I doubt if any of us could plead not guilty to opening our mouths before engaging our brains.
Usually the worst it does is make the speaker look stupid.
But sometimes it does more harm, hurting someone else or uncovering something the speaker would prefer was left well buried.
Yesterday Labour’s finance spokesman and aspiring leader, David Cunliffe, let himself engage in a misogynistic conversation with Paul Henry on RadioLive.
It’s easy enough to get led into such a minefield but seasoned politicians need the skill to get out without causing an explosion.
If Cunliffe has that skill he didn’t use it yesterday.
Instead he made a personal attack on Corrections Minister Judith Collins which was not only insulting to her but her husband and son.
He’s now apologised to her.
But the damage has been done. He sounded like a misogynist and let allowed political differences become personal antipathy. That reflects badly on him and causes yet another distraction from the things that are supposed to matter in Labour’s campaign.
In doing so he once more showed that while Phil Goff is being blamed for his party’s poor polling, a large part of the problem is because he’s being let down by his team.
what was he thinking .. the man should avoid any attempt at humour in future
http://dimpost.wordpress.com/2011/11/05/non-issue-of-the-day-cunliffe-on-collins-edition/
“So the whole conversation was pretty stupid, but not the random misogynistic attack the National Party makes out. It’s a given that if you’re going on the Paul Henry show you’re going to be having a deeply moronic conversation. I’m not sure how many votes there are in performing in an environment in which you’re compelled to talk like an idiot.”
Tempest in a teapot.
All this posturing over so called misogyny in a society that is misanderous in any case.
God help us all the level of political discourse reflects the quality of our rulers which is mediocre.
And which is why my eldest children and their cousins have made their futures elsewhere.
Heard the exchange on Whale Oil site. It does no credit to Paul Henry when he talked in disgusting circumstances about Mireira Turei and then joining in listening to the rubbish spouting from Cunliffe’s mouth.
A pack of nonsense which shouldn’t rate on the political radar.
Why don’t you give your opinion, rather than just repeating someone else’s opinion Robert? How would you feel if someone said that about your good wife? How would your children feel?
At least Cunliffe has had the decency to apologise personally to Judith Collins. But it was a significant lapse of judgment in the first place.
It isn’t what he said so much as what it conveys about himself and his party. He wasn’t on message, it would have been offensive to the women in his own party and he’s wasted a day of his party’s time and energy fixing it up.
JC
@ robert 1 25 “not sure how many votes…………………..Idiot”
About 40% according to recent polling!!
Robert
you have let yourself down badly with that comment. I am disappointed, as I would have expected better from you