The ironic part about it is that John Howard has gazumped his Opposition's "internationalism" with his own quiet globalisation agenda. As some of the most vociferous Howard-haters in these forums (hello fas-gnuttah ;-) have been unable to resist pointing out, Howard has quietly outdone even Labor rhetoric in boosting immigration to record levels. He has achieved that by simultaneously acknowledging the value and need to defend Aussie culture in the face of sometimes alarmist concerns, rather than promote immigration as an irresistable flood designed to flush the remnants of Australians' allegedly toxic and deficient pre-existing culture down the drain.
The Labor stance has turned out to be an opposition so unrelated to real Aussie sentiments and loyalty, Labor has had to try and reinvent the government with goebbelian propaganda techniques, desperately trying to repaint it into something that looks more relevant to its own hollow "opposition".
The reality of the situation is that Internationalism is and always has been the Siamese twin of Globalisation. Even Karl Marx's theories were grounded in the relatively small amount of globalisation he and others observed happening within the economies of 19th century Europe and its colonial empires.
The average Aussie has always been able to see at a glance the connection between the two. From where most of us sit, internationalism and globalisation look the same. To us, the only effective opposition to globalisation and its flip-side internationalism is nationalism, or, divorced of its educationally implanted sinister overtones, plain old "parochialism" or "particularism". Like anyone else, Aussies don't want their own idenbreasty erased while being forced to endlessly "celebrate" those whom Labor has tried to endow with the mission of watering out our own.
Parliamentary Labor, dazzled by its own elitist reflection and preference for fashionable theory over practice, have inadvertently burnt the bridge that connects them to their logical and time-honoured consbreastuency. Championing the Aussie way of life could have remained their own role had they not lost the plot and ended up trapped in the side pocket they now find themselves trapped within.
It's not hard to figure out why support for Pauline Hanson could be ignited by a single spark while a million laborites huff'n'puff with a hundred imported hitech flame-throwers trying to revive the fire of grbuttroots support they themselves spent forty-odd years doing their utmost to stamp out.
The false corner Labor have talked themselves into, and can't escape without abandoning all remaining credibility, is something they can no loger bear to think about without gnashing their teeth and frothing at the mouth in sheer impotent despair.
10 Years Congratulations PM 1221Brian define:jingoism Jingoism is a term describing chauvinistic patriotism, especially with regard to a hawkish political stance. en.wikipedia.org-wiki-Jingoism Well, in...
Should the Labor Opposition abandon the pose that has left them with nothing to genuinely oppose beyond public mention of John Howard's name?
There could be a way to earn back the trust of the consbreastuency they abandoned on the advice of demographic bean counters so many years ago.
To many nominal supporters John Howard is no hero - merely the lesser of two evils they turn to by default. Will Labour have the humility to admit it took a wrong turn because of a fresh-faced addiction to cheers of youthful eggers-on 40 years ago? Will its functionaries retain the intestinal forbreastude to endure the more recent educationally-implanted dog whistles of their own design being deployed against them?
One thing is for sure. Federal Labor's current stance has left its members with no higher role than thinking up vile names for John Howard.
Are they worth the expense?
