Mood:
d'ohTopic: aust govt
Author’s general introductory note
This is not a well packaged story. It’s a contemporaneous traverse of the Sunday television free to air political talkies indicating the agenda of Establishment interests: Better to know ones rivals and allies in Big Politics and Big Media.
For actual transcripts and/or video feeds go to the programme web sites quoted including Riley Diary on 7. And note transcripts don’t really give you the image content value.
Other sources of pollie talkies on Sunday include SkyNews paytv Sunday Agenda, Radio National Monica Attard Sunday Profile show. And of course Sunday night shows SBS Dateline, Sixty Minutes and now Sunday Tonight on 7.
Media backgrounders
* Centrist icon Grattan backs Steve Lewis (News Corp) central to 'fake Treasury email' affair on abc RN with Doogue stand in for Fran Kelly. Lewis runs staunch largish article in prime Saturday SD Telegraph; in the protective wake of staunch editorial same pape, same day, probably written by John Hartigan who also ran his tough guy stance last Tuesday Press Club.
* Take note Australian Federal Police investigators.
What is the Karl Rove reverse smear? It involves a deliberately clumsy fake smear of a friendly/allied candidate/figure (who presumably is in on the gambit, but may not be too to preserve plausible deniability). Think say ALP clumsy smear on Kevin Rudd, or vice versa Liberals on Malcolm Turnbull.
So already from the outset it is counter intuitive - but stay with us, this was Karl Rove's brilliance. Why would you put out a smear document on your own side? Here’s how it works …..
Intrinsic to the tactic is that the smear is fairly easily rebutted by allied candidate, after initial minor damage. It's all about harvesting the public's outrage at a demonstrably and well understood political dirty trick (often referred to by wonks as “rat f*cking” and see below at ***) as this 'expose' of the fake or fraud or smear spreads exponentially through the electorate and beyond the beltway itself. People don’t like other people being smeared in a demonstrably unfair way. And they take revenge by punishing the side most identified with the 'fault' either in terms of votes or polling.
So the public turn on the most obvious or logical perpetrator of the smear being the direct rival of the target of the now flimsy discredited smear. Even it wasn't their fault as such, because that subtle nuance is too complex over a short time period.
Apparently Rove did this to gather centre swinging voters to the conservative GW Bush side by harvesting a backlash of anger from centre, and centre left voters over flimsy smears he himself put out against his own side. But it can be done by Left on Right which arguably appears to be happening in Australia with Rudd (nominally Left) harvesting voters against Turnbull (nominally Right) in the recent polls, and against Hamilton Smith.
And we hasten to add, this is the effect even if the Labor or ALP have no official or unofficial role in the recent 'fake Treasury email' (we decline to call it 'the Grech email')
A template in Australia was indirectly via the Lindsay electorate fake Muslim Extremist leaflet affair at the final week of the federal election in Nov 2007 (see picture above). In that case the Coalition activist (Right) were definitely promoting a false smear, and the backlash after it was demonstrated as false by Labour (Left) activists in quick time, front pager in News Corp tabloid, caused a crushing backlash against the Howard Govt.
All of the above whether intended or accidental is standard Karl Rove dirty tricks and rat f*cking. And time enough for the Labor activists to learn the method well. Take note AFP investigators.
*** About 6 months ago Fairfax Naked Eye recounted how PM Rudd was overhead referring to “rat f*ckers” in private conversation. Rudd and his team know all about Karl Rove and rat f*cking. As do their mates in the Democrats in the USA who were the prime victims at first, as of course do Rove’s home party the US Republicans.
* Crikey direct readership and circulation rival old media The Australian in tit for tat attacks on eachother’s credibility all week. Story is old versus new. More similar than different market and role? True enough that upon death of dame Elizabeth Murdoch that The Australian will go the way of the dodo, and Crikey ‘with added source’ time will come. True enough that hyperbole of The Oz exaggerates
* ex PM Keating runs open door policy for China engagement. Trouble is Keating almost certainly has business interests there? Undeclared business interests? Conflict of interest issues? Another complaint to the ACCC for breach of s.52 of the Trade Practices Act?
* Gillard’s prime ministerial grooming to the Jewish lobby, industry re Fair Work and standing up to violent unionism continues apace. A few weeks back our colleague Carol with the chronic disability had a chat to La Gilliotine at Prince of Wales Hospital apparently assuming Carol was on the level (?) – what the hell was that all about?
* SAM gets a 3 m USB extension doing wonders for our web connectivity. Woohoo. Gluten free diet seems to be doing us a lot of good too after barely 3 days. Next challenge to bake our own bread. Woolworths has bought out Macro Wholefoods, - note their gluten free and health food section, compared to Coles which has kids trolleys instead.
* Re big tax on cigarettes: At recent small social event of various Vietnam vets, and their family/friends – not one smoker. Wood heater seemed to suffice.
10 Meet the Press: 8- 8-30 amStand in for compere Bonge, workmanlike talent too. Dep PM Gillard looking radiant and super groomed, how expensive are those clothes [Sarah Pallin?] after (serious) Middle East tour.
Sexism/misconduct comment re front pager Sydney SunHerald story Navy.
Utegate re AFP footage Mick Keelty re Turnbull is a witness and otherwise his role over.
Gillard runs Turnbull damned credibility. Humour out take of PM Rudd at school event singing Treasuere Swan happy birthday.
Panel is talent – Peter Hartcher, Michelle Grattan both serious people and worthy match. Gillard attacks reporter ‘errors’ in Education stimulus sloppy spends as per press today Sunday Telegraph.
Hartcher re ‘rediculous’ law in NSW re illegal to publish school league tables. [big debate about apples with apples comparisons re similar socio economic demographics].
2nd guest is youngish wonk Van Onselen for the Liberal side of things. Wonks interviewing eachother. Shocking week, not dead, looked dead previously in Wentworth electoral fights but this is much bigger scale. ‘Twin Tonys’ idea more about machinations of shadow cabinet reshuffle. References A Crabb class 1996 reaching their end, lack ideological/intellectual capital. MT faced with dilemma of essential moderate going disingenuously more conservative or … something.
Meet The Press - Watch Political Video Online - Channel TEN.
Riley Diary 7, from 8.30am
Utegate seens as traincrash for Malcolm Turnbull. MASH parallels. Awful pollie singing. Rudd sings Seekers ‘KTel’ Special.
http://www.seven.com.au/sunrise/weekend
9 Sunday newshour Laurie Oakes interview 8.40 am Slot promo for 8.40 am (bravo), which will help direct morning traffic via the Sphere as round about. [ Quite strong column by LO in SDT yesterday.] Leads on NK nuclear capacity with talent Foreign Minister Stephen Smith. Refers to Keating foray in various ways and takes issue. Arguing about PM Rudd getting involved in Papal visits and riposte re climate conference in Italy. [Vatican said to exercise a lot of soft power given their global access in previous rationale.]
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/oakes
Insiders 2: 9- 10am
Chris Uhlmann for Barry Cassidy (or replacing?) runs his intellectual style intro, with footage of Gillard on Fair Work,
Panel is A Crabb Fairfax, Meglo News Corp national, Bolt News Corp Melbourne.
Two Tony’s (Abbott, Smith) as conservative aspiring leadership.
Big cigarette’s tax.
Arbib palaver about ‘nit picking’ over education stimulus rollout involving a million here and there. [Like West Wing a billion here and there, what does it matter?].
Bolt lays out why we have a Govt we didn’t elect but ignores we did get a ‘mummy party’, but true not Howard Lite, and the reason is the GFC game changer no one predicted, so stupid to hypothecate 2007 and 2009, a grand non sequitur.
Unionism on the march again. Bolt talks up Gillard performance cut through in parliament etc [seems to be pushing a Melbourne torch?]. ACrabb similar wax soliloquy.
Panel talk over health issue. Pledge being made of federal takeover [ pre GFC] was driven by Howard opportunism politics, ACrabb/Bolt. Journalists were suckered. Bolt says same re climate change. “Never going to happen.”
‘Prof Paul Kelly, News Corp soliloquy on the Rudd Machine Success, Opposition only three problems Unity, Leadership and Belief. Only? Major blunder if Coalition treats climate as an ideology not a policy, if does then “finished”.
Big poll disasters history, Aug 93 Keating 20 points down, Downer late 1994, Latham April 04 31 points, the all time record down Turnbull 40 points June 2009. Discussing whether leadership is finished. ACrabb says Party is built like a Howard body suit. Lacks ideological heft says Bolt and could/should be grassroots.
Bill Leak getting up to speed in Talking Pictures.
Inside Business with Alan Kohler
Refer http://www.abc.net.au/insidebusiness/
