Politics

OH FUCK YES!

Could only have been made better if Costello had lost his seat too, but let's not be greedy. Not liking the look of how the Senate's shaping up though.

Tired now. Looking forward to waking up in a country without John Howard in charge.

I've been sick as hell for the last few days, so really wasn't in the mood to run the "how to vote" gauntlet at the Williamstown by-election today. I just sort of de-focused, marched in, got my ballot and left.

Of course, now that it's too late, I wish it'd gone something like this ...

"Look, I've got the flu and I'm not in the mood to talk about my preferences. Unless ... is there someone here from Family First? You guys make me sick, and I'd like to return the favour."

Oh, and can someone tell me how to title-case French phrases properly? I'm too brain-dead to even think about it right now.

I like it when someone does the hard work, so I don't have to. Of course, when it comes to statistics and percentages and so forth, I really have to face that I can't possibly do a decent job anyway.

Anyway, Polly has done a nice breakdown of The Greens' performance in the election, and also some Family First and other minor party numbers. The upper house balance of power is still at stake here, and it's going to be a while before we know for sure. I'm all for checks and balances, but I do kind of hope the ALP holds its majority for a little longer.

Oh, as a footnote, I'd like to mention that I voted next to Steve Bracks yesterday. He popped into the little cardboard cubicle next to me, just as I was wrapping up. It helped to explain the multitude of cameras around the place when I arrived.

Well, it's all pretty much over, and not a lot has changed.

I never did finish my last little post, since I lost the flow and wasn't really sure where it was going after all. I might dust it off later. It wasn't particularly time-sensitive.

I still have to live with the fact that in my electorate there were over a thousand people who thought that voting for Family First was a good idea. I wish they had some easily identifiable mark on their foreheads or something, so I could cross the street to avoid them when I'm out.

I can't say I'm unhappy about the result. The state version of the ALP is such a radically different beast compared to its federal counterpart, and I'm quite happy to see them in power right now. I'm looking forward to seeing the final upper house results.

One thing has stuck in my mind, though. I was listening to the radio coverage of the election results here at work, and (I think, but may be very wrong) a Greens member was mentioning how a lot of the Family First gains have come from people who judge them solely by the party name and think it sounds positive and good. Yeah, good observation. The same goes for the Greens, in my ever-so-humble opinion. In the words of my housemate, "It's like voting for the Nazis because you support the trains running on time."

Oh dear, I've compared The Greens to The Nazis. This won't end well.

I've been out of action for a few days with the 'flu, hence me not fixing up my own database issues and continuing to rant about politics. So things are back now, I have a cup of coffee next to my left hand, and things are happening in the world.

I have a half-written piece about social change and politics, which may come in a day or so. I have had the interesting experience of arguing myself out of one of my minor positions while writing a defense of it. Never let it be said that I'm inflexible, but it means re-evaluating some things before posting.

I will not vote for The Greens. Yes, they seem to be the party of choice for disillusioned lefties like myself these days, but they've always worried me at some level. I've never quite been able to put my finger on the exact reason, though. I guess it's mainly been the lack of a clear direction for the party, beyond "if it's not right-wing, we support it". I admit this may not be entirely accurate, but that's how they come across to me.

Being the kind of guy that I am, I decided to be fair. I decided to read their policy documents, as published on their web site. I found an awful lot of "what", and very little "how". Naturally, there's a lot in there that I agree with ... but there's also a lot that makes me wonder what the hell these people have in mind.

If there's anyone out there who is highly familiar with Greens policy (both the policies as stated and the process by which this policy is set), I'd be very interested in having a chat. In the meantime, I'm going to go through some of their documents and highlight some areas of concern to me.

I concede that I am still researching, and may make errors during this process. I will make highly visible corrections to anything I write on this topic if I am wrong.