Middle-aged National candidate ruins hiphop styles with funky chicken dance

The Otago Polytech "Political Idol" contest was today. It involved highly undignified things like a three legged race and a rap contest where candidates had to rhyme their policies over a phat hip hop beat.

Candidate rating:

Conway Powell (National):
Conway listened to my advice from last time and told the students the truth. National weren't going to do anything for students. Then he launched into a speech about freedom from the State which apparently is interfering in our lives. Presumably he means things like health and safety laws at work which help stop workers getting killed and injured. (But I guess that's OK – as long as the corporates are making those fat profits, National are more than happy.)
Conway had a good "rap" style, but unfortunately he ruined it by doing this strange kind of funky chicken dance.
Marks: 6 out of 10, less apologetic than last time and good skills on the mike, but marks off for the chicken dance.

Lesley Soper (Labour):
Because Dunedin's two Labour MPs Pete Hodgson and David "Tennis Ball" Benson-Pope are too busy to bother with doing too much campaigning in their "safe" seats, they have been sending Invercargill based list MP Lesley Soper along to talk to the students.
Lesley established her street cred with the students by telling them she used to work as librarian, before making a credible attempt at hip hop with her rap. Her rhymes were good but she lacked the battle MC technique and could barely be heard over the tinny sound system.
My theory is with Labour is they shouldn't bother turning up to meetings at all, because they always get more applause at the start than at the finish.
Marks: 6 out of 10, needs to improve microphone technique though.

Phillippa Jamieson and Peter (Green):
The Greens have an unnerving habit of turning up to meetings in twos, asking if they can take turns speaking, and then both of them end up speaking all the time thus getting them twice as much airtime. Perhaps under that cover of consensus and peace, they are really Machivellian characters.
Phillippa's rap was very old-school, more like a late seventies Ska song. Peter did a rap, he had more of a gangsta style, but this didn't gel with his novelty cap which he wore backwards. Probably better than others, but once again the hat turned him from gangsta rap to high school English teacher just like that.
Marks: 7 out of 10, but need to stop attending meetings in twos like they are unable to get on a stage by themselves.

Willie Martin (ACT):
Willie did better this time as he didn't have any hecklers, he goes to pieces when they start shouting at him.
I can't help thinking how depressing it must be being an ACT candidate. They are so wound up on being successful and all-round winners, so it must be quite difficult to face the fact you are going to be completely wiped out in the election
Marks: 6 out of 10, but all his thunder was stolen today by Conway.

Once again, I will not give myself a mark for reasons of bias.

We had a digital pic taken on a mobile phone . . . that's me on the left (funnily enough) with my Alliance sign.
- posted by Victor @ 5:27 PM