Chris Trotter's Take on Labour's Languishment

"We Don't Like Them"

Chris Trotter reckons that the reason the (political) Left is in disarray in New Zealand is due to its socialism being occluded by a stronger commitment to trendy effete liberal social causes.

Now, (National's) John Key, Stephen Joyce and Gerry Brownlee are all pretty likeable guys – but they’re not that likeable. For roughly 15 percentage points of electoral support to have vacated the centre-left camp something else has to be going on. Much as we hate to admit it, what seems to be happening here is not so much a case of people running to something, as it is of people running from something.
And what they are running from, comrades, is us – the centre-left.

They don’t like us and they don’t trust us. Why? Because long, long ago they got the very strong impression that we don’t like them.

We don’t like their values. We don’t approve of their culture. And we’re so infuriatingly certain that we know – so much better than they do themselves – what’s good for them.

We call them racists if they resist our bicultural programmes. We call them homophobes if they’re less than 100 percent supportive of queer culture. We call them sexist if they energetically celebrate all the delightful differences between men and women. We want their votes – you bet. But we would really rather do without the voters themselves.

Then, amazingly, we’re surprised and hurt when they turn away from us. In truth, what we should really be surprised about is how many ordinary Kiwis, in spite of our insufferable arrogance and condescension, still decide to stick with us!

And if you want to know why Phil Goff has become electoral poison it’s because he let these people down. For a moment there they thought he was going to turn Labour away from its effete social liberalism and back towards the robust proletarianism of yesteryear. But he didn’t. At the first sign of resistance from the social liberals in his caucus, he retreated. When push came to shove, Phil just didn’t have the balls.

Hat Tip: Keeping Stock(that bastion of down-to-earth common sense).

This is not the first time Chris has banged this particular drum. Remember his challenge after Labour's defeat at the last election: he suggested that if Labour could not win the loyalty of "Westies"--characterised as ordinary blokes and blokesses--they would become electoral fossils? Helen Clark, the high priestess of feminism, homosexual deviancy, multi-culturalism, greenism, and classical music was certainly not a woman of the people. Phil Goff was supposed to be more close to the common kiwi bloke--but Phil has been a career politician. That's all he has known since his university days. Despite trying to convince the electorate that "he is one of them" by a few photo ops riding Harley's, he was long ago made a captive to the Beltway.

When we refer to "Westies" we really are talking about Polynesian culture. Labour despises most Polynesian cultural values. About the only thing they have in common is a joint commitment to government (the chief) dolling out money and goodies to the village. But the heart of Polynesian culture is offensive to Labour.

At the heart of it are no-nonsense family values, respect for parents and elders, tough-love when kids mess up, competitiveness--especially in hard contact sports, social conviviality with lots of food and social drinking, a deep respect for a traditional Christianity as found in the islands, a deep longing for the kids and their advancement and success, hard work, and economic entrepreneurship.

The current Labour Party presumes to represent Westies. Culturally, however, they inhabit another (distasteful) planet. To pinpoint the divide consider this: of the current crop of Labour MP's, on average how many children Labour MP's have each borne and raised? Compare it to the average Westie. That would powerfully illustrate the divide better than anything.

Not that we are champions of Westie culture. Far from it. Its Christianity has all too often been tarnished by cargo-cult ethics, an ideology of worldly "mana", and an ungodly island socialism. Instead of reforming island culture around God's Word it has all too often syncretised the faith with various non-Christian island beliefs. There is much work to be done. But Labour despises the things that are right and good about Westie culture. Therein lies its problem.