Getting election jitters

[Torsten]

I've been following this election VERY closely. It is by far the most important election I have experienced in australia and I feel there is a lot more at stake than just which of the two clowns will run the country for the next 3 years.

What I find more interesting are the broader social implications of either party winning and how this reflects the character of the electorate.

For example:

1) If the greens really get 10% then it is obvious that australia is maturing in its environmental conscience, the democrats are toast, and we should get ready for a red/green coalition if not this time then at least next time.

2) If Howard wins then this tells us that the public bought into his two main arguments of national security and interest rates. Surely we can't be this stupid after all these years to still believe that a national government has any bearing on interest rates. But if that was the case then it shows just how greedy australians really are and how little they care for the wider social consequences of such policy.

If it is not interest rates then a liberals win would mean he would have been elected on national security issues, which is even more disturbing.

3) If Latham wins then he is inheriting a slippery economy and will invariably be blamed for rising interest rates and quite possibly for a nasty recession (neither of which a national government has much control over these days). Still, its better to have a Labor govvy in power during such harsh times if only to reduce the suicide rate of desperate families.

If he does win it will restore some of my faith in the australian voting public, but conversely if he loses then one must wonder how many lies and brutalities it takes to wake them from their capitalistic slumber...

The broader picture aside, there are some funny and/or interesting stories unfolding in several electorates and I for one will be glued to the box from 6pm (Tassie results will start flowing by then as it is an hour later there).

[Rev]

Likewise T

Ive never cared much about it all but the stakes are so high this time

Its really a fork in the road for the Future of Australian society

More important than who wins is as you say a choice about howard and his conduct

Do australians care about the truth? (interest rates, WMD, refugees)

do they think govts that openly lie and shun public scrutiny and in blatant expectation of getting away with it are acceptable?

Do australians think a state of perpetual fear is a natural and desirable state to run a country on

If howard gets in ill know the answer to all

He won the last election on a xenophobic lie

and he'd have carried this govt and won again on lies and Fear

and by this time everybody has been shown they are lies and Fear

If he still gets in

then thats sick

All govts have scandals but with howard we entered a new era of something terribly sinister.

We matter so little becuase they believe and have demonstrated on numerous occassions that we can be easily led,engineered, distracted and muffled.

You can steal from the poor because now weve traded books for flagpoles in public eduvation, made uni full up front fee, dissolved medicare and made welfare 'user pays', and sold off all our media overseas their opinion doesnt matter cos they cant be heard above their struggle to cope with the burden of debt.

What matters more is the opinions and favour of the US govt and Australian corporate interests. And never let the truth get in the way of a profitable deal.

when i think of what Howard has done to the integrity of the australian social conscience its equivalent to rape.

[ 09. October 2004, 01:32: Message edited by: reville ]

[gomaos]

well if the opinion polls are anything to go by, then little J. will get back in with 3 % majority...

well I totally hope they're wrong...

I feel there's nothing to add for me because so many things have been said already...

only this;

Howard voters suck.

and

"freedom? Not many people want it...."

[planthelper]

good health and a healty nature surrounding us is what we need, howard does not provide that...

if we want that our future generations can look at 1000 year old trees again, than we better stopp cutting them now, and not in 20 years time.

------------------------------------------------

...if there is one thing that stone's me, without being stoned, it's looking at very old trees...

[strangebrew]

I think Howard will win.

At the end of the day unfortunately, a lot of people will vote in the interests of the local economy and not on this governments record of lies, American cock-smoking and terrible foriegn policies.

[Darklight]

I don't believe it. Lil' Johnny is popping champagne corks and celebrating victory already. This is heartbreaking. I can only hope the results are skewed because of the early stages in the count. I'm devastated. Another three years of fear mongering, divisiveness and watching our freedoms shrink

So, how are real estate prices in NZ then?

[gomaos]

and it was so predictable too...

very disappointing

[Torsten]

arrrghhh, another 4 years of that smug grin on my telly. But maybe not. I never believed he will complete the term, so we'll probably have the other smug grin sooner than we think.

Kinda funny that Costello staked his "8 year reputation as treasurer" on the fact that the labor tax policy was wrong only to be contradicted by his own department a few days later. And *he* is going to run this country once Johnny packs his bags. At least it will mean a landslide victory for labor next time, rather than small margins which leave governments without a clear mandate.

Let's not forget that soon this country will be run by Abbot and Costello.

Ohhh, the future is sooooo bleak

[jalien]

my condolences to

enlightened aussies

and yes im always amazed

the green vote is so small here too

Just wait till Bush gets back in!

 

quote:

---

Animals

 

I think I could turn and live with animals,

 

they are so placid and self-contained.

 

I stand and look at them long and long.

 

They do not sweat and whine about their condition,

 

They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins,

 

They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God.

 

Not one is dissatisfied, not one is demented with the mania of owning things,

 

Not one kneels to another, nor to his kind that lived thousands of years ago.

 

Not one is respectable or industrious over the whole earth.

 

- Walt Whitman

 

---

nanokiwi.com

[gerbil]

This is really depressing, what a joke.

Only when the environment is gone will many people realise that we were dependant on it, and it didn't need us at all.

If bush gets back in, the world is going to be severely raped by himself and howard.

But if that was the case then it shows just how greedy australians really are and how little they care for the wider social consequences of such policy. -T My thoughts exactly, it's such a shame the world revolves around money.

Tis a sad day..no...years to come.

[strangebrew]

The most worrying outcome from the election is the make-up of the Senate.

Having at least half of the seats will mean that the coalition will have TOTAL power to pass anything they damn well please - no checks, no balances.

Be afraid, be very afraid!

[occidentalis]

It had to get worse before it can get better. Be patient, people...

[ramon]

For me I will need to muster every bit of patience and tolerance I possess, when the people who proudly voted for the liberals start to suffer due to reduced services and working conditions.

I hope I am a good enough person not to rub it in their faces and scream obscenaties at them when they complain about a rise in interest rates or having to pay more to send their children to school or visit the doctor.

[Rev]

I know Ramon

Im not overreacting when i say that when the poll came in i felt like my dog had died

Even right now as i think about it i have a feeling of deep depression coupled with a phsyical sensation halfway between weeping and throwing up. Is that Grief?

Il have hope again but 3 years with a majority is along way to slide.

I consoled myself to sleep thinking about a scenario of 5 or 6 trained dobermans set loose to maul johnny on his morning walk

That made me feel a little better...

unfuckingbelievable

get ready to dodge the draft

[nabraxas]

It had to get worse before it can get better. Be patient, people...

in general i agree. it's a sad joke, but revolutionaries have preferred repressive governments over liberal ones, as revolution is more likely.

i've not voted on principle for 5 general elections. most ov the time i lived in england was under thatcher, all ov the time here's been under howerd. This time i went against my conscience & voted green because i'm so sick ov conservatives running my life, i thought there might be a chance ov a swing & i was willing to cast a vote to help out.

so by taking part in the whole stupid circus i've validated howerds right to govern me, & yeah

it shows just how greedy australians really are and how little they care for the wider social consequences

[Machine Elf]

I'd have to back up the sentiments expressed by Torsten and Rev above...I'm glad to see others are thinking exactly like me, I was feeling a bit lonely on election night.

Australia just validated lying, illegal invasions of sovereign countries, and campaigns built purely on fear. I put some Bill Hicks on last night, and fuck me if he isn't more relevant now than he was 15 years ago.

"Go back to sleep Australia, your government is in control. Go back to sleep Australia, you fat fucking morons. Here, watch Australian Idol. You are free to do what your government tells you..."

We can but dream though, and here's what I'd like to see on the cover of the Bulletin this week:

Black Saturday

Belfy

[peas-pipe]

strangebrew:

The most worrying outcome from the election is the make-up of the Senate.    

Having at least half of the seats will mean that the coalition will have TOTAL power to pass  anything they damn well please - no checks, no balances.

Be afraid, be very afraid!

Does this mean we officially have a totalitarian government? If so, can a totalitarian government also be a democratic government?

[hairyplant]

What else is there to say... I still held some hope on Saturday that the labor moron would take power over that smug narrow minded little @#nt.

All this election has done for me is backed up the view in my mind that we are fucked, and there is no hope of change to our environmental or social problems, rather just a progression towards... well, i can just speculate.

Today I am more ashamed to be an Australian than ever. These are dark times we are heading into, the list is endless. Australia is now under full control by the religous right. so i suppose we should just shut up and start reading up on creationism, and how to be more narrow minded. :mad: :mad: :mad:

[gomaos]

Australia is now under full control by the religous right.

Are they religious? I always thought the christian cross had been completely replaced by that sign that looks like an S with a vertical line through it, the mighty Lord Dollar!

i remember when the so-called Liberals first took over in 1996, many churchpeople were against it because it would put more strain on them with having support the poor more since the government doesn't.

so i suppose we should just shut up and start reading up on creationism, and how to be more narrow minded.

on the contrary. we should wreck our brains looking for a way to get rid of those suckers...

in a non-violent way of course...

[ramon]

on the contrary. we should wreck our brains looking for a way to get rid of those suckers...

in a non-violent way of course...

What we need is political reform.

If we develop a system in Australia to allow for secure internet voting.

Then this would save heaps of money at elections but more importantly it would provide a system where we can have referendums easily and cheaply.

Then Australia can have referendums on the big issues such as whether we go to war. I think the world is ready and waiting for a truly democratic country

[hairyplant]

Goamos, I totally agree, i forgot to add a Maybe there is still hope for change, but in what time frame, and what horrible things have to happen for the Australian people to get their priorities in line with reality??

When I said religion, i think i more ment family values and the christian right. These are going to be the front in the next few years for liberal political decisions, and building more fear (i suppose fa really has changed ).

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/10/...l?oneclick=true

[spaced]

Ramon:

For me I will need to muster every bit of patience and tolerance I possess, when the people who proudly voted for the liberals start to suffer due to reduced services and working conditions.

I hope I am a good enough person not to rub it in their faces and scream obscenaties at them when they complain about a rise in interest rates or having to pay more to send their children to school or visit the doctor.

We're are these people though? Has anyone found one person who has actually admitted to voting liberal? They must be living in such shame and fear. Perhaps next time (if there is a next time) they will have to erect voting closets for closet liberals. All those masses of people who showed up for antiwar protests must have made some dent in the statistics? I wonder just how many changed their minds on election day.

But all is not lost. In fact far from it. Remember you can make a vote for the environment and social change every time you buy or don't buy environmentally damaging products, chose to walk or ride or drive a car, whether to use the sun or the drying machine - all these things - the little things - the grass roots of political change.

[occidentalis]

Spaced, read the newscast on any aussie indymedia site and you'll find plenty of proud liberal voters smirking at the lefty scum.

There was someone on EBA too!

[Rev]

Torsten:

Let's not forget that soon this country will be run by Abbot and Costello.

[waterdragon]

looks like the axis of evil is back in business. i thought labour ran a truly piss poor campaign, so much material they had to work with and they barely touched on howards littany of lies. the howard govt is guilty of treason, it has allowed a foreign power to make decisions for this nation. only the most basic unit could find it within themselves to vote for this fuckwit with a clear conscience.

bush will return. blair will return. democracy is dead. stupidity is the norm. all iranians are terrorists, with oil. interest rates will not rise, high petrol prices will act as a brake on the economy. the revolution will not be televised. the truth can not be televised. war with china is inevitable. all these things i believe to be true. on the other hand, the earth needs less people on it so it's not all bad.