“I think there would be a sense of let-down if that was the sentence delivered, but not carried out,” Mr Howard said on Southern Cross radio today.

“I cannot bring myself to argue for the suspension of the death penalty when you’re dealing with people who have murdered 88 Australians.”

…

Mr Howard said a move away from capital punishment had “been festering inside” the Indonesian system “for some time”. [my emphasis]

source

Revealing choice of language there.

I find the dancing-in-the-street-cause-someone’s-gonna-die thing sickening and immoral. The Australian reaction to the sentences of the Bali bombers saddened me a lot.

Supporters of capital punishment should be prepared to self-immolate as a demonstration of the power of terminating a life for a very good cause.

Otherwise their sincerity is open to question.

Umm yeah ok.

Otherwise their sincerity is open to question.

But …. I am really annoyed at the reaction by the news-prevention media, the politicans and the noose-&-lash extremists to Indonesian security officers shouting a meal for a few of the Bali bombers to celebrate the end of the Ramadan month of prayer and fasting. These whingers and screamers can’t seem to make up their minds about whether they want to see terrorism defeated, or, whether they just want to get their own way, like spoilt kiddies.

At the time of those bombing atrocities, these same yarpers here were yelling and carrying on like pork chops but not once did I hear any of these same big-mouths offer a word of care and sympathy of the Indonesian victims; on the contrary, ordinary Australians did and they included the Indonesian victims in their prayers and they donated money for the Indonesian victims — but the Australian news media didn’t give that aspect much publicity.

I was shocked when I read of the speech.

I can’t imagine how Rudd could have bungled this anymore… so he took a political loss for “principle” only to do an unprincipled backflip? He just succeeded in pissing everybody off!

It amazes me that Rudd approved the speech in the first place. And I am a passionate opponent of capital punishment.

Contrary to what some have said in this thread, it’s not clear that a majority of Australians are genuinely pro-capital punishment. It’s also true that a majority of Australians are not genuinely anti-capital punishment. Response varies heavily depending on how you present the issue to them. If you want to get a pro-death response, ask them when they are thinking of Bali bombers!

The last thing we need is a populist outcry in favour of capital punishment – and that’s exactly what McClelland’s comments risk inciting.

The speech should never been approved in the first place. Not just to win the election, but out of principled opposition to capital punishment.

Golly, on every second thread on this site someone says “say whatever it takes to get Rudd accross the line, THEN reveal our true colours” If that ain’t a 100% unprincipled stand, it’ll certainly do until something even more unprincipled is found.

Just Alarmed: Of course Howard is hypocritical about the death penalty, as is Rudd, and McClelland was not.

However McClelland’s stance was going to cost lots of votes.

The surrey hills/new farm set don’t have to be prejudiced against anything, they can also be prejudiced in favour of things. What I meant was that the ideals of those Mark Latham termed “tourists” will never be acceptable to those whom he termed “residents”.

Not only do the “residents” outnumber the “tourists”, it is the vote of the “residents” which will be required for an electoral win. The tourists will vote for the ALP/Greens/Democrats/whoever and their vote will essentially filter back to the ALP or a fellow traveller party. The residents are the ones who must be courted.

Whatever it takes, you might say.

It does not matter that reintroducing the death penalty or other vicious punishments will not prevent a single terrorist outrage; not one! On the contrary, reintroducing the death penalty will be a Godsend to the terrorists. It will get them recruits they otherwise would not get. It will get them financial, material and moral support they otherwise would be denied. Anyone with practical experience of revolutions and of terrorism, either in the security forces or as a “freedom fighter” knows this, it’s just plain simple C.D.F., but such people are not politicians and apparatchiks nor are they media celebrities so we don’t get to hear from them, …. all we hear are the counter-productive fantasies from the noose-&-lash ratbags and from their pet politicians and commentators.

Hanging is back. You can’t stop it now. Just get used to it.

{See, not even once did I mention any moral arguements about the death penalty].

Anyone who panders to the prejudices of the surrey hills/new farm set, is NEVER going to be PM. He knows this.