THEIR GREATEST HITS: Ted Baillieu Who Stands For Nothing

WHAT THE SITE WAS ALL ABOUT

Ted Baillieu stands for nothing and he must go. The Liberal Party can win back Victoria, but Ted Baillieu is beyond reform.

He professes to be a small ‘l’ liberal but wouldn’t know the meaning of the word. When asked what the Liberal Party stands for under his leadership, he stumbles. All he says is that he wants the Party to be “inclusive, broad-based, young at heart and aspirational”. But what does that mean and why would it make ordinary voters want to change government? Why would they want Ted Baillieu to be Premier?

The State Parliamentary Liberal Party should stand for:

1. Safer streets and homes: being tough on crime and protecting Victorians.

2. Better education standards: getting the basics of reading, writing and mathematics right.

3. Securing our water: building a real dam for the future.

4. Cutting state taxes and stamp duty: reducing the burden of government and tackling housing affordability.

But unfortunately we need a new leader to make that happen.

GEM #1 - LAUGHING AT RED TED ATTEMPTING TO OUTFLANK LABOR ON THE LEFT

Ted, there is naught to be gained by pursuing alliances with those who will never vote for you, be they unions, opponents of bay dredging, refugee collectives, Greenpeace or the (laughably small) Malcolm Fraser Appreciation Society.

The Liberal Party has never won an election by outflanking the ALP on left. Every attempt to do so has resulted in electoral humiliation. If the politically talented and genuinely charismatic John Brogden couldn’t do it, what on earth makes you think you can?

Try heading east of Burke Rd once in a while Ted. You might learn something.

GEM #2 - DISSING PAUL AUSTIN - COULD THERE BE A MORE WORTHY TARGET?

...pitiful offering from Baillieu sycophantic marionette Paul Austin at the Spencer St Soviet...

The truly frightening thing about this is that Austin does not scratch himself without getting properly briefed by Red Ted and his boy Michael Kapel. So this is clearly the line that the intellectual juggernauts at 157 Spencer St are hoping to push.

...Not surprisingly, details of what to expect have been provided by Baillieu’s bitch Paul Austin in The Age today. Once again, there's no mention of the reshuffle in the paper that Victorians actually read, the Herald Sun.

...Ted Baillieu’s good friend is Paul Austin and The Age is his first call when he needs to spread the word. Some of Ted’s ‘colleagues’ on Spring St refer laughingly behind his back to ‘Big Red Ted’s Big Red Phone’, whenever presented with another spoon-fed offering from Ted’s lapdog at the Spencer Street Soviet, Paul Austin.

GEM #3 - RED TED POLL-AXED

Confronted with Tuesday’s devastating poll result which showed Red Ted is about as popular as paediatric cancer, the best line of defence the man could manage was:
“We’re out of office, this is not news.”

Brilliant, isn’t it? This is the sort of withering retort that would make Churchill, Menzies or Whitlam green with envy. What a performer the Baillieu boy is. It’s a wonder the vast majority of Victorians haven’t noticed this diamond in the rough.

GEM #4 - WELLS AND SHARDEY SLAMMED // WOOLDRIDGE, MULDER, GUY PRAISED

... Red Ted came up with a half baked plan where he kinda-sorta-half opposed the bay dredging, though not really. Entirely predictably, this approach profited Baillieu nothing – it pissed-off business groups and did nothing to win over the noisy crowd of doctor’s wives who oppose the dredging (because, as we said at the time, these chardonnay socialists will never, ever vote Liberal ).

Ted’s next big chance came with the State Coalition agreement, which gave him the opportunity to reshape his Shadow Cabinet and lose some of the deadwood. He wimped it, keeping proven non-performers like his mates Kim Wells and Helen Shardey in key portfolios when good people like Mary Wooldridge, Terry Mulder and Matthew Guy could have been given a chance to step up to the plate.

GEM #5 - TED BAILLIEU'S FACTIONAL ROLE

Red Ted is undeniably the most openly factional parliamentary leader the Victorian Liberal Party has ever had. In stark contrast to his lofty rhetoric of inclusiveness and respect is the reality of his Machiavellian pursuit of power. With ambition not seen since the early life of Mao Tse Tung; with paranoia not seen since the time of Emperor Tiberius; and a proclivity for nepotism not seen since the papel court of Pope Innocent the tenth - Red Ted is the ultimate hypocrite.
If you think about it for a moment Ted Baillieu has many of the attributes of a Roman Emperor, except greatness. Just like David Davis has many of the attributes of a dog, except loyalty.

GEM #6 - KIM "WHODAT" WELLS

Baillieu could have replaced Kim “Whodat” Wells as Shadow Treasurer. Wells has not exactly been a star performer in this key portfolio – and it’s territory the Liberal Party should own. Terry Mulder could have done well here. Or, given that John Lenders sits in the upper house, perhaps David Davis could have taken the job?

GEM #7 - THE AGE ANALYSED TRUTHFULLY

There is a simple rule in conservative politics; if it’s in the Age it’s probably bullshit. Nowhere is this rule more relevant than when it applies to the internal machinations of the Liberal Party. Most liberals and conservatives understand this and give the contemptible, socialist rag a wide berth; that is, except for Ted Baillieu, Petro Georgiou and that epitome of treachery John Malcolm Fraser. If fact, you only have to pick up a copy of the Age to see the latest Liberal Party communiqué from Ted Baillieu’s office usually under his pseudonym, Paul Austin.

What Ted doesn’t understand is that the Age is not on his side. It is what we in business would call strategic objective misalignment. They simply want a different outcome to that of the Liberal Party – specifically the retention of the Labor state government. For the Age the battle grounds are drawn internally within the ALP. How do they, the leftist editors of the Age, exert influence over the dominant conservative Labor Unity faction within the party? How do they bring about their socialist utopia while undermining both a conservative state government and nullify the threat of an effective Liberal Party?

For the answer, again just pick up the Age.

GEM #8 - PRAISE WHERE IT WAS DUE

The Liberals and Nationals have today announced they are forming a Coalition in Victoria. Given that this will affect the make up of Red Ted’s Shadow Cabinet, the delay is perhaps forgivable. This is probably the best thing Ted has done since he’s been Leader.

Game on.