Everyone knows politics is a dirty business. But the dirtiest business is usually kept behind closed doors so politicians can continue with the public lie that they are deeply virtuous and not subject to the same failings as you and I. So I really love it when the facade collapses and politicians are shown to be as two-face, disloyal and spiteful as anyone.
We’re getting a real sideshow in Australia this week, specifically in the state of Victoria where I reside. The conservative party (known as the Liberal Party, which I know is confusing to Americans) has been in opposition for ages here and I think they’re starting to crack under the pressure. Too long in opposition makes political types crazy.
The current Liberal leader (they’ve churned through a few), Ted Baillieu, is seen as too much of a lefty by the staunchly conservative wing of his own party. He’s even derided as “Red Ted” (yes, the Red Menace is alive and well for some). So some party members started up an anonymous blog dedicated to attacking him and undermining his leadership to the point he would be replaced.
All well and good. I fully support anonymous blogging. If you don’t like your parliamentary leader, go to town white-anting him. But here’s what you don’t do. You don’t run the blog from your work PC that has a fixed IP address. Guess what these morons did?
Yes, they wrote their attacks on their boss while at work. Work, in this case, was the state headquarters for the Liberal Party. As the saying goes, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. These clowns were net-savvy enough to start up an anonymous blog but too fucking stupid to know how easy it was to trace them if they ran the blog from work.
But sacking the two blamed for writing the blog was jut the start of the problems for the Liberal Party. The boil of discontent had been lanced and now the icky pus of revenge was spraying everywhere. The sacked opponents of the leader had some dirt on one of his supporters so they let fly with some payback.
One of the leader’s supporter had called another party member a “greedy f—ing jew” in an email (I’m not being coy, the email actually said “f—ing” not fucking). Of course, once they made that public she had to resign. This article covers in loving detail how fucked up the Victorian Liberal party actually is. The stuff they say about their own party is astonishing. I expect politicians to say things like that about their opponents but about their own “team”?
My guess is the bloodletting isn’t over yet. I for one can’t wait for the next round of payback and counter-payback. I’m a big fan of politics as bloodsport.
Angry 365 Days a Year 
They all take themselves way to seriously. If the State Government of any type had any balls, they’d have voted themselves out of office and leave us with a two-tiered system of government, instead of this crazy crappy situation we have now. Too much focus on who has the power, it leads to silliness of the highest degree while you and me and lots of other people stand around going “what the fuck?” and watch our hospitals, schools, public transport and other infrastructure go to ruin. Shit, I sound angry.
LOL. Do you remember Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s video for “Two Tribes”?
Matt
Nice to know us Greeks are not the only ones that have turned infighting into a sport.
There’s even a joke about this.
A guy dies and goes to hell where he is greeted by a demon and before his torment begins he is taken on a tour of hell. They walk a while and come across a huge pit of fire filled with the damned. All around the pit are demons with pitchforks shoulder to shoulder frantically fighting off the damned that are trying to escape.
“Why is there so much commotion?” asks the man.
“This is were we keep the Germans” replies the demon. “They are constantly trying to get out and take over so we need to keep an eye on them”.
They move on and after a while come to another pit. Here there are only a few demons and every now and then push one the damned trying to escape back in the pit.
“How come there are less demons here?” asks the man.
“This is where we keep the French” replies the demon. “They’re pretty tame so they don’t need much supervision”.
They move on and finally arrive at a pit with absolutely no demons.
“That’s odd says the man. How come noone’s guarding this pit?”
“Oh, this is where we keep the Greeks” replies the demon. “We need don’t need to guard them. Every time someone tries to climb out, the rest of them drag him back down.”
yes, the libs are revealed as the messed-up folks they are – at least it’s not another article about the chair-sniffing episode…
Bruce: sadly these people ((both sides) are never going to give up on squabbling for power
Matt: a great clip, although in this case it was ONE tribe going to war with itself 🙂
DOA: Great joke! Gave me a good laugh.
Vett: Liberal bashing is almost too easy at the moment
Conservative Traitorous Elitist Scum
Anybody else remember the Tory MP in the UK during the eighties who was found hanging from a door by his belt with a plastic bag on his head, an orange in his mouth and wearing stockings, suspenders and a basque, with so much coke in his system that his blood was practically powder? Now THAT was a self-destructing politician 😀
custador: that’s pretty much the most spectacular self-destruction I can imagine.