Riders Are Voters - Time for Action.

[Bald Eagle]

What's the point of this? For every informed, intelligent person that votes, 1000 dumbasses vote who are easily taken in by the campain propoganda. You will never make a difference.

I can guarantee if YOU do nothing YOU won't make any difference. But if enough people DO something and it's the same something then it just might make a difference.

8000+ people rode their bikes to Wellington and made a difference.

[Murray]

It amazes me people think we live in a democracy still, bikers are voters .......so what? woop woop ya think the government gives a shit what a small fraction of the population think, nope is right

That fraction of the population also have friends, 18 year old kids, parents, inlaws, brothers, sisters, grandparents, uncles, aunties etc etc etc

I would think when they all are all added up you could have a pretty damn large fraction

[Mom]

....inching ever closer to joining....

I would think when they all are all added up you could have a pretty damn large fraction

Can I introduce you to each other, come on Murray, you know you want too

[Eyegasm]

Can I ask where else this is being advertised?

KB only has a small fraction of the motorcycling community.

I will use the flyer attached to get the word out.

Cheers
Eyegasm.

[wysper]

And 90,000 have influence over at least another 90,000?,So potentially a voting bloc of 180,000 .What we really need to do is make a real diifference in a few strategic electorates,and the electorate of a certain Mr Rodney Hide comes to mind,all of a sudden we could have ALL of ACTS seats in our hands

I was thinking about this voting block thing on the commute to work this morning.
The major difficulty I would see would be the issue of getting most of the 90k to vote the same way.
While I imagine ALL riders would love to see the ACC increases repealed, and lets say Winston Peters said he would repeal it if it got in power, how many of the 90k would vote that way?

For me my riding is important, but my family is more important, and if I think that the party that would support the repeal of ACC or support other pro rider stuff, would also be worse for my family situation, I could not vote for them.

I seem to remember a similar campaign from Hunters and Fishermen, something along the lines of 1 Million Kiwis Hunt Fish or Shoot and vote. Can't remember what they were lobbying against or for or if they succeeded or not.

[Murray]

I was thinking about this voting block thing on the commute to work this morning.
The major difficulty I would see would be the issue of getting most of the 90k to vote the same way.

But the implied threat may sway the thinking of a number of politicians??

Mag-NZ are awaiting your membership and are you on for a pootle Sunday?? Havent seen you for a while and your new bike at all. Maybe you could bring it down on a Wednesday night (if allowed)

[Banditbandit]

looks to me like bikers could change the outcome quite a lot if we were swayed towards a certain party, bout 100,000 registered motorcycles these days.

edit: how many uni students are there? cos labour pretty blatantly bought their votes the election before last...

Yeah right .. we can't even agree on which bikes to ride ... sure 100,000 voters would swing an election - the chance of this happening because bikers agree on who to vote for is about ZERO ...

[MSTRS:Me]

It's not about who you do vote for, but the perception of the votees as to who you might vote for.

[Winston001]

What's the point of this? For every informed, intelligent person that votes, 1000 dumbasses vote who are easily taken in by the campain propoganda. You will never make a difference.

Logically you are correct, but doing nothing allows policy makers to think they always have it right.

Politicians are sensitive to noise. Volume, not numbers is what can influence them. That is why small loud single-interest groups can have surprising success with political persuasion. It isn't rational but Parliament often reacts with a knee-jerk if the right media spin can be applied.

The problem motorcyclists face is the conundrum of our very nature. We are individualistic, slightly outside mainstream society, sometimes confrontational, risk-takers, and not perceived in a suit and tie. We don't have the sympathetic image that say, school children and nurses have.

The irony is many bikers do wear suits, have high-end qualifications, run their own businesses, and arguably are more useful members of society than the average Kiwi.

So - any campaign needs to be slick with good presentation and public relations expertise.

[Banditbandit]

It's not about who you do vote for, but the perception of the votees as to who you might vote for.

THat's pretty cynical ... Mind you .. I'm pretty cynical myself ..

[Pixie]

What's the point of this? For every informed, intelligent person that votes, 1000 dumbasses vote who are easily taken in by the campain propoganda. You will never make a difference.

Good onya! that's the atitude.

DaveReid might be able to tell you where to get the lube he mentions in post #5

[Maha]

What's the point of this? For every informed, intelligent person that votes, 1000 dumbasses vote who are easily taken in by the campain propoganda. You will never make a difference.

Rob Muldoon said that about Bob Jones when he formed the New Zealand party just to take votes away from National....by the way.....it Worked!

[Ocean1]

So - any campaign needs to be slick with good presentation and public relations expertise.

Fuck off, I'm busy.