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Beyond Satire – But is Rupert a Help or a Hindrance?

First Dog On The Moon wrote that Tony Abbott was beyond satire. My immediate thought was it’s a bit like masturbation – if you think it’s impossible to do it to him, he’ll probably do it to himself.

This isn’t meant to be a criticism of masturbation, by the way! I’ve always thought of it as a bit like writing poetry. Most people will do it at some point in their life, but doing it in public and expecting people to admire your unique technique and your use of rhythm, requires either extraordinary self-confidence, or a special type of insanity. Or perhaps, in the case of certain public figures, a little of both.

As for Rupert Murdoch’s demand that Abbott sack Credlin, we have a strange diversion. (As an aside, I find it strange that Murdoch said “Leading involves cruel choices”. “Cruel” not strong or difficult. There’s a whole book there for some psychiatrist. As for “Tough to write”, I guess that’s why he become an owner rather than a journalist.)

murdoch credlin jpeg

The conspiracists among us will suggest that this is Murdoch’s way of saving Abbott. Abbott will surely refuse and by standing up to a dictator and supporting his woman (er, only in terms of being his Chief of Staff, we know that he has more than one woman in his marital home, which is what qualifies him as a feminist) Abbott is showing that Rupert isn’t pulling his strings and that he’s his own man, and that this a clever plan that they probably worked out while Abbott was on his way back from Iraq when he stopped off at a destination that none of us know about to meet Rupert, Peta, Wendy, Tony Blair and Elvis for lunch.

The other responses will be more confused. Some will argue that Credlin shouldn’t be sacked on Murdoch’s say-so and argue that Abbott should stand up to Murdoch. Others will argue that this is a distraction, it doesn’t matter what anyone does, we need to complain because Bill Shorten didn’t say anything about this, and Labor should change leaders. Others will say that there’s no basic difference between Liberal and Labor. A small number will say that Murdoch has it right for once. A couple will say that none of this matters and that the world is doomed and renewable energy won’t solve anything. One Abbott supporter will start talking about something even more irrelevant to any of this, like debt or climate change in the hope that he/she attracts all the comments like a chip to a bunch of sea-gulls.

But to me there’s only one clear, intelligent response to all this. That’s right – only one! Certain people (the names Tony, Peta and Rupert may spring to your mind, but if anyone adds Rossleigh, I’ll be very, very annoyed and you’ve blown your chances of a knighthood when I become supreme ruler) are starting to think that their opinion is the only one that counts. And that tends to piss people off, eventually. It’s fine when the opinion is that you deserve something far better than what you’ve got. However, once it morphs into I said you deserve better and you picked me, I’m it, so shut up, people tend to reassess a whole lot of things. I mean, whatever happens in the Queensland election this week, I’d feel pretty safe betting against an increased majority for Campbell Newman.

Whatever your views, I think you should petition Abbott and demand that I get the next knighthood. Tell him that this his best chance of survival. Yep, it’s not likely that he’d do it. It’s almost as unlikely as him surviving the year as PM. But it’d please my mum and she’s even older than Prince Philip. And if we’re talking about unlikely things, I think we could create a fairly long list if we started just three years ago, so anything’s possible.

41 comments

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  1. June M Bullivant OAM

    He should mind his own business he has no right to control our politics, I think we need to not buy his paper.

  2. Margot

    Interesting chronology.

    1. Julie Bishop and Peta Credlin relationship has ‘irretrievably broken down’: report
    http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/julie-bishop-and-peta-credlin-relationship-has-irretrievably-broken-down-report-20141210-123v6d.html

    2. Julie Bishop drops in on Murdoch in New York at the weekend

    3. Rupert Murdoch ✔ @rupertmurdoch
    Abbott again. Tough to write, but if he won’t replace top aide Peta Credlin she must do her p patriotic duty and resign.
    11:42 AM – 28 Jan 2015

  3. paul walter

    How dare this senile, tax dodging, fifth columnist traitor from a foreign country interfere yet again in the business of this country.

  4. Amanda V

    Your paragraph starting “The other responses will be more confused” is spot on and I don’t know you but I suspect you are bit common for the toadying sycophant to give and knighthood to. (which is a good thing) and speaking of K… nig..it..s was it Australia Day, April the 1st or Monty Python Monday.

  5. Terry2

    This could be the end of the Abbott government and much will depend on how Abbott responds to Murdoch. If he tells him to keep his nose out of Australian politics – which he should – then you will find NEWS CORP in Australia will turn on Abbott.

    This is going to be absolutely fundamental as it shows how beholden this government has been to every whim of Murdoch from the attempts to neuter the ABC funding to the rigid avoidance of ABC interviews in favour of SKY.

    Julie Bishop met with Murdoch last week in New York………you work it out.

    The Malcolm and Julie show is waiting in the wings, folks.

  6. kate ahearne

    Go home, Rupert. The way it was, your interference was almost deniable. Now it’s not. The gloves are off. I agree, June. Let’s not buy his papers. If he starts to lose money for his companies, maybe they’ll dump him, and if he keeps on displaying his megalomania, which is a mental illness, maybe he’ll be locked up and some lucky someone will get Power of Attorney.
    I’m no fan of Peta Credlin, but Tony and Co. really need to stand up to Rupert about this.

  7. rossleighbrisbane

    Amanda V, to accept my knighthood on any other day than April 1st would be unAustralian!

  8. Geraldine Reid

    Murdoch is not even Australian…I should think he should keep his nose out of Australian Politics. Unfortunately TA can be lead by the nose, Both disgusting individuals, would love to see them both on a boat in the middle of the Pacific with no paddles….

  9. Kaye Lee

    Gosh….Rupert and Miranda Devine had the same thought…that’s amazing.

    Conservative columnist Miranda Devine earlier on Wednesday opined that Mr Abbott need to make a “sacrificial offering” to his colleagues by sacking Ms Credlin.

    “The Prime Minister has to make a sacrificial offering to convince his colleagues that he has learned a lesson,” she wrote.

    “Something that causes him pain, like chopping off his right arm. In other words, moving on chief of staff Peta Credlin.”

  10. hood

    I’ve heard masturbation leads to blindness but is it ok until i need glasses ! Seriously though i’d like to say to Mr. Rabbot ‘ you remind me

    a phrase something —– as a brick.

    hood

  11. Owen

    Well perhaps Julie has been told if Rabbit doesn’t budge on Peta .The top job is hers. Just a test of loyalty ?

  12. Kerri

    I’m kind of wondering what planet some posters on this article have been living on???
    Murdoch has turned against Abbott’?
    Did you not see the Courier Mail front page with Abbott as court jester?
    Murdoch was Australian and his commentary is completely irrelevant unles you are a gullible gibbering fool?
    Gosh! Does that sound like the Jester front page”?
    As for those suggesting we NOW not buy Murdoch??, SERIOUSLY.?? have you not ńoticed until now what a greedy, immoral, control freak, louse Murdoch is???
    He allowed his minions to hack into the mobile phone of an abducted dead 13 year old???
    He made money from using the data as a headline???
    His mother must roll over quite regularly?
    When she was alive one wonders how she coped with such a disapppointing sprog!

  13. Annie B

    @Terry2 …. Re : – – – ” This could be the end of the Abbott government and much will depend on how Abbott responds to Murdoch. If he tells him to keep his nose out of Australian politics – which he should – then you will find NEWS CORP in Australia will turn on Abbott.”

    Murdoch is a global control freak – always has been, always will be, until he falls off the twig. …. I have seen over the past few weeks – even a couple of months, his News Corp, ever so slightly ( cunningly played ) turning its’ back on the Abbott Government ( which I have to claim I have mentioned would happen, in a few other posts – that is, that Murdoch would never allow anyone to sully his reputation and would indeed turn his back on his alleged ‘friend’ ).

    And so it is happening. …… Never mind that Murdoch is no longer Australian – by choice. … He is what he is – a king dick-tator – probably sending out memo’s to editors in chief, displaying his annoyance at Rabbott and issuing edicts accordingly. And it is reflected in the media today – and in Murdochs’ own Tweets !! which also are cunningly worded – and could be read any which way. …

    One way they can be read is that he ain’t a happy chappy with the leader of this country, considering the amount of time and effort he put in INITIALLY to uphold and support the LNP – to begin with. ……. That lot of media effort, is obviously now over – done and dusted.

    No such thing as true friendship in politics or in the media.

    No honor amongst thieves.

    The Abbott is done for.

    p.s. – to cease buying Murdoch press, is to support Abbott – at this stage. Please don’t go down that path. !!

  14. corvus boreus

    The pleas to stop buying Murdoch newsprint are a bit like urging me to stop buying my breakfast of ‘dog-shit and shard-glass on mouldy dishrags served in an unwashed ash-tray’ off the abusive leper with bronchitis wearing the semen-stained mankini.
    Sound but unnecessary advice.

  15. ' george hanson '

    So , let me get this straight , a media baron who surrendered his australian citizenship for financial gain is telling an australian citizen it is her patriotic duty to quit her job . F.F.S.

  16. John Knight

    Julie Bishop went to New York to see Rupert for her job interview to be PM or deputy, and to receive her riding instructions.

  17. corvus boreus

    Rupe sez; “Fairness sux, cruelty the go. Tones must ditch the witch”.

  18. Damo451

    Just wondering if it’s really Bill Shorten that Mud duck wants as Abbotts successor ,not Julie Bishop.

  19. Carol Taylor

    Corvus and “ditch the witch”, ah indeed such is the irony of it all…

    The one that I am particularly enjoying at the moment is the msm’s seeming suprise. How could it happen? How could it be, as one msm professional journalist (and he wasn’t from the Murdoch press) put it: how could the most “effective” LOTO in the entire world’s history be such a lousy prime minister?

    The answer is of course is that the journos were so impressed with their own influence in turning Abbott into something he clearly was not, and never will be that they neglected one small item – that Abbott would as PM basically wreck the joint.

    Abbott was never “effective”, instead the worst LOTO, achieving nothing except self-promotion and certainly nothing for the country. No surprises that he is a self-indulgent fool as PM. But of course the msm mostly missed this, so impressed were they with their own influence.

    Damo, the word is out that it’s Turnbull. Paul Sheehan has this opinion: http://www.theage.com.au/comment/tony-abbott-has-much-bigger-problems-than-a-rogue-knight-20150128-1306yv.html

  20. PopsieJ

    When 2 cartoons in Moredicks papers show the Prime Minister as an arse licking creep and a full front page as a court jester then I can assure Tony Abbott has gone, finished ,and of no further use or place in Moredick’s empire.
    It could quite easily be that JB has got the nod, a visit to Rupert Moredick in New York and a trip to Afghanistan to offer troops to counter the Taliban ( to please America ) is significant.

  21. Terry2

    Damo

    Murdoch wants Turnbull, Bishop is the courier – Bishop will probably want to keep her gig as Foreign Minister, who wouldn’t , it’s the best job in government.

  22. crypt0

    I agree with all the above re rupert …
    I come to this site for information, but if you want a bit of fun, go to the Herald sun site and make a few comments!
    The opportunities are endless !

  23. Harquebus

    “One thing I resent is the slur that I just support political candidates because of the business.” – Rupert Murdoch

    “I’m not ashamed of any of my papers at all and I’m rather sick of snobs that tell us that they’re bad papers, snobs who only read papers that no one else wants. I doubt if they read many papers at all.” – Rupert Murdoch

    “I feel that people I trusted – I don’t know who, on what level – have let me down, and I think they have behaved disgracefully, and it’s for them to pay. And I think, frankly, that I’m the best person to see it through.” – Rupert Murdoch

    No wurries. Rupert will fix.

    Cheers

  24. Anomander

    I’m wondering what other nefarious activities they are up to while the media and the public are all distracted by pointless knighthoods and Abbott’s leadership and office staffing?

  25. Sir-Murray Robert-Barnard Of-Hawkstone

    Sounds more like code to me…”make the hard decision, patriotic duty to resign”…he means Abbott should do the right thing…not Credlin, Abbott should be the one taking responsibility and quit.

  26. paul walter

    Utimately, Murdoch has done more damage himself to our culture and society than any fifty of his principle political lackeys.

    He should pitch himself into an abyss.

  27. paul walter

    And the news that it might be Turncow is a source of dismay.. Turncow is hard neo lib, without Abbott’s annoying, horse-spooking sound fx

  28. paul walter

    As for Bishop…well, now we can see what sort of individual she is. Back to Michael Taylor’s thread on “diversions”

  29. Jexpat

    I’ve been told that Paul Sheehan is spruiking that Turnbull will be the replacement.

  30. diannaart

    Apart from all the usual ‘who does Murdoch think he is…. blah, blah, blah….’

    Why is Murdoch bagging Credlin now? Tony did not consult her about ole Phil’s knighthood (he only consulted 2 men who were doubtless rather grateful to Tones), besides Peta Credlin is a believer in republicanism for Australia.

    Was Murdoch, just having a ‘senior’s day’ or did he think it was time to send down the mount one of his lordly pronouncements, without checking the latest Abbott gaff first?

    We may never know. However, I am quite sure that Tony is not quite the lap-dog in Credlin’s handbag many think him to be – quite capable of being a thoughtless cretin all by himself.

  31. Rita Moore

    Looking at the photo… Why is Peta Credlin sitting in the House of Reps (Parliament)? Is there a precedent for a non-elected party member to sit there or is it that Mr Abbott needs ‘minding’?

  32. Annie B

    Seriously I think we have to ask —- “Just who – or what … IS Peta Credlin”. …. She doesn’t seem to have much of a CV, and has not behind her, any impressive work moves upwards, and indeed was demoted when with Malcolm Turnbull during his tenure ( pre 2009 ). ………… she was re-instated after Abbott took over ( as LOTO ). I cannot find anywhere, where her Bachelor of Laws degree from Melbourne U, preceded her going into private practice and actually performing or acting as a lawyer – on behalf of clients. She hasn’t got too many credentials.

    So … who the hell IS she ? … Why is she permitted to sit in Parliament – whispering in the PMs’ ear ? What right does she have to a seat in Parliament, when she has never been elected. ?

    OK … I agree, that any politician is entitled to have ‘staff ‘ …….. and is entitled to ‘office ‘ help. …. The words “Chief of Staff” implies that she oversees a group of people who work for the Prime Minister, in and for his office, and is chief cook and bottle washer when it comes to making administration decisions.

    But maybe, it goes a little further – and has perhaps become more of a dictatorship – – as soooo often happens in ANY office, particularly when there is a very much weaker person in that office. … and that weaker person, in this case, would be the PM !!

    Frankly, I don’t understand it unless :
    a) …. Abbott is so nervous and unable to fulfil his duties, that he needs a permanent crutch in the form of someone like Credlin, who makes most of his decisions for him,
    or
    b) … Abbott does not know when he is being taken for a ride – on the political merry-go-round – to the benefit of others ……. namely Credlin and whoever else she supports ( unbeknown to others ).

    Either way, or any way you look at it, Abbott’s dependence on his ‘boss’ is an absolute sign of weakness, an inability to make his own decisions, consult with his own party ( past the ‘boss’ ) …. and an inability to even speak without her help. The power behind the throne, huh ???

    “In general, a chief of staff provides a buffer between a chief executive and that executive’s direct-reporting team. The chief of staff generally works behind the scenes to solve problems, mediate disputes, and deal with issues before they are brought to the Chief Executive. Often Chiefs of Staff act as a confidante and advisor to the Chief Executive, acting as a sounding board for ideas. Ultimately the actual duties depend on the actual position and the people involved.”

    Interesting precis of the position of “Chief of Staff” ??? To provide a ‘buffer’ ( stand between ) ?

    Signing off on this one. !!

  33. Jexpat

    Just who – or what … IS Peta Credlin”

    She is Rasputin.

    Reincarnated.

    Or a less successful emulation of Karen Hughes.

  34. Roswell

    As much as I enjoy listening to Murdoch bay for blood, it’s a worry that this evil man still has so much control over who governs us, and how we are governed.

  35. Bighead1883

    JexpatJanuary 30, 2015 at 1:04 am
    Well it`s not that a buffoon like you would know anything now is it?
    What a lame analogy

  36. corvus boreus

    Making a first posting on a thread that is not only an off-topic attack on another post, but contains personally derogatory terminology directed at the poster, looks suspiciously like what has, in the past by others, been referred to as “trolling”.
    Wasn’t making an accusation (on another thread) that the same person committed a revolting sexual act sufficient belching of bile and venting of spleen?

  37. Terry2

    I’ve still yet to hear from any of the commentators why it is that Rupert is even aware of the existence of Credlin and why he would be driven to going public on her sacking.

    Has someone been feeding information to Murdoch about the extent of Credlin’s control over Abbott and even if that were Bishop why on earth would Murdoch broadcast to the world. If he had a problem and considered that he had some right of input, why wouldn’t he just phone Abbott.

    All points to extraordinary influence which Murdoch seems to think is quite appropriate and that he is entitled to interfere in our democratic arrangements.

    Very strange and disturbing.

  38. Geraldine Reid

    Yes, it always bother me when they throw us these bones to distract us from what is really going down behind closed doors, with Neanderthal like minds working to undermine the sense of democracy we have been living under…. interesting that Murdoch is nosing around and having a go at Credlin…….

  39. corvus boreus

    Terry2,
    If for no other reason, Rupert is aware of Peta in that he, she and Tony had a little private supper in NYC at Murdoch’s apartment whilst Abbott and Credlin were visiting North America to conspire in climate denial and snub the PotUSoA.
    Even Mr Obama was probably asking; ‘who is this tall,’sex-haired’ woman who whispers in this man’s ear, yet is not his wife?’.

  40. Grant Moss

    Is it me or is Peta Credlin really sheathed in a snake skin?

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