Blogging politics, culture, sociology and life from Brisvegas
Y’know, it’s one thing to express doubts about how long the fairly bland Kevin Rudd can continue to successfully present himself to the electorate as an exciting breath of fresh air.
It’s another thing entirely to call the man “a load of crap”.
That will not play well Peter Dutton, it really won’t. Thanks for showing us all, yet again, that the Howard Cabinet could all do with some time in charm school.
Please read the comments policy. If you would like an icon beside your comment, please register a Gravatar.
There is a Comments Preview function below the typing box which activates when you start typing.
Larvatus Prodeo is an Australian group blog which discusses politics, sociology, culture, life, religion and science from a left of centre perspective. more»
Apparently the young, as per this morning’s Age, are calling Rudd ‘Just like John Howard, only younger’, which some may regard as almost as much of an insult.
Unfortunately the young seem to be saying it approvingly and without irony.
Keep in mind this is a man who stands to lose more than half his income, if not his entire job, in a few months time. Who else is he going to blame, the voters?
Believe me, it’s not just the young …
Tsk, tsk. That’s the kind of intemperate language that brought undone Mark Latham.
You wouldn’t see that nice Mr Rudd speak like that.
You also wouldn’t see that nice Mr Rudd say that the voters are ignorant and deluded, as Dutton did.
“They (voters) don’t understand how it is that Kevin Rudd would be dictated to by the union movement.
“They don’t understand how it is that Kevin Rudd would crush small business.
“They don’t understand if you’re particularly for younger families with a higher mortgage, what 17 per cent interest rates would mean under a Rudd union led Government.” ”
Only a truly dumb politician would tell the voters that they are fools.
Step up to the plate, Peter Dutton.
Previously, on Desperate Liberals…
dutton says we dont know what rudd will do if elected.the problem for dutton is we do know his lot have done and we don’t like it.
Exactly Spiros. Howard has become Latham, only older.
This is just soooo entertaining: Watching the Libs fall apart.
I haven’t seen anything like this sort of behaviour since the dying days of Billy McMahon’s Government. Then, like now, every conceivable Bogey-man and fanciful threat they could think-of was wheeled-out and given a run before a sceptical public: Union Bosses; Communists; The Economy.
It’s embarrassing.
It’s delicious.
Time’s up. They know it, but nevertheless continue to clutch at anything, anything at all that might give them just one more term.
Please God…..Just one more……Please.
This character’s the Assistant Treasurer, apparently.
His seat’s well within Labor’s striking range.
Dutton is from the Liberal Party Right and is well known for a very aggressive approach to politics. Before winning his seat he spent 9 years in the Queensland police force.
There’s a certain type, and he is it.
Does that make him a fully fledged sycophant or just assistant sycophant.
Dutton has been gunning to be a senior minister for as long as his constituents can remember. Dutton’s also a joke and the Howard government is lucky there’s no “Law and Order” issue associated with his portfolio. You think Ruddock’s bad? Wait until Attorney-General Dutton makes being an ALP member a crime worthy of a public flogging.
Who does Latham get to become, then?
I was waiting for Dutton to say, “the Australian people will soon realise they are being turkey-slapped”.
He could end up in Queensland state politics. Serve them both right.
At the smh
No signs!!! WTF. He trots out the poll figures for 1993, (LNP 48% Primary, Labor 39.5%) one month before the election which are nearly identical in reverse for today’s Newspoll, conveniently forgetting Hewson’s massive blunder “black hole” of $500 million in some LNP economic document that Keating seized on. (Plus the silver-spoon-in-the-mouth when born image that Hewson was labelled with.)
All governments seem to win “one election more” than they deserve, and my theory is Howard has had his with Latham. (The business equivalent is Packer: ‘you only get one Bond in a lifetime…’)
I also am enjoying the “smell of desperation” which inter alia with that statement to his colleagues, reminds me of a famous statement suitably modified:
Back to 1993, Keating had a rabbit, Howard in 2007 only has his dessicated cojones.
Oops my computer remembers a former alias. But the gravies never lie!
Now Howard’s own personal attempt to wedge Queensland
Sam Clifford is right, this Dutton bloke has always been a loony populist who’s ambition far exceeds his talent. I remember at the last election he said that Latham wouldn’t support the FTA because he was ‘blinded by his hatred for the US’.
I think he might be trying to be the new head kicker. Speaking of which, it was great to see the mad monk yesterday reiterating his line that ‘this is a good govt.when will the dumb ass voters hurry up and realise this?’ I just can’t beleive that he (or his minders) don’t realise that the average voter HATES that sort of arrogance, have they forgotten Keating?
Dutton was right on the mark – this sniping at the use of vernacular represents an elitism of language and behaviour of snobs
Fuck me, for once I agree with anstey. Tigtog, Dutton didn’t call Rudd himself a bag of crap, it was his policies he was describing. If people can’t call a bag of crap a bag of crap, what hope is there for public discourse?
And the title of the post is ominous—if you’re quoting Lt. Colonel Kilgore, the smell of desperation would smell like… victory.
It looks like Howard has decided to transfer the costs of amalgamation from ratepayer to taxpayer.
Another funny development this morning was when the argument about the green credentials of the Lib Member for Noosa were blown out of the water by Anna Bligh.
Apparently this developer’s friend was left redfaced, embarrassed and angry to the point where some thought he was on the verge of needing medical attention.Read Page 2256.
Liam, if Dutton’s line now is that he was only describing Rudd’s policies, then he is equivocating. That’s not what his words convey at first hearing/reading:
I’m certainly open to the interpretation that Dutton meant to call Rudd’s policies rather than Rudd himself “a load of crap” but that’s not what he actually ended up saying.
An elementary and amateurish error of rhetorical performance. The smell of desperation does indeed smell like victory for anyone wanting to see the downfall of the LibNats.
And it’s hardly going to endear him to the grannies in Esk and the Pine Rivers Bowls Club. They probably voted for the nice young policeman last time. I’m sure they’d rather have that nice Christian Mr Rudd who won’t put up with swearing.
Big own goal.
Yep. The story now is all about his vulgar use of the vernacular instead of what could have been a perfectly valid discussion of the shortcomings of Labor policies (though I’m sure that his and our opinions of where those shortcomings lie might well be polar opposites).
Strategic goal: show that Emperuddor has no clothes – sound.
Tactic: analogy to rubbish TV show – sound.
Execution of tactic: poor lining up artillery, fumbling spears – poor.
Personal safety: left flank wide open to attack – disastrous.
He’s not quite Publius Quintilius Varus, but he appears to be trying to outdo him.
He’s also delicately skewered the hitherto conservative element of the 18-29 demographic. BB roooolllzzz, etc.
Wasn’t one of the Housemates this year a Young Lib ? I know Tim Buenero(sp) (Young Labor) was Runner up a couple of years back.
“Wasn’t one of the Housemates this year a Young Lib ?”
Joel. He claimed to be a Young Lib on entering the house, then pranced around in a Che shirt, and then claimed to know nothing (and care less) about politics. I believe Tim Brunero, on his “Oh Brother” podcast, later alleged to Joel’s brother that Joel was a Young Lib on paper for branch stacking purposes, and failed to elicit a denial.
(podcast here, under “Joel’s Bro Spills His Guts”.)
Jeebus, did Kezza just tear Howard a fresh one, or wot?
What a hapless dissembler. Cant get his conflicting lies straight anymore.
I laughed when Howard jibbered yes,yes yes,no,no,no, Vicar of Dibley style in answer to one of the questions on the 7.30 report.
I think you are all overdoing Dutton,I couldnt careless about him being a ex cop,Bill Hayden was too,and I thought Bill was great,and many people thought him that.Especially those who attended a very large demonstration for Aboriginal LandRights and anti-uranium in Melbourne.Dutton certainly has a problem in being a Lideralunder Howard,I think ,however the statement will hold merit ,whatever the process of the election brings..and some hear,and I am not mistaken, have countenanced more than once the matters of the infallibility of the man.
Some strange and rapid process allowed the previous post to not have my biological spelling censor eliminate ,the errors.A lizard at work ,no doubt!?
“I love the smell of desperation in the LibNats” and “a load of crapâ€?.
What is this? poo pants corner.
Frankly, sensible people would stay well clear of those on the nose.
Stockmarkets volatile, sinecures unsecure, nervy shit happening?
Spray the room with Kev’07 ….and leave the room fast.
On the 7:30 report also, Howard attempted to counter O’Brien’s question about public perception of him as a liar by saying:
or words to that effect. And:
or words to that effect.
Trouble was, his attempts to negate these whopping lies came across as more lies. The body language and voice gave it away I thought – he really didn’t seem comfortable.
Of course by now he probably DOES believe at least half of his own bullshit.
However, (as I have mentioned before), he seems to like coming from behind as a modus operandi – will it work this time? It may again. But looking desperate doesn’t help.
Peterc:
Yes, he’s tried the old “no one told me” line once too often.
For a bloke who committed us to a war on the basis of a pack of “cooked-up” lies, it’s just not good enough to say, as he does, that he didn’t know they were lies.
Even of that’s true, he should have bloody well checked the facts, re-checked and double checked them before peddling them to the public as undeniable facts and putting Aussie lives on the line.
The fact that he didn’t inevitably makes him incompetent. And that’s the good news.
And if he’s lying again (as I suspect he is, given his treatment at the time of people like Andrew Wilkie), he’s just reminding people of what a dissembling little rodent he really is.
We all know the true story of the Iraq war, and it was nothing to do with poor little dopey Johnnie being misled.
It was a product of a well crafted and assiduously-worked deception by the US, British and Australian Governments of their respective peoples. It was about dodgy intelligence cooked-up and served a-la mode, to suit a political agenda.
His political agenda.
I reckon people are sick of the sight of him.
Canberra sawmill pork?
Another conditional scam tied to a States Performance. He’s getting more desparate by the hour now.
Yep, sounds like a typical Young Lib to me.
steve, did you notice all the sawmill workers in “your rights at work” caps? Did you also notice how sullen they were compared with the cheering Tasmanians of ‘04?