Loopy, green-shirt wearing, mother-earth hugging mofos
Apparently, even Steve Bracks thinks the Greens are "loopy".
I would like someone to point me in the direction of this "loopiness". Why do mainstream politicians and pundits feel so offended by the Greens that they degenerate into primary-school name calling whenever they refer to them? And why do supposedly reputable news services allow them to get away with it?
When I read that article this morning I thought that maybe there has actually been a shift in Green policy in the last couple of years. Maybe things have actually gone a little whacky in Green-land. So I looked up the websites of the Greens and the two major parties.
Things I noticed when I did so:
1./ The Greens website is the only one with an obvious link to policies on the home page
2./ Looking at the Liberal Party website, you could be forgiven for thinking that the country is run by John Howard and John Howard alone (seriously, check it out)
3./ Kim Beazley does not fill my heart with pride/hope/anything-whatsoever
Following the useful and immediately evident link to policies on the Greens homepage, I was met with a comprehensive policy list covering everything from Aged Care to Transport, Aboriginal Health to Education. In short, developed and open political policy on all the major issues that Australian society should find of interest and relevance. Not only that, but every piece of policy I read was carefully and clearly written, showing genuine thought and full costings. Every policy displayed concern for the welfare of the people of Australia and our environment.
There was no ranting, there was nothing even mildly radical (unless you consider allowing tertiary teaching staff open access to Unions, or withdrawal from Iraq a threat to our "way of life").
In less than ten minutes, I was able to clearly see that there is nothing loopy about the Greens' policies. Their view of how this country should be governed is not all that different from the major parties. They don't advocate destroying the patriarchy, though they would like more recognition of women's rights, they don't demand the timber industry be shut down, though they would change the industry from logging old growth forests and catchment areas to plantation timbers, they don't suggest that drug use be made legal, though they believe that addicts must be offered help rather than imprisonment.
They are not loopy, they are evidently intelligent and thoughtful, the sort of people that SHOULD be running this country, not Mr 67-year-old McFuck-Face.
SO WHY DOES EVERYONE CALL THEM LOOPY!!?? It's infuriating and I ACTUALLY don't understand it. Maybe be three of you who read this blog can make some suggestions.
If Green policy is so patently un-loopy, a fact that any gibbon with an internet connection can establish in under ten minutes, then why attack them ALL THE TIME?
I think it's because the Greens are an actual genuine threat to both the Victorian and Federal parliaments. If people actually read their policies, they may well vote for them. By jumping up and down and shrieking about the craziness of the Greens any time they're mentioned, politicians and others must simply be hoping that the general public will be sufficiently distracted not to bother looking for themselves and if it's said often enough (which I believe it probably is) then it works very effectively.
It shits me.
Steve Bracks, I hope my vote for the Greens in the next State and Federal elections inflicts some damage on you and your idiotic rantings. Until the politicians and opinion writers in this country actually have the balls to stand up and meet the Greens on some sort of intellectually level playing field, then I for one will continue to despair at the state of politics in Australia.
I would like someone to point me in the direction of this "loopiness". Why do mainstream politicians and pundits feel so offended by the Greens that they degenerate into primary-school name calling whenever they refer to them? And why do supposedly reputable news services allow them to get away with it?
When I read that article this morning I thought that maybe there has actually been a shift in Green policy in the last couple of years. Maybe things have actually gone a little whacky in Green-land. So I looked up the websites of the Greens and the two major parties.
Things I noticed when I did so:
1./ The Greens website is the only one with an obvious link to policies on the home page
2./ Looking at the Liberal Party website, you could be forgiven for thinking that the country is run by John Howard and John Howard alone (seriously, check it out)
3./ Kim Beazley does not fill my heart with pride/hope/anything-whatsoever
Following the useful and immediately evident link to policies on the Greens homepage, I was met with a comprehensive policy list covering everything from Aged Care to Transport, Aboriginal Health to Education. In short, developed and open political policy on all the major issues that Australian society should find of interest and relevance. Not only that, but every piece of policy I read was carefully and clearly written, showing genuine thought and full costings. Every policy displayed concern for the welfare of the people of Australia and our environment.
There was no ranting, there was nothing even mildly radical (unless you consider allowing tertiary teaching staff open access to Unions, or withdrawal from Iraq a threat to our "way of life").
In less than ten minutes, I was able to clearly see that there is nothing loopy about the Greens' policies. Their view of how this country should be governed is not all that different from the major parties. They don't advocate destroying the patriarchy, though they would like more recognition of women's rights, they don't demand the timber industry be shut down, though they would change the industry from logging old growth forests and catchment areas to plantation timbers, they don't suggest that drug use be made legal, though they believe that addicts must be offered help rather than imprisonment.
They are not loopy, they are evidently intelligent and thoughtful, the sort of people that SHOULD be running this country, not Mr 67-year-old McFuck-Face.
SO WHY DOES EVERYONE CALL THEM LOOPY!!?? It's infuriating and I ACTUALLY don't understand it. Maybe be three of you who read this blog can make some suggestions.
If Green policy is so patently un-loopy, a fact that any gibbon with an internet connection can establish in under ten minutes, then why attack them ALL THE TIME?
I think it's because the Greens are an actual genuine threat to both the Victorian and Federal parliaments. If people actually read their policies, they may well vote for them. By jumping up and down and shrieking about the craziness of the Greens any time they're mentioned, politicians and others must simply be hoping that the general public will be sufficiently distracted not to bother looking for themselves and if it's said often enough (which I believe it probably is) then it works very effectively.
It shits me.
Steve Bracks, I hope my vote for the Greens in the next State and Federal elections inflicts some damage on you and your idiotic rantings. Until the politicians and opinion writers in this country actually have the balls to stand up and meet the Greens on some sort of intellectually level playing field, then I for one will continue to despair at the state of politics in Australia.
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