John Key, Gerry Brownlee, Peter Dunne – lies?

If there’s one thing Peter Dunne has, it’s political savvy. He knows where it will go, and plays the percentages.

So the fact that he is distancing himself from the Hobbit horseshit, and distancing himself so far he “wants answers”, suggests he is aware that this one is the inexcusable one.

Key has had a dream run so far – no media scrutiny, and a teflon shroud adeptly managed (a ‘surprise’ visit to Afghanistan the day 40,000 march against Schedule 4 mining – unsurprising as it had been unscheduled, but how else do you maintain a distance?) but he’s been operating under a handicap.

A biggie.

He and they, went into their term promising the undeliverable, both over and under the counter. ‘Over’ is the voters, promised economic growth. They havn’t had it, and won’t. Because there isn’t the energy increase available to boost it, nor to repay the overshoot debt.

But – they will also have promised the business set, a fairly obvious suite of actions: privatisation, less taxes, smaller Govt (less rules) and less limits. It will have funded their campaign, this is the way of it. They can’t deliver, through 40,000 person marches, and the fact that their polling shows them that the needed mid-ground still has a conscience.

Brownlee crosses into lobbyist territory himself, let alone allow himself to be lobbied. “Clean Coal” (where did he get that from, I wonder – how does a Minister justify that? “Sexy Coal”, and you know he’s in bed with them. Ask who his son works for, and what industry they lobby on behalf of……  Makes Pansy Wong come up smelling of roses……….

Now, however, they’ve gone too far, as they were always going to do.

We have someone accused publicly of being a liar, by someone proven to know the reverse is true. A Prime Minister who had to know, but who didn’t have the moral fortitude to halt proceedings. If Pansy had to go, these guys have to be imeached – I can’t for the life of me see any difference between the denied knowledge here, and Nixon’s wee effort.

The result should be the same.

And “no comment” from the Prime Minister, is unacceptable statespersonship. I, for one, won’t let this get forgotten in the new year (although I could name you the media folk who will, and it’s most of them!