Aussie DUers, look at this...

[foreigncorrespondent]

I found this while reading The Age:

Et tu, Brute! Family First deal betrays Labor voters

On Saturday night, I told a couple of my Labor-voting friends that the ALP had given preferences to Family First ahead of the Greens, and had thus probably handed control of the Senate to Howard and the right-wing evangelical ideologues. They couldn't believe me. As they now wake from the nightmare to find that this is a distinct possibility (The Age, 11/10), they have told me that they wouldn't have voted for Labor in the Senate had they realised.

In what must be the most staggering piece of political betrayal in memory, the ALP in Victoria - and the Democrats, but we wouldn't expect any better of them - have probably handed total control to the Howard Government. Although Family First received less than 2 per cent of the primary vote in Victoria , it is almost certain that it will get a seat in the Senate.

Family First campaigners, preaching intolerance and hatred, have variously said that "lesbians are witches and should be burned" (Queensland), and that mosques are "strongholds of Satan" and should be pulled down (Victoria). And now, thanks to the ALP, there is a real risk that these people will be able to leverage their position of power to demand God knows what regressive, divisive policies from a fundamentally sympathetic government.

I hope ALP voters remember this betrayal next time they vote for the Senate.

Is that a GREAT letter or what?

I admit I had no bloody idea that Labor was going to betray us so bad as to preference their votes to these sick fucks (!) so I did vote Labor in the Senate, lucky for me though, I did number mine below the line, but still, how many of us didn't?

Also in the letters page I found this:

Lighten up!

"To the barricades, Australians all! The Christian fundamentalists are coming!" C'mon, guys, lighten up! Have any of you actually spent five minutes perusing the Family First website? If you had, you'd read many policies in areas like welfare, health and even Iraq (to name but a few) that would seriously sour the milk in Mr Howard's tea. To my sense at least, much of FF's platform on matters of justice and equity would be most akin to the heart of Labor.

So go easy on the conspiracy theories - please! And no, I'm not a member of FF; I just read their policies.

I don't give a flying fart in a jar what their policies are. They still do not represent what the majority of Labor voters in Australia truly want or believe in. Can you believe the nerve of some people? And what conspiracy theories?

Link to letters appearing in The Age: http://www.theage.com.au/letters/index.html?from=lhsnav

[rooboy]

1. One letter writer in the SMH put it best...

Australia now is in the hands of Ned Flanders.

[foreigncorrespondent]

4. ROFLMAO!!!

I have to agree with that! And yes, I was crying as I was laughing with that!

Thanks rooboy!

[gemini_liberal]

2. Sadly

No matter how high the risk of government rubber stamp or how high the risk of government sponsored fundamentalism, most Australians won't give a toss that their federal government is run by right wing extremists.... "as long as we win the cricket this summer and whatever other trivial sporting events there are, who cares?" :eyes:

[Downtown Hound]

3. Man, our countries have a lot in common

except for the cricket part.

[foreigncorrespondent]

6. That really is so very true!!!

Good grief, I think we are back in the stone age now!

[interupt]

5. Well done Foreign

Family First give me the willies.

Who is this new FF leader, it was previously an Assemblies of God Reverend but now its some woman in South Australia?

I have literally been thinking of starting an organisation to create TV and print advertising highlighting Family First and Coalition policies and the outright hypocracy SINCE LABOR WONT RUN A CAMPAIGN.

As soon as FF show their colours by using by screwing the IRC and saying something dense like prohibition...its on!

...just need a title

[foreigncorrespondent]

7. They give me the willies too!

It is some guy from Victoria who has got the Senate seat from what I heard! And of course he only got that because of the ALP and Aussie Dems giving the FF their preference votes!

This time the ALP has really gone too far, come next election I don't give a rats ass, I am voting for the Greens. As far as I am concerned the ALP is nothing but a washed up has been!

If you start something like you are saying, give me a holler, I would love to help in any way I can. Perhaps I can make the Web site for it?

In all honesty we on the left really do need to come together and work towards outing Howard plus the religious right from ruining our country. I will do what I ever can to see that happen!