This awful little man has pissed his glorious political legacy away by hanging on just a bit too long, so now he’s going out with a whimper.
I hope.
I refuse to believe my fellow Australians could be so stupid as to reelect the arsehole again; even if you liked him, he’s declared he would retire mid-term anyway so you’d be voting for who-knows-what– yes Costello of course, but who knows what his agenda is?
I am soooo looking forward to a Coalition defeat tonight, and I have no intention of being classy about it. This shithead has placed Australia in lock step with the Bush administration and established "wedge" politics as the norm. He’s alienated people and even whole cultures (including the indigenous one) for no benefit other than grubby political gain. Anyone who disagreed with him, even if they turned out in the streets to protest in the hundreds of thousands, were dismissed as "Chardonnay Socialists" or "Elitists" or any number of bullshit terms invented by conservatives to deflect criticism of their politics of economic growth and support of US policy at any cost.
He’s a toad, an uninspiring ungenerous unsympathetic unamusing toad. And it’s time for him to go.
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Gloat-fest 2007
Saturday, November 24, 2007 (watching via stream ) Counting has begun in earnest and first results are trickling in.
6:50 PM – Hahaha Nick Minchin you smug smarmy bastard, we have waited a long time to rub your nose in it! Early early counting is looking good, enouraging swings away from the Libs. Put the boot in, Julia!
7:02 PM – Oh god I can’t handle the tension… what if the swing to Labor isn’t enough to win government…
10:15 PM – Woooooooohooooooooooo! He’s conceded defeat (although the formal concession speech has yet to be made). It also looks like Maxine McKew may take his seat of Benelong! Hahahahaahaha… Nick thinks that tonight should be a night where Australia thanks Howard for being such a great leader. Who they just voted out. I don’t agree that this is a reasonable thing to expect of the Australian populace. I suspect they will be thinking about all the shitty social policy we might be able to put behind us. Also we won’t have a foreign minister who disses someone for speaking Mandarin while bragging about speaking French. Cou-*tosser!*-gh!
10:27 PM – WTF is the story with postal votes… Why do they lean so conservative?
10:36 PM – The concession speech was going great while he was being humble (first time I can remember) but now he’s talking about what a fantastic job he’s done making Australia the envy of the world. There is noooooo acknowledgement of what may have caused Australians to (finally) lose faith in his government. Oh yeah, and he accepts full responsibility for everything, ever. May he take that evil rhetorical device with him as he leaves office (never say sorry, always take "responsibility").
10:56 PM – Tony Jones is a terrible interviewer. Maxine McKew is so much better, but she is too busy trying to take Howard’s seat :)
11:07 PM – Kevin’s acceptance speech. Ummm… Short sentences, unite, future, history, nation. Wow, hope he doesn’t suck as bad as his speech. "I say to the nation: I will never take their trust for granted". I think it should be "your" trust, but can let it go… "people of our great land?" Jesus did you not prepare a victory speech? Oh God this is painful… he’s like a frikkin robot "do not fear me. I want to make our great country even greater in the future. It is time to be more great. The future is too important not to embrace the importance of the future." Even his wife is giving him that "wrap it up already" look– and the party faithful is getting bored, and the clapping is tailing off.
11:17 PM – The ALP is officially to be renamed the Great Australian Labor Party, or GALP.
11:19 PM – The new PM just said a nice thing about trade unions– It’s a communist conspiracy after all!
11:21 PM – yadda yadda yadda… I’m off to bed. I’ve seen all I wanted to see, and for now I am satisfied. Kevin’s speech is just killing the buzz right now.