Stephen Fielding
Type the words “Steve Fielding” and “idiot” into Google and you get 14,300 hits. Many of these entries came in the past few days, most of them on blog sites, many of which have one author and as many readers, as the nation’s smarty-pants pundits seized on Fielding’s “fiskal” fiasco as proof that the guy is as dumb as a box of rocks.
Now I’m not going to pretend that my reaction upon seeing the footage of his doorstop spelling bee wasn’t one of unbridled hilarity. I almost spat my coffee out.
And when I’d regained my composure, I called my workmates over to ask if they too had seen the Family First Senator blundering his way through a doorstop where, after referring three times to “physical” policy instead of “fiscal”, he insisted he knew what he was talking about by offering to spell the word.
Continue reading "Please explain this elitist insecurity over language" »
Christian Senator Steven Fielding is copping a day of derision after he tried to clarify his position on fiscal policy with a read-my-lips clanger. Asked this morning whether he’d in fact said “physical” when he meant “fiscal” the Family First Senator spelt it out: “I will make it quite clear…F..I..S..K..A..L.”

His disastrous impromptu spelling bee drew giggles from the press pack and a wave of ridicule across the digital space with punters declaring him more idiot than idiot savant.
But Fielding’s explanation as to how the gaffe happened - where he revealed a lifelong learning difficulty - is worth thinking about. He told Fairfax Radio that he only got 29 out of 100 for English, but 99 out of 100 for maths, and studied both engineering and an MBA at uni.
Continue reading "Fiscal impediment may mask a beautiful mind" »
Latest 2 of 52 comments
View all comments-
Peter Carnovale says:
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? Read more »
-
Paul says:
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. Read more »
Recent posts
The latest and greatest
Transparency policy not so candid in practice
Transparency’s all the rage these days. And accountability. Politicians and public servants promise… Read more
Most commented
The talk of the town
- What voters really think of Tony Abbott's religion 216
- Why there is no International Man’s Day 182
- Token ceremony openings must be brought to an end 88
- The Senate protects us from bad government 84
- Don’t bring your kids and other supermarket rules 67
- Ignore water, ignore women 66
- Why stop at binning welcome to country and prayers 61
- A lower voting age risks a lower voting standard 47
- Why are people so unkind, to Lada Gaga 41
- Yes to housing affordability, but don’t take my home 41
Punch live
Up to the minute Twitter chatter
Don't bring your children and other "rules" of supermarket shopping. Got a gripe or two of your own? Add to my list: http://bit.ly/dBWydm
What voters really think of Tony Abbott, great piece by Nic Christensen & Tina Tek: http://bit.ly/bvLWSz#thepunch
Gentle jabs to the ribs
Breaking news: Something is going on
Is this the greatest ever send-up of 24-hour news? Warning: contains strong language and hilarity. From… Read more
Latest 2 of 22 comments
View all commentsAdd your comment