(no subject)

[dreamer_easy]

Poor old Dems. A commentator on the ABC described our severely dented vote as "the train wreck of the election". Disappointed as I am with our poor showing and Mr Howard's victory, I feel pride and satisfaction in what the Bennelong branch accomplished - I learned a ton. And I feel this odd determination to keep up the fight. There are refugee children losing their minds behind barbed wire, there's a pointless and vicious law against gay marriage, there are forests to save. Despite all our mistakes, the Democrats have been standing up for what's right. What we need to do is recreate ourselves so we can do that as effectively and convincingly as possible - so we can regain the electorate's confidence not just in our intention, but our ability to "keep the bastards honest".

Comments

[sangerin.livejournal.com]

(surfing in from friendsfriends)

I seriously hate to ask this, but I've just got to: why the preference deal with Family First? That's what lost the Dems my second preference. (Okay, apart from the GST, the shoddy way the party dealt with Natasha, and the fact that it's historically the party of disenchanted Liberals, anyway, and therefore too far right for me to begin with...)

I wanted to ask the Democrat candidate who was at the polling booth this morning, but I didn't want to get into an argument with him...

[wondermaze.livejournal.com]

Realpolitik, I suspect - the same strategising that had the Green swapping preferences with Labor. I was also disturbed by the preference swap; although Family First aren't quite as bad as the Greens painted them, we shouldn't be horse trading with a right-wing minor party at all. There is no point in having an Australian Democrats if we compromise our principles. We have a hell of a lot of work to do to earn back voters' confidence.

Do you know, it's only recently that I learned more about the party's history, and discovered they'd split off from the Libs when that party grew too right-wing. I joined because of their progressive social policies, particularly regarding gay rights and refugees. The difference between economically conservative and socially conservative has become more and more obvious to my unschooled political mind. As some disappointed Liberals pointed out to me, the government could be economically conservative without also crushing human rights.

[wondermaze.livejournal.com]

... this is Kate, btw, mucking about in one of my other journals. The other thing I should add is that the Greens and the Democrats, as progressive parties, should be allies or friendly rivals, not sniping at each other over preference deals or whatever. How embarrassing.