Rude Mechanical posted:

The name Riminton sounds like it's missing a G somewhere. Whenever I hear it I think of that one episode of 30 Rock where we find out that Alec Baldwin has been secretly moonlighting as an artisanal-cookie-jar collector under the alias "Victor Nightin-gale".

Raged posted:

Have to admit I was hoping Mal was going to go scorched earth and announce an election.

Amethyst posted:

He hates Bill Shorten too much to do that.

hooman posted:

Which is one of the safest LNP seats from memory.

If Dutts is ineligible then that likely unseats the government.

Gentleman Baller posted:

AusPol September 2018 - 2030, In the Hell of the Potato King

Don Dongington posted:

The only difference between any given Liberal and Trump is the "Saying the quiet part loud" thing that he does.

Testekill posted:

I dunno, Dutton got real close when he wanted South African farmers to be considered asylum seekers.

Moon Atari posted:

Patience. You've got to edge for awhile if you want a truly great climax.

Can someone with an account post the text of this article?: [url]https://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/turnbull-the-infidel-in-howards-broad-church/news-story/f83c38e709c2ea19e39fa74bf1436103
[/url]

I need to see the justification for that headline.

Anidav posted:

Sky News reports Dutton camp 'stuck' on 37, getting cockblocked by Morrison camp refusing to sign.

Anidav posted:

Amethyst posted:

lmfao

If this all ends here how the hell is Turnbull going to cobble together a cabinet?

quote:

The chaos continues over in the Senate. Senators were preparing to debate a bill on regional broadband. But the government appeared to have no idea who the relevant minister was. Instead of the name of its speaker, the Coalition simply wrote “minister”. Quality, stable government there.

Anidav posted:

This is not over. There is unfinished business in the Liberal Party that guarantees another leadership spill. The rising damp of the wets in the party has left the joint with dodgy foundations. Until that is fixed, the Liberal Party will crumble further, unable to define itself, prosecute policy or win an election.

In a rude joke just over a year ago, Malcolm Turnbull claimed the ill-fitting mantle of Robert Menzies. During a speech in London, Turnbull quoted Australia’s longest serving prime minister saying in 1944: “We took the name ‘Liberal’ because we were determined to be a progressive party.”

LIVE: Follow the unfolding developments from Canberra in our PoliticsNow blog

In true Turnbull style, full of arrogance, trickery and delusion, Turnbull claimed the Liberal Party as “progressive” — coveting its modern meaning when the word had a very different meaning in 1944.

As John Howard told The Australian last year, “context is everything”. “Menzies did not say: ‘We took the name Liberal because we were determined to be progressive rather than conservative.’ ”

Turnbull’s leadership was under the gun back then, too, and instead of reaching out to conservative voters, asking them to believe in a Liberal Party led by him, he effectively told them to get nicked. And they have, moving their votes and, in many cases, their money to other people and other causes.

Turnbull is decidedly more ABC than Sky News. And though he will say speaking with Leigh Sales rather than, say, Paul Murray is all about audience reach, Turnbull should be brave enough and smart enough to reach out to both audiences. Murray’s audience is where Turnbull needs to make a mark. When you lose the base, it’s clear that you have lost your philosophical bearings. Yesterday, a good number of his parliamentary colleagues deserted him, too. Winning a leadership spill by a vote of 48 to 35 against Peter Dutton should cause Turnbull to reconsider his strategy.

The problem is not just that Turnbull’s DNA won’t allow reconsideration but that it is hard to discern any strategy to reconsider. It is day-to-day survival for Turnbull; no policy is too important not to be sacrificed.

Like Kevin Rudd, the man who said he would not lead a party without a serious climate change policy has ruined his credibility.

There is no doubt that politics has cycles and we are on the downward side. But after a decade of no prime minister serving a full term, one might look to Howard for clues to success. The man who won four elections was canny enough to front up to all kind of media, from the friendly to the downright hostile. That Dutton is the same augurs well for him.

Howard’s success reveals Turnbull’s failure. A year on from his misappropriation of Menzies, Turnbull has still ignored what Howard said: “We should always remind ourselves of who we are and where we’ve come from and what we represent. The point I want to make most strongly is that people who see themselves as conservatives should see the Liberal Party as their natural home.”

Australia’s second longest serving prime minister lived the fact that the Liberal Party is most successful when it is true to its roots as the custodian of two philosophical strands: small-L liberalism and social conservatism.

The broad church was in fine nick under Howard because he saw himself as a man among equals. He embraced small-L liberals, putting them in cabinet and respecting their views. Indeed, the broad church of the Liberal Party was at its strongest under Howard because his conservative values reflected the fact mainstream Australians across the nation shared the same values.

Turnbull has not fostered a broad church because he does not regard himself as a man among equals. That prevents him from being a team player. The leadership of the Liberal Party and the prime ministership has always been about Turnbull. He wanted to lead the nation long before he knew what he wanted to do as leader of the nation. Voters can spot a man seeking power for power’s sake. Like Rudd, again. The two men have much in common.

That said, the rush to lay the wreckage of the Liberal Party at the feet of Turnbull is misguided even if tempting. Turnbull has shown zero political nous by shunning conservatives, provoking his arch nemesis Tony Abbott, and failing to explain what the point of the Liberal Party is under his stewardship. As Prime Minister, Turnbull has vacillated when decisions were needed. He has sulked over losses when he should have taken responsibility.

By surrounding himself with men and women who are less small-L liberal and more big-L Labor in their politics on everything from climate change to big government and culture, Turnbull has hastened a rot that set in years ago. As prime minister, ­Abbott was hardly a rock-solid liberal either, fleeing from free speech and economic reform at the first whiff of grapeshot.

Howard’s broad church can survive only if its congregation is committed to the values of liberalism such as freedom of speech, religious freedom, freer markets, less government regulation and defending our history.

Dutton may be the Liberal leader to rid the party of the rising damp, returning it to a genuine broad church of small-L liberals and conservatives. But first he will have to contend with Abbott. To steal a cricket term, Dutton deserves better than being a nightwatchman for a former prime minister who will not be satisfied until he is back in office, and his former chief of staff is there too.

The Liberal Party cannot be rebuilt until the cult of personality is replaced with the prime minister being the first among equals. The Abbott v Turnbull contest is more about two men who loathe one another than it is about the future of the Liberal Party.

I would blow Dane Cook posted:

Why is everyone making Kombucha these days?

Testekill posted:

https://twitter.com/Kon__K/status/1032400305198002176


The worst take; put Dutton in charge so that we can realise that Australia is racist as gently caress

quote:

Andrew Bolt, the late night Sky News commentator and keen promoter of the Anyone-But-Turnbull camp, had just had a hernia live on air.

He’s furious Turnbull is fighting back.

Firstly, he’s angry that Turnbull is demanding to see a petition with 43 names before he convenes a special party-room meeting tomorrow.

“He made up that rule. There is no such rule. Absolutely none,” Bolt says.

Secondly, he’s angry that Turnbull has asked the solicitor general to consider whether Peter Dutton is eligible to sit in parliament.

“Again, this is him trying to kill off Peter Dutton’s challenge. The only way that Peter Dutton goes to the high court is if there parliament refers him.”

Thirdly, he doesn’t like that Turnbull’s digging his heels so that Scott Morrison gets time to challenge Dutton properly with serious numbers.

“Malcolm Turnbull, the most leftwing leader of the Liberal party for, I don’t know when, is trying to stop the Liberal party from returning to its roots.

“It’s an utterly, utterly selfish and narcissistic move. His leadership is completely destroyed and he doesn’t care. He is staying on for as long as he can until he can nominate his preferred successor.

“I think it is a disaster. I have never seen such a selfish, damaging, suicidal kind of move from a man who’s only focus since the day he become prime minister was on himself.”

Bolt then reminded viewers that he wasn’t a member of the Liberal party.

You Am I posted:

Kon is a great bloke and works hard for refugees, so take that back.

You Am I posted:

Kon is a great bloke and works hard for refugees, so take that back.

I would blow Dane Cook posted:

Why is everyone making Kombucha these days?

Hollandia posted:

Kon is allowed some bad takes imo, being one of the most hardworking and visible advocates for refugee rights in a country that stubbornly and bloody-mindedly savages refugees at any opportunity is bound to break your brain after a while.

I would blow Dane Cook posted:

Why is everyone making Kombucha these days?