Amen. I mean, shit, if I could, *I'd* send over a vote or thousand for Kerry.
It's strange -- we really don't hear much about Kerry over here at all; I would guess that most Australians don't even know who he is. (Of course, most Australians don't know jack about their own politicians. Heh.) But, from what we *do* hear about him, the 'pussy' reputation just doesn't make it through over here at all. (And why did writing 'pussy' just then feel so dirty?) Probably the most we ever heard about him was during the whole Vietnam thing, and since Australia has never been as pro-Vietnam (or pro-war in general) as the US, I don't think it bothered anyone down here at all; certainly, the only actual criticism I heard was from US reports.
And I can't even comment on the stupidity of the fact that Bush may well get back in, because Australia's in the exact same goddamned position, and the Howard government is probably going to be re-elected for the billionth time. Because they utilise the politics of fear and hatred. Because people think 'better the devil you know'. Because people don't give a shit who they've got in charge, as long as *they're* not the ones dying. (And, although I don't think it's been said outright, the government are basically doing the 'imply that a Labor government would increase the chances of a terrorist attack on Australian soil', the fuckers. No, *you're* the ones who're gonna provoke terrorist attacks, by staying in Iraq, siding with Bush, and doing nothing to *repair* our fucking relations with the Middle East. Fucking hell.)
Do I want Mark Latham as my next PM? Hell, no. He's irritating as all hell, and I don't think a lot of his policies are going to work (if he ever even bothers to try to implement them). But, I mean, shit. If they win, Labor have promised to: a) pull out of Iraq, b) sign the Kyoto Protocol, and c) pull money from the most ridiculously overfunded private schools, and spread it out amongst the poorest public schools. (Amongst other things, of course.)
Yes, these are election promises. I'm not naïve. But, if a Labor government manages to pull just *one* of the above things off, then it'll still be a *huge* improvement over what we've got now. And, for the moment, that's the best that I can hope for; I'll work with whatever I can get.
Unfortunately, I'm not optimistic. Every time it looks like Labor's starting to get somewhere, something always happens to make people flock to the conservatives. Last election, it was the Tampa crisis. (Because asylum seekers are EEEEEVIL, and are planning to blow up Australia from their leaky, leaky boats!) This time around, there's the Australian Embassy bombing in Jakarta. Always right before the election, and somehow, the Libs manage to make people believe that we'd be less safe from 'outside forces' if we were under Labor. Even though these things are happening, y'know, UNDER THE LIBERALS.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2004-09-14 03:56 am (UTC)It's strange -- we really don't hear much about Kerry over here at all; I would guess that most Australians don't even know who he is. (Of course, most Australians don't know jack about their own politicians. Heh.) But, from what we *do* hear about him, the 'pussy' reputation just doesn't make it through over here at all. (And why did writing 'pussy' just then feel so dirty?) Probably the most we ever heard about him was during the whole Vietnam thing, and since Australia has never been as pro-Vietnam (or pro-war in general) as the US, I don't think it bothered anyone down here at all; certainly, the only actual criticism I heard was from US reports.
And I can't even comment on the stupidity of the fact that Bush may well get back in, because Australia's in the exact same goddamned position, and the Howard government is probably going to be re-elected for the billionth time. Because they utilise the politics of fear and hatred. Because people think 'better the devil you know'. Because people don't give a shit who they've got in charge, as long as *they're* not the ones dying. (And, although I don't think it's been said outright, the government are basically doing the 'imply that a Labor government would increase the chances of a terrorist attack on Australian soil', the fuckers. No, *you're* the ones who're gonna provoke terrorist attacks, by staying in Iraq, siding with Bush, and doing nothing to *repair* our fucking relations with the Middle East. Fucking hell.)
Do I want Mark Latham as my next PM? Hell, no. He's irritating as all hell, and I don't think a lot of his policies are going to work (if he ever even bothers to try to implement them). But, I mean, shit. If they win, Labor have promised to: a) pull out of Iraq, b) sign the Kyoto Protocol, and c) pull money from the most ridiculously overfunded private schools, and spread it out amongst the poorest public schools. (Amongst other things, of course.)
Yes, these are election promises. I'm not naïve. But, if a Labor government manages to pull just *one* of the above things off, then it'll still be a *huge* improvement over what we've got now. And, for the moment, that's the best that I can hope for; I'll work with whatever I can get.
Unfortunately, I'm not optimistic. Every time it looks like Labor's starting to get somewhere, something always happens to make people flock to the conservatives. Last election, it was the Tampa crisis. (Because asylum seekers are EEEEEVIL, and are planning to blow up Australia from their leaky, leaky boats!) This time around, there's the Australian Embassy bombing in Jakarta. Always right before the election, and somehow, the Libs manage to make people believe that we'd be less safe from 'outside forces' if we were under Labor. Even though these things are happening, y'know, UNDER THE LIBERALS.
Fuck, it makes me sick.