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Stealing the Debate and Setting the Agenda
by nano Wednesday, Jun 27 2007, 7:15pm
national /
social/political /
commentary
In Oz politics, stealing the agenda and debate is worth a ton of policies. The local media has trained itself to follow -- with scant regard for actual value -- the most controversial (sensational) political stunts. For the politician who is able to feed the media shark with the tastiest dish, the national political consciousness becomes theirs to exploit to full advantage. After floundering for some time with flat issues/policies John Howard has done it again – his cynical but effective initiative on indigenous child abuse has stolen the political limelight. The extremely ill-advised opposition leader has found himself following his opponent – think of that for a minute and wonder why anyone would entertain advisers who have previously been exposed as incompetent losers.
An aspiring leader should never follow his opponent regardless! Ignoring obvious weaknesses of an opponent is politically inept – the opposition leader seems blind to the following Howard government failures:
- Astronomical personal and national D-E-B-T.
- Critical water and environmental neglect.
- National health and education neglect -- six hundred dollars ($600) for two (2) dental fillings!
- Unjustifiable multi-million dollar salaries for corporate directors while downward pressures are applied to the real incomes of average citizens (IR ‘reforms’).
And on it goes.
Eleven years of the Howard government neglecting indigenous issues and the opposition fails to exploit the flagrant cynicism of Howard’s present tactic! The well known fact that Howard would sell his soul to the devil for political advantage, seems to have been overlooked by the opposition.
Howard is easily defeated but it does require a modicum of courage and integrity – qualities obviously lacking in the opposition leader, Kevin Rudd.
In Oz, it is lies, fascination and manipulation that win the political prize – integrity, honesty and strength belong to by-gone eras. Today, a war criminal, pathological liar, cynic and despicable coward leads Australia but the opposition is unable to develop a winning strategy and defeat him – unbelievable!
Howard’s first real act as prime minister was to slavishly gift the nation to America and the forces of free market capitalism; forces which have been plundering the nation’s FINITE resources at blistering speed. What will we do when the transnationals have raped the nation and transformed it into a wasteland? Good government addresses these issues and MANAGES the exploitation of finite resources while developing compensatory strategies and policies – but not cowards like Howard and Rudd who both tremble in the vicinity of big business.
Big business is NOT the solution, as economic rationalists imagine – it is actually the disease – a fact that will become apparent to all in the very near future.
Enlightened government moderates the exploitation of non-renewables; it concentrates on self-sufficiency and sustainability with particular attention to water and food supplies -- globalisation is a failed experiment.
The preservation of the environment is preserving ourselves – a fact that escapes the plunderers and murderers. Elementary school children display more survival sense than all the governments in the world today – a very disturbing fact!
Today, political ‘oppositions’ are bereft of winning strategies for a very simple reason – it is impossible to serve the same master as one’s opponent!
When traditional leadership systems fail, it is time for the formation of viable and influential communities. In the west, various elites from every field must show the way; nothing functions without these specialists – unite!
Self-sustaining communities based on mutual cooperation offer the most viable option for survival.
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