Thursday, February 07, 2008

Ghosts of the Liberals

Ghost of the Liberals Past

I guess there is something poetic about a dying government leader feting a dead one. George W and his buddies are planning to shower former Australian PM, John Howard, with tin foil medals in Washington next month.

Apparently the bloke who smells like last weeks fish here, the bloke our country, his party and electorate have rejected, is a hero among the ranks of the Republican elite. Little wonder they are struggling the fire up the US electorate when their heroes are tired has beens.

Ghost of the Liberals Present

But back here at the sheep farm we call the National Capital – Canberra – the stench of John Howard is still wafting around in the person of Senator Nick Minchin. This member of what a former PM once called an ‘unrepresentative swill’, the Australian Senate, sees himself as the saviour of conservatism.

Minchin is said to be the kingmaker responsible for giving us a lame brain as replacement Liberal Party leader. Brendan Nelson is probably a nice bloke, but he is putty in the hands of Howard’s true successors. A tougher, and less savoury character, Malcolm Turnbull, was torpedoed by Minchin’s conservatives because he refused to play their game.

Now Minchin is busy trying to mould the two conservative parties, Liberals and Nationals in to one cohesive ball of slime. He calls for a united conservative party to effectively compete with their "great political enemy". I think he means the anti-fascists.

Ghost of the Liberals Future

Ah, that would be that group of weary fundamentalist jerk-offs wandering the political wilderness for the next forty years. Liberalism is a sort of benign conservatism, but under Howard anything benign was hunted out of what he laughing referred to as ‘the broad church’.

I doubt there will be any Tiny Tim to bring joy to a bleak conservative future. In fact I’m reminded of an off-colour song that might become to the funeral dirge, it’s a play on Christmas in the workhouse and ends…

…Then up spoke a young lad, in a voice as bold as brass “We don't want your Christmas pudding, you can shove it up your Arse”.

6 comments:

cognitorex said...

mr cart - as you were good enough to comment on one of my 'finance' posts, let me link you to Warren Buffet on the state of things finance.
Page two second paragraph is the punch line "risk has been repriced."
Greenspan said risk was mis priced which roughly translates to, "the frigging banks in their zeal for commissions bought a trillion $$ worth of horse shit paper."
I say to Warren, "good on ya mate!"

(Reuters Buffet Bank woes) or link
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN0631767220080207

Cartledge said...

Thanks cog. I guess Buffet has more and less to lose than most. I'm a bit old fashioned in that I believe economics is at the heart of politics, though it seems finance has usurped the former.
All I can say in regard to Buffet is regulation - regulation - regulation.

D.K. Raed said...

So, what image will be on the little medal GWB pins on Howard's corpse, umm, chest?

On the front, a nice melding of sydney opera house & US white house with happy little 'roos & platypussies cavorting in the background. Maybe an aussie troop in full military regalia giving the aussie salute to a hang-dog USMC decked out in iraq cammies.

On the rear, a couple of sheared sheep wearing bush-hats & flipping the bird at a White House surrounded by crocs swimming in the Potomac moat. Obviously, the rear engraving was secretly done by some pissed-off aussie in the middle of the night & GWB never bothered to turn it over & inspect it.

Now do you mind explaining your whereabouts on the night before the medal is presented?

Cartledge said...

I really like your medal concept d.k. Shame I sort of lied about that bit. But there is some sort of award planned for him, I'll tell you the details asap. It is some kind of Repub secret at the moment.

TomCat said...

Poor Howard. What could be more pathetic than a goose-stepping Nazi who has lost his Reich. May the same fate await our Republicans.

Cartledge said...

Tom, we are watching our local member, former Deputy prime Minister Vaile, absolutely crushed by his loss of strutting power.
The transformation of the country has been amazing as has the destruction of the Reich.