Clash of symbols
Posted by Christopher Sheil on Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Bob Ellis is one of Australia’s great writers. No, I don’t mean he always has his facts right. In fact, I wish he would get more of his facts right, just to annoy Tim Blair. Regardless, Bob Ellis can dig deep. At his best, Bob Ellis can capture a whole sensibility better than any other contemporary writer in the political vernacular. I miss Bob Ellis at the moment, but that’s not the point.
Bob, crazy lovely brilliant bastard that he is, always says the Liberals would blow up their own head office to win office. On the third last day of the 2007 campaign, the Navy plucked 10 children and six adults from their leaking wooden boat in the Timor Sea. Ten children. The Ellis theory, in reverse! Not to be outdone this time, perhaps, the ALP has forced the Liberals to expel two members busted impersonating Osama bin Laden on behalf of the opposition. It’s wild, in the last hours.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 21st, 2007 at 11:34 PM and filed under Politics - national.
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CS, didn’t you see that it was all a big joke? Just a laugh between some of the boys to let off some steam after they had been working so hard to get rid of the unions that they “hate”.
It’s a good thing that Kelly is retiring cause she would have just lost her seat.
Posted on 22-Nov-07 at 8:09 am | PermalinkThe fact that Howard hasn’t jettisoned WorkChoices kind of demolishes the Ellis theory, don’t you think? Wait, there’s still time…
BBB
Posted on 22-Nov-07 at 9:43 am | PermalinkHeh. One of the big problems with WorkChoices is that Howard has sought to have it and jettison it at the same time. It’s a new world, the sky hasn’t fallen in; it raises wages, it lowers wages; it destroys protection, it creates protection; it’s the free-market, it’s a giant bureaucracy; it’s called WorkChoices, no it’s not … etc, etc, etc.
Posted on 22-Nov-07 at 1:53 pm | PermalinkClearly it does need rebranding … MakeWorkFreeProtectChoices!
“Fair Pay Commission” … no good … “HEAPS more (non-inflationary) Pay for YOU Commission”
“Workplace Ombudsman” … howzabout “Bad boss TERMINATOR”.
These far-reaching reforms show the vision the Coalition has for this great nation of ours into the future. This is true because I have said it is.
JWH
Posted on 22-Nov-07 at 2:19 pm | PermalinkExtraordinary events and timing isn’t it. Refugees and Muslims – and on each count self-shackled Howard can’t go the low blow (bit like pining at something delectable through the closed shop window). Sorry events, but the country feels the better for how each has been handled. Imagine the country finally free of this crap.
Tragically, had to watch Howard’s Press Club address in case it was his last. Howard’s supporters would probably get inspiration and perhaps hope from it. Classic, vintage, resolute performance. Watching it, however, I couldn’t help feeling his mind really is in a different place; a different Australia. Strangest of all was the sycophancy of the journalists present, accepting some of his statements with applause when they’ve been proven seriously questionable. I think this shows more the command he has, when he takes his time to do the sell; and for sure he’d be respected for his obvious resolve in that hour: perhaps they were really applauding that.
That sort of resolve, though, in the face of valid, lingering serious questions, while it makes you weirdly respect him for it at the time, leaves you later with a subtle nasty feeling. Not once would he go there, to address those questions.
Thank the bejeesus there’s an alternative.
Posted on 22-Nov-07 at 2:32 pm | PermalinkI got a similar feeling, Robert. It was weird how people were applauding him at times while he was making slippery statements, and booing journalists for asking questions about the leaflet issue despite it being big news.
His argument that we shouldn’t judge a woman by the actions of her husband were classic Howard. Forget that a candidate should have a fair idea of what her husband does in her political interests, or that the actions were approved by someone in the Liberal Party…
Howard’s always stood up for scrutiny, but I’ve never heard him give a straight answer. “I’ll stay as long as the Party wants me to… but I’ll decide when the Party no longer wants me”.
Posted on 22-Nov-07 at 3:48 pm | PermalinkA couple of near-end thoughts. If Kevin Rudd loses, I’m concerned that he might lose momentum in Opposition; that perhaps some of the dictatorial elements of his policy making might find recrimination within the party, as a style/personality issue, and his leadership placed under threat – for whom? More squabbles? Hand in hand with the wins he’ll make might be severe devastation at this type of loss. I’ve mentioned before that Howard could leverage the Costello issue through in-party process and hang around a heck of a lot longer; not saying this is all likely yet it’s on the cards and with an unstable morale with the ALP our dear country may have some way to go yet.
In the case of an ALP loss, two things come to mind at the mo. One is the ridiculous state of poll-driven morons politics has become. It’s a possibility that this election may prove that singular point: the polls are very different from the punters in the booth. The change, or correction, then, would not be about government, but about polls.
I think they’re less likely scenarios than a happy result, however.
On strategy, what concerns me is that Rudd may not have got the education thing right. Two areas here are of concern. Firstly, he may like the sound of ‘education revolution’ and it may sound good, but the punter may not see in it a revolution, and may even wonder what the fuss is all about.
Secondly, I don’t know that Rudd has developed enough the connection between education and economy. When he first came on the scene he made powerful points by tying education to the nation’s economic future in a way Howard had no counter. Back then it claimed the economic issue for the ALP, for a while, after which it moved through tasty but not fulsome bites such as petrol and grocery price pain. That tying of education to the country’s future economic prosperity died off a bit after that, as a focus.
That was a real strength he had begun; whether it’s solid enough now I’m not so sure. Without that core strength in this plank, he may get done in the marginal suburbs as the punter defaults to the known on the day.
I’m quietly confident nevertheless. Last time around, Howard had Latham (whom the punters wouldn’t have) and he built and maintained strongly constructed planks beneath his claim; and he had luck. This campaign has been a shocker of a shambles, with bad luck at every point of possible gain. The press are different, his ruses have found the mainstream light of day, and he’s going to go anyway. Through all of the voter inertia created by pork and marginal ploy, which would hold the pencil above the incumbent, I think enough of all of these changed things has permeated, to make the switch.
Posted on 22-Nov-07 at 8:17 pm | PermalinkRobert, Rudd is not going to win the election, Howard is going to lose it. While the average joe punter might like the ‘idea’ of an education revolution, its hardly an election winning policy.
Rudd is a better/safer bet than Latham. Three years hence, is that much more time to tire of Howard and his predictable, punitive, ways. Workchoices was the straw that broke the camel’s back for joe punter. It built upon Iraq, and immigration policies to turn most sane people off. Workchoices was Howard’s crowning glory achievement and its all going to come to nought.
I wonder how many Margo’s and Tim’s there are who helped get the lousy turd into office in the place, but who now wouldn’t vote for the mendacious little prick in a pink fit? I wonder.
Go Maxine. Not the kind of history, Howard was hoping on making. Heh.
(Everything crossed).
Posted on 22-Nov-07 at 10:18 pm | PermalinkAmazing editorial support for our man across the nation.
And we’re about to find out definitively if the Galaxy Poll is run by the Dodgy Bros out of the back of truck in the electorate of Lindsay.
Posted on 22-Nov-07 at 10:26 pm | Permalink