Wrong to dump Kev says Simon..

[zombie]

Wrong to dump Kevin Rudd, says Simon Crean

Samantha Maiden
Sunday Herald Sun
October 28, 201212:00AM

Simon Crean says it was a mistake to dump Kevin Rudd in favour of Julia Gillard as prime minister. Source: Herald Sun


FORMER Labor leader Simon Crean has declared it was "a mistake" to dump Kevin Rudd as leader, but warned MPs they cannot go back to the past.

The Labor frontbencher is a long-standing mentor of the Prime Minister, but insisted his assessment was not a criticism of her but rather an honest reflection on the political damage caused by Labor's revolving door of leaders.

"We shouldn't have changed leader. But we have and we can't change again," Mr Crean told the Sunday Herald Sun.

"I've been entirely consistent on this. It's always wrong to change the leader. I've agreed with John Faulkner the use of internal party research was wrong. It was used against me and it was used against Beazley. There's no purity in this.

"I always think it's a mistake to change leaders. But that's what we've done and we've got to stick with it."








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MoreRudd reveals his thoughts on betrayal

His comments come amid revelations Mr Rudd has penned his own account of the "betrayal" of being dumped as prime minister and his secret offer to deliver Julia Gillard the leadership.

The document, obtained by Sunday Herald Sun, is a written account of the leadership coup provided to author Maxine McKew in the preparation for her book, Tales from the Political Trenches.

In his account of the leadership coup, Mr Rudd writes the political ambush was made worse by the fact he backed Ms Gillard's ambitions to become Australia's first female prime minister.

"I was married to a strong woman, I was the son of one and I was the father of one," he writes.

"And I, too, wanted to see a female prime minister.

"So given all of that, I was stunned when the coup occurred. Did I feel let down and indeed betrayed? Well of course. I am as human as the next person."

Mr Rudd writes he repeatedly discussed handing over the leadership to Ms Gillard.

"Following the 2007 election I had always said that Julia would be the next Labor PM after myself," he writes.

But in an olive branch, he has apologised to the ALP for his failures as PM and also urged Labor MPs to "put this whole chapter of ugly political history behind us".

"There is no point in politics or life ending up bitter and twisted," he writes.

"You pick yourself up, you dust yourself off and you get back into it. And that's what the party and the Government now have to do as well."

Mr Rudd writes that he was blindsided by Ms Gillard and Treasurer Wayne Swan, whom he said had given him no indication there was a problem in 2010.

"So did I feel let down by these two ministers to whom I had given unqualified support over many years? Well of course I felt let down," he writes.

But a fresh war erupted yesterday in the ALP over the Labor Party's decision to humiliate Finance Minister Penny Wong by awarding her the No.2 spot on the SA Senate ticket.

Senator Don Farrell, dubbed one of the "faceless men" as one of the key players in the plot to remove Mr Rudd as prime minister, secured the No.1 spot in a 112-83 vote on Saturday.

When asked if his decision to demand the No.1 spot was disrespectful to the more senior Senator Wong, Senator Farrell said he had "no comment".

The decision sparked a furious response from federal Labor frontbencher Anthony Albanese.

"This is an act of self-indulgence which highlights the need for ongoing reform of the Australian Labor Party," he said.

"The party cannot act in isolation from public opinion.

"Penny Wong is obviously our most talented senator from South Australia.

"ALP operatives need to understand that the end audience is always the voting public, not ourselves."

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Indeed Labor needs to rid itself of the faceless men, be the ruin of the party with its dirty machinations.

[Freddy]

Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda....
Dunno about you lot, but I am so over all this Ruddstoration Crap.

[Freddy]

But then again, we are talking about the MSM here aren't we ?
Well here's a tip. The next "big thing" in the Political world (well Australia) will be totally missed by the MSM and their precious Press Gallery, much like how the MSM missed the real story over the PM's Speech.
They'll be to busy examining their navel fluff of "Rudd got axed", and "Juliar axed him" when it happens, and then will try and lecture us over "Context" to cover up their incompetence.
But happen it will, and happen rather soonish, I feel.

[Earl Grey]

Oct 28, 2012 11:35:50 GMT 11 Freddy said:

But then again, we are talking about the MSM here aren't we ?
Well here's a tip. The next "big thing" in the Political world (well Australia) will be totally missed by the MSM and their precious Press Gallery, much like how the MSM missed the real story over the PM's Speech.
They'll be to busy examining their navel fluff of "Rudd got axed", and "Juliar axed him" when it happens, and then will try and lecture us over "Context" to cover up their incompetence.
But happen it will, and happen rather soonish, I feel.

I agree with you Freddy.
I think Abbott is for the chop as Liberal leader (probably sometime in January).

[geopol]

Abbott may be one of the best things labor has going for it at the moment, apart of course from the behaviour of the Liberal premiers, especialy in NSW and Queensland who are giving the punters a glimpse of what to expect if the Liberals do get up in Canberra. We here know, and I hope the punters come to realise it too, that the Liberals are out to trash the country and get even with their imaginary enemies which are apparently everywhere....

[zombie]

Perhaps MSM will let things lie if ol' Labor identities stopped writing books about the whole sorry saga, should never have happenend the way it did, not many would disagree, but the concerning current factors here and now is the faceless men in power, and the issue for Labor with trust, what with a faceless Don Farell getting no1 spot in the SA senate over Penny Wong....like you think thats a popular move for the punters to contemplate over with Julia Gillards leadership style, and who is running the show, her or the faceless bastards....Abbott or no Abbott the conservatives still look like winning the next poll.

[pim]

The big news is that Penny Wong was dropped from N° 1 spot on the SA Labor Senate ticket in favour of a nonentity called Farrell. It's all about factional shit within SA Labor. Albo is pissed off about it and fair enough too! I'm pissed off as well. Fair dinkum when factional shit becomes an end in itself and internal Party "empires" become more important than convincing Australian voters about the Labor message, then the factional heavies forget what the factions are supposed to do, which is to provide vehicles to facilitate debate around policy within the context of a "broad church" party. It's when factionalism becomes an end in itself and the be all and end all that they become destructive. And this is destructive. You really do need to read Lindsey Tanner's book Power With Purpose.

[zombie]

Who me needs to read Tanners book.....??....reads to me Pim we are on the same wave length with the faceless men in Labor.

I have a stack of books I need to finish reading.....can you give us a 100 word critique of Tanners book...

[pim]

I already have. I don't want to keep repeating myself. I think Tanner's book is timely and important for Labor people and that any Labor person that sees it within the prism of the politics surrounding the Gillard Government and has a problem with it on that score, is part of the malaise that grips Labor. No Labor persson should feel threatened by Tanner's book. If you feel challenged by it then Tanner has achieved his purpose. If you feel threatened by it then you've missed its point and probably aren't reaally Labor.

He calls it Politics with Purpose to distinguish it from its opposite which is politics without purpose which Tanner argues is pointless. His book makes a critique of Labor on those lines ever since the defeat of Hawke/Keating in 1996. It should be read. I can't flesh it out any more than that without going over the 100 word limit you've set me. Sorry!

[Earl Grey]

Meanwhile...
Going by the latest Newspoll:
Labor needs only 2% more in its primary vote to retain government next year.

[zombie]

Did I disagree with Tanners sentiments....??

The purpose of Politics within Labor is power...and who wants it and who will sacrifice the party and popular MP's to gain power.

Polls are looking favourably Earl ...I have had the thought what will happen to Julia Bishop if Abbotts gets dropped as leader is a question to be asked as well.

[pim]

Apparently Julia Bishop is known within Liberal Party circles as "Cockroach" because she keeps on surviving. I think it's a reference to the theory that after a nuclear holocaust the planet ill be dominated by cockroaches because they're hardy enough to survive no matter what the prevailing environmental catastrophe.

She was clueless as Shadow Treasurer and she's just as clueless as Foreign Afffairs Shadow. It's a bit of a talent-free zone on that side of the House. Apart from Malcolm Turnbull who else is there? I mean, just as I was starting to look more favourably on Joe Hockey this was his reaction to Australia winning a 2 year gig on the Security Council: "Will it help stop the boats?"

Yeah, right ...

I'm not saying you disagree with Tanner, Zombie. But what I am saying is that I'm disaappointed that there hasn't been a more favourable response to Lindsay Tanner's book. It challenges Labbor, it doesn't threaten it. It's positive, not negative. It offers insight and any criticism is constructive. It's about ideas and as such is in the best Labor tradittion - since the Labor Party is supposed to be a party of ideas, as opposed to the Liberals who see themselves as a party of managers.

I guess I'll eventually get arround to reading McKew's book. although reading is a bit difficult for me right now after that cataract surgery. My old glasses are no longer suitable and I can't get a new prescription until after the third post op visit to the ophthamologist in mid-November. So I have to strugggle on until then. I'm touch ttyping this since the keys are a bit blurry! But regardingg McKew's book and the way it rehashes all the stuff about Rudd and the way he lost the prime ministership ... do we need all this stuff? All the King's horses and all the King's men are not going tto be able tto make Rudd Prime Minister again. Somebody was saying this morning on ABC News 24 that the story on McKew's book was on pagee 4 of the Age and in a couple of days time it'll probably be on page 14. To which I can only say "Hear bloody hear!" I think people are over tthe Rudd thing. There was anotheer point madde on News 24: giv en all the free kicks that Gillard Labor has given the Abbott Liberals ever since 2010, how come the Liberals aren't ddoing better?

Now that's the real story! Where's the discussion in what Freddy calls the MSM?

[zombie]

Living in a small coastal town book buying depends on travelling to Coffs Harbour, a week to fornightly occurance and what I am seeking to buy there, 1hr of shopping and I want to go back home again, or buying online either way its a time factor, but will get to read Tanners book since you have recomended it Pim...McKews book I think is more a markerting exercise in its release at this time, like in 12months no one will give a damn.

Good to see Senator Wong has been placed no1 on the ticket....what a farce.

Cockroach...classic, if Gillard wins the next poll maybe cockroach will rise out of the nuclear watse and be the conservatives next leader...ya never know..

Anyhow hope your eyesight improves...take care where you are walking..

[Earl Grey]

The perfect job for Kevvie...

[zombie]

Kev as Sauron...interestin' concept...Abbotts is Grima Wormytounge..