This story is about 20 years too late.

The ALP, since 1983, have been in neoliberal mode.

In Qld this was driven hardest by Comrade Rudd, the Christian -socialist we had to have, in his role under Goss, the hard right man who did save us from Joh's crew, but what a price we all paid.

Best just to stop voting ALP altogether, and swing to the Greens instead, they'll never get in so it's quite safe.

As for this line: "A democracy movement employing alternative forms of political action is now necessary..."

A fine thought, but most decent people left the ALP during the Hawke-Keating years, or those wasted head-nodding years of agreement and appeasement under Beastly.

Anyone left still in the ALP under Rudd must be suspected as being in-it-for-the-money only, since there is so little difference between Rudd and Howard.

As for Tanner, he's always been a sham.

People forget that he worked for the Federated Clerks Union, and was employed during it's NCC days, so he must have hidden his 'socialism' very well when applying for his job.

To differentiate himself from the NCC leadership he swayed to the Left, and organised the 'reform group' of FCU branches in Victoria, Qld and Sth Oz.

The reality was that the FCU continued as a badly run union, organised along 'small business' lines as a fascist dictatorship, or as a Stalinist crew maybe.

Kim Carr and Jenny Macklin would have to be the sorriest of all ex-Left people.

Carr supporting a clapped-out car industry and Macklin wholeheartedly supporting Howardism for the Indigenous mobs.

Mind you, the oaf Ferguson seems happy promoting nuclear proliferation as hard as he gets told to by the industry.

There's merit to some of the arguments here - but I reject the idea that all people on the Left of good conscience have left the ALP.

'Voting with your feet' in protest does not good unless when you 'move on' you re-organise - and in such a way as to gain more leverage than you had when in the ALP.

For my own part - the main form my activism takes is through my blog 'Left Focus' - and writing for On Line Opinion. Leaving would give me no additional leverage...

But yes - the disillusioned legions of those in the ALP Left - and others including non-aligned members - who have any serious in-principle commitment to meaningful social democracy - need to organise in response...

With leadership and organisation I believe it is still possible to make a difference - within AND outside of the ALP...

But leading figures - including in the ALP Left - prefer complete control - to make deals as powerbrokers - rather than to genuiniely empower the rank and file...

Again - to conclude though - this kind of critique can demoralise Left activists - and unless these people have some other kind of vehicle to organise and make a difference - then convincing these people to quit achieves nothing...

Tristan
You make some valid points. It was a sad day when the Australian Democrats left the political scene. They filled the gap for a while in their heyday at least.

There is room for a party of similar ilk - perhaps the Australia Social Democrats - or similar.

There are two ways for reform, either from within the ALP or from without. Running away and regrouping is not necessarily a negative if it means that voters are given more choice at the polls and a REAL choice for social democracy.

Concepts of Party loyalty and party politics are anathema to real democracy.

Crikey revealed recently that Rudd staffers may be in line for pre-selection for Labor seats. No rank and file democracy there and while this is not new, it goes completely against what Labor stands for (IMO).

http://www.crikey.com.au/2009/10/06/tips-and-rumours-109/

How long do you stay to resuscitate?

Interesting discussion, but ignoring the elephant in the room, which is the rise of the feminist dominated middle-class unions, such as the PS unions and the nurses and teachers. They have taken over the rhetoric of the left and directed it specifically and exclusively toward women, thereby coopting a whole group of people who are not naturally inclined to the left, but are happy to take the handouts and preferential treatment.

There is no longer room within the party for a generally leftist approach, since to offer any kind of assistance to those economically disadvantaged men who need it will be met with howls of "discrimination" and "sexism" and "misogyny" from the middle-class spongers.

"Some animals are more equal than others".

Anti
Just to make you feel better I can absolutely asure you that the ALP is not dominated by female power brokers, nor are the Libs for that matter.

The PS unions are not dominated by women. The National Executive of the CPSU is three women and four men. Pretty even really. The mix among other unions bodies still finds the men ahead.

I wonder if one day we will ever see an honest post from you acknowledging some aspect of life in which women draw the short straw. I am sure even you can find one.

Pelican, whoever rises to a power position within the PS unions has to declare their unequivocal support for feminist ideological positions: it's de rigeur.

Rudd was at least honest enough in his press release today http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,26605242-953,00.html
to acknowledge the real reason for his support of female workfarce engagement, which is that in a nation with an aging population, GDP depends on finding new workers. I've previously mentioned this myself, as a valid reason for encouraging female workforce participation. Where he and I part company is in his support for female preferment in all sorts of other aspects of society, but then, I don't have his background in the public service, nor his vast reliance on female support both within and outside the party.

The ALP, like the LIBNATS, is acutely aware of the "women's vote". This gives those who claim to be feminist a great deal of power, even if the mechanisms are obfuscated due to older power dynamics.

I refute your claim that I lack empathy for the plight of disadvantaged women. What I lack is sympathy for the whining bleatings of overprivileged middle-class "princesses" who expect the State to remove even the most completely crushed peas from beneath their pile of feather beds.