so-called rift between "purists" and "pragmatists" is funny. While I'm glad Sir. Roger is coming back he is more the pragmatist and Rodney more the purist on libertarianism. Sir Roger is a good guy and his heart is in the right space but he has less of an understanding of these ideas than does Rodney. Yet the media continually tries to paint Rodney in the opposite corner. It really shows how little they understand ACT and how little they understand Rodney.

I will also note that at a conference, which you attended Lindsay, Sir Roger was a speaker. The audience was about 2/3rds older people and 1/3 young people (high school and university students). The young people were absolutely thrilled by Sir Roger and flocked to him with great affection. Maybe it was an anomaly but that is the complete opposite of what this reporter thinks he knows.

4:22 PM
Anonymous said...

I've not always agreed with Rodney, his publicity stunts in particular, but I'd be the first one to admit that he gained my respect for being very courageous during the NZF funding scandal (shame on many other politicians who were too scared to call Winston Peters the crook, liar, and corrupt operator he is).

A party vote for ACT would appeal to many as a reasonable proposition.

4:57 PM
Lindsay Mitchell said...

I agree about the difference between the two. When I said there wasn't much wrong with the column I meant there wasn't much bad in it from a publicity point of view (the view about Roger and the young was an academic's afterall) and most people never appreciate the philosophical subtleties. I am sure that Rodney is having to/will have to compromise his libertarian ideals to keep ACT alive. For instance Roger's compulsary savings is the antithesis of libertarianism but in order to privatise welfare that is what will have to happen. And note that the 'Liberal Party' tag has gone and has been replaced with, The Guts To Do What's Right. Roger's vision is still better than what we have but a part of me is relieved I won't be having to debate the policies in a caucus. Numbers-wise I think I would have been on the losing side. ACT's conservative star is in the ascendance.

5:29 PM

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)