The Dead Roo

Comment from phil
Time: March 25, 2007, 7:36 pm

Well it means we still have a partially functioning representative democracy, so we should be a little bit grateful. If Iemma puts the cleaners through his front bench, it may mean something. If the Libs dump Debnam, similarly.

Comment from Kieran
Time: March 25, 2007, 11:10 pm

It felt like “business as usual” democracy, lacking all passion, all importance, all sense of democratic power.

Iemma practically admitted that people voted Labor because they felt like there was no alternative in his victory speech.

Sad days.

Comment from Ronald Raygun
Time: March 26, 2007, 8:02 am

The notable swing towards the Greens (and away from Labor) in Balmain and Marrickville shows that support coming into the federal election may be enough to clinch the balance of power. State Labor is very different from Federal Labor and Rudd seems to be making all the right moves at the moment.

People disaffected with Howard’s performance (and especially WorkChoices) will probably vote ALP in the Lower House and a mix of Greens (protest, climate change) and ALP (voting for the same party in both houses) in the Senate.

Still, we can’t count our chickens just yet. There’s still a number of months to go. While the electorate is concerned about IR and climate change, Howard is the master of pulling something out at the last minute to galvanise swinging voters.

Comment from Kieran
Time: March 26, 2007, 9:06 am

The real risk from Howard is the fact that he will massively outspend Labor.

If his donors think he will lose, there will be a drop in Liberal’s corporate donations. But what Howard is a master at is abusing the state coffers for “public information” purposes. Think “unchain my heart” or the medicare advertisments.

This means he doesn’t actually need something real to come along (like Tampa, or the World Trade Centre attacks), he can just repeat a lie over and over and over again, and from sheer repitition, combined with Labor’s inability to counter it in any overwhelming sense, will become the truth (think L plate Latham and the economy).

Comment from Rebecca
Time: March 26, 2007, 1:06 pm

While he’s certainly done this before, what lie is he going to tell this time around? As I suggested in my post the other day on the myth of “Howard as political Lazarus”, he doesn’t have anywhere near the same cards up his sleeve this time.

In 2004, Howard realised (correctly) that he would be able to scare the horses by targeting Latham in the way he did, as it meshed with people’s concerns about him. I think making that sort of thing stick to Rudd is a much harder prospect and, unlike in 2004, carries the risk of Howard looking desperate - something which has already happened with his pronouncements on Labor and the conomy of late.

Comment from nemoforone
Time: April 3, 2007, 2:43 am

What about the possibility of pulling out of Iraq, letting Iran invade and lose resources fighting their own kind,
and then come in and mop up the dregs?

Comment from Kieran
Time: April 3, 2007, 12:55 pm

Wow… talk about distinctly racist undertones.

“fighting their own kind”?

What, are “we” at war with the Islamic world or something?!