Glenn, (see, I remembered)
The problem you describe, is, unfortunately, the prevailing one. One of the reasons
this list exists.
Also prevailing is the belief that if you want to play in the 'big leagues' you have
to turn your back on
your principles and the "extremists". Kind of like someone whose marriage partner
finances the education of
a spouse and then gets dumped as soon as success is in view.
Of course, this isn't true - I have seen politicians (not many but there are some) who
have stuck to their
principles through thick and thin and they have been very successful. Maybe not in
gaining power but in
having their policies adopted and in have a faithful and growing constituency.
Still, it's much easier the mainstream way, isn't it?
The Democrats won't survive this because their core constituency consists almost
wholly of those
'extremists' they are turning their backs on.
Trudy
Murray, Glenn (Ex AS01) wrote:
> I don't know how many people caught "Face to Face" last night on the ABC. I
> was lucky enough to be treated to Senator Andrew Murray's rundown on how
> democracy works. He said (and a I paraphrase), that if you're a party that
> wants to be a player, you have to be concerned with the mainstream issues.
> The extremists have to be left at the margins out of necessity. Obviously
> all of us who've received form letters (and have thus been left at the
> margins) are extremists, and are not of concern to the democrats. I don't
> think anyone will be surprised by that given the last few months, but it was
> interesting to hear it come from the horse's mouth (so to speak).
>
> After Senator Murray was interviewed, 4 other people were interviewed in the
> simultaneous way that "Face to Face" uses. There was the Queensland premier
> (Beattie?), an economist for The Age (I think), another economist type from
> Canberra, and that guy who speaks for small business. What a frustrating
> exercise in futility! Beattie didn't contribute anything to the
> conversation except that he wanted the deal that his state signed with the
> government to be honoured. Mr Small business talked only of the costs to
> small business (which may be significant, and I don't seek to dismiss them),
> and the two economists talked about the finer points of whether it would
> have been better if the package was food exempt or food at a lower rate...
> but only from the perspective of small business and fast food outlets.
> Now, while these are all legitimate concerns, I'm sure, I know that they've
> all been done to death, and the I don't think the small business owners are
> the ones that are going to be hit the hardest (although they may have quite
> a bit of clout when it comes to vote time).
>
> So I'll cut to the chase. I think the real social issues, about which
> everyone on this list has been talking, are being ignored, evaded, or
> overlooked. I hope everyone will excuse my ignorance, but aren't there some
> spokespeople or media advocates for the poor and disadvantaged? Are they
> attempting to be heard by the media? If they are, and they're not being
> listened to, is there anything we can do to improve their chances? I'm sure
> I'm not alone in wanting to see the elected officials answer the questions
> we have to ask.
>
> Thanks for listening... I'm tired and grumpy.
>
> Glenn Murray
> Technical Writer
>
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