In the final season of The West Wing, character Josh Lyman explains to a campaign team that elections are not a fight over the answers &emdash; they are a fight over what the questions will be, and the side that sets the questions wins because the questions will centre around that side's strengths.
Today's candidates forum organised by the Ryde/Epping Grey Power group was attended by candidates from all parties contesting Bennelong but one. No prizes for guessing which candidate did not attend, preferring not to give other candidates better exposure by his own presence and sending former staffer and Member for Lane Cove, Anthony Roberts, in his place.
In attendance were Anthony Roberts, representing the Prime Minister for the Liberals, Lindsay Peters for the Greens, Maxine McKew for the ALP, Peter Goldfinch for the Australian Democrats, and Robyn Peebles for the Christian Democrats.
With the Liberal Party facing its worst defeat federally in the history of the party, it is unsurprising that they are keeping John Howard as their leader. The other contenders for the job need to look after their future, and suffering an election loss as bad as this one is shaping up does not look good on a political resume. The Prime Minister still has that job because nobody else would take it now even if he did resign.
The Prime Minister has said overnight that he believes he can win Government this election, however leaked polling data by the Liberal Party's preferred polling service, Crosby Textor, shows a different story. While Crosby Textor have been going to some lengths to suppress information arising from the leak, their advice to the Prime Minister is that winning the election is an impossible task and that all he can hope to do is limit the size of the loss.
There has been a rumour doing the rounds that I will be contesting Bennelong this year. I have no intention of doing so for a number of reasons. Firstly, I do not have time this year to engage in a full election campaign. Secondly, the scale of the ALP campaign in Bennelong this year is likely to make it even harder for an independent to get decent coverage than it was in 2004.
During the past weekend election posters for Maxine McKew have started appearing in front of Bennelong houses and businesses. Based on the number I have seen so far, it seems that McKew will have more posters out than the high profile Andrew Wilkie campaign had out in 2004, and far more than the previous ALP candidate had. This is more evidence suggesting a lively campaign in Bennelong this year that will make the 2004 campaign seem relatively tame.
I'm Australian. I love Australia but our culture is becoming so reflective of American bureaucracy. As the rich delegate to the masses using these "tools" of social oppression (governing authorities, media, police etc) it's immoral its unethical. We're being fed propaganda feeding an American led culture of consumerism.
There are two Bennelong candidates forums scheduled in September. The first is being held by the Ryde/Epping Grey Power group (which is a Greenpeace affiliated group) at 10.30am to midday on Wednesday, 12th September 2007 at Holy Spirit Parish Hall, 191 Cox's Road, North Ryde. The second is being held by Citizens for Integrity in Government on Thursday, 20th September 2007 at the Eastwood Masonic Hall, Rowe Street, Eastwood. I do not have the time of day for the CFIG meeting yet, but will update this article when I do.
We already know about the GetUp campaign in Bennelong to educate local voters, and the independent 3000 Votes campaign which aims to switch that number of votes from the Prime Minister to Labor's Maxine McKew. There was also some talk of John Valder rerunning his "Not Happy John" campaign although he has switched his focus to opposing Malcolm Turnbull in Wentworth this year. Despite this, there is a third unaffiliated group setting up to oppose the Prime Minister in his electorate this year - one that owes much to John Valder's 2004 campaign.
Robyn Peebles will be the Christian Democrats' candidate for Bennelong this year. She has previously been their candidate for the State seats of Ryde (in 2007) and Gladesville (in 1991) as well as for Bennelong (in 1990). She has a long history of church and pastoral work.
