I received the following email today. I am really very unsure of how I feel about it. I think that it’s great to promote voting but I think that smear campaigns are a ridiculous waste of time and punting voting and registering to vote alongside voting for the DA is ethically questionable if you ask me.
The DA should either be trying to educate voters, or educate DA supports.
Here’s the email:
Worried about our future under Jacob Zuma?
Join thousands of volunteers who are giving just a few minutes of their time to help Helen Zille & the DA stop Jacob Zuma from getting the two thirds majority he wants
:: Find out how here ::
Dear DA supporter
Our country is in grave danger of Jacob Zuma and his allies achieving a two thirds majority in parliament. The consequences would be disastrous: it would give the new rulers of the ANC, people like Julius Malema (ANCYL), Blade Nzimande (SACP) and Zwelinzima Vavi (COSATU) complete power to change our Constitution and weaken the rights enshrined in it – rights like judicial independence, property rights and press freedom, all of which are under attack by Zuma’s radical supporters in the ANC Youth League, South African Communist Party and COSATU.
The threat is great. But there is hope if you take action
Infighting has weakened the ANC: disgruntled Mbeki loyalists might form a new party, recent opinion polls show a sharp decline in support for the ANC and a Sunday Times article recently said “the ANC and DA are neck-and-neck in polls in major cities seven months before next year’s general election…” (The ANC’s strongholds have shrunk to the rural areas).
We have a golden opportunity to prevent Jacob Zuma’s ANC from winning a two thirds majority in next year’s General Election. But to do this, we need you to join the thousands of volunteers who are already making a difference by taking a few minutes of their time to tell their family and friends about the importance of registering to vote and voting DA.
Here are six things you can do to make a meaningful difference to the result of next year’s election
1. Give 30 minutes of your time to call 20 unregistered voters from your home, and ask them to go and register. Each new voter who registers and votes DA puts a two thirds majority for Jacob Zuma and his allies further out of reach.
2. Spread the DA’s positive message of a safe, secure and prosperous future for all South Africans by writing in to newspapers, blogging on the internet or calling in to talk radio shows.
3. Build momentum for the DA by attending events and rallies, and show the country how ordinary South Africans like you and me are lining up behind the DA’s positive vision for our country.
4. Join other DA volunteers in local door-to-door registration drives and neighbourhood walks. Activate DA voters to register and vote, and prevent Jacob Zuma from getting the two thirds majority he wants.
5. Grow Helen Zille’s DA volunteer team by asking your family and friends to get involved, and grow the team working to protect our Constitution and safeguard our country’s future.
6. Volunteer to help on Election Day. We need thousands of volunteers to encourage DA voters to go out and vote, on the phones and by going door-to-door. We also need election monitors inside the polling stations on Election Day to help ensure a free and fair election.:: click here to sign up today ::
Your DA volunteer team is standing by to help you
However you want to help, our team is on standby to assist you.
We are ready to:
* send you lists of 20 voters to call and help you get started
* help you get in touch with newspapers, blogs or talk radio shows
* notify you of events and door-to-door registration drives in your area, and
* interact with you about how you’d like to help out on election day in your area.Take action today
Thousands of South Africans are already giving a few minutes of their time to stop Jacob Zuma from getting a two thirds majority next year. By signing up today, you can too. Help secure our country’s future by taking any of the easy-to-do actions listed here. Your DA volunteer team is standing by to help.
Sign up today to contribute to change, and help build a safe, secure and prosperous South Africa for all our people.
:: Yes, I want to join Helen Zille’s DA team! ::
Sincerely,
Johan van der Berg
DA National Volunteer Coordinator
PS – our country cannot afford a two thirds majority for Jacob Zuma and his radical allies. By volunteering today, you can help Helen Zille and the DA stop them. Decide how you want to get involved, and spend as much time helping as you’d like. Click here now to join the thousands of South Africans who are already giving a few minutes of their time!
You are getting this email message from the democratic Alliance because we need your help to secure a bright prosperous future we know our country is capable of delivering to all South Africans. If you would no longer like to receive email updates from the Democratic Alliance, CLICK HERE.
I haven’t placed in all the links that the email featured because they were repetitive and redundant. There were approximately 11 links to the very same page in the email. They all pointed to www.contributetochange.org. Which seems to be innocent enough yet is actually a DA site that is further embarking on a smear campaign.
Please don’t misundertand my intention here, I am well aware of the nature of politics, I know that there are smear campaigns, I know it’s a cutthroat business. But let me ask you this: After reading this email would you vote for the DA because you wanted to vote for the DA or because you were scared of Jacob Zuma and his supporters?
I think the latter. I am sorry but I would rather not vote than vote out of a feeling of fear invoked by another political party. These tactics are reminiscent of the Bush “Terrorism” propaganda that was fed to millions of people in the USA which allowed Bush a second term in office. And look how well that turned out for the world.
The DA got this one hopelessly wrong in my opinion.
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Popularity: 6% [?]
October 22nd, 2008 at 10:58 am
I disagree with you, although I can see your point.
Yes, it’s part of their campaigning, and as you acknowledge, it’s the nature of politics.
But, at the end of the day – if you choose to vote for an opposition party – it is for that reason, because they are the opposition. Is that driven out of ‘fear’? I don’t know. But that’s democracy.
I can’t speak for anyone else – but I certainly would not want to live in a one-party state.
If you choose not to vote, then that is your right. Personally, I think that is an apathetic approach.
Jono´s last blog post..DA smear campaign begins – I’m not sure I like it
October 22nd, 2008 at 11:11 am
Hi Jono,
Thanks for commenting in such a rational manner. Appreciate it.
Don’t misunderstand me here at all. I WILL VOTE. I will also be rallying as many people to come with me to vote and register. But as much as we are not a one party state, we are also not merely a two party state. The ANC wont get a majority 2/3 if we vote for the ID, DA, SACP, IFP all combined. The basic premise is: Don’t vote for the ANC. And don’t do it because you are scared of Jacob Zuma, do it cause you think it’s the right thing for this country, do it because it is what you believe in. Don’t do it because the DA has placed the fear of the unknown in your head. That is the wrong reason to vote altogether.
October 22nd, 2008 at 1:14 pm
I wouldn’t say that this a true smear campaign – look at the US where blatant lies are being traded in their presidential election.
Rather this is a political campaign playing directly on people’s fear of a Zuma government – something many already have – and it is not directly working at irrationally promoting such fears. I’d say as the opposition they have the right and duty to promote them – personally I’m scared of any party which can change the constitution at will.
So I wouldn’t call it clean – but it isn’t a smear campaign.
October 22nd, 2008 at 1:19 pm
Nic,
How is this a smear campaign? I’m sorry, but that’s a complete distortion. Firstly, it’s not about voting or registering; it’s about volunteering for the DA (the website is http://contributetochange.co.za, incidentally).
Secondly, it’s appealing to the very real concerns and feelings of the majority of DA supporters (and many other people) about the ANC under Jacob Zuma. It’s about building an alternative to Jacob Zuma’s ANC, and the DA is asking its supporters to get involved in its campaign.
Thirdly, it’s been highly effective. We’ve had over 500 people sign up in the first week, and we’ve barely begun to market it.
And, finally, we’re testing two different messages. You happened to get the two thirds majority message. The other one reads as follows:
“Help build a secure and prosperous future for all!
Join thousands of volunteers who are giving just a few minutes of their time to help Helen Zille and the DA cut the ANC down to size and build a secure and prosperous future for all
Contribute to change
Dear DA Supporter
The ANC has never been as weak as it is today. While Jacob Zuma’s ANC is fighting with Mosiuou Lekota’s breakaway faction, the DA has a tremendous opportunity to make significant gains at the polls next year.
But the DA needs your help to cut the ANC down to size so that it can build the secure and prosperous future that all South Africans deserve. Join thousands of volunteers already working to win support for Helen Zille and the DA.
Here are six ways to help: …”
Clearly, you would have preferred to receive the latter message. I’ll let you know how the sign-up rate compares once I get those stats.
October 22nd, 2008 at 1:32 pm
Dear Nic
There are a number implications in your post which I find rather negative and pessimistic.
The most obviously is the implication that the DA is a negative force in South African politics. You write, for example, “The DA smear campaign begins” – which is wrong on two counts: first, it is not a smear campaign (check the definition of smear campaign in the dictionary) and, second, the word ‘begins’ implies both that it was inevitable and has a history; neither of which is true).
This is to ignore not only the important role that opposition plays in sustaining any functioning democracy but the particular role it plays in South Africa, where the ANC’s majority has systematically served to undermine the Constitutional nature of our state.
I notice that, at one point in the video explaining the purpose behind SARocks, you say “there are a lot of negative messages out there” and the visuals conveniently switch to a shot of a newspaper article by Helen Zille. What are you saying?
The DA in particular and the principle of opposition in general is a positive one. Not a negative one. Unless you support rampant majortarianism that is.
(Here is an interesting fact for you: did you know that, as part of promoting its – entirely positive – vision of an Open Opportunity Society for All, the DA aims to put out one press statement every day, which identifies and celebrates some aspect of South African society which exemplifies that vision. You need look no further for your positive story a day than the DA’s press statements. I suggest you subscribe, or at very least visit the DA website and click on the ‘Open opportunity Society’ tag.)
It is worrying indeed when a site dedicated to all that is good in South Africa harbours some basis against one of its best attributes – opposition. More worrying still is that an obviously attempt to recruit people to that cause is misrepresented as malicious.
You do our own site and South African democracy a disservice.
Sincerely,
Gareth
October 22nd, 2008 at 2:26 pm
Gareth – Get your facts straight before you start sneaking in innuendos that imply more than you grasp. I did not edit the video. In case you didn’t watch the whole thing it was produced for the “It starts with you” campaign and was broadcast on e-tv. I was simply interviewed. So I did not imply or insinuate anything. If you have hangups about the DA then those are yours not mine. I am not saying anything other than I was very surprised by the angle that our “only viable opposition” took.
Let me put this to everyone who has commented – you all have very valid points and I am extremely satisfied that I have sparked debate, that is I think what my overarching intention was, debate around VOTING, OPPOSITION, MAJORITY and other key issues.
Now let me continue: I think that the DA are great, I dig that they fancy themselves as the opposition. But let me ask you this – in that email where were the DA’s POLICY, what was their INTENTION with regards to THEIR OWN party. Or is their campaign based on the ANC’s short-fall’s? This has been the case for so long and look at what has happened, the DA lost to the ANC in the last election by the required 2/3 majority. So in theory, as history goes in a democratic SA, the DA has technically failed us and are maybe not the party to “save us” as they would possible have it.
Instead of promoting fear and calling people to action to rally more people around fear in SA, fear of Zuma, crime, black people, white people, foreigners, maybe the DA should be rallying people to help educate voters, the public and those without access to information about ALL the possible party options in the coming election.
This is just my opinion and thoughts on the topic, I may be way off and I am open to that so please don’t take offense to what I’ve said. I just believe that we need to start voting smartly, with intention, not out of fear or ignorance which has happened in the past.
October 22nd, 2008 at 2:28 pm
Anthony – You say it’s been highly effective. You don’t say – fear has been proven to be a very effective marketing mechanism employed by many products and companies to get South Africans to spend money. Is this the DA’s intent? Cause it sure feel’s that way.
I am also a bit saddened at your response. I thought that the first thing you might do instead of becoming defensive is engage with me considering, in theory I form part of your target market and you have direct access to me and my thoughts. Why not engage, discuss and debate rather than slate me and my approach??? If this is how I feel, maybe, just maybe I’m not the only one feeling this way. Just a thought.
October 22nd, 2008 at 2:48 pm
Yes the DA should be promoting it’s own policies – but part of being the opposition is pointing out the shortfalls of the other side. As for “promoting fear” – there are very good reasons to fear a Zuma government with 2/3rds of the vote – so nothing wrong with that either.
October 22nd, 2008 at 2:55 pm
The essence of a smear campaign is to make the target look bad – and thus far, Zuma’s done more than anyone to tarnish his own name. Even people that have been supporting him thus far are beginning to pull out.
Maybe the “afraid of a Zuma government” spin is relevant. People need to stop voting based on peer pressure and intimidation – something that “liberation parties” have been adept at employing recently.
They also need to stop voting on empty promises, no matter how good they sound. You can only make a promise so good before the playing field levels out. If everyone’s promising the same things, why bother switching your vote from ANC, and convince other people to do the same?
I think the DA’s campaign would be better classified as “sobering” than “fearmongering”. They’re effectively saying “Hey, look, it’s been good so far, but this Zuma guy’s gonna mess up – he’s proven himself plenty capable. You have a chance to make a better choice this year.”
I suppose we’ll see how it plays out. In politics, it’s only the victory that really matters.
October 22nd, 2008 at 3:01 pm
klips – Agreed, opposition should be pointing out short-falls of the government. But that shouldn’t be the ONLY thing that the DA does. In fact, if it was the ONLY thing that the DA did and they had a proven track record of change themselves then I wouldn’t feel so bad, but the 2/3 majority is ALREADY IN PLACE, incase you hadn’t noticed. The DA was the official opposition when that happened at the last elections. So they kinda shouldn’t point fingers unless it is backed by some semblance of fact/stat/research.
Furthermore, who the hell are the DA to say that “Our country is in grave danger” What a load of bloody bullocks. Prove it. can they? no. Until they can, then it’s all lies. Yes there are many people who are concerned about an ANC in power led by Zuma, but there are people who cannot wait for him to get in to power.
You see what I’m saying? There are two sides, double edges sword here. It’s not all roses, cut and dry, we are doomed, we are saved. Until the DA can say THIS IS WHY the DA is the best option and give me a reason other than “because jacob zuma will end us all”. Then I’m always going to be a vocal advocate of Democracy and freedom of speech which right now involves being critical of everything that anyone says in SA politics.
October 22nd, 2008 at 3:02 pm
Wogan – Ok, Ok, fair point, maybe I could’ve used a different word, but I chose smear because I felt like that when I received the email. Maybe Fearmongering is a better choice of word. Still not a good place to be!!
October 22nd, 2008 at 3:06 pm
Politicians? They’re all witches, burn them!
October 22nd, 2008 at 3:47 pm
Ok, seriously…
I have to agree with Wogan on this. I wouldn’t call it a smear campaign – personally I consider the email to be rather mild when taken in the context of the average political whoring we see every day.
Yes, there’s a bit of fearmongering, but at the end of the day, it’s a call for people to use the rare opportunity we have to make an impact in government.
Of course, they’re saying all these things for their own good, what else can be expected of politicians? It’s how the game works, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that what they’re doing is bad / unethical / wrong.
October 22nd, 2008 at 4:54 pm
Hi Nic,
I don’t have a problem with you criticising the tone of our appeal, and I am quite happy to engage with you about that – Besides my first paragraph, I believe I did just that.
What I took extreme exception to is your characterisation of our appeal as a smear campaign. Your banner and headline did essentially the same thing as the negative newspaper headlines which you’re trying to counter with this site. You zoomed in on the anti-Zuma ANC message and sensationalised it – perhaps intending to be a bit controversial and attract readers (pretty much like the media do with bad news). The problem is that it’s a distortion of the truth.
The other thing is that the DA does a lot that is positive, but it doesn’t get the same attention from the media as when the party criticises the ANC. Helen Zille launched the DA’s new education policy a couple of weeks ago. It full of innovative solutions to the problems with education in South Africa. Hardly any of the media covered it.
So, as Gareth said, check out our website directly from time to time. There’s a lot of positive stuff happening.
October 22nd, 2008 at 5:24 pm
Ant – I’d really like to chat more to you about this, maybe we can meet? Are you by any chance in JHB anytime soon??!
October 22nd, 2008 at 7:05 pm
Hi Nic
I am quite amazed that you would have a problem with this since your site is all about creating positive change in South Africa.
I think the email is brilliant and should get some of the a-”pathetic” non-voters to get on and do something positive by voting.
Being scared of Jacob Zuma and his supporters is a perfectly valid reason to vote for any party opposing JZ.
Comparison with the Bush campaigns is invalid.
SA have FACTS and cases agains Jacob Zuma that shows how dangerous he is.
I will probably have to call a few SA friends and force them to go and vote for whoever they believe will create a more positive South Africa.
Helen Zille even encouraged quite a few Saffa’s living in London to fly back to SA to register to vote and make sure they fly in again with the vote.
Personally I think it is unconstitutional that South African’s who have had to temporarily travel outside SA for job opportunities or safety can’t have a vote although we still pour hundred millions of rands back into SA to family or business interests in the country.
I really do wish you guys in SA could step out of the country for a few years to get a outside view (much more objective)
Well, best of luck…
October 22nd, 2008 at 10:06 pm
Louis – Fair points. I really, really think that my point is being misread/misquoted/misunderstood or I really got lost in my post and misrepresented myself.
I am 100% going to vote, I am going to gather everyone/anyone that I can to vote, I am 100% behind voter education.
But what the email did not do was aim to educate voters to vote. What the email did was rally people around feelings of fear and hypothetical situations that might occur to lull them in to a vote for the DA. This is not voter education, this is not what I perceive the DA to be. I think the DA is better than this to be honest.
I think it is the duty of parties to educate voters about their policy, tell them how they are going to change things. I want the DA to tell me how they have changed their campaign from the last election that they flopped. What is going to make me vote FOR the DA, not AGAINST the ANC.
That is my point. I think this one campaign was off the mark, not the entire DA approach.
October 22nd, 2008 at 10:34 pm
@Nic I haven’t delved too deeply (don’t have the time/drive), but Zille’s been very adamant about making the DA’s policies known. Far as I know, they’re available for public perusal at any point, but don’t quote me on that because, as I said, I don’t go looking.
But looking past their policies, my vote would go to the DA purely based on the public integrity of the party leaders. In the end, policies can be cooked up and ignored by selfish and spineless ministers, but even a half-baked policy is ten times more effective in the hands of an integral and dedicated leader.
I would also vote for the DA because it’s an objective no-brainer that since the ANC came into power, the country’s been in decline. And I don’t have to be subjective about it – the numbers speak for themselves.
Why not vote against the ANC? Heck, I know I would – who in their right mind would NOT vote against a party that’s doing to the country what the ANC is doing? Sometimes democracy can get a little hectic like that, but it’s a sign that people are willing to play their part, exercise their rights, and change things for the better.
Personally, I think this campaign is spot-on. It’s turning a very real fear into hope. Telling people that they can make a difference is a good first step. Assisting them in making that difference is an excellent second step, and that’s what 2/3 of the email consists of.
October 23rd, 2008 at 12:54 am
I personally think that this is a little bit of a storm in a teacup.
Nic, I have a lot of respect for you and count on you to tell it like it is … kudos for doing so again, but your post title is a little off the mark I’d say.
I have to agree that the mail shot itself is a bit tedious and repetitive (not quite what I’m used to from the DA who normally release exceptionally well written literature from two of my favorite wordsmiths who also happened to post responses above). Politics will always be politics and I think you’ve proven that a not-so-well-written release can do more harm than good, because it leaves too much open for interpretation.
The ANC is however a party and not a one man show – in the same way that Helen Zille is not the DA, only the person who heads the organisation.
I think that the DA has done some great, positive work campaign-wise that rallies good support for issues that go beyond just politics (like their recent crime campaign) and know how to use that in their favour – a campaign like this one is rather uncharacteristic of them, but again that is just my opinion.
What this has done though, is spark a solid debate and some interest – is the DA paying you for this post?
October 23rd, 2008 at 6:42 am
Well done Nic… Shake the politicians up a bit and get the DA to stand behind their e-mails and ra ra…
If we’re going to compare ourselves to the US and their politics we’re going to plummet down the toilet.
Fear is not a tool for gathering support. Look at the support Lekota seems to have achieved by smart politicking….
Good job Nic – can’t be letting slimy politicians run eachother down like this
October 23rd, 2008 at 9:32 am
Campaigning for people to register and vote (apart from voting for a particular party) is a normal part of democracy is not dodgy and a normal part of Democracy.
IMHO it looks the DA has copied a lot of techniques from the tech-savvy Obama campaign in the states. Good for them!
Still not convinced I will vote for them though, they seem to focus so much on scare-mongering.
October 23rd, 2008 at 10:18 am
What Chris said.
October 23rd, 2008 at 10:18 am
Urm…why are we supposed to be scared of Zuma again? I quite like him. He dances. You don’t see Helen Zille dancing.
Dance for me, Helen.
Seriously though, DA guys, we’re not all whitefearmongering dipshits in this country. Nic’s right. Give us some cogent policy speeches, and maybe I’ll consider registering to vote.
Remember, you’re not competing with the ANC, you’re competing against BBC Entertainment and the Home Channel.
October 23rd, 2008 at 12:14 pm
Thought I’d thrown my two-cents into the wishing well at this point. This email was sent out from our relationship management department as part of an obama-esque drive to gather volunteers for our election campaign, and as a campaign, it has proved very successful. This specific email was one of several versions sent out and was an early draft of what was eventually approved.
It was specifically sent out to a small test audience (against my own advice I might add) to gauge audience reactions. Seems we have more feedback on the experiment than we could ever have hoped for! For my own part, as I do a lot of the email marketing for the party, I warned the author that the mail was probably a little aggressive, verbose and repetitive, which, judging from the comments, appears to be accurate.
The bulk of our supporters received two altogether very different emails. They were short and to the point, and thus much more effective.
The first did focus on the 2/3rds benchmark, and I feel that calling this ‘fear mongering’ and a ’smear campaign’ are altogether overdramatic. It is the nature of the beast that is political marketing that we speak to the concerns of the majority of our supporters in order to galvanise them into action. The 2/3rds majority issue is uppermost on the minds of many of our voters – we are not placing the fear there, it already exists. It’s a reality with potentially dire consequences in the hands of the wrong leaders.
We did, however follow up this email with a more positive one, entitled “Help build a secure and prosperous future for all”. We have yet to analyse the relative success of these two emails.
Just a couple more points, and don’t take these personally, but if you wish to engage in a serious discussion on politics, it would behove some of you to do your homework before spouting.
@red – aside from being disrespectfully flippant, your comments are wholly inaccurate – anyone who follows the press in South Africa could tell you that the DA, more so than any other opposition party in the country has a very comprehensive policy programme which is both wide ranging and practical, offering realistic alternatives to policies which are letting down the people of this country (alternatives, which on more than one occasion have been adopted as government policy). I’d be more than happy to send them to you
October 23rd, 2008 at 1:09 pm
Wikidknickers – fair points sort of. OK Great, so there were two tester emails put out. Is this really the time to be testing the waters? Mere months away from elections? Surely the DA should be loudly and proudly explaining in emails why they are the best party to vote for, how to vote and where to go? Rather than stating that people should be scared shitless about Zuma and the ANC (which is a big, unsubstantiated (in the email) statement to make first off) and that’s why they should vote for the DA?
That’s unfortunate because there are a lot of very good reasons why people should vote DA, however none of them should involve the ANC. The DA missed the boat on this one. I’ve said it already in this thread and ill say it again – I want the DA to tell me why I should vote FOR them, not why I should vote AGAINST the ANC!
October 23rd, 2008 at 2:15 pm
Fair enough Nic, and I assure you, you will see plenty of that (positive motivation)in the months to come (we launch our new website in November, and I think/hope you’ll be pleasantly surprised).
As I said earlier – this *wasn’t* so much a ‘vote for us’ email as it was a drive to galvanise people into action (and the only way to test what works is well, to test what works!).
Different people respond to different things, and getting people really hands-on involved with politics is a *very* hard thing to do (look at how many people don’t even bother to vote) – so we sent out a strong message.
As they say, you can please all of the people some of the time and some of the people all of the time, but never all of the people all of the time – we learn as we go, and simply accept that we can never make everyone happy. On a personal note, I’m really gratified at the debate your post has sparked – we never fail to learn and improve from people’s thoughts and opinions, both negative and positive.
October 23rd, 2008 at 3:32 pm
@Red if you want to see Helen Zille dancing (and singing), check out http://www.zoopy.com/video/detail/id/11339
@Nic, I don’t have any plans to travel to JHB at the moment I’m afraid. But have a look at the statements posted on our website. Firstly, we never criticise something without offering suggestions about how to fix something. Secondly, we actually release numerous policies and discussion documents with concrete proposals about how to get South Africa working. We also regularly release statements which highlight positive stories we find which demonstrate our vision of an open opportunity society in action. Unfortunately, the media don’t seem to find them newsworthy, but they’re tagged with open opportunity society on our website.
October 24th, 2008 at 3:59 pm
Here is a little outside perspective:
What ever happened to the spirit of 1994? You were a role model for the rst of the world. And now you are down to this?
It really hurts me to this and some how YOU PEOPLE need to stand together and figure out a way to start a movement to stop all this nonsense. Yes you have to do it.
Otherwhise you’ll end up in a mess of corruption and special interests. The consequences are:
A stable political system lead by people with integrity can be the platofrm for the rest of the world to believe in you.
Or the rest of the world will just watch from the outside how you are throwing mud at each other.
So who is first to start a movement that focuses on the real issues of the country and not how you can play a chess game, fill your pockets and spends 80% of their energy on beating their competitors.
I am just a little guy in Colorado but I care. I’ll support you country regardless.
October 24th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
@Wikidnickers So it was … all a test? Heheh – Well done, imho. Better to make sure the water’s right than to just get in there and thrash.
@Anthony Thanks for clarifying that the DA does actually publish their policies. I was sort of riding on a semi-remembered quote from a TV interview a while back, glad to see I wasn’t off the mark.
I also reckon that, while a little bleh, the email did give plenty of advice/opportunities for those looking to make a difference. And I’m thinking that the headline wasn’t such a bad touch either. When it comes down to it, fear plays a part in your vote. If it didn’t, popular democracy probably wouldn’t work very well.
If there was no fear, then there would be no problems, hence no reason to vote. Utopia 101.
What would be nice, and this is just a suggestion, would maybe be to put together a simplified list of the changes the DA intends to make if they win the 2/3rds, pop them on a webpage, and email out the link. Nic does have a valid point about not seeing the DA’s policies – they’re not exactly a popular destination right now, and that’s mostly because the media’s covering the ANC.
Other than that – rock on!
October 28th, 2008 at 6:46 pm
What bugs me is that it’s the same old same old. The ANC are going to change the constitution blah blah… The ANC have been in that position and made no changes. And the rumour is being revived by the party that started the rumours about Mbeki staying for a third term as State President – which they did by asking him in parliament to deny it when there was nothing to deny in the first place. How to make something out of nothing in politics 101. The DA are playing on fears and rumours here. Next think you know they’ll be reminding us about the so-called Night Of The Long Knives. And I’ve been hearing about that for 30 years at least now. If all the DA have to offer is fear (white fear or black people when you get down to it) then they are not offering an alternative or a way forward.
October 29th, 2008 at 12:08 am
What they stated is not far from the truth as far as I know. The Bush campaign however is another story and can not be compared to this.
October 29th, 2008 at 9:04 am
Nick, I want to take a different angle here.
Convince me why I should vote. Tell me exactly what benefits I as a voter am ever going to gain from voting. Will I HONESTLY ever get service delivery that is promised?
Politics in the Western Cape is just one total confusion. I read so many reports of instances where an important issue is not resolved/attended to efficiently because the issue is “thrown back and forth” between the Provincial government and Local government (enough to make a decision not to vote.)
Nick, at the end of the day we will have election posters all over lamp-posts promising us what marvellous changes and vision a political party has. The day after voting, those will all just become “empty promises”. Fact.
Can we conclude that service delivery per se, is generally non-existant as a whole, from whichever political party. Ever wondered why we have so many NGO’s.
Convince me otherwise.
October 29th, 2008 at 9:54 am
ST – did you vote in the last elections?
Basically, you can tell me that the parties are all failures, all liars, all cheats, bigots or whatever you think but at the end of the day they aren’t all like that. They do some very promising work and actually do (alot of the time) try to better the public. You can moan and tell me that your area has had a pothole for two weeks, yes but so have many others.
The reason that you should vote is very simple: Democracy is based on a voting system. If you do not vote then you are allowing a party in to government that actually isn’t representative of the people, but rather a small faction of the people. Our democracy would be in a much better working order – especially with a proportional representation system – if more people voted, votes were fought for, people held their governments and political parties to task with their vote. But right now the parties know that all they need is roughly 8million votes to win an election. It’s apathetic voters that allow parties and politicians to get away with murder.
Imagine if the ANC completely lost the next elections because the people weren’t happy with their outcomes. That would send a message to every party out there that South Africans want results. But in fact, the message we send is: “Ah, you know, you screwed up but I don’t really care enough to tell you with my vote and help educate others to vote so you can take power again and carry on in the same way.”
Voting matters. You can deny it until you die but the fact is that voting matters.
October 29th, 2008 at 11:23 am
The truth? Well it’s at best misleading.
1) The ANC already has a 2/3 majority
2) They didn’t change the constitution
3) (and the DA must know this) not all aspects of the constitution can be changed with 2/3 majority vote.
4) Our constitution was designed so that it could be modified. It’s not uncostitutional or illegal to modify the constitution. This is a good thing, and it’s not unusual or sinister. The US constitution was also designed so that it could be amended – and it has been.
5) You don’t have to vote for the DA to take a vote from the ANC, you just have to not vote for the ANC.
I don’t know if it’s outright lying, but it’s certainly being pretty selective with the truth, and I think it is misleading.
And they state “people like Julius Malema (ANCYL), Blade Nzimande (SACP) and Zwelinzima Vavi (COSATU)”. See the game here? A bigmouth and (have the smelling salts ready) two COMMUNISTS. They’re peddling fear here, they’ve got implied aspersions about the motives and aims of other politicians, and accusing “Jacob Zuma and his allies” of wanting to to undermine judicial independence (I believe the ANC just dealt with the guy who did do that), property rights (translation: Zuma = Mugabe) and press freedom.
It’s playing up on the same old white fears. It’s a tactic they’ve tried before, and I was hoping that now that Tony Leon isn’t running the show anymore they’d stop resorting to this kind of playing on fears to gain votes.
This is not appealing for votes on the basis of what they are, it’s an appeal to fear and for a vote on the basis of what they are not.
And the timing… do they fear that “Shikota” will take votes away from the DA?
October 29th, 2008 at 11:40 am
@Nic…I totally agree! @ST imho…if you don’t vote, you have *forfeited* the right to complain. When people hear where I work (for the DA), they immediately start bemoaning the state of the country…when they tell me they haven’t voted because a) it won’t make a difference, b) Harry Potter was on telly that day, c) any other lame excuse they had for not getting off the couch on voting day…I have to politely end the conversation and go and quietly bang my head on a wall.
Quite simply if you want to bitch and whine at the state of the nation? Make yourself a part of it first. The simplest way to do that is by choosing who makes the decisions that affect your life, iow, by voting.
October 29th, 2008 at 12:15 pm
@wikidknickers, see my post on a separate blog about this subject on this site.
So are you saying that if I do vote, I then have a right to complain, and if I complain I am GUARENTEED that my complaint will be dealt with and attended to. No mate, as a voter you are guarenteed nothing after you have voted. For the record, I have voted in all elections and will continue to do so. Do I have confidence something will be done with my vote? Probably not.
November 6th, 2008 at 11:48 am
I dont see what is so important about promises and what the DA can offer than making sure that SA does not sink any further under the wrong hands. The ANC have been making so many promises, and yet how many have the fulfilled? Unlike what the ANC have been doing, Helen Zille have been using her hands and her head constantly on how to improve south african’s lives.
Consider this: Maybe the person from DA who wrote the letter main priority was to prevent votes going to Jacob Zuma, and not to get votes for the party, although votes to the party would definitely be a bonus. DA has always been about improving South African’s lives, and they’ve been showing they can do it, and still working hard at it. Votes or no votes, they’d continue to change SA for the better, because they have the passion.
November 7th, 2008 at 11:48 am
Nic, sorry I disagree with you. You clearly are not educated in the DA’s policies and politics, which the media gives scant coverage to. I encourage you to subscribe to the DA’s RSS feed.
Then I believe you will have a more balanced opinion.
http://www.da.org.za/
November 7th, 2008 at 12:16 pm
Mark – fair point, but im not sure if you aware of the number of people who actually use RSS, never mind have internet and are able to access the DA’s policies online… the numbers are minute and relatively irrelevant in the picture of the nation. So maybe the onus should be on the DA to actually publicise their campaign policies a bit better to the man in the street instead of basing their campaign publicly on destroying zuma.
January 12th, 2009 at 9:35 pm
How about this Nic?
The people in rural areas who actually vote ANC gets told that if they don’t vote their free houses will be taken away form them.
Now if you want to talk about playing the fear card and smear campaign then use that example intead. What makes it worse is that these people are uneducated and believe everything they are told.
As far as I’m concerned, regardless of what the DA says (because I can think for myself), I believe that our country is in grave danger. Our country is going backwards and not forward. The ANC is still in liberation mode instead of progressive mode. The examples are the high crime rate, the failed justice sytem, regression of education standards, unemployment, health care, corruption…
August 13th, 2009 at 12:39 pm
God Nic,
You should be careful in what you write mate. Do a bit more research before slagging off people / political parties. Same thing for slagging off expats. We will never return reading your blog.
And then you pretend being possitive about ZA. Staggering maatjie.