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| Making it happen | |
Mark (Maddog) Latham's approach to politics is anything but
un-sexy. While somewhat short on policy, the king of motherhood statements,
once dubbed Dr Man Boobs by the Smirking Treasurer, has put together a shadow
cabinet consisting, seemingly, of wall to wall women. But the gaggle of women on the front bench is more than just a Cunning
array of Stunts on the part of the Shining Wits in the ALP. Maddog is a Smart Fella and
says they are, 'talented, young, progressive' women. The young is (at least comparatively) self evident, the
talented is a personal call, but it's hard to know exactly what Maddog
meant by 'progressive', dictionary.com
gives some clues. Removing all the definitions of progressive
which use the term progressive in their definition (how stupid are these
people?) leaves.
- Moving forward; advancing
.. as opposed to the Labour Party, which is slipping backwards.
- Promoting or favoring progress toward better conditions or new policies, ideas, or methods: a progressive politician; progressive business leadership
.. so progressive just means better? Right.
- Increasing in rate as the taxable amount increases: a progressive income tax.
.. ahh, these women can sell the fiction that rich people have a higher effective marginal tax rate.
Progressive also suggests a commitment to leftist ideology, like
.. say, affirmative
action for women. A group of women who are firmly in favor of their own
promotions is a good start, but where does it go from there? In the roaring
'80s, and early '90s, affirmative action was fashionable enough to win
popularity. In 2004 through, it's a little bit old. At least it'll be a bit of comic relief. Most of us have to go searching on
the web for Asian lesbians **, but we now have one on
the front bench, and some of us are looking forward to her progressive
contribution to Australian politics. Affirmative action
is a wonderful thing. In fairness to the ALP though, at least it has finally achieved its much
touted Generational Change. In fact Simon Crean will look quite out of place in
this group - slumped in the front bench like a decaying fossil - a relic of
happier (and more unionized) times. A bit like Little Johnny sitting on the opposite side.
** Actually a cursory examination of the URL behind this link suggests that
one doesn't have to actually look very hard.
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