Belly and Hasbeen, Iam not sure of the point you are trying to make. My tag is my conjoined name, but I did sign off the comment with my real name. It is a pity more of you do not have the same courage instead of hiding behind a sad tag such as Belly, or even worse, Hasbeen.
Perhaps I am just a pedantic fool but why do you left-wing socialist have to hide your real identities? Are you ashamed of your opinions? Are you frightened of making a fool of yourselves?
As I understand it, we have five independents, Tony Windsor, Oakeshott (NSW), Katter (Qld), and one from WA who took Wilson Tuckey's seat and now Wilkie from Tasmania. All of them have backgrounds in the National Party. The seats they represent are notionally conservative and rural, yet each player has had a falling out with the National/Country Party in the past, and continue fighting it out in the present.
Each individual has won, or hopes to win, special treatment for their electorates by virtue of being independents, and have/will be successful. But, if they collectively band together and return the Rudd/Gillard Govt., the worst Fed Govt. in living memory, their conservative electorates will almost certainly dump them at the first opportunity.
The dilemma is how will Abbott win them back to the consrvative side of politics and allow them to save face at the same time.
Geoffrey Kelley

Geoff, you had best jump on the phone, & send an ambulance around to Belly's quick like. He may be passed out in shock, or rolling on the floor in hysterical laughter. What ever, he will probably need help, after being paired with me, as a lefty socialist.

He has actually accused me of being Wilson Tucky, or one of John Howard's sons, in the past. However I can't stand anyone being put down, due to a lack of education, a learning difficulty, or any other reason they may lack vocabulary or spelling ability. With my typing ability, I sometimes have trouble even knowing what I meant to write. So what.

Some of us were lucky with their schools, & some weren't. Those who weren't don't deserve to be put down.

If you would like a test of courage, come & try me any time mate. What will it be, a race around Bathurst in an F1 racing cars or a thousand mile race single handed in 40 ft yachts.

Perhaps you would like a dog fight in jet fighters, or a round of show jumping on a large horse.

You see, I don't find it a badge of courage to put my name on a blog, & a joust with keyboards is not exactly exciting, but I do find it amusing, after struggling to fit all I wanted to do into just one life, to know I am, & to call myself, a Hasbeen. It is a badge of honour, a private joke with a mate who is no longer here, & none of your damn business.

If you don't like what I say, don't read it. No one is twisting your arm are they?

Now I'll get back to watching these blokes give the libs a very hard time for their past sins, & tease the daylights out of little Julie & co, with hints they may have a chance.

GK I grow weary of people like you, true.
Not unlike so many who both underestimate those they debate with and over estimate them selves.
Honesty, integrity, understanding, are not measured by spelling.
Like Hasbeen my education has been a whole lifetime of learning, in a world you could never understand.
At 13 I formally left schooling, but in reality started education.
I know people who while my age still can not read, but who no one can out think.
Petty remarks such as the one bringing this on your head speak about your failures not others.
Now independents, first do those who doubt them know about them?
Katter should be judged on past actions not his way of speaking.
The other two need no questions, if tomorrow they form government, and not with my mob, they remain honest good men.

GK you post a truly grubby untrue comment.
Are you a member of Abbott's cabinet?
No one should be forced to unmask here but my name, job home are known.
And bank on it you would never say that to my face.
Of huge amusement to me on election day, while fending of a drunken fool insulting the Liberal booths husband and wife team, the idiot told me, in my ALP shirt , I was a liberal heavy!
65 next few weeks quite chuffed but maybe still too proud to walk away from such a gutless comment, well never have so far.
Allan Bell
Proud to confront such as you until death
ALP voter
other enemy's include loony Lefty's right wing bigots and am a road hog, love the center of the road.

I must say I agree with you on the issue of names, Belly, but I do take issue with your mode of expression. You're obviously not one of those who can't read or write, but you do make a point of doing so idiosyncratically, I believe deliberately.

Personally, I don't have a problem reading your meaning, but only because I know what your likely stance is in the first place through fairly long acquaintance. Your actual words don't always make your view clear.

It is coming across pretty loudly, that because you dont like what Bob Katter is all about, he must therefore lack independence.
What the major parties hate about Bob most of all, is that he does a great job of representing those he promised to represent. He shows them up completely, to a point where they didnt even seriously bother to compete with him in any way, apart from threatening us with not getting any resources if we didnt vote for either major party.
He talks the talk and walks the walk, and does not have puppet masters in Canberra or Brisbane. He also wants a separate state of North Queensland, as most of us do, and that makes him a target for Blight etc.