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House of cards

Dear Tony Abbott,

You probably get a lot of letters from both admirers and those seeking to criticise every facet of your existence. I am one of the latter. You might recall I’ve written to you before. Last time I wrote I told you about how concerned I was that you weren’t getting proper scrutiny in the mainstream media. Thankfully, since the recent change in ALP leadership, the media seem to have moved past their obsession with Julia Gillard. And in want of something else to write about, some of the more scrupulous journalists are taking some interest in your plans for the country and your behavior in trying to achieve your ambition to be the next blue-tie-wearing Prime Minister of Australia.

The introduction of the Guardian’s local edition has helped this happy scenario come about. Just in the last few days, Margo Kingston revealed your lies about using Comm cars for private travel while promoting your book Battlelines. I’ve also seen an article about your Direct Action policy by Lenore Taylor, Jonathan Swan from the SMH has taken an interest in the Ashbygate Trust and Chris Uhlmann asked you some direct questions about your ‘stop the boats’ policy on ABC’s 7:30. Did I say policy? Apologies, I meant slogan.

All of this scrutiny no doubt makes for an unhappy week for you, which I’m not ashamed to say makes for a very happy week for me. It’s clear you’re under a bit of pressure, what with your cowardly decision to turn down a debate with Kevin Rudd and this behavior in your pie stacking press conference was just, well, I don’t know what it was Tony?

But the reason for my letter is not to make your week any worse, although that would be a welcome side effect. No, I’m writing to you about your crumbling personal character and policy platform which is quite clearly a house of cards, built on quick-sand foundations. You see, the thing is Tony, when I stand back and look at what you spend 95% of your time in the media saying, it’s pretty clear to any objective outsider that you’ve set yourself up to fail. And it’s quite clear why you can’t possibly risk debating Kevin Rudd at this point in time, because you know as well as I do, if you’re really honest with yourself, that your house of cards could come crumbling down at any moment. Because its basis is a massive pile of dishonorable, weasel word, downright misleading and dishonest sloganeering and smear. This is what you have built Tony. And I think it’s time you realise just how dangerous a position you are in.

It’s all been so easy up to now. It’s no surprise that you’re suffering from the worse kind of complacency. The complacency of a man who hasn’t had to defend his own positions. Who hasn’t had to compete on a platform of ideas and intelligent debate about the merits of your alternative plans. All you’ve had to do for the last three years is to call Julia Gillard a ‘liar’ and your work for the day was done. How easy you must have thought life was. How weak your brain muscle must have got over all this time while you leisurely went about your business, doing stunt after stunt on your anti-Carbon-Price-Convoy-of-No-Charisma, spending hundreds of thousands of dollars of tax-payers’ money on your never-ending election campaign, while paying little or no attention to the policy success of your rivals in the government. And while paying little attention to the merits of what was coming out of your mouth.

Yes, I’m talking about the merits of what you have been talking about for the last three years. Because the fact is, while you’ve been using your Murdoch-inspired media pack to convince the Australian public that Julia Gillard can’t be trusted, the real truth has been that your entire policy platform, your whole view of the world, is so easily unpicked that you literally will not risk being asked any questions about it. It’s as flimsy as your claim to have ‘no specific knowledge’ about the Slipper/Ashbygate scandal. But know this. We can see right through you Tony. And right through your cheer squad of angry Abbott supporters who scream and yell on the radio, write misogynist blogs and troll #auspol.

If you were an emperor Tony, you wouldn’t be wearing any clothes. But you’re not an emperor. And your supporters have no logical argument for why they support you. Because the truth is, they have absolutely no reasonable way to defend your policy positions, except to admit the one thing they, and you, will never admit. And that is that your slogan policies aren’t based on intelligence, truth and respect. Let that settle for a second Tony. Intelligence. Truth. Respect. When you say ‘stop the boats’, you deny the complex problem of displaced, scared, desperate people looking for some way to save their lives. When you say Labor is all about debt and you spread economic doom and gloom around the economy, you deny the Global Financial Crisis and Labor’s success in steering the country away from recession. When you say ‘axe the tax’, you’re pretending the problem of climate change is not important enough to make sacrifices for. And you think short-term opportunism is more important than the lives of future generations of earth’s inhabitants. When was the last time you, or any of your LNP colleagues, showed intelligence, truth and respect? I can’ think of a single instance.

Because let’s be frank Tony. There’s a reason why weasel words are your only option. You’re only interested in helping a very small percentage of the Australian population. The minute anyone examines your slogan policies, this truth is revealed like budgie smugglers tearing open in the surf. The reality is, you’re the enemy of the working people you stand next to at your countless factory visits and anti-carbon tax rallies. You cosy up to them as if you’re backing them all the way, when really you would happily destroy their prosperity, their stability of employment, the infrastructure they need, their access to government services including health and education, if you thought there was a buck in it for your rich mates. Everything you say and do is designed to both fool people that this is not your true purpose, and to reassure those who know you are only supporting them that you will continue to do this. Please understand that when I say you only care about Gina Rinehart and Rupert Murdoch, I’m not saying you literally only support two people. I’m talking about Rinehart, Murdoch and the people who are like them; those who aspire to be as selfish, ruthless and rich; those who fantasize about a world where the Rinehart/Murdoch philosophy is acceptable and success is measured by how like-them you are. It’s a disgusting aspiration Tony, and you should be embarrassed to be encouraging it.

As soon as this fact becomes more apparent to the electorate, as soon as they realise how abhorrent your world view is, you’re done Tony. Because I believe Australians are better than this. While you’ve been aiming for the lowest common denominator, you’ve been underestimating that Australia is a community. Not an economy. The economy serves the community, not the other way around. Your house of cards will come tumbling down as soon as this simple truth is more widely acknowledged. I just hope this happens before the election, and not after.

 

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31 comments

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  1. g2-5bba245eb6db01d36e28de6648a6336a

    Abbott is the classic Coward/Bully personality
    He sucks up to those he sees as powerful and despises those who he sees as powerless.

    He gets pleasure from kicking defenseless people when they are down and basks in the praises of the rich powerful.

    The sad fact is that the same rich and powerful who use him probably hate him as much as he hates those who are beneath him.

    that is the nature of these people, they use people who can be of benefit and discard those who are no longer useful.

    Retirement for Abbott and those of his ilk will be long and lonely.

  2. Terry2

    Good letter and summary of Abbott’s lazy performance, Victoria. You need to cc Peta as she has been driving his bus.

    I think I’m detecting some desperation in Joe Hockey and Christopher Pyne, both have made nonsensical outbursts today; Joe seemed to think that Rudd’s appearance at the Press Club was a policy launch – wake up Joe, the failure of your leader to front gave the floor to Kevin unchallenged. Pyne is still peddling porkies about the Gonski school funding plan and even Campbell Newman has today had to concede that his intransigence will end up damaging Queensland and our children’s education.

    The campaign proper is going to be a doozy as the coalition will throw every dirty trick at Rudd they can spin up; for the opposition to remain in opposition will be a disaster for them and the end of Abbott’s career in politics.

  3. Colin Thai

    Your so correct in all that you have said in this piece Victoria, and what I would like to know is where is he, his sly remarks where are they. Hope he’s ok !!!! Maybe he is visiting the vet !!!!! . All I am looking forward to is his downfall. He has hurt a few people in his time. The tide does seem to be turning. Thanking you……..

  4. TeddySea

    You have taken the words right out of my mouth … though you have expanded my four words immeasurably and written them much more succinctly! Thank you for your time, your effort and your clarity of thought.

  5. Claude

    This post encapsulates my very thoughts on Abbott. The man is beneath contempt.

    Claude

  6. David

    Credlin will drop Abbott like the proverbial hot spud the second he is of no use to her grand design of Australia. The Australia she has brainwashed him into believing is his grand plan, but there is no plan except power and money any way, anyhow.

    He will find when the dream is over and lies shattered on the pathetic platform he allowed himself to be placed, his best resort will be to retire back to the Seminary and beg his God for forgiveness, because he will get none, get SFA outside those walls.
    I doubt even Pell will want to know him.

  7. helenmarg

    Wonderful letter to Abbott. You express it so well I do not know how you do it .The MSM should have you writing for them but they are too stupid to have a proper journalist working for them. Thank you for doing a wonderful truthful description of Abbott and his awful lot.

  8. puffytmd

    I am in awe of this letter, so correct, so direct and so needed.

  9. doctorrob54

    Cheers Victoria,well done.

  10. gordonwa

    Excellent letter Victoria, it goes to the essence of the man. Abbott has had over three years to develop some policies to present to the Australian people. He could have spent that time articulating a vision for Australia to take us into the future. He didn’t do this, instead he chose to accept the looney IPA wish list backed by Gina and Rupert.

    The main reason he failed to develop policies was his belief that the minority government wouldn’t go the distance. Egged on by the MSM/ABC he chose to believe that he could sail into government on a tide of negativity. Abbott is basically lazy and the Australian people are now awake to this. He is left clutching a discredited pamphlet that increasingly fails to cover his nakedness.

  11. Nny

    Very apt! As a young Aboriginal, Australian, male university student I find it disgusting that many of the people I know bought into the whole “Gillard is a liar” and that Labor has been disastrous. Really shows that mainstream news and journalism have moved away from simple stating the facts and observations.

  12. Patricia Ryan

    I think that perhaps the tide is on the turn and that Abbott has been given a little too much rope and he is now in trouble. The devious turd can’t keep hiding from Rudd forever and I suspect that there are quite a few in his camp who would now gladly step on his neck. He is so well managed that something has to give soon. You can’t be kept on such a tight leash and not end up looking like a dog with rabies. He just isn’t pure of heart!

  13. stavr0s

    Victoria you have expressed much of what I feel about Abbott. He won’t be PM. He can’t be PM and the Australian people will see through him. Thanks

  14. lmrh5

    Reblogged this on lmrh5.

  15. Bob Evans

    Yes, “stop the boats”? Pfft, he cant even stop the slogans, how is he going to stop the boats? He will will have more success in stopping the bytes, that’s about it. We need to fear Abbott’s byte people. At present, he is trying to work out how to stop boatloads of people leaving Liberal ports, sailing to Labor ports.

    http://dailypaper.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/tony-abbott-ad-spoof.jpg

    *Spoken fast, like at the end of a political ad*
    *Parts of this comment was paraphrased and plagiarized from other blogs and I thank you for that*

  16. Peter Stevenson

    If he attempts to turn back the boats the Indonesians will turn back the live cattle the country party will not allow this .Abbott would not have the nous to work this out.

  17. Geoff Of Epping

    Brava Diva Brava. Effin excellent letter/article. Let’s hope Credlin, his…..err……Chief of Staff reads it and weeps tears of blood.
    Now, she’s a stone hearted piece of work. Much like the other high profile female Libs, Julie Bishop, Sophie Mirabella and that laughable excuse for a Senator, Michaelia Griselda Cash, all bouffant and talons screeching in the Senate chamber. Ont a pint of empathy to be discovered amongst that lot.
    You can tell a lot about a person from the company they keep….right Abbott?

  18. Geoff Of Epping

    As an aside…the two photos of Abbott above, in the first he looks like he is rubbing pates with old Rupes, like cats do to each other and in the Rhinehart photo she’s giving him her drink order, and pronto.

  19. Ricky Pann

    Heralded and trumpeted… this man is a dangerous fake. great article.

  20. Misst

    Thank you Victoria, I absolutely agree. Thought I would add a couple things … Maybe Mr Abbott should be reminded to remember to talk to his friends. Last night on Lateline his buddy Mr Pyne was screaming about the new Labor Education reforms because they are going to cut education spending by squillions rather than invest more in our children. Does Mr Abbot know this? Why on earth is he worried that Gonski is too expensive, surely he should jump at the opportunity to support it.

    Mr Pyne also grumbled about Mr Rudd’s propensity to parade around shopping centres and the like whilst ignoring the real work of government. Oooh, has Mr Abbott ever thought of that? What a good idea, get out and about in shops and factories, looking pretty, could even pose for a photo or two and shout a few slogans! What the heck about the real work of developing policies!

  21. Gypsy Jack

    Caption for one of your photographs:
    ” Folly fawns on fat oily fan wearing shroud? “?

  22. doctorrob54

    just staying in.

  23. John Norton

    Noice.

    How’s about next, an article on Abbott’s good points ? 🙂

  24. confitbleu

    Bravo Victoria – direct, intelligent and articulate. Everything Abbott is not. Thank you.

  25. Suzanne Kelly

    Thank you Victoria. Beautifully articulated.

  26. Heather

    Powerful stuff Victoria. I agree totally and look forward to seeing the downfall of Abbott and his ilk.

  27. Kaye Lee

    Great article. As other posters have agreed, you speak for many of us about our fear of Abbott ever becoming PM of this country. I came across some quotes by Napoleon Bonaparte that are eerily pertinent to our current situation.

    “In politics, stupidity is not a handicap.”

    “The best way to keep one’s word is not to give it.”

    “If you wish to be a success in the world, promise everything, deliver nothing.”

    “A cowardly act! What do I care about that? You may be sure that I should never fear to commit one if it were to my advantage.”

    “One is more certain to influence men, to produce more effect on them, by absurdities than by sensible ideas.”

    “Morality has nothing to do with such a man as I am.”

    “Power is my mistress. I have worked too hard at her conquest to allow anyone to take her away from me.”

    “To understand the man you have to know what was happening in the world when he was twenty.”

    “Religion is excellent stuff for keeping common people quiet. Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich.”

    “You don’t reason with intellectuals. You shoot them.”

    “Four hostile newspapers are more to be feared than a thousand bayonets..”

    “The reason most people fail instead of succeed is they trade what they want most for what they want at the moment.”

    “Great ambition is the passion of a great character. Those endowed with it may perform very good or bad acts. All depends on the principles which direct them.”

    “Men are moved by two levers only: fear and self interest.”

    “The world suffers a lot. Not because the violence of bad people. But because of the silence of the good people.”

    “Ten people who speak make more noise than ten thousand who are silent.”

    “Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.”

    “Lead the ideas of your time and they will accompany and support you; fall behind them and they drag you along with them; oppose them and they will overwhelm you.”

  28. bernyl

    Spot on Victoria as usual, butt, the problem I have with all this is, the libs need only read this [and other outstanding posts here] to see just how ridiculous they all are with their pathetic, child-like ‘one-liners’ and realise that right here, is all the info they need to fix their seriously broken election strategies. …..Um….naaaa, they’re not that bright are they.
    What does seem great however, [and I might cop a blast for this] is the recognition Julia Gillard is finally getting in the MSM, with commentators generally, seemingly beginning to realise just how good she was/is and what they allowed to happen basically undefended. And in this regard, I guess we should be grateful KR is there and is well able to take the good fight to the libs.

  29. Kaye Lee

    bernyl, I agree about Julia Gillard. We must never underestimate what she achieved, not only in Parliamentary legislation, but in opening the discussion about some very ugly aspects of our society. I will be voting to keep her reforms, and I thank her for contribution and hope the personal cost was not too high. Well done Julia, and as Tim said, good luck to Kevin in taking up the fight to keep the Mad Monk out of the Lodge.

  30. bernyl

    I wonder just how history will record her efforts.

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