Australia’s conservative party retains power in shocking election result Oh man, the Aussies can pretty much fend for themselves but I do pity them with all the howling and whining they will have to listen to from the lefty pussies. The Aussies have mandatory voting too, so that sort of takes the turnout issue off the table. Polls showing lefties winning are so reliable - OR NOT. MAGA https://www.vox.com/2019/5/18/18630...9-scott-morrison-coalition-bill-shorten-labor
For example, conservatives in Iceland are what liberal Democrats are in US, and left there are basically communists. Wonder what conservative are like in Australia???
How about this rabbit....? "...If you think Scott Morrison is happy after Saturday's stunning election victory, consider the lucky punters who walked away with a total of $1.3 million despite backing the wrong team. Sportsbet was so confident in Labor's chances of winning, as were many pundits, punters and pollsters, it paid out all early bets on Bill Shorten's team two days before Australians went to the polls. The call cost Sportsbet $1.3 million, not to mention the payouts to those who went against the grain and backed the Coalition."
I think there was a Brit outfit that did the same thing with Hillary. They paid out early on her beating Trump. I don't understand why would they do that; it makes no sense. There has to be some logic behind it though. One time about 5 years ago I had 20 Apple puts that were OTM by a mile (no bid) at 3PM on a Friday opex. Lost cause right so I wasn't even watching the stock.... next thing I know about 3:30 my broker is calling me telling me I need to close em or they will.... I'm like wtf? They were $2 and change ITM. I forget what happened.... buts its never over until the fat lady sings.
I read an interesting article about why the polls are off so much now. The left has vilified so many conservative beliefs that people are answering one way in public, and voting another way in private.
The Far-Left Lost An “Unlosable” National Election In Australia Last Night And It’s Glorious Posted at 7:00 pm on May 18, 2019 by Bonchie Drawing by evlio via Flickr Creative Commons https://goo.gl/1oC1Pc It didn’t get a lot of play in the United States, but Australia had their national elections last night (well, their last night) and the results shocked everyone. You see, much like we heard in 2016, the socialist, far-left Labor Party was set to sweep into power via an election all the pundits and experts were saying they couldn’t lose. Reality doesn’t always play along though and the more right leaning (there’s not really a “conservative” party) Liberal National Coalition won a historic victory to remain in control. Scott Morrison will serve a third term as Prime Minister. Here’s a breakdown of how well the loss is being taken by the left. View image on Twitter David Burge@iowahawkblog Australian election summary 3,132 8:28 AM - May 18, 2019 821 people are talking about this Twitter Ads info and privacy Wait, you mean running on “climate change” and wealth redistribution isn’t a winning strategy? Tell me more. Esoteric Jeff ✔@EsotericCD · May 18, 2019 Replying to @EsotericCD "Labor may have lost 'unlosable election'" is never a headline you want to have written about your party. Esoteric Jeff ✔@EsotericCD "But we ran our campaign primarily on climate change legislation and wealth redistribution, how did we lose?" Australia's Labor Party mused to themselves, befuddled at the surprise outcome of the election. 705 8:54 AM - May 18, 2019 Twitter Ads info and privacy 290 people are talking about this Will the far-left learn any lessons from this stunning defeat? Nah. They are instead starting a campaign to have Queensland removed from Australia. Because that seems like a rational reaction to garbage policies being rejected. They’ll just get rid of the voters that didn’t vote like they wanted them to or something. View image on Twitter news.com.au ✔@newscomauHQ People across social media are calling for a 'Quexit' after Labor's shock election loss. #AusVotes #Auspol 300 8:08 AM - May 18, 2019 216 people are talking about this Twitter Ads info and privacy I’ll also note that all the polls had Labor winning over 50% of the vote, which would have given them not only the Prime Minster-ship, but also would have given them a majority in Parliament. So much for that. There are a lot of parallels to this and what happened in Israel last month, where Netanyahu’s Lukid party won against all odds. And for some comic relief, The New York Times went with a “seized” headline to announce Morrison’s victory. Is there anything those dirty right-wingers won’t seize on? The bigger issue to American voters regarding all this is what it might mean for 2020. Is there once again a coalition waiting to snub the left, regardless of what all the polls and experts say? We’ll certainly find out. All I know is that no one should be doing their touchdown dance until the votes have all been counted. If Democrats were smart, they’d take this as an omen to maybe tack to the center some. Most people are not down for destroying the economy over global warming hysteria, nor are they salivating for a socialist takeover of industries. Twitter is not real life. AOC’s district is not America. They won’t learn any lessons though. Instead, they’ll keep pandering to the their far-left base and it may cost them another “unlosable” election next year.
The Democratic Party should move much further to the Left. Enough to make Putin and XI say “Damn!”. Liberals lost Brazil and Australia because they are not Left enough. They need to differentiate themselves further from Conservatives. Therefore, I propose the following: 1. Propose post birth abortions to age 18. 2. Begin sex with animals legalization trial balloons. 3. Lobby the lowering of the age of majority to six for voting and legal “consent” purposes. 4. Energy companies to provide free energy as restitution for our environment and climate change. 5. Whites to become indentured servants to minorities to make up for slavery in the 1800s. 6. Men who earn more than women to undergo re-education and be subject to “Clawback” rules on at least the difference on earnings rates as well as restitution for historical inequities. 7. College tuition refundable retroactively to say, 1962. Also require Republicans disclose on ballots their history of deficit spending when in power. Oh, and the word “Hypocrites” to be a prohibited word and eliminated from the dictionary. 8. Since the US influences global politics, it’s only fair people of the world have a say in US politics. Therefore, the right to voting in US elections shall be extended globally. 9. Since Conservatives have a history of hating and opposing the Radical Left agenda, it shall not be considered a violation of the First Amendment to suppress Conservatives and herein the definition of hate speech will be all forms of communication that don’t support our agenda. 10. As all businesses are greedy money grabbing artificial entities, we need to tax and regulate them into permanent compliance. 11. Seize all weapons types that were ever used in a homicide and make drug dealing legal. 12. Tear down all statues or other memorials of men and Whites to help eradicate our sexist and racist history. 13. Provide safe walkways and bridges at convenient locations all across the border, free security, and other necessities for our undocumented visitors at our borders. Keep spending for said infrastructure to under $100,000,000,000. I left a few things out, but the above platform should endear the Radical Left to the voters to such an extent that a landslide political victory would be guaranteed.
ARGUMENT Scott Morrison Won Australia’s Election Against All Odds. It Shouldn’t Have Come as a Surprise. The Australian Labor Party made the same mistakes that have led to failure for center-left leaders across the globe—and the right is reaping the benefits. BY STAN GRANT | MAY 21, 2019, 4:44 PM Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison (C) shakes hands with Opposition Leader Bill Shorten (L) at a special ecumenical service to mark the start of the parliamentary year at St Paul's Anglican church on Feb. 12 in Canberra, Australia. TRACEY NEARMY/GETTY IMAGES Understanding Australia’s shock election last weekend, in which the right-wing coalition of incumbent Prime Minister Scott Morrison unexpectedly won, requires looking to an unlikely source: a conservative Christian rugby star. The pundits didn’t see it coming, but they don’t spend too much time in church pews. Israel Folau, one of the most outstanding athletes of his generation, has become a lightning rod for debate about freedom of religion in Australia. The pundits didn’t see it coming, but they don’t spend too much time in church pews. Folau had his contract with Rugby Australia terminated after he posted a social media message six weeks ago that said, among other things, that gay people were sinners doomed for hell unless they repented and accepted Jesus Christ as their savior. He has been accused of hate speech, causing offense to the LGBTQ community, and breaching the game’s code of conduct. What was a heated sports issue spilled over into politics in the final week of election campaigning. Morrison shares a similar Pentecostal Christian faith with Folau, and he was asked by journalists if he agreed with the rugby legend and also condemned gay Australians. Morrison replied as politicians do: He said he separated his politics and his faith. But within hours, Bill Shorten, the leader of the opposition progressive Labor Party, seized on the remark, seeing a chance to damage the prime minister. But playing politics with faith was a misstep—perhaps a fatal one. Shorten’s move raised red flags in the minds of many voters. Just what did he stand for? Did he value the rights of the LGBTQ community not to be offended over the rights of someone to publicly profess their religious beliefs? It came in the same week that Shorten had given a rousing speech pledging to “change the nation forever.” But did Australians really want their country changed? Shorten had already outlined an agenda of social change: an ambitious plan for indigenous rights, making Australia a republic (something that had been put to the Australian people and rejected in 1999), as well as higher taxes on what Shorten called “the big end of town.” It was old-style class politics, and it spooked some Australians. Retirees, middle-class parents, and those dependent on the mining industry for their livelihoods all felt they were in the firing line. Christian leaders now say that religious freedom was a sleeper issue that turned votes in critical marginal seats. This was the so-called unlosable election for Shorten, who lost to Morrison’s predecessor in the 2016 federal election; opinion polls stretching back more than two years said the conservative government was doomed. It was wracked with division, having dumped two prime ministers in internal party coups. They went into the election light on policy but led by a new leader big on faith. Within hours of the vote count, it was clear the polls had been hopelessly wrong. Grand narratives are often foolhardy, and something as complex as an election can’t be so tidily explained. But there is a realignment taking place. The wave that has broken across liberal democracies in the West has washed up in Australia. The conservatives have been in power for six years, and after this victory some analysts are predicting at least another six more. The wave that has broken across liberal democracies in the West has washed up in Australia. Throughout the world, long-silent voices are making themselves heard and it is shaking up politics as usual. In the United States, Donald Trump tapped into the frustration of those who felt left behind and promised to make their country great again; Viktor Orban in Hungary has entrenched his leadership by toughening the borders and stopping refugees; in France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Italy, far-right parties are increasing their popularity. At its worst, there are fears of resurgent fascism—certainly nationalism is back. People are saying they want to belong and they want their leaders to put them first. On immigration, trade, climate change policy, and more, countries are putting themselves first amid a blowback against multilateralism and globalization. After two decades marked by Middle East wars, the financial meltdown, and the Great Recession of 2008, whatever consensus had held around the free movement of goods and people and pooled sovereignty is looking frayed. Australia’s election is not its Trump or Brexit moment as some have suggested—the picture here is too complicated for that. Overall, Australia’s democracy is strong: The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Democracy Index has placed Australia in the top 10 for the past decade. It is a country not given to political extremes; it is centrist and broadly conservative with a strong ethos of what Australians call a “fair go” for all. Australia avoided the worst of the financial crisis and has had nearly 30 years of uninterrupted economic growth in part fueled by a mining boom driven by China’s hunger for Australia’s natural resources.Compulsory voting also cushions Australia against get-out-the-vote campaigns and voter suppression efforts that can be so decisive in countries like the United States. Australia avoided the worst of the financial crisis and has had nearly 30 years of uninterrupted economic growth in part fueled by a mining boom driven by China’s hunger for Australia’s natural resources. But there are similarities: The political divide so critical elsewhere in the world is alive in Australia. It has been dubbed the “quinoa curtain”—the split between city and country, particularly the heavily mining-dependent state of Queensland, which broke heavily conservative in the election. The other similarity is that Shorten, like progressives globally, lost the ability to talk to big numbers of Australians—whether on religious freedoms, free speech, tax, or climate change policy. He created too many potential losers. Even worse, he lost the ability to listen. He wanted to change Australians, but he didn’t think to ask if they wanted changing. Progressive hubris plays into the hands of the conservative right. The right is at home talking about nation and family and faith. Scott Morrison is a Christian, rugby-loving, suburban family man. In Australia we would endearingly call him a “bogan.” He is also a tough politician who knows his side: As immigration minister in 2013 and 2014 he turned back refugee boats and toughened Australia’s border patrol; he once brought a lump of coal into Parliament to argue against shutting down mines to appease environmentalists. Progressive hubris plays into the hands of the conservative right. The right is at home talking about nation and family and faith. Morrison dedicated his victory to the “quiet Australians.” He claims to like them just as they are and does not seek to change them. Progressive politicians in Australia, like everywhere, are now realizing that if they want change, they need to win power—and that means bringing the people with them rather than telling them what’s good for them. Two days before Australia’s federal election, one of the country’s most loved and popular former prime ministers, Bob Hawke, passed away. He came to power in the 1980s as a former union leader and towering figure of the left, but his message was summed up in one word: consensus. In four elections, he was never defeated. And he was a rugby fan. Stan Grant is a professor of global affairs at Griffith University and a global affairs analyst at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Twitter: @StanGrantMOF