Class of politician

Listening to the fantastic Fran Kelly this morning interviewing a MP on the reduction of the printing allowance and MP's salary in general. It was put to this MP whether $120G was enough to lure talented people into politics. The MP mentioned a number of talented people had turned down going for the safe seat of Bradfield because of the pay. So does that mean the only people worth attracting into politics are ones who think $120G is not enough to leave the private sector for public life. Is anyone in federal parliment now on more money than they were previously?

I wonder all the time about the people in politics. Are they really a representative of us, how many teachers, miners and plumbers are there in federal parliment. If all we have representing us are party political animals, unionists and executives who think $120G is a paycut, how can they write policy for the rest of us little people.

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Muppets

I've been working as a sales rep for over three years now, that's a lot of radio national, AM, PM and The World Today. Not to mention the rubbish local ABC radio passes off as community minded interest in politics. As a result the once bright flame of interest and passion in politics and the political process is now just a twisted blackened cinder of cynicism. Too many interviews where the pollie parrots back the party line ( I almost crashed the car when Gillard gave a coherent and reasonable answer to a Fran Kelly question this morning. Maybe she was spending some of those tax dollars on drugs before handing it back to the grog companies). Too much party politics and to me they seem the same anyway, a bunch of lifers from the political system who wouldn't know what a real job looked like if it bit them on the arse.

So it takes a fair bit to get me angry these days, but this Muppet, Mr Moral High Ground Senator Stephen Fielding has got me fired. I mean I didn't know we had gone to the American system and had a president whose personal views controlled the veto over the parliament.

Anyway he sort of was elected so we've got him I guess, but it gets better. This muppet has the delusion that by defeating this bill he has struck a blow against binge drinking in this country. Well in the seven years I ran pubs I never heard this statement "gees beeso, those drinks are a lot cheaper, I'll have less of them tonight. "

I mean if he'd screwed the Ruddbot for some restrictions on advertising or had siphoned some more money into research or prevention then I'd be fine with him calling a press conference like Robert Downey Junior to say "Screw this - I AM IRON MAN!"

But all he did was focus the stupidity of a system where one man with a minority vote and a set of personal beliefs can stick it to the majority elected government but doesn't have to answer to the majority of the people come the next election.

I guess Karma has it in for me though, for in return of the flickering flame of political interest, this lobbed into my inbox today.

Hi, beeso (beeso).

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Oh Dear.

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