Fiscal impediment may mask a beautiful mind

Steve says:

04:49pm | 08/09/09

Fielding is a welcome addition to the parliament, he conducts himself well and provides a reasonable alternative voice in the two party system. As with the Greens on the left, the Federal parliament would be a lesser institution without him (and Xenophon).

Dave says:

04:59pm | 08/09/09

I reckon Steve rocks.  Furthermore I reckon he’ll get himself a second term if he wants it.  Anyone who thinks he doesn’t deserve to be there because he didn’t get enough of a primary vote doesn’t understand how the senate works.  Besides which the senate would be a better place with more Steve Fieldings, Nick Xenephons and Barnaby Joyces.  I know the ALP would rather have more factional hacks and powerbrokers like Mark Arbib but looking at how well thats worked in NSW is that really what we want for the nation?  As for Steve not being the brightest spark, let those who look at Wayne Swan and genuinely see a genious cast the first stone.

glengyron says:

05:01pm | 08/09/09

Ironic ?

>Christian Senator Stephen Fiedling

Mr Pastry says:

05:04pm | 08/09/09

Rule 27 for politicians is do not spell words in public - remember the USA politician trying to spell potato in a class full of kids and cameras?  They are human and as stupid as the rest of us - it is only they that think themselves superior.

Margaret Gray says:

05:05pm | 08/09/09

Nice to see the very real learning disorder problem of dyslexia has become a lightening rod for elitist ridicule.

Particularly one that afflicts between 5-15% of the population.

Slow news day in Canberra?

Darren says:

05:10pm | 08/09/09

Steve Fielding is the Dan Quayle of Australian politics

Tim says:

05:14pm | 08/09/09

His completion of an engineering degree and MBA shows that he has obvious intelligence.
However being an engineer myself, i have known quite a lot of professionals, who while technically brilliant in their own narrow fields, struggle to understand some simple real world problems or research that is out of their experience.
This slipup and the explanation reveals a lot about Steve Fielding and some of his views.

Fred says:

05:20pm | 08/09/09

Haha Margaret,
Lightening rod? Pure Gold.

John says:

05:21pm | 08/09/09

This is not meant to be a crack at Senator Fielding, but how the heck did he get through an MBA without being able to spell?

RT says:

05:27pm | 08/09/09

‘Elitist ridicule’, Margaret? By mentioning elitism, are you reading from the rightard handbook for the culture wars by any chance? As in elitists=leftist intellectuals=people we don’t like.

dlewis89 says:

05:31pm | 08/09/09

I agree, the politicians with conviction are the most interesting and admirable. Without the likes of Fielding, Joyce, Abbott, Xenophon and the Greens, Australian politics would be as boring as a Kevin Rudd soundbite.

RD says:

05:34pm | 08/09/09

Oh damn elitists! Making fun of us humble conservatives. They are out of touch with good Christian folk like Fielding and Bush. Maybe they should stop reading dictionaries and get a job! DEBT PEOPLE!

Sam Chowder says:

05:38pm | 08/09/09

@john 4:21 are you really surprised you can get an MBA without spelling - but @margeret gray 04:05 reckons he has dyslexia, so he may not have an MBA but a BAM (easy off that is)

Jason Whittaker says:

05:45pm | 08/09/09

He may be no dummy, but don’t turn this into another anti-elitist rant from the ‘Average Joes’.

Fielding has proven time and time again that he simply does not have the head for policy that we should all demand of our representatives. That he took his place in parliament in such an unrepresentative way only adds to the legitimacy of the criticism.

People like David Penberthy like to convince themselves of their everyman-ness by dismissing criticism of the Steve Fieldings and Sarah Palins and George Bushes as ‘elitist’. It’s nonsense. These people are simply not up to the rigors of public debate. It is a question not of intelligence or religion or mandate, but of qualification. Steve Fielding is not qualified to sit in the Australian Senate.

Shelley says:

05:57pm | 08/09/09

I’ve always had a lot of time for Fielding. The little guy that stands firm in their beliefs in the face of opposition and ridicule, no matter if you agree with them or not,  earns respect.
It shows how shallow those that would ridicule such a person are, and leaves me questioning their intelligence and character.

Peter says:

06:07pm | 08/09/09

Whether he can spell or not, Steve Fielding is an idiot. He has constantly made a fool of himself in the Senate. Let’s hope we have a double dissolution of Parliament to get rid of the dope.

Kris says:

06:13pm | 08/09/09

@Jason Whittaker
Why exactly is Steve Fielding not qualified? Is there some secret School for Senators he has failed to attend?

A spelling error, amusing as it may be, does not undermine the substance of his message. Giggle all you want at the mistake, but at the end of the day, the debate should centre on substantive policy. To say that Fielding is not qualified to sit in the Senate because of a minor public gaffe such as this is obscene.

delperro says:

06:12pm | 08/09/09

I’m with you there Penbo. I think though if it was someone else, using a similar excuse, you’d smash them, and we’d be glad you did.

I think Fielding deserves to be pilloried. He deserves it.

I just don’t think he’s cut out for politics. He didn’t get the votes, he is unable to make sensible, strategic decisions in his own interest - like say Xenaphon, and this spelling error is only so hot on the twitters as it confirms what people already think - that he’s a bit of a twit who is not cut out for politics.

Probably a good bloke, probably great at maths and terrible at english. However he’s standing as one man with less than 2% of the vote, holding the balance of power.

Whats more, when people attack him, it messes with his head, which makes him do more stoooopidies, and provide more entertainment.

Vicki PS says:

06:15pm | 08/09/09

Quote:
“But he is not a stupid person, no-one who studied two of the toughest degrees at university could be”.
Really?  I know some astoundingly thick engineers, and the MBA holders I’ve met were not demonstrably more intelligent than any less educated hype types.
I wouldn’t know about Fielding, but 2 degrees won’t necessarily make you smart in ways that count.

Amber Dekstris says:

06:30pm | 08/09/09

Shelley, one doesn’t earn respect by standing firm in the face of opposition and ridicule when one is wrong, that only happens when one has a valid point.

Alan says:

06:44pm | 08/09/09

There are so many reasons to criticise Steve Fielding that laughing at this spelling skills, especially if they do actually stem from a learning disability, seems unnecessarily cruel and mean-spirited.

melina says:

07:10pm | 08/09/09

Your comment:
I saw Mr Fielding at a Delta Goodrem concert together with his wife only..

Need i say more..?

Vaughan says:

07:19pm | 08/09/09

Toughest degrees hahahahahahaah you are quite the jester!  Personally I’d consider being part of the Family First party the toughest gig in politics.  No respect, no policies, no idea.  He is such a raskal though.

Vaughan says:

07:24pm | 08/09/09

But seriously, learning disabilities are tough and it is a credit to Senator Fielding that he has done so well.  Unless he has made up the whole thing to deflect the glaring fact his problem is - not having a god damn clue what he is doing.  Hmmm, politics.

jed says:

07:38pm | 08/09/09

Fielding is an enemy of freedom. What we see from this bloke is demands for further government interference in people’s lives.  It’s a complete fallacy he’s in the senate doing any good, just like it’s a complete fallacy the liberals are for small government. For the sake of common sense I hope the LDP snags a seat in the Senate in the next election.

Patrick says:

08:01pm | 08/09/09

The question is, why do we care whether or not Steve Fielding can spell “fiscal” rather than whether or not this man who does not seem to be able to grasp the basics of economics and science (yet will adhere to a 6000 year old fairytale about a bearded man in the sky creating the planet in the space of 7 days based on nothing but his faith), and who hold his seat with less than 2% of the vote for that seat, should have such an influential impact on what legislation the democratically elected government of the day is able to pass.

If there was ever a reason that our electoral system needed some tweaking and reform, it would be evidenced by the fact that Steve Fielding sits in the senate at all.

Dylan says:

08:19pm | 08/09/09

Qualifications aside, I’d love to know how any political party (one man in this case) whose policies gets 2% of the population’s vote can hold the amount of power where he can stop any other party’s legislation going through.

Shouldn’t there be some checks and balances here? Surely one man can’t be allowed to have the ultimate decision regarding Australian law!

And if the man happens to have a ‘learning disorder’, how is he meant to understand the crux of the nation’s issues? Surely the country has gone mad..

stace says:

08:37pm | 08/09/09

I await his forthcoming book: The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Dyslexia.

Mr Fiskal says:

08:38pm | 08/09/09

I have no problems with people who can’t spell being in the senate.  Having a degree is not gurantee of intelligence no matter what the degree.  Some of the biggest idiots I’ve ever met have had degrees, some haven’t.  The people I object to having in the Senate are the dopes who are too nutty to understand that the crushing weight of science says that climate change is real and the most serious challenge in political history, then set about blocking any real action on this.  Fielding is one of these but he’s not on his Pat Malone there.  He’s got nearly all of the libs and a fair few of the labor party on his side.  Also remember the dopes in the labor party who set up prferences to stop a Green getting in an shoehorned Fielding into that spot.  Not knowing how to spell doesn’t say that much about your fitness for the senate.  Either thinking or pretending the vast body of modern science is some left wing plot-now those nutjobs shouldn’t be let anywhere near politics.

Joe says:

08:46pm | 08/09/09

It must be so much harder for Steve Fielding in parliament. He doesn’t have a huge party behind him, no party line handed to him each day to spin no other members with him in parliament. Think alternatively of the Labor member who has been on the alp/union gravy train for years working for a member/union then gets a plum seat and then is told to shut up an parrot the daily spin line emailed to them when they wake up. Fielding has to work things out for himself and I respect and value his independent input into parliament. We need more such independence and thinking in politics.

Arthur Potter says:

08:46pm | 08/09/09

That explains his inabillity to spell. But what explains his obvious idiocy?

Gibbot says:

08:50pm | 08/09/09

@Kris - I was with you up until this:

To say that Fielding is not qualified to sit in the Senate because of a minor public gaffe such as this is obscene.

Fielding is not fit to sit in the senate because he represents, as Penbo pointed out, less than 2% of his electorate. His religious views as reported by Possum @ Crikey are in line with roughly 3% of the population. He is an evangelical bible literalist who holds a very real share of the balance of power in the Senate. If he is true to his faith he believes the world to be roughly 5000 years old, yet his opinion on climate change is insanely responsible for blocking an elected government’s legislative mandate.

Yes, I had a good laugh at Steve’s gaffes today, but they’re not why he’s unfit for the job.

woody says:

09:25pm | 08/09/09

An intelligent creationist! Yeah right.

BB says:

09:57pm | 08/09/09

Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, Michael Faraday, Leonardo Da Vinci, Alexander Graham Bell all had reading difficulties.

Many of the greatest scientists in history including Michael Faraday and Isaac Newton were deeply religious. Charles Darwin, Joseph Priestley and Gregor Mendel were all ordained clergymen. Newton and Priestley would have both unequivocally believed the earth was only 6000 years old despite both being amongst the top dozen intellects in history.

A belief in a creator (not necessarily a god)  is very common amongst engineers who tend to see the world as being designed rather than just a culmination of random events.

G says:

11:43pm | 08/09/09

So what…!

Fielding has a learning disorder (or does he?) and now deserves sympathy…?

If he is not capable of doing the job properly then he should not be doing it.

I do however praise him on him seizing the opportunity to instantly refer to a learning difficulty in response to his very stupid mistake, a very cunning political operative indeed.

Pugilist says:

12:09am | 09/09/09

Some of the comments hear, sorry here, contain spelling mistakes (genious?!), however Fielding uttered his fateful word as ‘physical’ ... So he can’t speak or spell. Wayne Swan the other night on Lateline used the word ‘gambit’ instead of ‘gamut’. People aren’t perfect, but these elected officials like to give the impression they are always on the ball when clearly they aren’t.

Mike says:

12:12am | 09/09/09

@RT 4:27pm:
“‘Elitist ridicule’, Margaret? By mentioning elitism, are you reading from the rightard handbook for the culture wars by any chance?”

Did you ever stop to consider that making up childish insults like “rightard” would actually strengthen Margaret’s argument about elitism in people such as yourself?

John B says:

12:15am | 09/09/09

> But he is not a stupid person, no-one who studied two of
> the toughest degrees at university could be…

Are you kidding me?! Some of the dumbest people I know have a Masters. This guy proved what a moron he is today, so stop defending him. He’s the closest thing we’ve got to “Dubya”!

Mike says:

12:16am | 09/09/09

Look at all the AGW preachers here and on news.com.au flaunting the word “science” as if they know what it actually is. The real science as well as history points to climate change being a natural occurrence since the beginning of the Earth.

Kris says:

12:18am | 09/09/09

@Gibbot
That’s fine. That’s actually what I wanted to hear. I agree with that point. What I don’t agree with is the people who, in the course of discussing his misspelling, have said simply that he is not qualified to sit in the Senate.

I struggle with the idea that the Senate truly represents proportionality in the electorate when you see Family First, Greens and Independent Senators who, for the most part are elected solely on single issues, have the “balance of power” in the Senate.

I don’t agree with the vast majority of Steve Fielding’s policies and I don’t like the fact that someone with such a small percentage of the votes has so much apparent power. I don’t want the entire discussion about him to be centred on a misspelling though, as seemed to be happening.

Ben says:

01:31am | 09/09/09

Anyone who saw the network 10 will see how well it came off for Fielding at the end of today’s news cycle. If you have to cop a day of ridicule getting the last word via the late news bulletins.
Fielding is a political neophyte which greatly undermines his efforts to effect outcomes in the Senate, but he is far from the least admirable of politicians and someone who has clearly overcome obstacles that most of us are lucky enough not to experience.

Lord Boofhead says:

05:07am | 09/09/09

So Feilding has a learning Dificulty, Big deal!
Does that Make him incapable to do his job?
No.
Does it make him Stupid?
No.
You can say the same a bout a Belief in God.
or even being a morron.

Its what sucks about Democracy, any idiot is as fit as anyone else to represent the idiots out there.

And yes having a degree doesn’t make you smart I also know a shit load of morrons with degrees.

@ Jed:  the LDP are worse than Fundies First. They have shed all their old Labor policies and are now a bunch of Abortion obsessed loons.

Don Clark says:

09:06am | 09/09/09

It matters little whether Senator Fielding can spell or not.  But as for having “to work things out for himself” well, hardly. 

He has paid staff to assist him, at least a Chief of Staff and apparently a Media Adviser and presumably an Electorate Office assistant, at least. On top of that, the very considerable resources of the Parliamentary Library and its Research Branch staff are available to assist him whenever he requires.

As for the standard of his degrees, Engineering may be an intricate and honourable calling. But the “toughest qualification”?  Not a credible claim.

On his climate change piece, certainly the Senator was roundly criticised. And rightly so, for the poor standard of his argument and the apparent misrepresentation of a chart which he plainly did not understand.

The chart actually showed consistent if bouncy positive temperature variations *above* the long term trend. Although the rate of increase *may* have been slowing slightly - difficult to tell in a naturally “noisy” signal - that chart actually showed temperature *rising*.

But then, I’m no climatologist, just an interested observer who’s seen the odd graph or two. However, there is an impeccable source on climate data, which those interested can read and decide for themselves. The Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change, established by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), is the leading international body working in climate change.  Their latest, 2007, report is very careful to explain all its terms, arguments, and the degree of likelihood of its conclusions.

It makes for a sobering read, concluding that evidence of climate warming is *unequivocal* (page 5), that most of the increase since the mid-20th century is *more than 90% likely* due to man-made greenhouse gases (page 10); and projecting that warming of about 0.2°C per decade would occur over the next 20 years (page 12). The “best estimates” of temperature change by 2090-2099 lie between 1.8 C and 4.0 C across a range of methods (page 13). The temperature charts of page 6 give graphic support.

The Executive Summary in full:
http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar4/wg1/ar4-wg1-spm.pdf
The entire report:
http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/publications_ipcc_fourth_assessment_report_wg1_report_the_physical_science_basis.htm
Other IPCC reports:
http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/publications_and_data_reports.htm

Senator Fielding is mistaken in his grasp of global warming. Given his position and the importance of climate change for the future, we have every right to expect him to work very much harder indeed to understand the data and what to do about it. Indeed,  it is his duty, whether he can spell or not.

James says:

10:00am | 09/09/09

Didn’t need a spelling mistake to prove he’s an idiot…

He actually believes Australians in 2009 should live by exactly the same laws that some bronze-aged tribesmen invented 2000 years ago.

Way to be kurrent… (or it is currant? or current?  Oh, apparently reality matter any more, as long as you believe in God.)

Fundies First!

Ben says:

10:35am | 09/09/09

Our ancestors in the Bronze Age had it all over you James. Paradoxically, we should all be grateful that you are among us now, it is seriously doubtful humanity would have progressed further had you been around between 3300-1200 BC.
Your comment is both callow and shallow!

legalchemist says:

11:29am | 09/09/09

I know lots of stupid engineers and stupid people with MBAs… GFC anyone?????

James says:

01:02pm | 09/09/09

@Ben 9/9…  What the?

Callow? Not me, mate, but thanks for the compliment

Shallow? Sure, but what I said is absolutely true…. can you please point out any faktual innakuracy in what I wrote?  When your entire life is based on one ancient book only, I’m afraid you’re prone to shallow kriticisms.

Jason Whittaker says:

02:46pm | 09/09/09

“Steve Fielding is an incompetent legislator, blinded by personal prejudice and laughably ignorant of some of the very weighty issues he must sit in judgement of. ut of course, criticism of the man who puts Family First is never taken as read…”

Read more: http://importanceofideas.com/2009/09/09/fielding-hopeless-no-matter-the-spelling/

family first says:

06:15pm | 09/09/09

it’s as though he is caught between two places and a hard rock. No, wait, two hard places and a rock… two rocks…. hard rocks and a place? ... two places…hard rock places and .... two…. caught… rocks?

Paul says:

07:34pm | 09/09/09

Why, if you had a learning disability that causes you to spell words incorrectly, and on ocassion use the wrong word, would you in a smart arse gesture (to an annoying reorter, sure) attempt to spell the word that you previously stuffed up.

Idiocy is a leaning disability.

Peter Carnovale says:

08:34pm | 10/09/09

Migrants are required to pass an English test in order to obtain their citizenship, shouldn’t Senator Steve Fielding have the appropriate qualifications to enter parliament and reason in English, how does he arrive at most of his decisions?