I have just watched Warren Entsch attempting to put on a brave face when trying to deal with the stupidity of the Liberal Party in sticking with their supposed promise at the last election to have a plebiscite on the legalisation of same sex marriage1. A meeting was called by Malcolm Turnbull to discuss the policy at 4:00 pm on Monday, August 7th. That day could well go down as the beginning of the end for the Liberal Party in Australia. It is clear that the religious right wing nut jobs hold sway in the party, to the extent that the seven who voted against the plebiscite are vastly outnumbered by a combination of the religious nutters and those too cowardly to speak against them. All same sex marriage advocates want, as well as those who actually want to get married, is their right to do so. This right is available to all heterosexuals, but not to homosexuals, simply because the religious nutters in the coalition think it is their right to tell people how to live their lives. This is an addiction the religious have been wedded to (excuse pun) for well over a millennium. Initially they demanded that everyone toe the party line on pain of death, then they imprisoned them, now they just discriminate against them.
It is difficult to know what to make of people who simply want to deny people happiness. Is it just sadism or is it a prurient obsession with what people do in their bedrooms, such that anything unlike that sanctioned by their priest is forbidden? If the latter was the case, then where does that leave molesting children? Hypocrisy is never in short supply in religions.
It never ceases to amaze me how gutless and heartless are our politicians. The fact that they could uphold this disgraceful plebiscite ‘idea’ beggars belief. As Warren Entsch said, there are some in the Liberal Party who will never change their view, and these are the people who believe it is their duty to impose their odd beliefs on others. However, the remainder of the Liberal Party are obviously those who do not care about the rights of others, but are either too afraid to cross the malevolent Christians, or who are more concerned about the fact that a promise was made to hold a plebiscite. The latter could perhaps be believed if politicians were not such a bunch of egregious liars. The architect of the plebiscite proposal, Tony Abbott has been shown to be the worst liar in recent Australian political history2. He has never admitted something that most normal people realise and that is the plebiscite was simply a method, as Warren Entsch stated, to kick same sex marriage into the long grass1.
It is not over yet. If the seven have enough gumption (don’t count on it, they are Liberal politicians, after all), and they can organise suspension of standing orders, then they can bring on a vote.
Given the lies spread by the religious, and particularly by organisations like the Australian Christian Lobby3,4, it is clear that the ‘thou shalt not bear false witness’ has been jettisoned; so now we only have a few commandments to worry about, as the stealing, coveting, adultery were dumped long ago. Their assertions that societal collapse will occur if same sex marriage is allowed to happen in Australia, are completely without foundation given that same sex marriage has been legal in the Netherlands for 16 years. What the ACL and their fellow travellers are most concerned about is their loss of power over people. A habit to which they have been addicted to for over a thousand years is a hard one to kick. However, they must, especially now that they are losing their stranglehold on the populace, as religious belief declines. It will only be a matter of time before the populace stops subsidising them.
This now where we are. These idiots want a plebiscite, if it turns out that Australians want same sex marriage, as all opinion polls indicate, then the parliament will have a free vote anyway, something that could happen now, as most of the religious nutters have said they will vote against it anyway. It will pass, and we will have squandered $160 million to hold a plebiscite. It is illogical and stupid and says much about the Liberal Party5.
The parlous state of Australian politics, particularly the conservative side, is exemplified by the comments of the Minister for Communications, Mitch Fifield, who blamed the Coalition’s debacle on obstructionism by the Labor Party. A free vote in parliament would solve the Coalition’s problem immediately, but it is beyond Fifield to even state the bleeding obvious. He just lies. And these halfwits wonder why the major parties are losing members and votes.
Sources
- http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2017/s4714556.htm
- https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/abbott-lies-to-the-nation-to-the-end-65-of-the-worst,8164
- http://www.blotreport.com/australian-politics/abbott-lies-again/
- http://www.blotreport.com/australian-politics/acl-bigotry/
- http://www.blotreport.com/australian-politics/logic-eric-abetz/
That these morons think $122M+ for a non-binding, non-compulsory postal vote isn’t a gross misuse of taxpayer funds is ample evidence of just how out of touch federal politicians are (especially but not solely the conservatives), and that’s without considering the opinion polls which consistently show solid support for ssm and shun any sort of expensive plebiscite. In all likelihood there will be costly court challenges and even if the government wins, hundreds of thousands of Australians will either ignore, or intentionally resist, the poll, thereby completely devaluing it.
It’s an absolute outrage that any politician would consider wasting $122M on such a fundamentally simple issue. That’s what modern politics has come to however. A pox on them all – with apologies to the few who don’t deserve to be lumped in with the mindless ideologues and other detritus which currently resides in our federal parliament.
Jon,
I couldn’t agree more. This is so mindlessly stupid, I am bereft of words which explain my disgust sufficiently. The fact that we are now, seemingly, going to have a non-compulsory, non-binding postal plebiscite to be followed by a FREE vote in parliament anyway, is beyond my ability to suitably characterise my anger.
I fully agree. It is simply a crazy waste of money. What did we do to wind up with this bunch of incompetents? Any leader who has to announce that he/she is a strong leader is either weak or totally deluded and certainly out of touch with reality.
Jim,
It is depressing, isn’t it?
What’s equally depressing is that the rational media (yes, I know) isn’t hitting it out of the park from every angle – the gross misuse of public money; the total lack of leadership by Turnbull; the comparisons with other more adult nations (such as NZ, Ireland and the UK); the hypocrisy of statements like Brandis’ classic oxymoron :‘This issue is so intimate, so personal that it is uniquely a cause for a plebiscite’ (yes, so personal and intimate that idiots and self-righteous religious extremeists should be given a say in something which is no business of theirs in the first place) , and Turnbull’s on the utter uselessness of postal polls. The moral and economic vacuity of this It should be writ LARGE, LOUD and OFTEN until Australians get shaken out of their apathy.
Jon,
No argument from me. Some media are attempting to do so (AIMN, Guardian, Independent). I have even seen tweets about articles in the Australian by Kenny and Albrechtsen who think it is a squib. They probably want to get their wunderkind, Abbott back in the job. I don’t tend to read their rubbish, so I don’t really get the full story. Reading the Australian can be injurious to your mental health.