On the other side of the globe the Victorian (how aptly named it sometimes seems) division of the Libs are running a certified god botherer in the seat held by the woman who is deputy leader of the opposition. She already holds the seat by a near double figures margin and as pollsters are predicting a win for labour across the board of 'landslide' proportions she's probably allowing herself the luxury of attending to other matters beside the onerous task of retaining her seat.
That said, such electorates are regarded by parties as suitable training grounds (in a rather Darwinian way) for long term prospects. If they don't fail utterly and seek a radically different career path then they actually might be what the party needs and get a less unwinnable as reward at some time in the future.
So what was behind the decision of the Liberal Party of Australia (Victoria Division) to endorse Pastor Peter Curtis as its official candidate in this electorate - and for the second time.
It is a reality of the party's structure that this vile political creature's origins lie in a chintz laden sitting room in a brick veneer home on a quarter acre block in a fringe suburb. A sufficiency of like minded friends and easily influenced other individuals are all that is required to set up a prospective party branch. With acceptance comes access to the local politican at state and federal level, the chance to submit proposals to state council, to send delegates (who might or might not have the opportunity to speak) to state council. Getting to state council is the way to get onto committees and working groups and assemblies and so forth where the party membership thrashes out exactly what it is going to tell the parliamentary wing to think and do.
This is, you will note very, very unlike the machiavellian way in which the other lot go about things as their way results in the unelected union monster holds the labour parliamentarian in its vice-like grip.
From state council, as noted, the sky is the limit. The trick is to be heard. It helps to sound stupid. Sounding truly stupid is memorable. You want people to remember you; they're bound to forget why they remember you so get in touch with your inner idiot, today.
And remember. The world is full of idiots. People who are so idiotic they make you sound clever. Get in touch with your inner idiot and the world is your oyster.
Pasta Peter Curtis, forty year old part-time retailer (which possibly means deputy assistant night manager, shelf stacking, at the local woolies) and assistant pastor in the evangelical Southland Christian Centre is proof of this progress to credibility. And far be it for me to draw attention to the fact that he would in his latter role have access to plenty of biddable, gullible fools to stack his branch with should he care to do so.
That one branch is giving this fruit loop its backing is not in itself sufficient explanation for his status as endorsed candidate. There are other and more onerous qualifications before such credibility is bestowed. Some one, some where within the Exhibition Street labyrinth has declined to intervene, repeatedly.
That the man is certified god bother is in itself sufficient cause to disqualify him in my book. But there are plenty of them about and I can even (just about) bear the self-abusing Ruth Kelly in the cabinet as transport secretary as long as she doesn't do too much media work.
"As a Christian, I do not agree with the idea of homosexuality. That's the reality. I can't put it any other way," And "As a Christian, I don't agree with women in a position of authority. That's the reality. I can't put it any other way"?
"I certainly could never change my views that homosexuality is a perversion, because it is a perversion." (His great x 15 grand father reported once was heard to say "I certainly could never change my views that the world is flat, because it is flat.")
"I'd offer myself as a genuine grassroots candidate who would be delighted to represent them and who would have no favouritism or negative approach to any individual based on their lifestyle. I would love to represent them, I would love to represent anybody," he said. " Er yes, I'm that desperate. I'd love to represent anybody. [If you were gay would you trust this man with what few rights you do have?]
This does matter because the party that is fighting to stay in power at the national level has endorsed this man, and the above ranting is not the worst of it. That came later and here it is.
John Howard should be taken out so some remote place and there stabbed, burned, boiled, castrated, flayed, strangled and left to feed the dingos, just for presiding over the political wing of the party foisting this incredibly dreadful individual on an Australian public, let alone for any of his other crimes and misdemeanors.
Read this and weep that this man (who regrets that evolution is part of the science curriculum) can be regarded as Liberal Party of Australia candidate material:
Facing an uphill battle to defeat Ms Gillard, with Labor holding the seat by a margin of 8.8 per cent, Mr Curtis said he wanted to bring a more Christian focus to politics.
He said that, if elected, he would be urging the Liberal Party to introduce intelligent design to state school science classes. [Intelligent design is an assertion that certain features of the universe and living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, and not by natural selection.]
"I would be very much in favour of intelligent design being taught in public schools," Mr Curtis said. "Just as the theory of evolution is taught as well — in my view regrettably taught in science classes, because I think it's a theory and not a science."
Now correct me if I'm wrong but surely Mr Vermicelli is actually proof that if it is design, it isn't intelligent. Indeed this seems to be true of most advocates of intelligent design.
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