They're Afraid...
They call you woke, weak and libtards - and they're scared you will vote them out
I’ve had a lot of messages this week. Most of them have been amazingly supportive about Fabricated Consent. Elected members up and down Aotearoa, left to right on the political spectrum with nice things to say about the documentary and very honest things to say about their opinions of far right bad faith actors in this year’s local elections.
I’ve had media, reach out and have a few catch ups planned for when I return to the country half way through July.
And I’ve also had some things get really weird.
Friend requests from people in the doco. That’s not going to happen - I curate my personal content pages carefully because on them I share personal things that these people have no business being involved with and which some - not all, but a small minority - will weaponise if given half the chance.
I’ve been sent a huge range of comments, both public and private about specific candidates and the groups pushing them.
And a lot of people asking for red flags - is claiming they’re against DEI hires a red flag? Yes - the term DEI is one used in the US, as vilified by Trump and the Republicans but here we have used other terms around equity and inclusion. Using the Americanised version of the term shows a prevalence for accessing media and following others who use it and vilify inclusion and equity and we see a lot of those Americanisms creep into the language used by the far right - including the laws Act want to pass. The Law Society even mentioned in their early feedback on the RSB that it tries to enshrine in our law, US notions of liberty and freedom, which are contextual and different from country to country because each country has evolved its own systems and languages around the topics as its own society has evolved.
One thing is really clear though - within their echo chambers these groups are confident, cocky even. In wider public groups they get shot down quickly - which has them worried because they’re being recognised for their bullshit and don’t like it.
And there are a range of tools the hard right use to try and shift narratives and the overton window to keep an eye out for.
Like the language that gets used.
Some of it is reframing - so they’ll be standing for “traditional family or community values” instead of saying they’re anti-rainbow or transphobic. They’ll say they’re supporting “cultural heritage” without saying which particular culture that refers to or the ideologies that shape which “heritage” elements they’re standing for. And they’ll be trying to reframe their beliefs as populism - they’re standing up for every day ratepayers against those elites in Council who don’t understand what life is really like - well that’s what they say - these are people who have some pretty wild beliefs, I’m not sure they’re qualified to say what real people experience.
They’ll also get very jumpy about being called extremists - no one wants to be seen as extremists and most people don’t consider themselves extremists but there is also an association between being hard right in your ideologies and compared to specific hard right ideologies like Nazi-ism and Fascism. There are differences between the ideologies and not every far right candidate is a fascist in waiting or a nazi, but by pre-disavowing those links while still pushing the same talking points a variety of far right groups use, they are trying to downplay in the public’s eye the potential harms of being far right.
You’ll also see a pushing of what many consider conservative talking points - oh I’m just exercising my right to free speech, you can’t be against free speech, can you? I’m not against migrants, I think we should just look after our own communities first. It’s about specific talking points and not the broader ramifications. Sure, free speech is fine but for many in this group that includes hate speech - speech which causes or advocates real harm on individuals and groups and there is a prevalence for some reason for those on the vFar Right to advocate for hate speech because it’s free speech and platform the worst people and use it as a blanket cover. Localism is fine, but when it comes at vilifying migrant communities claiming there’s a great replacement going on, that’s less publicly palatable.
Keep an eye out as well for victimhood narratives - the woke left are trying to cancel me for saying rates should be capped. What he claimed was deranged, pointing out what we’re doing like that. This is often mixed with conspiratorial dog whistles - it’s cultural marxism, “these people like to bully those they claim are bullies”. This also makes it more reasonable for the wider public to start considering their view points since they’re clearly the victims which increases a wider public narrative shift. We saw that first hand this week when Ryan Bridges called for Jacinda to face the new Covid Enquiry set up because VFF and NZ First pushed for it - while VFF have called for it to be televised so the country can see Jacinda “answer for her crimes”. It’s a clear shift in normalising talking points from the far right.
The candidates will appeal to voter disillusionment and fiscal pain points, while using carefully crafted language and perspectives to downplay the reasons, actions and beliefs wider voters keep rejecting.
To do so is unfair on voters who have a right to know what their candidates actually stand for and believe, what they actually consider priorities for our communities.
So the next most common question I get behind “who are they?” is “what can I ask them to get them to admit their political views?
Honestly, be straight up in public meetings - ask them directly about policy areas you’re concerned with. “You say you want a rates cap, we can’t afford that so you’re clearly advocating for the loss of essential services, give me a specific list what’s on the chopping block”.
You supported the Wellington Siege, along with neo nazis and white supremacists, why do you think voters should trust you are capable of making decisions for the greater good?
You have been on council for a while and are claiming it’s political elites causing problems - doesn’t that make you a political elite?
Call out the shitty actions, anything on record in the past or anything that’s common knowledge - if they are honest then at least voters can take that on board, if they lie, let the audience know they’re lying and how you know they’re lying.
The campaign is just starting, these are exhausting and hard work. But we need to keep up the momentum to make sure voters are able to make informed decisions this year.
Looking for the fact on this year’s local election? Then check out paultheotherone.com/lg25
Here you’ll find explainer videos, links to every Council, fact checks on a range of candidates and topics and everything you need to get informed - and make sure you’re registered by August 1 to be able to vote this year!
Paul, take a break! Burnout is real and we don't want that to happen to you. Come mid-July, we'll all still be here appreciating you.