[Dialogue] FW: [Oe List ...] You voted, and the winning slogan is...

Sat Sep 20 00:18:56 EDT 2008

Good for a chuckle.  

Although ...

Prof Don Batts, American Studies at Flinders University, gave a talk last night as part of Flinders' "Fridays at the Library" series - abouth the forthcoming election.  He thought that we (in Australia)  are in danger of treating Sarah Palin in much the same way as we treated Pauline Hanson a decade or so ago.

Pauline Hanson, a fish'n'chips shop proprietor from Queensland, was concerned at the money being thrown at "the aboriginal problem".  She pushed the notion that all citizens should be treated equally.  She was against affirmative action.  She started the "One Nation" political party.  And the media savaged her, as did the "rent-a-crowd" Left, as a racist and so on.

Like Palin, Hanson did not come from any big city political establishment, nor the business establishment, nor the union establishment, or any establishment.  She therefore appealed to white working-class males, poorly educated (in terms of schooling and university degrees), affected by globalisation (the supposed "level playing field" that PM Paul Keating talked about) and absolutely confused by long words and smooth-and-smart talking (maybe read: eg Obama?).  

On our "60 Minutes", a sensationalist program is there ever was one, with heart-tugging background music that would make "The Bold and the Beautiful" proud, reporter Tracy Curro asked her whether she was xenophobic.  Xenophobic?  I only knew the word because it appeared on the cover of a book I once had about racism in Australia.  Hanson's response: "Please explain ...", which became part of the Australian lexicon.  The segment was obviously chopped and edited, because it was edited badly at a few points.  In other words, they were out to play smart-arse with this uppity red-headed woman from the Deep North.  The segment only confirmed what Hanson's supporters knew: the media were a mob of smart-arse lefties, or captured by big business.  Remember: Rupert Murdoch started his newspaper career with "The News", the afternoon tabloid rag in Adelaide.

"Sunday" was Channel 9's other long weekly news analysis program, for two hours on Sunday mornings.  They did a scathing segment years later on how the snooty press, and the political establishment, treated Hanson.  It was a good segment, and implicitly had a dig at "60 Minutes".

But "Sunday" had a small fraction of the budget given to "60 Minutes", despite being a "must watch" for people interested in current affairs.  A few years ago the senior journalist who anchored it, Jim Waley, was moved aside, as they tried to revamp it.  Later they tried again, giving it yet another anchor, but this made it more like a chatty breakfast show.  When all this dumbing down failed, the show was cancelled, within the past year.  Back to infotainment.

Back to Hanson and Palin.  Don Batts pointed out what % of US voters come from the big cities, and what % come from outside those cities.  The latter % is the largest.  (Compared to Australia, where we are concentrated around the edges.)  So Palin's pitch against "the Washington establishment" (code for: all those eastern seaboard snobs) has some understandable appeal.  I'm not saying I agree with her - I'm concerned that she be understood.

A couple of decades ago we had a Queensland premier in Joh Bjelke-Petersen.  A fervent Lutheran, awkward in speech, he led a National Party government that put Queensland on the map economically by having low taxes for business etc.  But it was a "party machine state", resulting in the Fitzgerald Corruption Enquiry, the jailing of the police minister, and so on.  Some have since looked at the Labor Party governments before and after Joh, and have wondered whether it's a Queensland issue, irrespective of party.  In the Deep North it's only fairly recently that compulsory schooling went beyond primary school, so sophistication in thinking was suspect.  

When Palin rails against "the Washington establishment", I wonder what McCain is thinking.  As someone with a lot of cross-party respect, who has even worked with Ted Kennedy on  bills,
and lots of experience "on the hill", surely he is part of that same establishment?  

And remember what happened when Jimmy Carter's "boys from Georgia" rode into town?  Ditto for Bill's "boys from Arkansas?  And George W's "boys from Texas"?  Arrogance from the outsiders/newcomers was not very strategic.  The Administration has to deal with Congress, and the Supreme Court.  Our new PM, Queenslander Kevin Rudd, at least has had home-state public service experience, diplomatic corps experience, and some Canberra parliamentary experience.  And our cabinets must be composed of MPs, the opposite to the USA situation.

Don Batts said nothing about community organising experience, unfortunately, and I look forward to more Australian press analysis of this work.  Or does the press deride "the grass roots"?

A bit rambly, but it's the morning after the talk.

Best wishes

Frank Bremner

From: LAURELCG at aol.comDate: Fri, 19 Sep 2008 18:59:05 -0400To: Oe at wedgeblade.netSubject: [Oe List ...] You voted, and the winning slogan is...

This is a slogan a pro-choice group came up with.  Jann

Looking for simple solutions to your real-life financial challenges? Check out WalletPop for the latest news and information, tips and calculators.--Forwarded Message Attachment--Date: Fri, 19 Sep 2008 13:28:22 -0500From: can at prochoiceamerica.orgTo: laurelcg at aol.comSubject: You voted, and the winning slogan is...

Dear Jann,
This week, we asked you to vote for the winning bumper sticker slogan to help educate the public about the dangerously anti-choice views of the McCain-Palin ticket.  The response was incredible! 
And the winning slogan picked by our supporters is: McCain-Palin: 15th Century Solutions for the 21st Century!

With just 46 days left until Election Day, the time to turn up the heat is now! So we’re asking you to donate $15 in the next 48 hours to support our work, and we’ll send you the winning bumper sticker.  It takes $10.87 for us to educate a voter about the most anti-choice ticket we’ve ever seen.  
Every dollar you can give matters as we work to elect pro-choice Barack Obama as our next president. Your contribution will support our vital efforts to defeat this extremist anti-choice ticket and protect choice at every level.
John McCain and Sarah Palin are serious about overturning Roe v. Wade -- and I need you to help us spread the word.  At the Saddleback Forum a few weeks ago, McCain said: "I will be a pro-life president and this presidency will have pro-life policies." Believe me, he has the voting history to prove it. And Palin has expressed support for a constitutional amendment outlawing abortion, opposes abortion in cases of rape or incest, and described herself as “pro-life as any candidate can be.”  
So get your bumper sticker now by donating $15 or more.  Put it on your bumper to get the word out about the McCain-Palin ticket’s extremist views on reproductive rights!  
Why give to NARAL Pro-Choice America now?  Because we know that when pro-choice swing voters learn just how strongly John McCain and Sarah Palin oppose freedom and privacy, they'll reject the anti-choice ticket and support Barack Obama for president.  
Tell the McCain-Palin ticket, “Thanks but no thanks.”  Protect a woman’s right to choose by donating today to the political leader of the pro-choice movement!
My best,

Nancy KeenanPresident, NARAL Pro-Choice America
P.S. And after you've requested your own anti-McCain-Palin bumper sticker, forward this email to your friends and family in the next 48 hours and ask them to get a bumper sticker too!  

Paid for by NARAL Pro-Choice America, http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/, and not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

Tell your friends about the Choice Action Network. If you received this message from a friend, you can sign up for the Choice Action Network. 
To update your profile, click here.If you would like to unsubscribe from the Choice Action Network, please click here.
© Copyright 2008 NARAL Pro-Choice America & NARAL Pro-Choice America Foundation. All rights reserved. 

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