Hawkes Bay Today
  • Hawke's Bay Today home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Havelock North
  • Central Hawke's Bay
  • Tararua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Gisborne

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Hawkes Bay Today / Opinion

Clive Bibby: Politicians need to do what they promise

By Clive Bibby
Hawkes Bay Today·
13 Nov, 2016 11:00 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Clive Bibby

Clive Bibby

Opinion

Most of the writers of opinion pieces expressing horror at the outcome of the US elections would do us all a favour if they concentrated their investigative abilities on trying to work out why we got the result they don't like.

It isn't that difficult because the evidence is clearly there to see in just about every so-called country of the free world including our own. The seeds of the ruling class' own destruction are waiting for the ultimate misstep.The only way to avoid what happened to the Democrats is to do what you promised to do. It is that simple.

The problem for many of Trump's critics is that they continue to point the finger at him personally because he is such a soft and convenient target when in fact he only represents the failure of the whole elitist system that they themselves championed with their election of Obama eight years ago.

I invite you to reflect on the promises made to so many desperate groups who believed the rhetoric then and turned Obama's elevation to the White House into something approaching the "Second Coming".

Virtually all forms of the media throughout the world coupled with the social and intellectual elite need look no further than their own inability to recognise the tidal wave that was about to swamp the swamp.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The only difference between this movement and other major revolutions in history is that, thankfully, this one was peaceful.

However, it may not remain so if those who voted for change in such large numbers don't receive some relief sooner rather than later. I'm sure Trump's advisers are well aware of their responsibilities to act with decisiveness and compassion before it is too late.

Those who want to blame Trump the man for this turnaround should take a long, hard look at themselves and acknowledge a few home truths.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Hillary Clinton wasn't the only flawed politician who offered nothing to these disaffected communities. Obama himself was found out as being the hollow man who could talk a lot. History will not judge him well because of his own ineptitude.

Probably, the truth behind their combined failure has more to do with the fact that there were no workable plans behind the euphoria of 2008 that had anything like the capacity for the change that was needed then.

I also doubt that they had any intention of making good the promises they so readily made in order to gain office. They changed nothing for the good.

If they had, we would not be looking at a President-elect Trump that so many find so utterly distasteful.

Trump's amazing success has its roots in the wholesale rejection of the Obama Administration's contemptuous treatment of its own people.

When you're desperate, you will vote for anything that offers more promise than what you've been used to for far too long. Loyalty becomes irrelevant.

If we're honest, faced with the same circumstances, we would have done exactly the same thing.

Clive Bibby is a fourth- generation member of a well-known CHB farming family who has been farming at Tolaga Bay on the East Coast since 1980.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Hawkes Bay Today

Hawkes Bay Today

Stabbing in Hawke’s Bay, one taken to hospital with serious wounds

19 Jun 10:45 PM
Hawkes Bay Today

Air NZ plane lands safely after mid-air maintenance alert

19 Jun 09:14 PM
Hawkes Bay Today

'Living expressions': Pou returned to Hastings Civic Square after restoration

19 Jun 09:00 PM

Jono and Ben brew up a tea-fuelled adventure in Sri Lanka

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Hawkes Bay Today

Stabbing in Hawke’s Bay, one taken to hospital with serious wounds

Stabbing in Hawke’s Bay, one taken to hospital with serious wounds

19 Jun 10:45 PM

One person was taken into custody at the scene.

Air NZ plane lands safely after mid-air maintenance alert

Air NZ plane lands safely after mid-air maintenance alert

19 Jun 09:14 PM
'Living expressions': Pou returned to Hastings Civic Square after restoration

'Living expressions': Pou returned to Hastings Civic Square after restoration

19 Jun 09:00 PM
Our top Premium stories this year: Special offer for Herald, Viva, Listener

Our top Premium stories this year: Special offer for Herald, Viva, Listener

19 Jun 08:11 PM
Help for those helping hardest-hit
sponsored

Help for those helping hardest-hit

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Hawke's Bay Today e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Hawke's Bay Today
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP