“What makes Obama the greatest speaker of our times, Ashley?” Another dismal, irony-free edition of The Panel Radio NZ National, Wednesday 11 December 2013 Jim Mora, Stephen Franks, Lisa Scott
Two days ago, nasty right winger Jock Anderson was allowed to run free in the studio, slinging off at the poor, sounding off at activists like Charles Waldegrave, and scoffing at the very idea that there was poverty in this country; his ranting was amplified by fellow guest Mark Inglis who was similarly impatient with namby-pamby charity workers: “I’ve been to India,” he intoned in high seriousness, “where I can show you REAL poverty.” All through this ideological rampage, host Jim Mora sat quietly.
If you were unwise, unlucky or bored enough to end up listening to the Panel this afternoon, you will have been subjected to more of this indignant, self-righteous fury from the extreme right wing. The offender this time was a regular Panel guest, the former ACT MP and S.S. “legal counsel” Stephen Franks.
After a few opening pleasantries about the tribulations of pre-Christmas office parties, Franks got down to business. First up, he railed against the Resource Management Act, which in simple-minded ACT Party fashion, he blames for the housing shortage in Auckland. A little later, when the expert guest was Roger Levy from HOBANZ, Franks frothed about “the economic dunces on the left who tell us that every house must have a certificate of regulation”.
After both outbursts, there was nothing but silence from his fellow Panelist Lisa Scott. And, worse, there was complete silence from host Jim Mora. It is worth noting that Roger Levy also chose to say nothing, but in his case the refusal to engage with Franks was probably a sign of contempt, or an inability to comprehend that someone, especially a lawyer, could be so extraordinarily mulish and obtuse.
Jim Mora’s failure to control, or to argue with these right wingers is instructive. It is a sharp contrast to the way he treats liberal commentators: if someone like Gordon McLauchlan, or Mai Chen or Gary McCormick says something even mildly critical of government policy, Mora almost invariably jumps in with an objection, insisting on construing government statements in the most indulgent manner. Earlier this week, a guest criticized a cruel and dismissive Twitter quip aimed at John Minto by the Minister of Justice, Judith Collins. Mora immediately chipped in, and insisted that Collins would not have actually meant what she had actually written. And that, he made it perfectly clear, was the end of that discussion. If any guest does persist in a way that displeases him, his affable mask slips and he shouts petulantly: “No but hang on!” and insists that the last word is the government line.
But let’s get back to today’s debacle. Worse, far worse, was to come from the mouth of Stephen Franks: in his “Soapbox” segment, he began by inappropriately quoting Orwell, which is a ruse common to extreme right wing commentators—and one which would have appalled Orwell, who utterly detested people like Franks. He warned Jim that he might want to stop him, because he had “something to say about the New Zealand judiciary”. Of course, Jim did not so much as demur as Franks launched into his tirade, which was simply another of his trademark rants against the legal system, during which he had the unmitigated gall to invoke the S.S. Trust, that discredited, deregistered, bloodthirsty knife-enthusiasts’ organization for which he acts as “legal counsel”.
Finally, mercifully, the rant petered out….
MORA:[contemplative sigh] All right. Stephen Franks on the Panel. Keep us up to date with it, will you? STEPHEN FRANKS: I will. MORA: Ahhh, there’s a bit of a hold-up on State Highway No. 1, by Huntly, due to roadworks. ….[pause]…. Now, Nelson Mandela’s funeral. The stand-out speech by all accounts was by President Obama. STEPHEN FRANKS: It had that cadence which comes from someone who has been steeped in Southern evangelical traditions. It produces great rhetoric. LISA SCOTT: Yes. MORA: Where are the great orators? You were quoting Churchill before, Stephen, so it’s not only the Southern evangelical tradition. Eisenhower, Clinton, De Gaulle and Kennedy—all great speakers! STEPHEN FRANKS:[Quietly and intensely, to indicate great depth of thought] I wonder if it’s because we’ve turned our backs on rote learning. LISA SCOTT: Yes. MORA: Ashley Campbell joins us. How are you? ASHLEY CAMPBELL: I’m good! MORA: Ashley is a speech expert. What makes Obama the greatest speaker of our times, Ashley? ASHLEY CAMPBELL: Obama is an orator. The reason he is so effective is he gets intensely personal. He brings absolutely everybody in. He spoke to everybody in that stadium, in that country, and in the world. And he spoke of “we” and “us”, like when he said: “He tells us what’s possible not just in the pages of dusty history books, but in our own lives as well. Mandela taught us the power of action, but also ideas.” [2] MORA: Yeah, Churchill used to do that didn’t he, and Kennedy! ASHLEY CAMPBELL: Yep, yep, “We will fight them on the beaches”, blah blah blah. MORA: That is what Obama is a master of! We NEED great speeches don’t we! FRANKS:[gravely] It would be a fortunate New Zealand politician who would not be mocked if he tried delivering an American style inspirational speech. ASHLEY: That’s what Lange did. LISA SCOTT: Yes. FRANKS: Blair had flights of oratory. He was known for it at the beginning, but he ended up being mocked for it. That toxic tribalism makes oratory pretty much impossible. For all his rhetoric, Obama has a very low approval rating. MORA: Even if you’re an Obama opponent, you probably forgave him after that Madiba speech.
….[Music wells up]….
MORA: We haven’t got time to talk about impostors now. Maybe tomorrow!
Morrissey, couldn’t agree with you more. Mora always is the contrarian to the mildest left wing opinion, yet is silent while extreme right wing ideas are raved on about. Is he intimidated or does he quietly agree?
Roy Morgan: Today’s New Zealand Roy Morgan Poll shows John Key’s National Party (45%, up 0.5%) level with a potential Labour/ Greens Alliance (45%, unchanged). Support for Key’s Coalition partners is down slightly: Maori Party 1.5% (unchanged), United Future 0% (down 0.5%), ACT NZ 0% (down 0.5%).
Support for the Labour Party has fallen to 30.5% (down 3.5%), while the Greens have risen to 14.5% (up 3.5%), New Zealand First 5% (up 1.5%), Mana Party 1% (unchanged), Conservative Party of NZ 2% (unchanged) and Others 0.5% (down 1%).
Roy Morgan’s polling is about as trustworthy as an Obama speech is sincere. This “poll” defies credibility. How was it conducted? Who did they “poll”? The sheep of Epsom?
Another dismal, irony-free edition of The Panel
Radio NZ National, Wednesday 11 December 2013
Jim Mora, Stephen Franks, Lisa Scott
STEPHEN FRANKS: I will.
MORA: Ahhh, there’s a bit of a hold-up on State Highway No. 1, by Huntly, due to roadworks. ….[pause]…. Now, Nelson Mandela’s funeral. The stand-out speech by all accounts was by President Obama.
STEPHEN FRANKS: It had that cadence which comes from someone who has been steeped in Southern evangelical traditions. It produces great rhetoric.
LISA SCOTT: Yes.
MORA: Where are the great orators? You were quoting Churchill before, Stephen, so it’s not only the Southern evangelical tradition. Eisenhower, Clinton, De Gaulle and Kennedy—all great speakers!
STEPHEN FRANKS: [Quietly and intensely, to indicate great depth of thought] I wonder if it’s because we’ve turned our backs on rote learning.
LISA SCOTT: Yes.
MORA: Ashley Campbell joins us. How are you?
ASHLEY CAMPBELL: I’m good!
MORA: Ashley is a speech expert. What makes Obama the greatest speaker of our times, Ashley?
ASHLEY CAMPBELL: Obama is an orator. The reason he is so effective is he gets intensely personal. He brings absolutely everybody in. He spoke to everybody in that stadium, in that country, and in the world. And he spoke of “we” and “us”, like when he said: “He tells us what’s possible not just in the pages of dusty history books, but in our own lives as well. Mandela taught us the power of action, but also ideas.” [2]
MORA: Yeah, Churchill used to do that didn’t he, and Kennedy!
ASHLEY CAMPBELL: Yep, yep, “We will fight them on the beaches”, blah blah blah.
MORA: That is what Obama is a master of! We NEED great speeches don’t we!
FRANKS: [gravely] It would be a fortunate New Zealand politician who would not be mocked if he tried delivering an American style inspirational speech.
ASHLEY: That’s what Lange did.
LISA SCOTT: Yes.
FRANKS: Blair had flights of oratory. He was known for it at the beginning, but he ended up being mocked for it. That toxic tribalism makes oratory pretty much impossible. For all his rhetoric, Obama has a very low approval rating.
MORA: Even if you’re an Obama opponent, you probably forgave him after that Madiba speech.
[2] http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/transcript-remarks-president-barack-obama-nelson-mandela-service-article-1.1542986#ixzz2n8lz6vsW
Mora always is the contrarian to the mildest left wing opinion, yet is silent while extreme right wing ideas are raved on about.
Is he intimidated or does he quietly agree?
Today’s New Zealand Roy Morgan Poll shows John Key’s National Party (45%, up 0.5%) level with a potential Labour/ Greens Alliance (45%, unchanged). Support for Key’s Coalition partners is down slightly: Maori Party 1.5% (unchanged), United Future 0% (down 0.5%), ACT NZ 0% (down 0.5%).