Outings and Questionings
On Saturday night I went Out.
Like... Out.
It was quite exciting, as you can tell by the explicit capitalisation.
I even wore *gasp* heels and (wait for it...) make-up! Well, a bit of eye liner and some lippy, but still, effort peoples - real actual effort went into my personal appearance. A red letter day indeed.
I went out with a friend - she came over for dinner, then the children went to bed, MrB retreated to the study (it's that time of year for teachers... especially teachers who are still doing their DipEd) and Viv and I trip-trapped over the bridge to the lush green meadows beyond.
Or, like, we went into the Gong.
We had wine and cheese at Ibis, we had wine and people-watching at Hotel Illawarra, we had coffee and dessert and Caveau. It was all very civilised and quite quite lovely. Really. Despite the fact that we had a conversation re politics that made me go hmmm....
Because it turns out that Viv is seriously considering voting Liberal. And I just wasn't expecting that. And the reasons she's giving are quite enlightening:
Apparently Rudd isn't extreme enough for her. She wants an actual alternative to Howard if she's going to change her vote. She wants WorkChoices completely rolled back, or not at all -none of this fiddle-faddling about. She figures at least with Howard she knows what she's getting. Voting for Howard-lite merely for the sake of a change simply isn't an attractive option for her, and I suspect many others.
Which is what is so disappointing about this election campaign - I feel that Labor are underestimating us, the Australian electorate. I mean, we've given them reason to think that, having given us Actual Alternatives at the last couple of elections, none of which we found to be acceptable. So they're assuming we're all heartless bastards and handling us with kid gloves and I have a sneaking suspicion it's going to backfire.
However, even she thinks that Labor will get in - she's sensing a mood in the electorate. And I can only hope she's right... It was just interesting to speak to a Liberal voter who's NOT related to my husband. And the most interesting thing is that her vote would be Rudd's if he just stood up for what he really believes. Of course, living in one of the safest Labor seats in the country (excluding the blip that was Michael Organ, and that was only because we in the Northern Illawarra don't like being taken for granted) means that her vote is not going to make much difference anyway.
... and this post ended up in a whole different place to where I intended it to.
Like... Out.
It was quite exciting, as you can tell by the explicit capitalisation.
I even wore *gasp* heels and (wait for it...) make-up! Well, a bit of eye liner and some lippy, but still, effort peoples - real actual effort went into my personal appearance. A red letter day indeed.
I went out with a friend - she came over for dinner, then the children went to bed, MrB retreated to the study (it's that time of year for teachers... especially teachers who are still doing their DipEd) and Viv and I trip-trapped over the bridge to the lush green meadows beyond.
Or, like, we went into the Gong.
We had wine and cheese at Ibis, we had wine and people-watching at Hotel Illawarra, we had coffee and dessert and Caveau. It was all very civilised and quite quite lovely. Really. Despite the fact that we had a conversation re politics that made me go hmmm....
Because it turns out that Viv is seriously considering voting Liberal. And I just wasn't expecting that. And the reasons she's giving are quite enlightening:
Apparently Rudd isn't extreme enough for her. She wants an actual alternative to Howard if she's going to change her vote. She wants WorkChoices completely rolled back, or not at all -none of this fiddle-faddling about. She figures at least with Howard she knows what she's getting. Voting for Howard-lite merely for the sake of a change simply isn't an attractive option for her, and I suspect many others.
Which is what is so disappointing about this election campaign - I feel that Labor are underestimating us, the Australian electorate. I mean, we've given them reason to think that, having given us Actual Alternatives at the last couple of elections, none of which we found to be acceptable. So they're assuming we're all heartless bastards and handling us with kid gloves and I have a sneaking suspicion it's going to backfire.
However, even she thinks that Labor will get in - she's sensing a mood in the electorate. And I can only hope she's right... It was just interesting to speak to a Liberal voter who's NOT related to my husband. And the most interesting thing is that her vote would be Rudd's if he just stood up for what he really believes. Of course, living in one of the safest Labor seats in the country (excluding the blip that was Michael Organ, and that was only because we in the Northern Illawarra don't like being taken for granted) means that her vote is not going to make much difference anyway.
... and this post ended up in a whole different place to where I intended it to.
posted by actonb at 1:57 pm
7 Comments:
I understand what your friend means -why can't Rudd have more balls? If it's not happening when he is so far ahead in the polls, it's never gonna happen.
He seems totally Liberal-lite and if he says the word 'unacceptable' one more time and does anymore of those Tony Blair hand gestures, I will hunt him down.
I have become a very angry non-voter!
I'm not convinced that Rudd is playing it safe, I think he could well be a Liberal-lite as he appears. That said, I really do hope the ALP do swing it, especially if the Greens manage to collect a few more Senate spots.
Please remind your friend that even if Mr Howard-lite would be the second worst Prime Minister in the history of our country, he would still be a step up from the current one.
Let's face it, if rodent biy gets back in AGAIN the only answer will be to learn to do that gypsy curse that restores souls.
I am so glad I'm missing the Austrailan election coverage over here. It's nice to be able to make up your mind based upon not very much at all, except that you're totally and completely over teh midget with bad eyebrows (ps. anyone else noticed that he's been trimming those babies since he got into power? It's just not the same)
Also if they both don't stop throwing money away with a spade I will be seriously pissed off. And what's with the backing down on signing Kyoto or other environmental emission reducing treaties. Its just so childish. We should be thinking about the future of the world and not worrying about big business having to spend a bit to make their coal plants environmentally friendly. Grrrrr I am getting very annoyed at Labour.
I'm with I'm not craig. At least Howard-lite is a step away from the pure evil that is Howard.
A also went out-out last night for the third time in 6 months. Oh the bliss of not having to worry about naps, vomits, poos and wees, crying, etc. Though every time I heard a baby cry, I did a Lassie impersonation...
Go AB, GO AB!! I love "nights out".
I am far too lazy to take advantage of them, mostly.
Also - I think the "I'll just vote Liberal because there's not enough difference" thing is really irritating.
But I think I've done a whole other blog post about that - or if I haven't, I'm going to.
Post a Comment
<< Home