http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&_object_id=10412474 First chapter summary is explosive The Path of Principle Summary: Lists the National Party's contacts with the elusive Exclusive Brethren and the knowledge leader Don Brash had of their advertising campaigns. Reddest Faces: An email from Brash's chief of staff Richard Long to Brash, Gerry Brownlee and other MPs in April 2005 stated the Brethren had agreed today to publicly take ownership of the (advertising) campaign, to avoid conspiracy theories and to prevent the finger being pointed at us . In May, an email from Exclusive Brethren organiser Ron Hickmott to Brash and John Key talks about spending $1m to get party votes for National. Our campaign (a total of seven nationally distributed flyers) is direct and simple: - It creates and demonstrates MISTRUST in the current Government. It builds TRUST in a DON BRASH led National Government. Brash later denies knowing who produced the flyers. Note: The EB's *AGREE* to take the rap for the flyers How can there be an agreement if National isnt a party to the act?

We are the hollow men We are the stuffed men ... But who is hollow and who is stuffed, that is the question! (If you want the whole poem (T.S.Eliot) it is at http://www.cs.umbc.edu/~evans/hollow.html  ) Geopelia

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&_object_id=10412474 First chapter summary is explosive The Path of Principle Summary: Lists the National Party's contacts with the elusive Exclusive Brethren and the knowledge leader Don Brash had of their advertising campaigns. Reddest Faces: An email from Brash's chief of staff Richard Long to Brash, Gerry Brownlee and other MPs in April 2005 stated the Brethren had agreed today to publicly take ownership of the (advertising) campaign, to avoid conspiracy theories and to prevent the finger being pointed at us . In May, an email from Exclusive Brethren organiser Ron Hickmott to Brash and John Key talks about spending $1m to get party votes for National. Our campaign (a total of seven nationally distributed flyers) is direct and simple: - It creates and demonstrates MISTRUST in the current Government. It builds TRUST in a DON BRASH led National Government. Brash later denies knowing who produced the flyers. Note: The EB's *AGREE* to take the rap for the flyers How can there be an agreement if National isnt a party to the act? Brash's resignation does much to underpin the notion that Hager' book is likely to be substantially true. It shows that National was being led and guided by different people from those the voters were being told to expect, and that Roger Douglas, Ruth Richardson, Murray McCully and other hard rightists were hiding themselves behind the more moderate appearance of Brash's campaign. It establishes that while National supporters were moaning about the 'unfairness' and questionable legality of trade union support for Labour, in which unions proudly identified themselves in their printed material, National's leadership was doing grubby back room deals with secret supporters for parallel advertising created and published with full knowledge of National leadership, and advice from the party about how to skirt round the demands of the election law. It demonstrated that Brash, Key, Brownlee and English all knew what was going on, and what had been going on even as they sat in Parliament and yelled 'Corruption' at Labour. National does not look good in the light of these revelations. More like the Hypocritical party than a national one. Philip

National does not look good in the light of these revelations. More like the Hypocritical party than a national one. Philip Im in two minds myself, should people feel betrayed by the deception and hypocrisy or should it be ignored and Brashs' resignation be the end of the matter On the one hand (as you point out) Labour has been dragged through the mud, because they are/were silly enough to be upfront about their spending/supporters OTOH no national party in the political spectrum means ... the right of the house is ACT/NZFirst/United Future We live in interesting times

National does not look good in the light of these revelations. More like the Hypocritical party than a national one. Philip Im in two minds myself, should people feel betrayed by the deception and hypocrisy or should it be ignored and Brashs' resignation be the end of the matter On the one hand (as you point out) Labour has been dragged through the mud, because they are/were silly enough to be upfront about their spending/supporters OTOH no national party in the political spectrum means ... the right of the house is ACT/NZFirst/United Future We live in interesting times Key is the far right's backup for a failed Brash....I do not see anything changing at the moment..........I always considered the dodgy trusts that National had dubious at best.....now we can see that there is even more.....at least with the Unions you can easily see who they are and what their aims are....unlike most of National's shadow supporters who just went their secret agendas to bear fruit...FFS tax breaks for horse racing! It will be interesting to see if National can dig itself out of this hole or carry on covered in the brown stuff....I hope for the former.... regards Thing