Congratulations Senator on your new award BTW...
This past Thursday, the Senate was discussing the forthcoming Carbon Tax bills. Among the looney-tunes monkey capering antics of the Coalition - Australia's prime champions of doing nothing about the environment and attacking anyone who tries - Bronwyn Bishop, an evil crusty spud-like Liberal Senator who bears a passing resemblance to Kyle's mum in South Park got all conspiracy theory on us. Her beef was that because Labor wanted to cut short the debate on the bill, and because GetUp! are planning to celebrate the (presumed) passage of the bill next Tuesday, this means that GetUp!, working through the Greens as puppets, were then manipulating Labor to silence vital debate (for debate, read outright rejection of) the Carbon Tax bills.
It was also mentioned that the average donation from a GetUp! member is about $27 bucks, to which the cat's-bum-mouthed old troll replied “$27 doesn’t add up to much.” Well maybe not to you, your royal highness, but multiplied across the 70,000 who made that donation or the just shy of 500,000 members GetUp! has, it could add up to a fair bit.
But then came the stunner with Liberal Senator Ian 'Barmy' McDonald making this lovely claim: "GetUp is the Hitler Youth wing of the Greens political movement,"
The outrage was more or less instant.
Ian 'Everything not in the Liberal Party is Evil and Fascist' McDonald has aroused the ire of the following;
(Liberal) Jewish MP Josh Frydenberg, who had relatives who died in the Holocaust, said Senator Macdonald's comments were out of line.
"This is an extraordinary abuse of the memories of the countless millions slaughtered by the Nazis and an abhorrent offence to Holocaust survivors and their families," [Greens Senator Christine Milne] said.
GetUp national director Simon Sheikh says the comments are abhorrent and offensive.The reason that Ian 'Wanker' McDonald made this disgusting statement is the commonly held outrage among the Liberal Party that GetUp! exists at all. Without going into too much detail, GetUp! is an Australian online activist community, similar to Avaaz, but on a smaller scale. Check out some of the intelligent things our Liberal Senators said about GetUp! during their debate;
The attack followed strident criticism of GetUp by Liberal MP Bronwyn Bishop, who accused it of having a left-wing agenda.Uh, yeah, that's because it kind of does dipshit. 'Accused' of having a left-wing agenda? Is that like being 'accused' of murder? The language seems to paint any and all who disagree with HMS Ironclad Bishop as some sort of criminal fraternity. GetUp! are more progresssive than strictly left. Their members vote with mouseclicks or donations whether they want to support any given campaign, and the organisation as a whole.
[McDonald's] interjection came as Labor moved to curtail the debate on the carbon tax and force a vote on its clean energy bills package next Tuesday.
The coalition claimed the Greens and GetUp! knew about the move ahead of senators.
This accusation is based on GetUp! celebrations planned for Tuesday when the bills are expected to pass. Still, if the Liberals could pause mid-froth and look at the numbers, they'd realise they had not much chance of blocking anything in the Senate. But that would be too easy. Better instead to blame everyone else, like a petulant teenager in their bedroom, hoodie up, listening to Linkin Park. So out wheels a conspiracy theory that makes Dan Brown look literate.
For me though, one of the most striking rebuttals was conveniently delivered to my inbox this morning;
GetUp member Andrew's response says it all:
Dear Senator, I am a 47 year old Australian citizen, retired Police Officer and a member of GetUp. I am not, nor have I ever been either a member of the Greens or the Hitler Youth. Your comments in Parliament were not only offensive to me personally but offend the office of Senator. Organisations like Getup exist only because political parties do not adequately represent our interests. We are many and we will be heard.
- Proud GetUp Member, Andrew
This may be the first time I've been proud of a policeman. My head is still reeling. Simon Sheikh's note which immediately followed sums it up for me too;
Let's clarify something for Senator MacDonald: being part of movements like GetUp is how ordinary people respond when politicians like him are out of touch.
Exactly 'Old' McDonald. That's exactly it. Let me tell you something, Ian 'Ronald' McDonald. I've been following and participating in GetUp! campaigns for years. And Avaaz. And Access. And I follow and/or support Alternet, Democracy Now!, Amnesty International, The Wilderness Society, Journalistes Sans Frontiéres et Medecines Sans Frontiéres, and countless others.
I long ago realised Ian 'Buckethead' McDonald, that withered old reactionaries like you and Bronwyn Battleship don't give a flying fuck about anything. All you do is block, negate and reject. When you're in power, you either pass laws that are so pointless and ineffectual they may as well not be there, or you pass laws so vicious and heinous, you wonder how any human being with an ounce of compassion could dream them up.
People like me, who tend to think things like justice, fairness, transparency, compassion, democracy and environmental protection are really important, would never vote for pricks like you in a million years. Because you don't support those things. You never have and you never will. You have a shut-off switch for those vital topics. You view them as a burden at best, and an enemy to be destroyed at worst. GetUp! has done more good for this country since its inception than a miserable old bastard like you will achieve in your lifetime. This is because it has the weight of real people, with real concerns behind it.
So, because I support GetUp! I'm to be likened to a member of the Hitler Youth? Well I'm not going to be intelligent or noble about this. Fuck you. Fuck you, you stupid old man. You represent Australia's right wing party and have the temerity to call progressives Nazis? You fucking idiot.
If Australia had more people like GetUp! supporters and fewer people like you Ian 'Tantrum' McDonald, you wouldn't be dithering about a Carbon Tax bill today. A much better program would have been passed decades ago and we would already have achieved a 20%, more likely a 50% carbon emissions reduction.
So screw you McDonald. Screw you, you stupid old bastard.
Links referred to in this rant;
The (GAAAHHH!) Australian, aka Murdoch's dick-rag here
The Age coverage here
Sydney Morning Herald here
The ABC here
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