Disowned Disaster

So Rhodri Morgan has decided to "do a Bourne" and disown Peter Hain, Eluned Morgan, Alun Davies, David Taylor and the Aneuringlyndwr website and video. Anyone who dares suggest that he had recommended the website were being "naughty" apparently. He had not seen it and had not heard of it until the press got it.

You know what, for one of the first times ever, I actually believe him. It was clear from the moment he refused to comment in a radio interview that Rhodri had not seen the website pre-release. What is not so believable however is his claim that only mischievous media and bloggers would believe that he had approved of it. Clearly he had approved it - but there's a big difference between approving and actually knowing what you approve.

As the website itself says:

"This brand new political website is definitely one to watch!"
- Rt Hon Rhodri Morgan AM, First Minister for Wales

You can see how it happened now:

Peter calls Rhodri up - "Rhodri darling, I've got a new website going up. Gonna be great, it'll make a big impact. You know how I got so pissed off with Plaid's Walescan nonsense and you said we needed to copy them, well this is it! Eluned's helped me do it, she's so excited. Between you and me now, if this thing works then Eluned's gonna be huge - could solve your lack of replacement problem in a heartbeat! We're doing an Obama here, Rhoderz, gonna be huge with the kids and all! We're going to time it's release so that it's all over the news, Dragon's Eye and everything - might even get a Mule front page out of it! OK if I put up a quote from you saying how exciting it all is?"

Rhodri: "Yeah sure Peter, whatever, go for it. Got to go now, having supper with with my autobiography's ghostwriter"

So now that Rhodri has denounced this laughable own goal, will he ask Peter Hain, Eluned Morgan, Alun Davies and David Taylor to apologise to Bourne and Ieuan - just like Bourne apologised to him? A Labour politician apologising - yeah, right!

Love In Debate!

So according to Alun Davies, Labour AM and one of the brilliant four behind aneuringlyndwr, the website is:

"an opportunity to create a positive and constructive debate about the future of Wales"

Skipping past the fact that the website doesn't allow comments and the YouTube video moderates comments (good way to create a debate that!) I guess we'd better check out his claim. Is this an attempt to create a debate? Is it positive instead of negative and attacking?

Let's have a look..

- Mentions of "Toff Dave", pics of Cameron in a top hat or calling Tories "chums"= 10

- Words used to describe Tories: juvenile, vacuous, ugly, embarrassment, cronies, nasty, gaffe-prone, disastrous

- Words used to describe Plaidis (hey, it's catching on Eluned!): hopeless, self-serving, arrogant, navel-gazing, brittle, wrong, stalinist, unthinking

- Number of times Labour is mentioned = 3 (none of which mentioned Labour policies, initiatives or actions)

What a wonderfully positive website Alun!

Extra: A wonderful old quote from David Taylor himself, showing how committed he is to promoting positive debate in Welsh politics:

"I hate Liberal Democrats more and more every day.

I used to be slightly sympathetic towards them. I used to think they meant well and that the Tories where the real enemy.

But their recent campaign tactics, materminded by "wizz kid" Lord Rennard means I now hate them just as much as the Tories, which as almost as much as the Nationalists."