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| National MP Mark Mitchell |
It appears that the more moderate and conservative the National party candidate was, the more abuse he or she would receive from Cameron Slater and Simon Lusk on behalf of the candidate they were representing.
All of this was designed to shift National away from the political centre and further in line with Slater & co.'s questionable belief system. Unable to enter politics themselves, these traitors instead focused on cutting the throats of anybody who stood in the way of their extreme right wing agenda.
Today, the NZ Herald reported on one such example:
Disclosures disgust defeated candidate
Church-goer who sought National seat speaks out over blog’s ‘smear campaign’.
National Party member Brent Robinson says he is disappointed and upset about what he calls an "atrocious" smear campaign during the Rodney candidate selection in 2011, as outlined in Nicky Hager's Dirty Politics.
And although speaking out will do the party no favours, he hopes it will see politics cleaned up.
Mr Robinson was one of five hopefuls for the Rodney selection in 2011, eventually won by Mark Mitchell, who went on to become MP.
Dirty Politics, based on emails stolen from Whale Oil blogger Cameron Slater, appears to show Mr Slater collaborating with political strategist Simon Lusk to push for Mr Mitchell.
Whether Mark Mitchell was paying for the services of the deplorable Whale Oil is still to be determined. However, what we do know for certain is that such dirty tactics were raising serious concerns within the National party itself.
Back in May 2012, 3 News reported:
Secret minutes reveal split in National’s ranks
Leaked minutes of a National Party board meeting in March show major concerns over a party member who is so close to some of the party's MPs that he presents a serious risk to the party and its image.
But when 3 News asked Prime Minister John Key to explain, he said he did not know of any concerns.
Under questioning though, he did start to recall.
The man in question is Simon Lusk, who loves the outdoors but who also sees himself as a big fish in the National Party.
3 News is told he gets paid to give strategic advice to about a dozen of the party's MPs and aspiring MPs.
But secret National Party board minutes from March released to 3 News show the party is so worried about Mr Lusk's influence that his "agenda represents a serious risk to the party".
It's hard to determine just how many current MPs have been unfairly assisted into their positions within the National party because of Whale Oil's smear campaigns. But in terms of subverting our democratic process, this would seem to be Slater's greatest success story. However, because he has now been exposed, Slater was ironically and unknowingly undermining the National party.
I wouldn't be surprised if long time National supporters find this revelation hard to accept. Some may even choose to try and ignore National's dirty politics, but I suspect many will be so repulsed by Cameron Slater and his close ties to various National MPs that they will look for a different party to vote for in the upcoming general election.
The National party can no longer claim they stand for the long held beliefs and values of its founders. Instead, it has a sickness that if not promptly dealt with will further weaken the entire party. That's another valid reason why it's important to change the government on September 20, to give National the time it needs to clean up its act and take out the trash.
