Whale Oil has a post about Maggie Barry seeking the Botany nomination. In my opinion she is mad. But then people said that to me when I stood for ACT and it's just something you have to find out for yourself. Someone suggested to me being an MP would be like taking a shower in shit. Having watched politics for a number of years, and particularly last year, I can see the motivation for that statement. Individuals might think they can rise above it but to me that smacks of the naivety of a female hooking up with a known boozer and batterer thinking she can tame the man.
But what interests me about Whale Oil's post is his focus on her age. He refers to her more than once as being like a Grandma or great aunt. She is only 51, and physically, a youthful 51 at that. Of course it is entirely possible to be both at that age but something more normally associated with being 60 or so, especially among NZ Europeans who tend to have their children older.
Whale Oil specifically states her age will be against her because she won't have time to achieve much. Yet plenty of people work well into their 60s and 70s, especially men. Perhaps a 51 year-old male prospect would be viewed differently.
So I am utterly at odds with Cameron over this point. But an otherwise interesting read from someone close to the party and process.
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8 comments:
I disagree with Whale.
51 is a perfectly reasonable age to enter politics after having some life experience.
Why the NZ obsession with youth? It hasn't served us well, has it?
Whale is wrong on many things, including his campaign against name suppression. I know I seem to run counter to Libertarian politics on that issue, but an individual's freedom is founded on privacy (amongst many other things), so name suppression is consistent with that until proven guilty (unless a threat to society truly does exist, though, then why would such a person not be on remand).
And 51 is young in the 21st century; to call her too old is ridiculous. The only matter I would've questioned having listened to her show the odd time is whether she's joining the right party, but then, National is not a Right party anymore so all is perhaps as it should be as we continue down the road to Serfdom.
Oh dear. When Barry was asked 'by people' why she has joined National - and it's pretty bad after 51 years if 'people' are not aware of 'your politics'- she has replied:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10699176&ref=twitter
"Because I think the party has the credentials to lead the country out of the recession, and I feel I have a contribution to make as a member of parliament."
Now if she had replied that I have a philosophical leaning toward the freedom of the individual, and I believe in the small state and limited government, et al, that would've been hopeful.
As it is this is not hopeful. I fear another trougher, so she'll fit in well.
I would say Maggie Barry will have much to offer the country in terms of experience.
Also, her age should be an asset.
We have an ageing population so surely an obsession with youth is a bit old hat.
Lindsay I would be very disappointed if you gave up your aspirations
to stand for parliament.
too*
Too old!!!? Shes a MILF!
Whale...invest in some glasses you homo.
;-)
While hitting her half-century wasn’t so daunting, Maggie admits that one big spectre has been the fear of losing her health. She’s had wake-up calls in the past – a squamous cell carcinoma removed from her face and another from her leg – and so she’s very aware of not taking good health for granted. And since Maggie’s mother suffered from dementia for many years, it’s inevitable that she’s especially aware of that.
“All of us forget things now and then, but if I do it, I tend to worry,” she says. “So I try to look after myself – I eat a lot of seaweed, drink ginkgo biloba tea and I’m big on learning new things, like bridge or chess, and exercising the brain in the same way you do the body.” Maggie is also contemplating taking a saliva test that would reveal whether she has the dementia gene or not. “I think I’d rather know so I could do whatever’s possible to stop it. That’s on my list of things to do for next year.”
http://www.nzwomansweekly.co.nz/celebrities/celeb-stories/maggie-barrys-birthday-lets-party/story/4101019/
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