12 November 2013

Revolting Liberals* stuff up yet more of their paperwork as the money runs dry

| johnboy
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The Canberra Times is delving deep into the splintering, imploding, improperly documented world of the Canberra Liberals as Zed’s faction settle into their new digs on Capital Hill leaving the rest of the party to burn.

It seems that at ANU the progressive Liberals (defined as “lefties” no doubt by our more brain damaged commentators) can’t even be in the same club as Alistair Coe’s headbangers and have formed their own group.

Meanwhile the move to swish Civic offices from the suburbs appears to have come at a cost with undeclared debts (potentially a prison worthy offence under the Electoral Act).

That’s on top of the vast backdated slew of donation disclosures and of course 2012’s timesheets saga.

The real miracle is they managed to look almost electable last October but it appears the wallpaper is coming adrift from the cracks.

The sad truth for the pustulent Coe-ites is that anything to the Right of Malcolm Turnbull is never going to win an election in this town.

They can start actually paying some respect to community they seek to represent, or they can languish for eternity in the darkness.

I’m reasonably sure Kate Carnell would be happy to give some pointers on how to win friends, influence people, and be electable in the ACT.

The even scarier thing is that, rather than parroting Christopher Pyne’s talking points, they’re going to have to start thinking for themselves.

*As in parts of the party are in revolt.

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It’s like these fools set a new lap record in the race to the bottom.

Alderney said :

Oh what a tangled web we weave.

I have tip for the libs to get a look in (to the rocky horror tune) it’s just a step to the left.

Wasn’t it a jump to the left?

And then a step to the riiiiight!

And I’m pretty sure that the pelvic thrusting that gets mentioned shortly thereafter would cause faces to blanch all throughout the current party. 🙂

Oh what a tangled web we weave.

I have tip for the libs to get a look in (to the rocky horror tune) it’s just a step to the left.

Part of the problem (but only part) is that the Labor party has occupied the centre right for so long that the Libs have had nowhere to go but further to the right, leaving nowhere at all for the few remaining Liberals who have more than two brain cells to rub together. Of course they could always join the Labor party.

PhillipThomas3:15 pm 13 Nov 13

Had to Google it, but here’s the history of Wets and Dries:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wets_and_dries

It’s a Pommy thing.

Garfield said :

On this finance and disclosure stuff, how is it that they can’t find someone who knows what they’re doing to run the place?

I dare say the success of the Liberals nationally and the other states has resulted in a talent vacuum here. After all, people prefer to hang out with the winners.

Is the previously used term ‘wet’ a liberal party variation of a common racial slur denoting a newer party member, or does it come from / mean somewhere else?

Wets and Drys used to divide Liberals with Drys more interested in economics.

Grail said :

It boggles the mind that anyone who considers themselves liberal would join the Liberal Party.

The way to win government is to steal voters from the other side by moving your policy position closer to theirs, making yourself more palatable to the swinging voters. As a extra bonus, the other side may respond by moving away into more extreme positions, driving even more voters over to you.

And this is the weird thing, its not like ACT Labor has been encroaching on Liberal policy territory to drive them into the extreme – quite the opposite really. The Liberals really are their own worst enemy.

PhillipThomas11:09 am 13 Nov 13

I’d be one of the aforementioned ‘wets’ in the Party here in Canberra. I think that it’s still a great party and one to be proud of, but it’s time that everyone, from both sides of the broad church, had a good hard look at themselves. The absolute destruction of the moderates or indeed the conservatives will do us no good, and it does Canberra no good. As it was said previously, the Labor-Greens alliance has a free ride as long as the Canberra Liberals continue to implode. A strong Liberal party locally improves things for all Canberrans. Even if we’re not in power in the Assembly, a good Assembly team, with a balance of moderates and conservatives, will ensure that the Labor-Greens team are kept to account and will have to work HARD to keep government, and in turn, all of Canberra benefits.

It’s absolute nonsense to pretend that all of the clever people are on one side of the Assembly and not the other – that spread of backgrounds, experiences and knowledge (and even ideologies) makes up a broad church in itself. Likewise, a broad range of beliefs and skills across the Canberra Liberals makes for a strong party.

Whilst I may hold pretty strong views in support of LGBTI rights (and yep, Marriage Equality), I’m glad that there are others with opposing views in the Party. But if the left of the Party is wiped out, then this lefty-leaning town will likewise wipe out Party on election day. We need a wide range of candidates to ensure that we are a viable alternative for government.

The current Assembly team is a group of 8 very talented, very dedicated people who want the best for the ACT. Any lurch further to the right, at the expense of the moderates, will not appeal to Canberrans. The top of that voter bell-curve is in the centre, not at the edges. I hope that both sides of the equation can kiss and make up, and realise that we all must work for the good of the Party and through the Party, the good of all Canberrans.

Grail said :

It boggles the mind that anyone who considers themselves liberal would join the Liberal Party.

Durig the federal campaign I used the ABC’s vote compass and it placed me close to the Liberals and a long way from Labor & the Greens, which was good as I vote Liberal. If I joined it would be with the intention of trying to keep the local Libs aligned with the Centre-Right where they belong and away from the Right and Far Right where they’re getting into Tea Party territory.

On this finance and disclosure stuff, how is it that they can’t find someone who knows what they’re doing to run the place?

Grail said :

It boggles the mind that anyone who considers themselves liberal would join the Liberal Party.

Why? You think normal people should surrender to the tea-party nutters and let them have full control of the Liberal Party?

It boggles the mind that anyone who considers themselves liberal would join the Liberal Party.

Seriously, the ALP in this town have tried their utmost best to get voted out but the liberals are such a bunch of numpties that they haven’t even got close.

A broom is needed. It’s bad for democracy and it’s bad for Canberra to have such a useless, weak, spineless, self absorbed bunch of egotists as an opposition.

Then again, the government is not much better, but better enough….

lol. Well put 😀

ACT Libs administration. Just the gift that keeps on giving.

No wonder ALP-Green think they can do anything in government and get away with it.

I thought Christopher Pyne was from the wets.

Can we start calling the Coe/Sesselja mob the Tea Party Faction?

Hands up anyone who’s surprised.

As one of the old hacks, I’ve been pretty surprised at how the Canberra Liberals turned out. The wets from ANU and this new “Menzies” faction probably won’t gain much traction. It’s the Coe/Seselja game now; the Humphries/Carnell past is long forgotten. With the Young Libs now led by a gun nut (http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/archive/index.php/t-231718.html) and most of the small-l, Republic-supporting, environment-conscious, social-libertarian members leaving after the Senate preselection debacle, I can’t see the ALP/Greens losing control of the assembly for a very long time. This town isn’t Texas and the Libs were never meant to be rednecks.

HiddenDragon3:06 pm 12 Nov 13

“The real miracle is they managed to look almost electable last October” it’s miracles all round in our all-star Assembly.

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