The dying days of the Fourth Reich: it's the 2007 AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL ELECTION

I just found out that Malcolm Turnbull is a worse Environmental Minister than Rudolf Hess was - thanks, Shaun Micallef!

I think it is too late for me to register to vote for this.

If the latest Newspoll is any indication, none of us will need to vote.

There's only one Newspoll to go! That's got to be scaring the bejeezus out of the Coalition.

Today's the official launch. If it spends too much it's branded even less economically responsible; if it spends too little it's at risk of being shown up by Labor (which will probably be conservative (geddit) with spending).

Either way, the polls ain't changing, which tells me everyone's made up their mind and just given up listening. Even I'm sick of it. What's it now, 11 months?

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j171/mdanielwalter/img_197_p.jpg

^^^^^^^^
My Greens candidate who i could very well vote for because I dislike the Labor woman. He's what I like to call "eccentric".

nice hat

And that's a tame outfit for him :/

I thought the Greens were trying to move *away* from the 'crazy nutbar' image.

Not in Northern NSW.

Plenty of crazy nutbars on the global warming march yesterday. Nice ones though.

Quite a shift, after seeing Kevin Bloody Andrews at the Remembrance Day event. I didn't hear what he was saying (too far away) but he probably asked what all the nig-nogs were doing here.

Coalition launch in just under an hour! Being picketed by disabled protesters, which could make interesting viewing.

I predict another ALP policy.

(from the Coalition, I mean)

Are they waiting until Australia finishes off the Sri Lankans then? :)

Dunno. It's been going half an hour, but evidently all that's happened is Costello bagging out Labor again.

I can't wait to see what Howard does to scupper his own launch. Going by his track record and increasing panic he'll shit on the lectern and lick the finance minister.

Hey, apparently Vaile called Rudd's education revolution "communist." Then he said "OH NOES WE'VE WORN A HOLE IN THE BOTTOM OF THR BARREL"

"I want to be Prime Minister again" says Howard. I guess the "PLEEEEEEEEEEASE PLEEEEEEEEEEEEASE" begins next week then.

crikey update today, on the rofflicios spinning of dennis shanahan in the oz:

"All lovers of quality political spin should go out right now and buy, or preferably steal, today's edition of The Australian. It's a keeper.
With any luck, the political commentary will feature in Public Relations courses all over the world for years to come.

Dennis "Comical Ali" Shanahan continues his Sisyphean task of reinterpreting Newspoll's massive Labor lead as an imminent Howard victory. According to Shanahan, the comparative rating of Howard and Rudd as economic managers – about the only thing still in the Coalition's favour – is the important figure in the polling. Or, at least, it has been since Rudd became preferred Prime Minister. You'd never think there had been an angry debate just three months ago between Shanahan and bloggers over his insistence that preferred PM was the key indicator.

As to the trivial matter of the two-party preferred figure, the "interest rate backlash" bounce for Labor – as explained by Possum Comitatus last week – is there in all its glory. 55-45.

Lucky interest rate rises are such good news for the Government. Imagine how bad the polls would be if they weren't. Shanahan thinks it's not as bad as expected. Yes Dennis, it's only a flesh wound."

So how many weeks of this crap do we have left?

2

Howard's giant election-winning plan:

* Tax-free children's savings accounts to help save for first home

Once again he deftly manages to ignore everyone between the age of 10 and 50. Nice work fuckhead.

And isn't this a half-arsed version of what Rudd announced weeks ago?

* Education rebates of up to $2000 for secondary students

All secondary students? Or just private school ones?

And isn't this a half-arsed version of what Rudd announced weeks ago?

* Attacks Kevin Rudd as 'hollow leader' of 'hollow party'

Oooh I'm scared.

What a joke.

Geez. I made up my mind long ago, I just want it to be done now.

xpost

(xpost: me too)

Mr Howard also said the Government would speed up the release of Government land to increase the supply of new housing.

Labor's already announced that.

He also announced a plan to help fund infrastructure in new housing developments, which he claimed would reduce some of the charges faced by new home buyers.

To be absorbed into the price of properties?

The Prime Minister said his Government would also attempt to boost the number of child care places by helping fund new and expanded child care centres.

After how many years of ignoring pleas for greater capacity in child care?

"I want to pursue with relentless vigour the goal of full employment. Only the Liberal and Nationals parties talk about jobs for Australians any more."

Because 4.2% is low unemployment. Any lower and we're all doing 50 hours a week to cover for the staff we can't find.

"Australia needs an education system that teaches its children to read, write, spell and add up."

No mention of critical thinking again?

And who let the education system go in the first place? Or are we just blaming the states again?

"I believe in the family as the cornerstone of our happiness and our nation"

As long as you're not a big dirty poof, obviously.

"There are storm clouds gathering on the horizon when it comes to economic management."

Can't blame Labor for that after 11 years, can you?

I knew there'd be another ALP policy. What I didn't expect was wall-to-wall ALP policies. "Me-too" my arse.

T/S racism vs being a union member
T/S homophobia vs being a union member
T/S killing 90,000 Iraqis vs being a union member

sorry but I'm unusually cranky today

Where can a musician get in on this lark of providing a paint-by-numbers scary synth drone for these ads? All you do is hold one note down. I'll do that for a buck.

What about the noise that goes whhhuuuUUUUUMP <tinkle> when a bar graph hits the screen?

Sound FX library 101, baby.

I can't help thinking every time there's an event like the Liberal campaign launch, where they're all packed in together in one place, that it would only take one bomb...

Or perhaps just encase them in concrete, like in that episode of 'The Goodies'.

And when you see them all there cracking up over Costello's "jokes", does it ever make you want to punch some faces.

And how come they're all suddenly going on about Communists? Been spending too much time with their American overlords, I suppose.

Christ! Journalist with The Australian tried to pressure an independent candidate in Wentworth to prefernce the Liberal candidate.

THIS is what I mean about the News Corp papers getting desperate.

(xpost)

I can't help thinking every time there's an event like the Liberal campaign launch, where they're all packed in together in one place, that it would only take one bomb...

Annabell Crabb (smh) observed that, if Howard loses the election, the Brisbane lord mayor who opened the launch will be the highest-ranked Liberal in the entire country.

God I love the sound of that.

And how come they're all suddenly going on about Communists?

No more rabbits?

World says "your $64bn in free money is inflationary," Howard says "no it isn't"

Spot the better economist.

Nice also to know that the beneficiaries of yesterday's housing announcement are the rich who already own properties. Out of touch much?

Rupert Murdoch came to Adelaide and said he is not involved in politics. Nope. No sir, not him. I mean, he didn't promise Don Dunstan that he'd make him state premier if he joined the DLP or...well, you know how it ends, Iraq!

Cunt.

srsly, he spends the past six years actively and unwaveringly supporting the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, corrupting the notion of a free press in the process, and he wants to be seen as objective?? Get fucked you melty-face fucking cock head.

Labor launches with HAWKE AND KEATING HOLDING HANDS AND PUNCHING THE AIR.

THIS is what I mean about a mad paradigm shift. These two were poison not long ago.

Also Gough was in there somewhere.

I can't see Fraser backing up yer John Howard in the near future.

Apparently Andrew Bolt wrote this on his liveblog

2:56pm: Tells his wife he hasn’t forgotten it’s his wedding anniversary today. Howard can start packing now.

Hey has anyone seen the Coalition commercial where big union toughs burst in on a child's birthday party, eat the cake, pop the balloons and cancel Christmas?

I saw the one where big union thugs invade Poland, round up the Jews and send them to the gas chambers.

They got off lightly in that one.

From La Bolt's Blog:

There’s an acknowledgement of the traditional owners - a genuflection to the new racism to which Labor is so prone.

Hahaha, what a douche.

Hey has anyone seen the Coalition commercial where big union toughs burst in on a child's birthday party, eat the cake, pop the balloons and cancel Christmas?

-- Tim F, Wednesday, 14 November 2007 21:52 (Yesterday) Bookmark Link

You're serious??

Can anyone spell DESPERATE??

Odds on next week there'll be an ad showing union thugs indulging in child pornography and setting fire to Brisbane. This pathetic muckraking can only be hurting the Coalition.

A friend of mine told me that Bob Hawke was seen recently sporting a badge that said 'Union Thug'.

Brilliant!

I can distinctly remember hating Keating with a burgundy passion, but yesterday I was only proud to see him there. Things really have changed, haven't they? Perhaps it's just that Keating's arrogance pales in comparison with Howard's high watermark.

Sometimes the role of elder statesman can bring out the best in some ex-PM's - look at Malcolm Fraser for example.

Absolutely.

I don't see Howard being that successful an elder statesman, to be honest. His legacy won't be a good one, especially now that it's clear the whole economic boom has little to do with him.

On the radio this morning some Liberal hack was trying to paint the unions as a greedy corporation intent on grabbing power to line their own grubby pockets - something along the lines of "pouring $30 million into the campaign to steal the election". Contrasts nicely with the actions of Richard Pratt et al no?