The Democrats in the News

Great line from Andrew Murray - that he would resign more often if he could. The SMH today has a story about the demise of the Dems.

Unfortunately, I think Andrew Murray is wrong - as is the adage that "all news is good news". Yes, at last the media is taking an interest in the party, but for all the wrong reasons. And while I feel sorry for the facts Murray expresses late in the article that as a Senator he has been working feverishly away but nothing gets reported, I don't feel sorry for the fact that Andrew Murray has not really wanted to work as part of the team since he partnered Meg Lees in the GST debacle.

What's that you say - I'm a hypocrite? I want the GST to be 15% but don't think the Democrats should have voted for it? Absolutely, because the public knew what it (thought) it was doing in 1999 and the Democrats let them down. And the same weak defence is the one that might yet bring Barnaby Joyce undone - I did the dea that made the proposal better than it was to start with.

The Democrats of all the parties are the ones I'd have thought believed that as leaders you bring the public on a journey of ideas, not that you say anything to get elected then make different decisions claiming changed circumstances. And to do that you need to be clear on the motivating philosophy, not (like Andrew Murray) bogged down in verbose explanations.