Story old as time - at least if you define "time" as about 20 years - there's a large slab of conservatives (and even libertarians) who can't support the Liberals anymore because they hitched their wagon to a giant conspiracy theory about the greatest environmental/economic issue facing the world (with the support of a mere handful of scientific contrarians) and they have an inability to recognise, or admit, that they chose wrong. Hence we get post-election comments like this:
Cassie of Sydney says:
I have just written this on DB’s forum…
For over fifty years ordinary people across the West have stood back and allowed the Marxists to steadily infiltrate our institutions, academia, church, entertainment, education, MSM and social media and so on, even the monarchy is now a Marxist mouthpiece. And over the last two decades we’ve seen how this infiltration has ramped because of the scam known as climate change. This scam called climate change has been a perfect vehicle for the Marxists to fully indoctrinate our young and our impressionable. They’ve succeeded beyond their wildest dreams because most ordinary people have stood back and allowed it to happen, even politicians and parties on the centre and the right across the West have refused to engage in pushback, fightback, rebuttal or discussion about the science of climate change, more often than not they’ve naively, gullibly and stupidly just accepted the far-left false narratives. A few years ago, at a conservative function, I asked a Liberal politician in attendance whether the Liberal party would do with gas what they’ve done with coal. In other words, will the Liberal party just sit back and allow the demonisation of gas the same way they sat back and allowed the demonisation of the the one fuel that has lifted more people across the globe out of poverty in the last two hundred years than in previous human history. Whilst he agreed with me, his response was to just shrug his shoulders…..and you see, ladies and gentlemen, therein lies the rub. Why should I vote for supposedly centre-right, right-wing parties and politicians that just shrug their shoulders and refuse to fight and refuse to stand up about anything, and not just about fossil fuels, but about this insidious transgender nonsense, about free speech, about fiscal responsibility, about religious freedom and so on? Why? All the Liberal party has done is swallow this Marxism, it makes most of the so called Liberals we elect no different to those in Labor.
There is no arguing with this - and the Liberals have finally paid the price for not telling this significant slab of their "normal" support base that they are simply wrong and have to face up to it.
That comment, by the way, appeared at Currency Lad's blog, where he has (of course) posted that the problem for the Liberals is that they are not conservative enough. All of the old Catallaxy crew are applauding him, leading my reader Homer to make the following astute comment:
Not Trampis says:
oh dear reality bites.
If CL was right then the UAP vote would have gone gangbusters. Sorry only the morons voted for it.
If the Liberals cannot win back the teal seats then they will never win government. If you think Dutton can do that I have some Harbour bridge shares to sell to you.
I have never thought any party should have more then two terms. The Liberals have a problem. Unlike the ALP they have little talent. just look as who has been proposed as leader.
In terms of the ALP losing we can throw some scenarios out. They won’t become a divisive rabble like last time if only because the NSW right neither have any ‘strategic geniuses’ like last time and after the Keneally fiasco little credibility.
It is unlikely like Abbott Albo is not up to the job as his record as a minster is okay BUT even if you disagree his cabinet will will chockful of talent.
If you are thinking we are entering conditions to the early 70s then both Treasury and his ministerial team ham have the experience to learn from that.We will need a change of government two elections from now and if the Liberals think being more ‘conservative’ ( a true conservative would support a federal ICAC as it wouls make instituions more open and transparent as they should be.) they are living on another planet.
Not sure that I agree that you ideally have a change of government every 3rd term - but otherwise, a sensible comment.