The Federal Treasurer here in Australia, Wayne Swan, labelled at a recent speech some parts of the Republican Party in the USA as “cranks and crazies“:
‘With the world watching, it is imperative that the US Congress resolve an agreement to support growth in the short term,” he said.
”In a throwback to a year ago, global markets are nervously watching the positioning of hardline elements of the Republican Party for signs that they will dangerously block reasonable attempts at compromise.
“Let’s be blunt and acknowledge the biggest threat to the world’s biggest economy are the cranks and crazies that have taken over a part of the Republican Party.”
Looks like a fairly accurate desciption to me. And you don’t even have to look to the Tea Party fo find them. Mitt “47%” Rmoney, Michele “cure the gheys” Bachmann, or Rick “eggs are people” Santorum are pretty crazy by any standard. It’s not really an insult, it’s rather a fitting label for what these people say and advocate.
Luckily, we don’t have to look to the US to find Tea Party-style dumbness anymore, Australia has produced its own proud brand of intellectually disabled populist loudmouths. Just take Joe Hockey, the Shadow Treasurer from the opposition Liberal Party, and what he had to say to Mr Swan’s comments:
”What is it with the Labor Party and hatred?” Mr Hockey said.
”They hate people that make money, they constantly attack individuals who are successful and employ other Australians … I’d like to hear Wayne Swan say something positive about someone, somewhere.
What is it with the Liberal Party and the meaning of words? Someone send Mr Hockey a dictionary so he can look up “hatred”. But wait, that’s just the thing with Conservatives, isn’t it, be it Rmoney or Abbott or guys like Joe Hockey, they won’t let facts or the truth get in the way of smearing political opponents, or of winning over voters at election time.
