Campaign countdown: What the hell to do about Kevin?

Marg says:

07:41am | 05/08/10

Yes Will but he will only be the second worst if her highness makes it to the lodge. Honestly, the way theygo on about the years Howard was PM you would think he the devil incarnate. The Labour supporters all seeem to forget the great big black hole that piece of work Keating left for them to clean up AND the huge surplus the Labour party inherited.

Steve says:

07:48am | 05/08/10

The worst PM in history was Howard and he is campaigning for the Libs so is Nick Mitchen.

pisces says:

07:52am | 05/08/10

Cos it’s politics doh

Tom says:

08:01am | 05/08/10

Agree, although he had the Australian media conned for a long time.

Kevin clearly has pugnacious skills as sure as a taipan snake has venom. For Labor, the risky task is to stop him biting them.

dovif says:

08:46am | 05/08/10

Steve

Howard was never so incompetant, that his own party could not stand him within 2 years and kicked him out

Howard is our 2nd longest serving PM

The only PM more incompetant than Rudd would be Gillard, who was front and center on the Insulation and BER waste and the creater of the Citizen assembly

Macca says:

08:57am | 05/08/10

@Steve, actually, John Howard has been absent from the Liberal campaign. Worst PM in history? wow, still got scars from those 11 years do you? Howards long gone, time to move on.

@Will, Rudd took the ALP from political obscurity to thrashing Australia’s second longest serving PM at the 2007 election. For whatever reasons that may be (tired Government, Workchoices etc.), that was a magnificent result for the ALP. He is a proven skilled campaigner and if he wants what is best for his party he will need to swallow the anger and support his leader.

If he manages to do that he’s more Man than I’m currently giving him credit for

iansand says:

09:19am | 05/08/10

Billy McMahon was pretty ordinary.  And that Snedden bloke.

Hamish says:

09:25am | 05/08/10

Steve, that’s a ridiculous comment. The issue here for Labor is that if the public start feeling sorry for the Kruddster and now that he’s been dumped, he comes across as a nice kind of guy, it will make the cesspool of ALP internal politics seem even more brutal and undemocratic. Which would have to reflect very badly on Gillard.

Macca says:

10:06am | 05/08/10

@Steve, I think the only reason Harold Holt isn’t up there is due to that golden rule of never speaking ill of the dead. Vietnam and Reds under Beds and all that

Reg says:

10:14am | 05/08/10

Then tell us Hamish how John Howard managed to hold Costello from knifing HIM in the back.  No doubt black-mail is a mighty weapon and your John would have stooped to anything to preserve the spotlight for himself. Of COURSE you don’t like the democratic way things are done in the Labor Party because you cannot predict the outcome and Liberals absolute MUST have a predictable outcome. Blackmail and character assassination is the way of the Liberals eh Hamish.

Sam says:

10:27am | 05/08/10

dovif says:08:46am | 05/08/10
“Howard was never so incompetant, that his own party could not stand him within 2 years and kicked him out
Howard is our 2nd longest serving PM”

I have always believed that Howard must have had a ‘dirt file’ on each of his fellow cabinet members to maintain their ‘loyalty’. Late in 2007 most of them wanted JH to stand aside but none had the balls to make him.
Eventually that sycophant in fishnet stockings got desperate enough to ask him, because, lets be honest here, ALL parties are poll driven and they knew they were about to lose. The rest is history, JH refused, they lost.
Since then, poll results have driven them to oust (knife?) firstly Nielson and then Turnbull.
Now, stepping forward to June 2010, KR and Labor were under a sustained attack from the media, the overseas miners, abbott and his bunch of rogues, and an election loss looked likely. Challenging Kevin, (not knifing, he had the option of a party room vote) was preferable to surrending power to Abbott, who will destroy one of the most important pieces of infastructre Labor is building, the NBN. The NBN is not about downloading porn as the libs would have you believe, it is about assisting commerce medicine and education.

Peter says:

11:10am | 05/08/10

He might have been a bad PM, but he is the best and smartest asset Labour has (along with Penny Wong). Labour can’t afford to lose his talents and they know it. They have after all retained all his policies…

Adam DIver says:

11:50am | 05/08/10

I must e living in another dimension when peple are attacking our second-longest serving prime minister for internal politics. Does my memory play tricks on me?

Did not Labor just assasinate an elected prime minister within the first term? Did labor not sack because of incompetence whilst simultaneously promoting his success as PM.

I may be bias, but I still see reason, and know when a battle has been lost. Surely as individuals you have more respect for yourself, as to not try and compare howard situation to Rudd. Surely….?

Robert Smissen, rural SA, God's own country says:

11:54am | 05/08/10

4 way split, Whitlam Hawke, Rudd & Gillard

Hamish says:

12:56pm | 05/08/10

Reg, could you please explain how a sitting first-term PM being knifed in the back by a hack senator, a boy most likely and a Union king-pin who isn’t even in parliament is an example of democracy? If that’s the ALP’s take on democracy, no wonder they’re so out of touch.

Howard wasn’t knifed because the majority of the parliamentary party wanted him to stay leader and the Coalition don’t have shadowy snakemen in the background calling in favours, counting numbers and influencing the wishes of elected representatives.

Reg says:

03:52pm | 05/08/10

Oh Hamish Hamish, first you implore me to accept the situation as you put it, then you ask me to explain it. Sorry old thistle you know it wasn’t like that but you can’t help yourself, it’s the only way to satisfy your Liberal invective. You are not asking me to explain anything, you are trying to justify your deception and that could make me very angry.

Shane From Melbourne says:

08:15pm | 05/08/10

Actually, John Howard was the worst PM in history as he had the boom period of a decade to set up the infrastructure and reforms to take Australia into the 21st Century. He wasted it all on middle class welfare and pork barrelling.

farmer says:

11:56am | 11/08/10

@ all replies: PLEASE spell these names correctly! It only lessens the quality of your comments. It is the LABOR party; Nick MINCHEN; and watch Tony Burke sharpening his ice-pick, Wayne-ho only thinks he is next in line. By the time Tony Burke has finished, Kevin won’t be the only member in that club: Little Miss Fibber & Wayne-ho will be fully paid up members (for the rest of their sorry lives).

The Scarlet Pimpernel says:

08:30am | 05/08/10

Gough was everyones’ worst PM

Chaos says:

09:20am | 05/08/10

A large % of voters weren’t alive when Gough was in so in living memory, Rudd is the worst labour PM.

Fraser is the worst Liberal PM. Name a signifigant reform that he did in power when he had control of both houses?

Daryl says:

10:11am | 05/08/10

My Father is 70 and he’s seen a lot of governments in Australia. He always said that Whitlam was the worst PM and his government did more damage than any other in Australia’s history. But just last week he told me that in his opinion, this Labor government is far worse! Rudd was a true dismissal! He was removed at the hands of union stooges. At least Gough was soundly beaten during the election of Dec 1975. Yes, to all those people trying to re-write history, Gough’s Labor party was defeated in a democratic ELECTION!!! Lets hope the same happens to the undemocratically elected Gillard!

Reg says:

10:20am | 05/08/10

Gough was the Liberals worst enemy because he was audacious enough to pull the country out of the stagnation that Liberals have always loved. Everything was worth it just to have the dreary Liberals stir into life after 25 years of drifting.

MickyD says:

10:25am | 05/08/10

Rudd was the worst Australian PM ever, you have to really be in denial to not realise that fact!

MickyD says:

10:25am | 05/08/10

Rudd was the worst Australian PM ever, you have to really be in denial to not realise that fact!

Joyce says:

11:02am | 05/08/10

MickyD - sorry, but why do you think he was the ‘worst’?  A faulty insulation scheme?  Some overpriced school canteens?  Hmm.  What about the undeniable fact that our economy is out-performing the rest of the world?  That we are likely be back into budget surplus faster than pretty much any other western economy?  How about the fact that our unemployment rate is way below the world trend?  The list goes on.  I would have that these things would be more important to you than a bunch of pink bats and the price of school canteens. But, then, maybe you are not thinking about this rationally and simply hate the man because, well, you want to hate him.

Dash says:

11:21am | 05/08/10

Reg you are kidding right? Please revisit Rex Connor and the Khemlani affair (was that audacious or unconstitutional?). Also take a look at the hyperinflation and unemployment figures from the Whitlam era and re think your stagnation comment. Whilst you’re at it, you may like to also take a look at the election result from 1975 and then tell me how popular Whitlam was! You believe too much Labor bullsh!t.

Adam Diver says:

11:54am | 05/08/10

@ Joyce, you just fell for the most simple of traps. Rudd may not be the worse PM in history, (I haven’t been alive long enough to judge properly), but I am afraid you can not defend his record and particluary asdd statements such as “The list goes on” when referring to his achievements.

Why? Because simply it raises the question, why is he not leading the labor party to re-election? You can not have it both ways I am afraid.

Gregg says:

11:58am | 05/08/10

Joyce,
The reason why Australia has a half healthy economy is solely because of a heap of coal and iron ore that is being exported and that is nothing to do with Rudd other than he and Labor want to impose greater taxes on the one industry that has any chance of Australia keeping a healthy economy.
And that’s not just until 2013 but well beyond for decades.

Just like a lot of manufacturing industries disappear because of inability to compete with low overseas labour costs and the inability of Australians to accept that all we could do to compete would be to work smarter with greater flexibility [ yes, Work Choices ], the mining industry also has bottom line figures with which to compete internationally.
The cash flow that the mining industry provides was as much to do with staying out of recession as any mismanaged mickey mouse cash throwaway efforts by Rudd.

And Joyce, how often have you seen a Labor government overspend just to hand over government with a massive deficit, $96B for when Howard came in and they too just about all of 12 years to get it back into surplus, so only believe Labor promises if you’re foolish enough to do so.
Rudd was a hopeless bureaucrat in Queensland, went to hide in China for a bit and came back to a safe Queensland Labor seat and has personality disorders and so hardly a charmer on too many fronts at all.
Did you notice the dead pan image of his son behind him at his farewell speech - body language can say a lot!

Dash says:

12:30pm | 05/08/10

Joyce, are you saying that is all due to Rudd?? What state would we be in if the previous Labor government’s debt hadn’t been paid off? Where would we be if Rudd and Gillard didn’t have the surplus to splash about? Where would we be if China didn’t have the appetite for our natural resources? My economics degree would suggest that the current state of our economy has little if anything to do with three years of Rudd and a lot more to do with the financial services reforms of Hawke/Keating, the financial services legislation imposed by the Howard government and it’s rules controlled by APRA, the GST introduced by the Howard government, the revenue produced by China’s appetite driving the mining sector and the fact that the previous government paid off the nation’s debt rather than blow it out further on silly schemes. Rudd and Gillard delivered the school scheme rorts, the insulation fiasco, record levels of foreign debt, a $40.4billion dollar budget defecit, waste under the NBN, lies about grocery choice, lies about fuelwatch and lies about 200+ childcare facilities, one new tax on the sector driving our economy, the green loans fiasco, the lie about more affordable housing, the policy about East Timor which wasn’t a policy, the 2020 summit which delivered nothing, the ETS backflip, Peter Garrett, internet censorship, increased legal and illegal immigration, increased government consultancy costs, the lie about cheaper better childcare, factional brawling and an undemocratically elected leader.

Reg says:

01:01pm | 05/08/10

Dash, The audacity and yes,the DASH of the Whitlam era was too audacious for most Australians who’d been lulled into the pedantic expectations of the Liberals. It was riding on knife edge and the Liberals made the most of their special ability with character-assassination.  You are painting your own poo pictures Adam. Mr Rudd the then Prime Minister agree to a review and chose not to stand for the position. Flail and slash as you wish, you will finish with more that egg on your face Adam. To give you something solid to think about as you wash the crap from your eyebrows, the current debt is 5% of GDP which compares with 120% in 1945. If it were not negative we’d be sitting on a pot of gold letting infrastructure rust away. Remind you of anyone?

Reg says:

01:16pm | 05/08/10

I’m with you Joyce. Can it POSSIBLY be that small, or is it medium or BIG business, has been so dishonest as to cheat and deceive the consumer? Are they not after-all, noble LIBERAL supporters. Should the government have scorned private contractors and engaged and vetted its own building force rather than free it of direct ties to government as Liberals would have it? The outcome could not have been worse.  MORE REGULATION is what the Liberals are calling for. There is a single word that describes the Liberal fan-boyz, IRRATIONAL.

Dash says:

02:58pm | 05/08/10

Oh and Reg, good try on the school schemes but it was actually Labor backed builders with their noses in the taxpayer trough. State school headmasters were not allowed to elect construction companies, they had to accept “approved” ones from the government. DODGY RORTS! And we also had a situation in NSW where the Labor government paid a bribe to a school to keep it out of the news! This was a disgraceful waste of taxpayers money. Man you need to get out more! No need to let the truth get in the way of a good story eh Reg!

Pip says:

04:47pm | 05/08/10

Imagine what life would be like without Medicare or a chance for any and everyone to got to University.

Reg says:

07:09pm | 05/08/10

But of course it WOULD be “Labor backed builders” Dash, from your point of view all the baddies are Labor backed, let’s not mention the big business collapses that are an embarrassment to the Liberals only because they get exposure.  Next you’ll be trying to convince me that all the insulation installers were also Labor backed baddies. If you want small, medium and big business without regulation Dash, let them wear their failures and don’t try and shit-shove like a school child. How very prophetic that you should participate in the blame game given the Liberal bent for character assassination.

TrueOz says:

11:21pm | 05/08/10

Whitlam had many faults and the long term consequences of his many ill-considered actions are felt in Australia to this day. At least he had the courage of his convictions, was a very genuine reformer, and for better or worse reshaped Australia.

Rudd was a spineless and unimaginative Prime Minister. The manner in which his government wasted public monies is inexcusable. If he was a director of a public company he (and all of his fellow air thieves) would be in prison - where they rightly belong.

Frankly, it’s an insult to even mention that imbecile (Rudd) in the same breath as Whitlam.

Dash says:

11:39am | 06/08/10

Reg please re read my post explaining the selection criteria for builders under the scheme. Not my point of view just the facts. Go and ask any headmaster if they were allowed to use a builder of their choice or the one with the best price/value for money. Maybe read the parliamentary inquiry results too. Not character assassination just truth! Why not admit to the fact that this was a disgraceful rort of taxpayers money.

dwgw says:

09:35pm | 06/08/10

Actually Gough just proves that the current mob dont know what they are doing. One of his defining policies was to give a library to every school in Australia. Here’s this mob doing the same job again.

dwgw says:

09:47pm | 06/08/10

@Reg. Dont you think the 120% debt to GDP in 1945 might have had something to do with a world war and not a sign of a bad Govenment. I lived in Wollongong during the Rex Connor fiasco and the Witlam Government. Yes I thought he was a breath of fresh air, but it only took me one election to wise up that the Labor party gets drunk on power and money, and luckily so did the rest of the country in 1975. Lets hope they do it again this time. After all a debt is a debt is a debt. The coalition spent ten of their 12 years paying off the last ALP debt. How long will it take this time?

BobM says:

09:05am | 05/08/10

Simple - they hate each other.  Everyone in the Labor party hates everyone else - that’s why they are in such a mess and why Australia can’t afford another three years of the back-biting and bitching that is the ‘signature dish’ of the Labor party.

phil says:

09:23am | 05/08/10

VOTE 1 The Greens

This is a joke right. Regardless of whether you beleive in god, many progressive churches provide neccessary community support. Yes some religions do acquire massive property portfolios, but they also put back into the community, whether by counselling for those in need, food hampers, helping out. Think the Salvos, Anglicare to name but a few. A good percentage of nursing homes are run by organisations such as the ones you bag. Many are far from perfect, but the added cost if they simply closed their doors and sold up the property to the community would be unfathomable.

FredLime says:

09:49am | 05/08/10

Phil, and everything you list is very profitable for them. The only difference is they don’t pay tax.

Reg says:

10:35am | 05/08/10

Phil it is absolutely essential for church groups to engage in the activities you list, merely to give a thoroughly ineffectual creed some degree of substantiation. Worry not, they charge like scrub bulls for it.  It’s a profit making business to prop up their particular creed and they should make their contribution to consolidated revenue. Have you seen the prices charged at the San?  And one nurse didn’t wash his hands all morning. 

SCG says:

05:19pm | 05/08/10

The simple rebuttal to your comment is that you’ve got nothing to give if you are poor yourself. Dragging everyone else down to your level is easy; rising above your circumstance is hard. The truth is that being poor is a circumstance but poverty on the other hand is a mindset.

Marg says:

10:28am | 05/08/10

Good to see you back on the air Nicole, we’ve missed you xxx

Dave says:

11:03am | 05/08/10

Dont count on it. There’s a lot of support for Rudd in QLD. Labour in NSW still has some support, and in Vic and SA the support is strong too.

This campaign is far from over. If Rudd manages to channel peoples thoughts and energies in the right direction, the Libs may start to struggle themselves.

Gregg says:

12:21pm | 05/08/10

Joolya has certainly lost that glossy happy go lucky look of the WW and will probably go the same way as the other WW one time Labor/Dems turncoat Cheryl.
Dave, don’t be fooled into that Queensland Labor support belief.
There may have been many who would have voted Labor even with Kevolemon but even many would be Laborites are saying stuff’em , we showed those NSW blokes up in the State of Origin and now it’s time for the puppet masters.
Vic and SA are always a bit slow in showing their hand and as much as there would have been some good support because of Gillard [ really a SA girl ] and Tanner, most Vics are astute enough to see what’s going on.
This has got the makings of the greatest thrashing Labor has ever been dealt and you’ve only got greedy faceless men who can take the credit for it.

Joe Blow says:

05:56pm | 05/08/10

I think that Rudd is implying that Abbott going against a RUDDerless Labor would be akin to a forfeit.  But now he’s back .....it’ll be game on good to see teh Rudd ego remains intact after the op.

The Scarlet Pimpernel says:

10:14am | 05/08/10

Interesting aside from Joolya about Krudd’s interest in Indigenous affairs. Don’t be too surprised to see him banished to the back of Bourke as Minister for Aboriginal Stuff if (God help us) Joolya manages to win this election.

MarK says:

10:34am | 05/08/10

I wonder what Kevvie would think about that. A bit below his station I would assume. Too Australia based. Hard to strut your stuff in the territory.

Reg says:

10:43am | 05/08/10

I think you need to read more closely MarK. Your rantings have very little to do with what was written there but it must come as a shock for you to hear that Kevin Rudd still puts the greater good ahead of personal issues. That would NEVER happen in the Liberal Party.

MarK says:

01:02pm | 05/08/10

Oh dear Reg.

It warms the cockles of my heart to hear my little posts called “rants”. That suggests I have struck a nerve. The other give away is when the author of the “rant” accusations then just tries to belittle me in some way. Good old ad homien attacks I love them.

SO Reg Leo was wondering what to do about Kevvie from a Labor perspective and I responded with a little news piece showing the disconnect between Kevvie and Julia being so deep that they communicate through the media. One says something and the other confirms or denies. Real unity there.

Does that clear it up? Too subtle still? Hmmm…let me see.

There are these 2 people and they don’t talk to each other. They use the media as a third party to relay messages. This tends to suggest they are not on the same page socially, metaphysically, politically or generally. They do not have a normal relationship but one of hate and loathing.

A perfect example of the same thing can be seen between Hawke and Keating. They write books disparaging the other and then write personal letters they give to the media to print that retorts in a, well lets say just say it, less than cordial manner. It is no secret Keating will not go to Labor’s launch because Hawke is there.

See the similarities? Two pwoplw won’t talk because they dislike each other and use the media as their proxy.

Reg,,,you with me mate?

Oh ask Steven Smith if Kevvie has put aside his personal issue of being foreign minister. Please.

Nice try mate but really in the “hate” game the Libs are ametuers compared to Labor.

PS - Tors wrote a whole piece about this very issue. Smart woman that recognising the same dysfunction in Gillard/Rudd/Labor interaction as I do.

If they cannot talk during an election campaign Reg what the hell would they do after.

The thought if the blood on the floor is making me salivate actually. Wanting to buy tickets to that show for sure.

PPS Oh yeh…that whole Liberal party is worse than Labor unity thingy you mention…..Lindsay Tanner says HAI!!

lol

Gregg says:

02:06pm | 05/08/10

You’re on the money Amy with
” Or does it mean Rudd thinks Abbott is going to win, not because he’s a better candidate but because Julia is a bad choice?  “
and not so much that his thought is correct for there is no doubt that Tony is a better candidate in many respects.

Kevin may sound like a different person, more real some may say but then is his realness just another side to KMR.
I personally would see him as very measured and calculating with his choice of words very deliberate and not seen as bad by him for he is a very embittered person whose esteem has no doubt taken a battering.

As much as he may say it’s all hunky dory and I’m campaigning for Labor, he’ll have his own agenda and those words just send a message of I’m a gunning for yer girl.

The Campaign Launch could even be worth attending.

BobM says:

04:05pm | 05/08/10

Don’t forget Kevin told the miners that he had a long memory - and this was when he was stabbing them in the back and not the other way around.  Julia may come to regret having him ‘helping’ her in her campaign.

The Scarlet Pimpernel says:

10:44am | 05/08/10

It could be anyone who was part of Krudd’s inner circle. I would be looking at the young hotshots who were catapulted into glory at massive salaries and are now wandering the streets, curriculum vitae in hand and a chip on each shoulder. Perhaps have a yarn with Krudd’s former chief press officer.

Gregg says:

02:41pm | 05/08/10

It doesn’t take to much figuring out who the leakers would be.
They’re probably in competition with one another!
Who’s the quietest one in the camp at the moment, one laying low for a bit and who’ll have something to gain with Gillard pronounced a Dillard!
The faceless men will not lose further face by inviting Kev back.
Lindsay’s retiring
Yep Deputy Duck time!
If it quacks like a duck it could be a goose, a Swan or du Swoose

dwgw says:

09:57pm | 06/08/10

I think the leak was Swan. He’s got the most to gain. If Joolia fails and Krudds on the nose as well, he’s next in line. And very ambitious as well.

iansand says:

11:22am | 05/08/10

You have to understand that, for most of the people here, anything the ALP does is bad for the country.  It is not a place where you will get rational analysis.

The sustained nuttiness the Liberal fanfolk here display is a good reason not to vote Liberal.  If these are the articulate ones, what do the ones locked up in the shed at the bottom of the garden think?

AdamC says:

12:00pm | 05/08/10

Gruen, I think the issue is that nobody believes Kruddy and Dillard are being renotely sincere in their professed admiration for each other.

Ian Sand, shouldn’t you be under your bridge demanding payment from passing travellers? Indeed, surely, it is only under a bridge that even a rusted-on ALP supporter could continue to argue that this diabolically awful administration has done anything good for the country?

Gruen says:

12:20pm | 05/08/10

Iansand, I agree.  Unfortunately blind, nutty support for a political party is not merely the domain of the Liberals.  Look at the Greens, for example, who still today with a straight face believe that their failure to support the ETS was somehow good for the environment.  Or look at the Labor supporters who continue to bang on about Workchoices even though it is clearly dead and buried.  Or anyone who can’t get it through their thick skulls that we are an incredibly lucky, prosperous country with a 5-star quality of life and we should stop being such tight-arses that we can’t let in a few thousand boat people now and again.

MarK says:

01:16pm | 05/08/10

”  The sustained nuttiness the Liberal fanfolk here display is a good reason not to vote Liberal.  If these are the articulate ones, what do the ones locked up in the shed at the bottom of the garden think?”

Nothing like a personal opinion and vague generalisation to support your point. Hooray for intelligent discussion.

Just remember kids if you don’t agree with something “thay” who support are loonies ......or worse.

Jezza says:

04:51pm | 05/08/10

Gruen, if the ETS ever gets passed what will the Greens Party be needed for?? Nothing! They become obsolete. And we all know that pollies are in it for the power & the photo ops!

iansand says:

05:32pm | 05/08/10

Which is what we were trying to prove.

T.Chong says:

12:48pm | 05/08/10

“a sooky la la “glad yur posting Bobby, hard hitting intelligent comments like that can only rise the overall standard of pro LNP comments posted here.

Robert S McCormick says:

03:20pm | 05/08/10

Who would have thought the Home State for most of Australia’s political Rednecks ( remember Joh & his reactionary, ultra-right govt?) could produce the likes of Kevvy?
So he’s had an operation. We wish him a quick recovery. But so have 10s of 1000s of other people had them. many farmers simply don’t get the chance to fully recover do they? We don’t hear them whingeing.
If Kevvy is not well enough to be out & about just yet then he should bloody well stay at home until he is. It is not as if he is in danger of losing his seat is it? His supporters will understand & vote for him whether he’s on the hustings over the next two weeks or not.
Talking of losing seats, wouldn’t it be a lark if Kevvy got returned with an increased majority & St Jooolya of the ALP lost hers! Now that would be poetic justice!
If the ALP do win what would they do then? Put Kevvy back in as PM?
I love politics & particularly at election times because they all fall over themselves making mistakes, lying, cheating, dragging up events, words which took place years ago & which are totally irrelevant today. A bit like our politicians really.

Reg says:

09:03pm | 05/08/10

Robert I must correct you. Queensland is traditionally a Labor state from ages before Joh gained his popularity by opening the pubs on Sunday.  Farmers whinging????   No…never. By the way Kev is a Brisbane lad, and Queenslanders come from anywhere else except Brisbane. But the real zinger would be if Tony lost his seat.

Reg says:

05:19pm | 05/08/10

Don’t let stupidity get in the way of your comments Amber. Can’t you read either?

Robert S mcCormick says:

11:57am | 06/08/10

Yes, Reg that would be a real zinger but it would be even a bigger one if Jooolya, Kevvy, Winy, Tony & his side-kick Julie all lost their seats!
If politics are chaotic now just think what that would do to them!

Reg says:

01:31pm | 05/08/10

So in amongst all that I see a “we’ll” bash them, which I guess means you’re from NSW and given to easy violence Gregg . So tells us about this liking for the torrid phrase again, just sit quietly for a few minutes before you begin.

Greg says:

01:42pm | 05/08/10

Holly, we have all seen your posts on this site. There is no way you are a swinging voter! And as for trying to link a comment highlighting the fake Gillard saying one thing and meaning another, to rape…. that’s sounding like desperation! If Abbott had brought up the other woman in Craig Emerson’s marriage, perhaps that would have been crossing the line? But if this is the most you can come up with, you’re scrapping the bottom of the barrel.

Nigel Catchlove says:

01:43pm | 05/08/10

Holly, you’ve never been ‘prepared to give Tony Abbott the benefit of the doubt’.  I realise that you ALP supporters have the memories of a goldfish, come to think of it they are always moving forward - but don’t pretend to give serious thought to the issues and to Ton’s comments.  Regular readers here know different.

Joe Blow says:

05:59pm | 05/08/10

When Holly says swinging voter she means she has swung between Hawke, Keating, Latham, Rudd and now Gillard ....

Wombat says:

05:40pm | 05/08/10

But they didn’t look like Oz citizens. They looked like those foreigners.

Kevin Andrews promised to provide the Australian public with proof that Dr Haneef was a terrorist. I for one believed him. I expect to see the proof any day now.

The only reason those queue-jumping foreigners didn’t throw their kids overboard was that they were planning to sell them when they arrived in Australia.

AWB was just showing fantastic entrepreneurial skills.

2 stupid, endless, unwinnable wars that caused the radicalisation of tens of thousands of Muslims around the world… give me a minute. I’m sure I’ll come up with something.

Joe Blow says:

06:03pm | 05/08/10

You heard wrong.

Wombat says:

06:28pm | 05/08/10

Oil. Still working on the other one.

Tony of Poorakistan says:

02:51pm | 05/08/10

Actually Paul - I half agree. Their failures have outweighed their modest successes by an order of magnitude. Gough, for example, made education free and I agree that all citizens should get free education. However, at the same time, he both opened the immigration gates and made health free without giving any consideration to the idea that not all people are honest and some will rob the Australian taxpayer without a second thought.

Hawke and Keating deregulated the banks, but refused a license to the one company that could have taken on the Big Four Banking Cartel, because the CEO was too closely aligned to the Liberals. They were also happy to let people lose their homes as mortgage interest rates hit 18.5%. 

Krudd, bless his self-absorbed soul, said sorry to the indigenous folk, following which he blew billions and billions of dollars on ill-conceived stimulus plans, including sending MY tax dollars overseas to a bunch of foreign residents.

Those are the things for which history will remember them.

Reg says:

04:14pm | 05/08/10

Yep I heard it first hand and it certainly gave Leo an easy night. All he had to do was cut out the soft bits. While we’re in the mood for giving Leo a promotion for speaking the edited truth, let’s give a raspberry to all those contributors here who wile away their work hours instead of earning their pay. Most Liberals too it seems. Not me, I’m retired and old, so Liberals make good target practice.

Wombat says:

06:24pm | 05/08/10

Reg

Yeah, they entertain me too. I especially like the ones who spend half the day on here crapping on about how the Liberal Party represents hard-working heroes like themselves. And there’s a couple of regulars here who constantly slag off welfare bludgers, despite having admitted to being long term welfare recipients themselves.

Leo deserves his promotion. We can only judge his work against the alternatives that are available. By that measure Leo is doing pretty well. I disagreed with most of the conclusions that he has drawn in this article, but it was reasonably well-written, mildly amusing and devoid of factual errors. Leo has written a number of articles of similar quality recently (another one just popped up on the immigration debate). With the possible exception of Penbo, Leo has been consistently outperforming those above him on the totem pole.