Just how conservative is conservative Colin Craig?

It is quite clear that conservatism in many western democracies is in crisis; it is up against the ropes, and it has nothing to do with the conservative message; social and fiscal conservatism is by far the best message out there, so what’s the problem?

Without question the conservative message resonates with the ‘more intelligent adults’ in western democracies, but the problem is this: these adults are becoming scarcer by the day as they are being replaced by the ‘hippie adults’ that haven’t grown or matured since hippie era of the 60’s and 70’s. And therein lies the problem; it is these people who are now the dominant force within the political arena; what were once considered ‘cosmic kooks’ are now steering the ship and turning cosmic thoughts into reality; what were once considered irrational thoughts and behaviours are now rational thoughts and behaviours. Personal responsibility, the once cornerstone of democracy and civilisation has now been replaced by personal irresponsibility and a free-for-all lifestyle. Without any equivocation, more intelligent adults know this is destructive and will lead to the collapse of civilisation; however, in the short term the people steering this ship are indeed very hard to combat. It is very hard to sell responsibility to today’s children when all they want is irresponsibility; nonetheless, we have a duty to do so as there is no other way.

We have seen the collapse of the Republican Party through pseudo conservatives such as Karl Rove et al. pushing for moderate candidates like Romney and failing, which raises the question just how conservative is Marco Rubio—also backed by Rove? We are witnessing the implosion of the Conservative Party in the UK under the leadership of David Cameron, and we’re about to witness the same with the National Party under John Key—all because these people, and the henchmen around them, don’t know what conservatism is as they are liberal through and through.

This brings me to the point of this post; just how conservative is conservative Colin Craig? We have seen the rise of the UKIP party out of the failed Conservative Party in the UK, and we are presently seeing the rise of the Conservative Party out of a failing National Party in New Zealand. However, there is no point replacing John Key, with Colin Craig without vetting him as well. For the sake of New Zealand’s survival we simply cannot afford to let another career politician slip through the cracks; we cannot afford to vote for someone only to see him turn his back on his constituents—more on this below.

First however, have a read of what Melanie Phillips said in respect to the Conservative Party’s implosion in the UK and then read something similar; what Redbaiter said about the National Party in New Zealand:

Melanie Phillips:

How Tory left-collaborators undermine marriage, conservatism and Britain

The Tories are in ferment. Plots against David Cameron appear to be seeding like dandelion spores. Rebellion looms in the division lobbies.

The list of Mr Cameron's apparent crimes lengthens by the day.

The threatened triple-dip depression. Gay marriage. Labour's lead in the opinion polls. And the fact that the Prime Minister looks like a loser.

To which one might marvel at just what a shower these Tories are. For they have behaved mutinously towards every one of their leaders since they toppled Mrs Thatcher in 1990.

The reason for this never-ending uproar surely lies deeper, however, than indiscipline among power-crazed MPs or the deficiencies of individual leaders.

Indeed, it explains why the Tories just can't seem to produce a leader they do support.

It is that conservatism itself is in crisis.

With some honourable exceptions, today's Tories don't appear to know what conservatism is for and what it is against. 

In the last century, they all knew they had to defend Britain against socialism. But when the Berlin Wall fell and Labour started speaking the language of market economics, the Tories seemed to conclude that their fox had been shot.

They could not have been more wrong. The attempt by the Left to undermine and topple Western society had merely shifted from political revolution to social and cultural issues.

And at the very centre of that systematic onslaught lay the intention to destroy the unique importance of the married family and replace it by a lifestyle free-for-all. Read more

Redbaiter:

The Collaborators

Recently a notable “center right” blog produced a list predicting the Cabinet Ministers that would be appointed if the left bloc (Greens/Labour) managed to win the next NZ election, an event that sadly looks more probable every day.

Some said the publication of this list would serve to scare NZers into voting for the National Party. I don’t know about that, but if so, it’s an idea that would have met the approval of the faceless left wing “media advisors” who surround John Key, and who being barren of political principle, would always prefer easy scaremongering over outspoken and confrontational debate.

When I say left wing I say that because there is not really any ‘right wing” faction within National. Political tussles occur within the party of course, but just like each 3 year election, it’s basically just a difference of opinion between leftists who merely argue over how to do socialism better than the further left faction called Labour. Read more

Back to Colin Craig—to answer the question ‘just how conservative is conservative Colin Craig?’ I have compiled a few videos for which I will comment under each. The first is of his ‘march for democracy’

Comment: I actually participated in the march in which I personally thought was a bit disorganised—there were polar opposites in the march; there were even some far-left radicals in it. Having said that, what Colin Craig said in the video was right on message and he came across as very natural and sincere indeed.

However, the next video of Craig being interviewed on Q+A by Paul Holmes in relation to the forming of the Conservative Party is a tad disconcerting—sorry you have to click the link, but it is worth the time spent:

http://tvnz.co.nz/q-and-a-news/conservative-party-leader-colin-craig-7-05-video-4341432

Comment: The march for democracy saw Craig gain attention as a possible conservative leader; however, when he joined the mayoral race, I began to smell another career politician—I couldn’t connect the dots between marching for democracy and being the mayor of Auckland. Then came the interview with Paul Holmes where Craig was good in the first half but really floundered on homosexuality in the second; he could not conclusively say homosexual relationships are not as good as heterosexual relationships—a true conservative would say they are not as good without any hesitation what so ever.

In the interview, he put a lot of emphasis on binding referenda which has its merits. For example, a binding referendum on gay marriage at 51% of the vote would see gay marriage defeated. However, a referendum on say 40% salary increases at 51% of the vote would probably also pass with flying colours, and that would not be good for the country. The problem with referendums is they swing both ways. I have even heard Craig say that the threshold doesn’t have to be set at 51%, it could be set at 60~70%. If the latter were the case then we would lose in a referendum on gay marriage if one were held today. There are obviously some problematic issues relating to this policy even though it is essentially democratic.

In the next video on ‘The Beat Goes On’ Craig was much better:

Comment: I thought Craig was much more composed and relaxed in this interview; his conservative stance on fiscal issues was right on the money; he contrasted Key’s banking background with his own business background, and clearly he understands what it takes to run a business as a profit-making entity as opposed to Key’s investment-banking background, which is based on profit making via speculation—they are totally different fields in which Craig’s background is much more relevant to New Zealand’s needs. He covered other relevant points such as personal responsibility and getting back to basics very well in the video as well.

Then there was this interview on Q+A with Paul Holmes regarding Craig’s comments about promiscuous women in New Zealand—sorry you have to click the link again:

http://tvnz.co.nz/q-and-a-news/colin-craig-promiscuous-women-in-nz-video-4884859

Comment: I thought he did very well in this interview; he clearly stood strong and was convincing in his belief that New Zealanders have got to be personally responsible when it comes to sex.

Then there was this radio interview with Susan Wood in relation to Craig saying “It is just not intelligent to pretend that homosexual relationships are normal:”

Comment: Again he came across strong and on point especially when pratty Susan Wood was playing the ‘gotcha’ game. However, he did agree with Susan Wood, in respect to gay marriage, that two same-sex parents are better than one—which is clearly wrong. The notion that gay parents are better than solo parents is absolute nonsense and Craig should know this, and I think he does know this but didn’t convey it very well in the interview.

So just how conservative is conservative Colin Craig?

Well, in the first interview with Paul Holmes on homosexual relationships Craig clearly floundered but he has improved over time on the issue apart from the stumble he made with Susan Wood. I think he is genuinely opposed to gay marriage and adoption, but he seriously needs to come across stronger on the issue. I have noticed that when he stops being political and stops being concerned about votes, he does much better; he comes across as much more conservative when he speaks from the heart. In respect to fiscal conservatism, I would suggest he has got it nailed.

Overall, I would sum up by saying Craig is a good, trustworthy conservative—far better than anyone in the National Party; however, I would like to see less of the political tiptoeing and more aggression—more speaking from the heart where he naturally comes across stronger.