JC: The Paths of Glory Lead to the Grave

Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard by Thomas Gray was arguably the most popular poem of the 18th century. An elegy is a burial hymn and such a one might be suitable for Labour on October 14. In fact, there are a couple of verses from the poem that might be applicable.

The opening verse:

The curfew tolls the knell of parting day, (Labour’s imminent departure) 

The lowing herd winds slowly o’er the lea, (Labour’s tragic MPs) 

The ploughman homeward plods his weary way, (farmer Damien O’Connor) 

And leaves the world to darkness and to me. (Chris Hipkins)

And the following verse

The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power, (Labour Party) 

And all that beauty, all that wealth e’er gave, (Labour Ministers’ inflated salaries) 

Awaits alike the inevitable hour, (probably around 8.00pm on election night) 

The paths of glory lead but to the grave. (The demise of Labour)

In the 2017 election, the boast of heraldry and the pomp of power were given to them by one man rather than the voters. 2020 was a different story. The voters put Labour very much on the “paths of glory”. What an opportunity to stamp the mark of a government on a country. What a fantastic chance to cement in your power for the next two, possibly three elections. Four or five election wins on the trot. What a tantalising prospect.

The reality is it’s not going to happen. The polls are firming up and telling a very different story. So where did it all go wrong? A question with many answers but in a word EVERYWHERE. Next question – who’s to blame? There’s only one possible answer, THEMSELVES. You’d be hard-pressed to find a more incompetent bunch of dullards than this lot. A rudderless ship wallowing in rough seas. They‘ve certainly made waves and will pay for it on election night.

Afflictions seemed to have dogged them during their six years in office. There’s been a lot of barking, dog-whistling if you like, in terms of making announcements, some more than once, but the engine of government has never come within a cat’s whisker of purring. When it comes to enacting policy or getting results there is always a sense that constipation might be a problem. They just haven’t been able to get their business moving. Think light rail. Whether a daily glass of Metamucil would have helped is a moot point.

Their main affliction has been in the grey area residing within the cranial cavity. They have not been capable of using this matter, if indeed they possess much of it, to any meaningful purpose. They like to think of themselves as ‘progressives’ but a more apt term might be Neanderthals. The Cambridge Dictionary definition of Neanderthal, when referring to people or beliefs, is as follows: very old fashioned and not willing to change. In my view this is precisely what has got them into trouble, e.g. shanks’s pony or a bicycle is their preferred mode of transport.

What Labour has given us for a government is a plate of cloth-capped unionists as a main, academics for dessert and a ploughman as a side dish. The world has moved on but they haven’t. In the workplace their philosophy means everything, including themselves, is run by the Unions. They are recipients of financial largesse from the said organisations but it is yet to materialise this time around. Doesn’t that tell you something?

In the higher echelons of society, they believe academics should be in charge and every health expert or loopy professor who pokes their head above the parapet should be believed. This was very evident during the pandemic. Think Bloomfield, Wiles, Baker and Hendy. The Ghosts of Covid Past. You might prefer not to. My apologies in that case.

Which brings me to regulations and not just Covid ones which in themselves have done untold damage to both the people and the economy. This Labour Government absolutely revels in red tape to the point where businesses are submerged by it. Farmers, who don’t need to be told what to do by an ignorant cabal in Wellington, are suffocating under unnecessary paperwork. Labour politicians represent the epitome of the nanny state, not from the paths of glory, but from the cradle to the grave.

When it comes to increasing the wealth of the country they don’t think of productivity but rather it’s the old socialist catch cry of ‘tax the rich pricks’. They don’t seem to grasp the fact that those with wealth don’t take that diktat lying down. In fact, just the opposite will occur. They’ll get up and leave and take their wealth with them. Margaret Thatcher’s “when you run out of other people’s money” comes to mind. Marama Davidson, ignorant to the point of stupidity, doesn’t think that will happen.

These Neanderthals deserve the near extinction coming their way. Capitalising on the paths of glory is beyond them. The only paths they know are ones leading to outdated ideology and a socialist dogma that is to the detriment of the country. We don’t need a return to the politics of the seventies. We don’t need separatism through co-governance. We don’t need billions and billions of wasteful spending.

We do need a government capable of presenting New Zealand to the world as a forward-looking country. We do need a government to get the basics right on the economy, education, health and law and order. We do need a government that sets policy targets that will be met. We do need a government that believes in accountability. We do need a government that is economically savvy. We do need a government that understands the rural and business communities. We do need a government that allows people to succeed and incentivises them to stay and work in this country.

Not to put too fine a point on it we need a National/ACT coalition government. On Monday nights poll other smaller parties, with the exception of NZ First, are becoming increasingly irrelevant. I expect the gap in the One News poll to widen and Winston won’t be required, which will make for a more stable governing coalition.

JC is a right-wing crusader. Reached an age that embodies the dictum only the good die young. This article was first published HERE