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November 25, 2008

But he's got you, dear boy...

Boris Watch has spotted it, and it slipped under the Guardian's radar at the time, but I'd like to highlight this for regulars at Bloggerheads as a warm-up of sorts.

This is a comment left on the Guardian's website using the 'kennite' account. In other words, it is a comment made by Andrew Gilligan or his mysterious life/business/tennis partner (background).

I invite you to watch 'kennite' and marvel at the sheer gall of it all as he belittles Ken Livingstone (author of the article) and Brian Paddick ('BrianforMayor'):

kennite

Mar 23 08, 10:12pm

I've never seen this before: an incumbent Mayor, and two of the other candidates, posting on a talkboard. On a public holiday, too. Could they, perhaps, be desperate? Interesting to see that Boris doesn't feel the need to post.

[ link to single comment | link to entire thread ]

(rolls eyes)

Because what 'kennite' was doing - even if he is a 'partner' of Gilligan's and not an invention of Gilligan's - wasn't at all pathetic or desperate, was it?

Oh, I'm going to enjoy this...

(prepares stick)

Posted by Manic on November 25, 2008 10:09 AM in the category Old Media

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What's interesting about that comment is that it shows Gilligan not just attacking Livingstone but actively promoting Boris, which I suspect he was careful *not* to do in his published journalism.

The question underlying all of this is - did Gilligan start all this as part of a personal vendetta against Labour (and was then mercilessly ridden by any Tory who wanted to push a line) or is he actually a fellow traveller with the Policy Exchange right wing?

There's evidence both ways - on the one hand no PXers appear to have jumped to his defence, but on the other the online and offline tactics employed have more than a whiff of Cold-War style disinformation, if not downright Rovian swiftboating*, and we know where people like Dean Godson (and, lest one forget, Paul Staines) got their grounding. Tom Griffin noticed that, too - I remember he was amused that all this intense effort was being made over bus design.

* Where was Livingstone's advantage strongest? Transport. Where did PX/Gilligan get most involved? Transport. Compare the activities around the Kerry/Bush war records.

Posted by: Tom at November 25, 2008 12:13 PM

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	« Hooray. \| Main \| Fat lot of good it'll do them in a battery cage, but... » November 25, 2008 But he's got you, dear boy... Boris Watch has spotted it, and it slipped under the Guardian's radar at the time, but I'd like to highlight this for regulars at Bloggerheads as a warm-up of sorts. This is a comment left on the Guardian's website using the 'kennite' account. In other words, it is a comment made by Andrew Gilligan or his mysterious life/business/tennis partner (background). I invite you to watch 'kennite' and marvel at the sheer gall of it all as he belittles Ken Livingstone (author of the article) and Brian Paddick ('BrianforMayor'): kennite Mar 23 08, 10:12pm I've never seen this before: an incumbent Mayor, and two of the other candidates, posting on a talkboard. On a public holiday, too. Could they, perhaps, be desperate? Interesting to see that Boris doesn't feel the need to post. [ link to single comment \| link to entire thread ] (rolls eyes) Because what 'kennite' was doing - even if he is a 'partner' of Gilligan's and not an invention of Gilligan's - wasn't at all pathetic or desperate, was it? Oh, I'm going to enjoy this... (prepares stick) Posted by Manic on November 25, 2008 10:09 AM in the category Old Media Pings (Trackback) For trackbacks, this is the URL: http://www.bloggerheads.com/cgi-bin/mt-tbbh_20x07.pl/2135 Comments What's interesting about that comment is that it shows Gilligan not just attacking Livingstone but actively promoting Boris, which I suspect he was careful not to do in his published journalism. The question underlying all of this is - did Gilligan start all this as part of a personal vendetta against Labour (and was then mercilessly ridden by any Tory who wanted to push a line) or is he actually a fellow traveller with the Policy Exchange right wing? There's evidence both ways - on the one hand no PXers appear to have jumped to his defence, but on the other the online and offline tactics employed have more than a whiff of Cold-War style disinformation, if not downright Rovian swiftboating, and we know where people like Dean Godson (and, lest one forget, Paul Staines) got their grounding. Tom Griffin noticed that, too - I remember he was amused that all this intense effort was being made over bus design. Where was Livingstone's advantage strongest? Transport. Where did PX/Gilligan get most involved? Transport. Compare the activities around the Kerry/Bush war records. Posted by: Tom at November 25, 2008 12:13 PM - Post a comment Thanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out) (If you're new to Bloggerheads, you may need to be approved by the moderator before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.) URL: Remember me? YesNo Comments:

But he's got you, dear boy...

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