Considering the travesty of Don Brash's latest howitzer salvo from the Rich Prick's bunker, we should never forget that this man was the last leader of the National Party, and almost became Prime Minister. The reason why such a man, who on the evidence of his Taskforce plan announced this week, lacks the talent and intellect to run the country, could be our leader says more about Kiwi greed than it does about the self obsession of 'hollow' men like Don Brash.

The only reason politicians such as Roger Douglas, Don Brash and Rodney Hide actually get any support from the voting public is that we identify with the rich pricks these extreme tories represent. We have become so enamoured with the material paradise we have borrowed ourselves silly to create that we are driven to vote for flash cars, expensive real estate, private schooling and overseas travel champions, the sort who once appealed only to residents of pure blue suburban electorates and large land owning farmers who shopped for furniture in London.

It is not surprising that Westies, once the bulwark of social justice in Auckland, now vote blue with a purpose. Nor is it surprising that there are more people in the Warehouse every Sunday than are in church.

As a card carrying atheist the shrinking Christian congregation is really of no interest to me, but what is intriguing is that the alternative to church should be the Red Sheds, where materialism is at its tawdry worst. These places offer no service and a vast range of shonky goods that are so cheap the company has an immediate replacement policy on any purchase. Even our materialism is opportune, and the goods we fancy are transient.

So of course we are going to vote for whoever tells us they will cut the top rate of tax to 20%. We all imagine we will individually benefit from that, just as we have no problem with extra funding for private schools and an end to free education at tertiary level. Having already destroyed our once excellent trade training programmes, the Tories now want to shaft academia as well, so that this low wage society they have created since 1984 will not understand what is happening.

So, instead of catching up with Australia, we will catch up with America – with most of the poor in jail while the rich busily rort each other for the remaining slush funds, or go to war for profit.

Don Brash is the evidence that in a democracy, we get the leaders we deserve.