Lexi

'I'm trying to simplify things for your understanding.'

Maybe you better do that for the vast majority of the electorate who are not blinded by the sisterhood.

Dear runner,

You keep referring to some sort of - "sisterhood," which is
simply stirring on your part and I tried politely
not to fall for your attempts at divergence off topic.
A technique that Mr Abbott uses constantly.

When it comes to winning in politics - it's real policy
debate over economic issues that matter not nonsensical
political debates.

So if Mr Abbott is elected as Australia's next Prime Minister
he will have a complex economy to oversee. He'll face issues
of productivity, labour force adaptability, an over-regulated
business sector, the issue of middle-class welfare,
taxation distribution between states, core roles of government
and so on. Nothing new there - except for the fact
that the world is moving so fast and is so interlinked that
he's going to need the best brains around him if Australia
is to measure up.

And that's the worry. Mr Abbott doesn't appear
to have the team or the structures - he'll need.
All he seems to have is -
sound bites, slogans ("scrap the tax," "stop the boats"), and
"look at me" TV pictures on track, but not any underlying
sense of economic competence.

His frontbench economic team is threadbare at best.
Frequently offering confusing, contradictory, and
nonsensical sounding messages. They lack a sense of purpose.

Malcolm Turnbull on the other hand is widely respected in
the business and wider community for his economic nous, his
experience and acumen.

You talk about the "sisterhood." I presume that's because
our PM is a female. However it may come as a surprise to
you that your attitude is just that - YOUR attitude.
Most people don't judge their politicians
by gender but by competence. In any case - Mr Abbott comes
across as an ideological throwback to the 1950s, depended and
manipulated by a catalogue of conservative male mentors
("brotherhood?"), from Cardinal Pell, Christopher Pearson,
to name just a few.

The once great Liberal Party of Robert Menzies, as imperfect as it
was in many ways by contemporary standards was a political
nirvana - compared to what people fear Mr Abbott will dream up.

thinker, pity you resorted to calling my post a 'rant' instead of actually addressing its content.
Your blind faith will be shattered at the next election (soon I hope) and your Abbottphobia will come to fruit.

You wrote 'Allow me to explain, first of all you plant a seed based on a a misleading concept, and then you keep saying it over and over. After a while it becomes mantra , people start believing it, viola, favourable opinion polls'. Is that a seed like the 'global warming' scare or that the majority of Australians support gay marriage?

You are right about 'And finally, do you even really know yourself , what it is that an incoming Abbott Govt has in store for you Austin. I certainly don't' - but can it possibly be worse than now? At least the number of boatloads of detritus will be reduced to the amount under Howard.

Lexi

The sisterhood includes Roxon, Wong, Gillard, Plibersek and other favourite ABC bunnies. Compare that to the brotherhood (as you put it) of Howard, Costello, Abbott and you have incompetence versus competence. You have a lot more integrity on the male side as most voters now agree.

You also write

'And that's the worry. Mr Abbott doesn't appear
to have the team or the structures - he'll need.

Well he would have the same team as Turnbull would (whom you seem to admire).

btw you never did answer whether you would vote for Turnbull ahead of Gillard. I think your answer would say alot.

Can anyone see Abbott as a statesman figure. The man is a disgrace.
Turnbull would be a more likable opposition leader.
Work-choices was the downfall of Howard. Abbott will reinstate;
Opposition policies will be the divider.
You can't run an economy on No, Crap, Pledges in blood.
Desperate men do desperate things.
Pyne and Abbott. Kangaroo Court.

Dear runner,

I'm not going to argue with you about -
"sisterhood" versus "brotherhood." It would mean for you
having to reject gendered dichotomies: male versus
female, us versus them, and so on. It would be
pointless - as you're not capable of doing that.

As for competence versus incompetence - suffice to say
that's something we also won't agree on. My preference
in politics doesn't lie with politicians who have a
worrying tolerance for hate speech, or a noisy contempt
for one's political opponents.

As for Malcolm Turnbull - and whether I would vote for him?
Of course I would vote for him. He would make an incredible
Prime Minister. He's a man who held his climate change
position even though it cost him the Liberal leadership.
Turnbull stuck by his belief that there should be a
penalty on carbon emissions and that a market-based system
was the most effective way to do this. He has stayed true
to his beliefs. He does have economic nous and experience,
and he's a man of substance - not hot air.