Posted on 06/25/2008 10:30:54 PM PDT by Aussie Dasher
A 30-YEAR chapter in federal politics ends today when the Australian Democrats make their official exit from the Senate.
Leader Lyn Allison, Natasha Stott Despoja, Andrew Bartlett and Andrew Murray will take their seats in the Senate for one last time before bowing out when parliament breaks for the winter recess this evening.
The Democrats are leaving the parliament with a warning that their departure will leave the nation's democracy weaker.
Senators Stott Despoja, Bartlett and Allison delivered their valedictory speeches in the Senate yesterday, while Senator Murray gave his on Tuesday.
The new Senate will be the first without Democrats representation since Don Chipp formed the party in 1977, famously promising to "keep the bastards honest".
Senator Stott Despoja said she had lived through great dramas during her time in politics.
"Not least of these dramas has been the drama of my party, whose demise has done no one any good," she said.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.com.au ...
not soon enough!
Tell me about it!!!
Mixed blessing. The Democrats failed (apart from the fact that the party formed to "keep the bastards honest", turned out to be a mob of treacherous back stabbers) because they were were split between the centrist (between Labor and Liberal) and hard left factions. Most of the people voting for them and half the parliamentary members were moderates, but policy was set by the party members and organization, who were leftist.
They have been replaced by the hard left Greens, who have no intent on appealing to the moderate voters.
Whereas before Labor couldn't move too far left as that would give the Democrats an opportunity to move into the centre, now Labor has to go left to limit the Greens.
Today works for me.
I was going to say...that’s two thirds of the perfect headline.
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