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The Forum > Article Comments > The Democrats - a party with punch > Comments

The Democrats - a party with punch : Comments

By Lyn Allison, published 17/10/2006

Why do journalists argue that the Democrats are dead? Even without a Senate majority there have been many wins this year.

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"Labour has an enormous opportunity here..."
Labour has the same opportunity it has had for decades; to offer genuine alternatives.
When we have a predominance of lawyers on both sides of the house, alternatives start to take on a certain homogenaity.
Perhaps the reason the Dems lack punch, is because you don't vote for them, Ludwig.
Posted by Grim, Sunday, 22 October 2006 11:12:09 AM
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“Labour has the same opportunity it has had for decades; to offer genuine alternatives.”

Grim, any alternative policy needs to be supported by the majority of voters, if Labor is to win power. And all sorts of alternatives, no matter how good they might have been, could well have lost them support.

But there is a paradigm shift happening throughout mainstream Australia, if the views expressed on this forum, on all sorts of threads, are anything to go by. Sustainability and environmental issues haven’t been a big enough concern until recently. But they sure as hell are now, and they are only going to become more prominent.

So the opportunity for Labor to embrace a fundamental change, and get overwhelming support for it, exists now like it never has before.

I think that the time is right for a full-on sustainability-based party to actually gain the majority support. And what better party to do it than one of the big established parties? There’s no sign of it with Howard, or Costello or Abbot or Turnbull. But there is just an inkling with Beazley.

“Perhaps the reason the Dems lack punch, is because you don't vote for them, Ludwig.”

O gee thanks. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if I, or any individual, could make such a difference, and save the Dems, and get them focussed on the right stuff!!
Posted by Ludwig, Sunday, 22 October 2006 10:50:22 PM
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Surely the essence of Democracy is that individuals do make a difference, by exercising their right to vote. Certainly, the alternative argument, 'if everyone says one person can't make a difference, so there's no point in voting...' is pretty obviously irrefutable.
And as for changing a political party, wouldn't it be easier for one person to change the direction of a small party, than a large one?
Particularly as the democrats insist they are the most member driven party.
I confess, I am a member of the Democrats (reluctantly, and not always proudly) simply because I don't believe anyone has the right to criticise how someone else does a job, if they aren't prepared to do that job themselves.
As Margo Kingston says, Democracy is not a spectator sport.
After rereading this post, I feel I must say that although I have sometimes been disappointed with the Dems, I have never been disgusted by them.
The 2(or 3) major parties disgust me on a regular basis.
Posted by Grim, Monday, 23 October 2006 5:20:56 AM
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“Surely the essence of Democracy is that individuals do make a difference, by exercising their right to vote.”

Yes, so long as they also have the right not to vote, if they don’t think that there is anyone worth voting for.

We also need to thoroughly condemn the compulsory preferential voting system, which often means your vote ends up where you had no intention of it counting, especially with those who don’t vote for the large parties.

Grim, how can anyone be expected to vote for a party who’s policies they don’t support?

I don’t believe in voting for the least disagreeable party if you don’t agree with their political direction overall, or have serious concerns about some of their policies. Thus, I have been unable to vote for anyone for quite few elections now.

A vote for a political party is not a vote to change that party, it is a vote to maintain it in the form that it is presented at the time of the election, is it not?

“And as for changing a political party, wouldn't it be easier for one person to change the direction of a small party, than a large one?”

Not necessarily. I mean, how hungry is Labor for victory? Hungry enough to make some really big changes? Yes, I think so. But by all indications the Dems won’t be changing, for as long as Andrew Bartlett and probably also Lyn Allison, are there.

“…I don't believe anyone has the right to criticise how someone else does a job, if they aren't prepared to do that job themselves.”

I’ll have to disagree. I’m not prepared to do all sorts of jobs done by people or organisations that I am very critical of. I’ve got my career. I’ve developed my skills base. I don’t particularly want to work in any other field. Does that then mean that I should not have the right to be at all critical of anyone outside of my area of expertise? NO. That would be an awfully restrictive and totally undemocratic diminution of our basic freedoms and rights
Posted by Ludwig, Monday, 23 October 2006 10:22:08 AM
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I used to be a strong supporter of the Democrats, then when the party seemed to be self-destructing I became disillusioned with them.
This year I've found myself re-thinking my disillusionment. I was so impressed with the Democrat-led campaign to remove Tony Abbott's veto on RU486, and so totally amazed and delighted by their resounding victory, that I realised that individual Democrat politicians are still working hard on issues that affect ordinary people every day.
For that, they've won my vote back.
Posted by Hedgepig, Tuesday, 24 October 2006 10:44:24 AM
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Allison is right. The Dems are really the only liberal democratic alternative. Unfortunately her whining about the media is a complete waste of time.

They only report what they see and hear and that is electoral loss after loss and internal division. Even Chipp's last speech was divisive. Last year it looked as though Kanck had gone mad over the Ecstasy debate.

I could see some inklings of a branding strategy with her as a 'leader' post the abortion pill debate. And she scored a few runs on mental health forcing the PM to come out. But the church and state stuff is for features only but it's still a far better show than accusing Howard of staging the Melbourne terrorist raids.

As a former Victorian country newspaper editor, her real strengths came through when McGuarin jumped ship. She was all over the country papers in Ballarat, Bendigo, Shep for a while. But that all petered out.

It's easy to blame the media. Unfortunately the democrats are punched out.
Posted by Sandstone, Wednesday, 24 January 2007 3:45:54 PM
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