Let me take you back. Way, way back to the evening of December 2, 2017. The Prime Minister and his deputy stood arm in arm at the West Tamworth Leagues Club. Joyce had just won the New England by-election by a thumping margin and Turnbull declared he was “putting the band back together.”
Ah, good times.
Alas, rock stars and politicians are, if nothing else, a difficult and unpredictable lot. Velvet Underground reformed and got halfway through a European tour in 1992 before the band’s two enormous egos, Lou Reed and John Cale, remembered why the band had split up in the first place. The two men hated the sight, let alone the creeping presence, of one another. The tour and the reunion ended abruptly, and Reed and Cale went their separate ways.
The Turnbull-Joyce combo did not come to grief because of crippling personality conflict. although it may do so at some time in the near future. But back then the band had only broken up when Joyce discovered his unfortunate New Zealand-news. We subsequently learned the High Court did not so hold and Joyce was off to a by-election that on the parliamentary numbers at least, threatened the Turnbull government’s majority.
Full column here.
No 27 Negative Consecutive Newspoll ticks over for the embattled PM Turnbull, Mr Insider and even his personal polling has slumped dramatically as it sinks in to the populace he’s a 1st class Wally. Turnbull now only 3 away from equalling the “Champeen” ex ousted PM Abbott who scored an impressive 30 before being shown the door, but this looks like a record that will be beaten easily. The Voters of Australia have long turned off listening to Turnbull and his shambolic Government.
https://tinyurl.com/y76jef5l
But they aren’t listening to Shorten either, Labor may be 53-47 but considering how bad things got last week it should be more.
Agreed Tracy but we vote for the Party not the Leader and Labor is way out in front and has been now for 27 Newspolls. Cheers
As someone commented, Tracy – if he can’t get preferred PM now, that says something.
He’s still preferred PM.
I meant Bill
The record is so close he can almost taste it, Henry. No way is he going to be outdone by Abbott again. It would require a miracle for him to grab defeat from the hands of victory the way things are panning.
What odds do you give Mr Joyce surviving the week?
Well Joyce is on “gardening leave” Milton probably not cricket to interrupt such a peaceful pastime but hell be back on deck Monday aboard the “SS Titanic” then he can be dealt with. Cheers
Newsflash: Kim Jong-un lands 2 men on the Moon! Wait till Mr Baptiste sees this Mr Insider. Must be true now Kimmie has done it. They reportedly sang Party songs as they flashed through the Van Allen Belt no worries.
This has been in the pipe for some time Henry. Kimmie asked me last June if I thought he could pull off a moon landing scam al lah US to enrich himself and cronies.
I advised him that he obviously couldn’t expect to make the same billions the US military industrial complex made from the fraud, and are plodding Norkie plebs as easily convinced by the “image brainwashing” techniques employed by the US perps?
I lined him up a good film maker and pointed out the most obvious mistakes. “For God’s sake Kimmie I said, if you were landing on the lunar surface your ship would be coming down on 3000lbs of thrust you absolutely must have craters! ” “You must make sure the conspirators are all kosher and not lacing the film with blatantly obvious clues that it is fake. ”
“And above all you must have some pictures of the Earth taken from the lunar surface, which should be a cinch with modern CGI. ”
Cheers Henry.
Magic there Mr Baptiste, your wit Sir only excelled by your good looks, charm and humour and may I say nice to see you are on talking terms with Kimmie too. Loved your piece. Cheers
Thank you Henry, you might have mentioned my modesty too. We’ll put that down to an oversight. This time.
OMG Mr Insider, I have been “incensed” I was watching the North Korean Astronauts cavorting on the Moon through my “Neil Armstrong Tranquillity Base Special Edition Telescope” when one of the wretches Mooned me! Strewth.
Lot of moonies in Korea, Henry. They’re no match for you cobber, just turn the other cheek.
Probably not intentionally Henry. My instructions were, “Whatever you do don’t fart in your space suit.”
A good piece from The Atlantic (https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/02/america-is-under-attack-and-the-president-doesnt-care/553667/):
“It’s worth thinking about what a patriotic president would have done in Trump’s situation. He would be leading the investigation himself. He would be scouring his own campaign—doing everything in his power to reassure the country that whatever the Russians may or may not have done, his government owed Putin nothing. He would have imposed penalties on Russia for their outrageous acts—rather than protecting Russia from penalties voted by Congress. Above all, he would be leading the demand for changes to election laws and practices, including holding Facebook to account for its negligence.
At every turn, Trump has failed to do what a patriotic president would do—failed to put the national interest first. He has left the 2018 elections as vulnerable as the 2016 elections to Russian intervention on his behalf.
The president’s malignant narcissism surely explains much of this passivity. He cannot endure the thought that he owes the presidency to anything other than his own magnificence. “But wasn’t I a great candidate?” he tweeted plaintively at 7:43 a.m on Sunday morning.”
All true, but so poetic, the US has been interfering in elections all over the world, including organising armed uprisings and the murder of political opponents for over a century. A cynic might say that they deserve this moron adorning the White House.
Would Hill’s have done otherwise. She showed her patriotism during Benghazi……
WTF has that got to with anything? The Russians weren’t backing Hills.
The point is Hillary would have done whatever it took and I consider as time evolves that will be demonstrated.
I don’t think that’s true. Hilary should have in my opinion told the creep to “back off” and should have hammered him over his alleged misconduct with women.
Did you tune out old mate during the campaign? He was constantly hammered about women!
The Clintons are part of the ruling elite you always rave on about.
Bollocks, Hills was totally election losing soft of the cretin. Sure they’re part of the elite but less dangerous than Trump.
With Bill in the background sucking on a big cigar??
Aw give it away.
Bill never gave anything away JB. He let her keep the dress. I think he said ‘oops sorry love better get that dry cleaned’.
Nothing to with the last election. The “what about what they did way back when” gambit is boring as bat s%$t.
It’s hard to imagine that Donald Trump has enough intelligence to breathe, let alone run a country:
“Very sad that the FBI missed all of the many signals sent out by the Florida school shooter. This is not acceptable. They are spending too much time trying to prove Russian collusion with the Trump campaign – there is no collusion. Get back to the basics and make us all proud!”
Geez that George Christensen is a card, eh? It’s obvious that he is vying for Barnaby’s job.
Turnbull and the government have had their worst week since they were elected in 2013 and Mr Laurel still cannot get up as preferred PM. The govt is in turmoil. A shambles and the Leader of the Supposition still thinks govt will fall into his lap-WRONG…oh and will someone tell Stan (as the Looters always said)….there are no votes in Aborigines.
There may be no votes Bassy but its the right thing to do.
Correct (as usual)
I’m in Tamworth tonight soaking up the atmosphere.
I could see Barnaby’s smiling mug high up on some trees on Tamworth’s outskirts.
Hopefully, he’ll go away and that’s be the last I’ll have to see of him.
Up until now Barnaby has been a very effective member of Parliament and representative of New England. Don’t let partisanship get in the way of common sense TO. He’s stuffed up and finished but he was an effective National Party representative which is what he was paid to do.
He goes and the air is clear and then we’ll be smelling roast Lamb…….
Barnaby’s record is appalling. His pork barrelling is off the charts. His handling of the Murray Darling Basin should see a Royal Commission raised. He has been an unmitigated disaster. Barnaby has been responsible for over $15 Billion of extra spending on his own that we know of. The Auditor General was scathing in a report on over $4 billion of wasted and dodgy funding in water infrastructure alone under Barnaby’s watch. Dairy, over $2 billion, Sugar over $ 2Billion, the NAIF $5 billion, the new Bank of Barnaby another $3 billion ++ His land purchases and legislative changes are “Obeid” like in their nature. Perhaps you should take your own advice on partisanship. No surprises.
I actually consider Qld and NSW should turn the tap off and make SA come to the table.
Oh playing the state thing again. What was that again little man? SA should probably stop the Gas from Moomba going to NSW and Gladstone. Watch the station come to standstill then. Never mind QLD still have kero to light their lamps.
No playing the national interest thing.
National Interest? By allowing the 2 biggest water thieving states to hold the rest of the Nations to ransom? You have no FN clue. No Surprises.
If it stops SA playing politics in the lead up to their election then great! Labor designed the plan remember.
No the plan was agreed to after years. Howard was the first to put $10 billion up for it. Then in 2012 it was finally agreed by ALL parties state and federal. It was acknowledged at the time returns were too small and the damage at the Southern end would require more water returned. Then Abbott and your mate Barnaby started shredding it and allowing irrigators to take more water and still receive dodgy funding slammed by the auditor general . As usual you have no clue. No Surprises.
Wrong, Razor.
The Basin Plan was hatched by the Howard Government and bastardised by Governments of all persuasions since.
Tony Burke got it through…..
Sorry he has been a serial rorter and pork barreler
Maybe just a serial porker, Bassman who’s probably about to feel the bottom of the barrel.
He was effective if you were a cotton farmer. Lower Darling, meh…
While Barnaby enjoys/enjoyed the support of a large proportion of Australia’s rural constituency, I can’t think any substantive policy he’s developed.
Being popular alone doesn’t make him a great contributor to Australia.
Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd probably fit the bill as well then TO.
I know you hate to admit these things, Razor, but Rudd and Gillard did manage to navigate Australia through the world’s worst economic crisis, ever, when the great majority of countries were stuffed.
How’s that for a contribution?
And broke us as a result. $900 cheques for poker machines? The largesse was far too much and our banking system got us through not Rudd, Swan or Gillard.
Wrong as usual. Seriously how are you so ignorant of facts or do you choose to wilfully be so ignorant? No surprises.
Forget the No.1 hit “We have lost control of our borders” We have a new one….Turnbull has lost control of the parliament!
Mike Bowers talks pictures with Herald Sun cartoonist, Mark Knight, Mr Insider, in “Talking Pictures” naturally the Joyce mess highlighted. You yourself, Mr Insider had a great pic to contribute too of a “sexy” Turnbull eeeeeek hope you don’t have that framed on your wall at home.
http://www.abc.net.au/insiders/talking-pictures/9459088
Off topic, I bet Hunter S. Thompson would have wished to see this revolution happening in America. If it’s good for the kids with cancer and other ailments and people who used to take pharmaceuticals to stay balanced, I’m all for it. C’mon Aussie, catch up.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/feb/17/cannabis-pot-evangelist-america-dope-queens
There are kids out there for whom it has become a miracle worker. But the old school haters wont have it. Not yet. In time. All things must pass.