In the latest edition of Crossing the Floor, Bernard Keane explores the sudden outbreak of Aussie political writing last week, including Wilson Tuckey’s email rant against Turnbull, Tony ‘rent-a-quote’ Abbott’s snazzy new book and Rudd’s 6000 words of what Rudd himself calls ‘his mediocre prose’.
The rise of the politician writer
Bernard Keane eyes the sudden outbreak of political writing: Wilson Tuckey's email rant, Tony "rent-a-quote" Abbott's new book and Rudd's 6000 words of what the man himself calls "his mediocre prose".
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Politics Editor @BernardKeane
Bernard Keane is Crikey's political editor. Before that he was Crikey's Canberra press gallery correspondent, covering politics, national security and economics.
the fetus , just another god botherer who has the gall to dispute the science of co2 as inconclusive whilst embracing the
imaginary , brainwashed in cult of christianity, and whose antics we encourage by allowing the “lords prayer ” to be recited in the parliament.Which can be confusing to Tony because it kicks off with our father a term which must generate angst in the ranks of the cuckold.
You’ve got to hand it to Turnbull, the Liberal party is looking a lot like the Republican movement, that’d be doomed.
I’ll be generous and dismiss Rudd’s newspaper ads as more home-state related quirky PR. But Coalition members declaring Party and leadership loyalty as they rush to advertise personal and political agendas is a different kettle of fish. Either robust party room debate isn’t working or they can’t toe the party line because there isn’t one. Abbott’s Battlelines is silly snake-oil salesman stuff – how to fix broken marriages, climate change, federalism and whatever else he thinks the Party and press gallery aren’t spinning his way. The Costello Memoirs, Iron-bar Tuckey’s leadership spray are more of the same from a frustrated group of Liberal wannabe’s minus a vision. The best advice this week came from The Australian’s Glenn Milne on how to deal with their mad Uncle: “just take him out the back and politically take the next logical step”. Maybe they should all head for the back door.
Once again I feel moved to nominate Tony Abbott for a gold coloured dog-poop catcher for his gritty self-deluded determination to churn out a book-God! His publishers are game-which will appeal to hard right-wing Catholics, librarians and desperate students wishing to use the paper to build a fire in their cheerless digs.
Although why he didn’t play to his audience and out himself as Australia’s very own Quisling is a mystery.
I raise my coffee cup to the man who has done more to undermine the Constitution as laid down by our ancestors, namely that the land of Oz is a secular state and not another foetid game of footy, than almost any other Australian.
PS Love your new hair-do Bernard, I hadn’t realized how good looking you are.