This title may sound a bit tongue-in-cheek, but I assure you I am quite serious, and so apparently is Julian Assange.
According to the ABC news this evening, Wikileaks the political party will be on the ballot papers when Australia votes in September.
To be honest, I have no idea what kind of policies a Wikileaks Party would espouse, and I don’t care. As far as I’m concerned, an organ grinder’s monkey would be better than what we have at the moment, or are likely to have under Tony Abbott [and the Greens scare me]. Besides, Wikileaks will be lucky to win even one seat. Nonetheless, I will vote for them because I don’t want to cast a donkey vote*, and until tonight, that seemed to be the only option open to me.
Now some of you may think voting for Wikileaks is just another way of casting a donkey vote. I beg to differ. A donkey vote sends no clear message. A vote for Wikileaks, however, would say ‘a pox on both your houses’ ** in bright blue neon.
And if, by some miracle, Julian Assange or one of the other Wikileaks candidates did get in, we could be sure of one thing – none of them would be singing out of the current political song book. I see that as a refreshing change.
Roll on September!
Meeks the Anarchist
* A donkey vote is essentially either a blank ballot, or a ballot with a mistake on it. For example, if I wrote ‘No!’ on a ballot instead of ticking one of the boxes, my vote would not count, and my protest would remain unseen.
** The original quote from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is most likely to have been ‘a plague a’ both [your] houses’ but I prefer the less kosher version.
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NANO 2012
April 9th, 2013 at 5:00 pm
I’m with you in disenchantment with the current politial encumbents on both sides but I can warm to J.A. and given he is in exile and his alternative is lengthy and serious legal proceedings at best, I can’t vote for him. It’s something I want to give serious thought to between now and September even though I hate to do it – I’d rather be thinking about cooking shows on TV, my garden or what to read. Yes, we have no great candidates but we’d better c[try to] choose the best from what we’ve got. I just don’t believe voting for JA or any lightweight-make-a-statement candidate/party does anything except make a statement, and at worst muddle things when it comes to numbers.
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April 9th, 2013 at 10:14 pm
I thought the same way in the last election Ella, and voted Labor even though my heart was not in it. But this time around? Things are even worse than before, on both sides. I honestly think things are going to be horrible whichever party comes into power so by voting for neither, I’m doing what the aboriginal people did to John Howard – I’m turning my back in a way they can’t miss.
That said, I do understand your position. It’s a lose-lose situation whatever we do.
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April 7th, 2013 at 12:30 am
I couldn’t ever vote Wikileaks, sorry.
There are two progressive women in Sweden that aren’t getting their day in court because of Assange’s antics, and we’re talking about flipping rape.
It infuriates me, both in the case of Assange and for instance the SWP in this country, that the left’s darlings get a free pass on flipping rape. It’s not only mad yank pastors and conservatives that have a problem with misogyny and rape culture. Just visit any building site and listen to the language there.
Vote anything but Wikileaks, or you’ll be voting for Julian Assange because they hardly do anything else these day than idle on twitter and tweet about Assange.
And yes, I’m going to call him that until he goes to trial. All these antics just makes me convinced that he’s guilty as charged.
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April 7th, 2013 at 7:23 am
Mmmm…. this is a clash of cultures isn’t it? I can understand your anger as you see justice not being done. Unfortunately many of us here in Australia feel the same way, but because we believe he’s innocent and that these charges are trumped up. 😦
I personally would be happy for Julian Assange to go to trial and for everyone to have their day in court – but in some neutral country where politics are not an issue.
I apologize if this sounds like a slur against the justice system in Sweden, or a mad conspiracy theory, it’s just that I’ve lost faith in the integrity of ALL political systems, including my own. 😦
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April 6th, 2013 at 11:55 pm
Interesting. Wondering how he’d feel about any need for diplomatic secrecy in his own administration? Funny, your term “donkey vote.” In the US, that would be a vote for the Democrats (symbol=donkey). I’ve heard “protest vote” used in the States, mainly voting for a third-party candidate with no chance of winning.
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April 7th, 2013 at 7:32 am
All power corrupts eventually, doesn’t it? My guess is a government formed by Wikileaks would end up as self-serving as every other government. I guess you could say I’ve lost faith in a big way.
I’ll be voting for Wikileaks in protest at the lack of integrity I see in ALL the major parties here in Australia, so I guess our donkey is your protest. 🙂
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April 6th, 2013 at 10:32 pm
I will be interested to see what happens when he starts campaigning for real. Will the other pollies take him seriously or will they just treat him as an amusing side note? More fool them if they do. I really don’t think they realize how little the public think of their drivel.
I bet there will be a lot of people who vote for him for the same reasons you are 😀
I am not sure where my vote will be going for now, not the Greens or Julia or Tony that’s for sure! Please Julian, do something interesting or at least stir the pot and catch the others on the hop!
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April 7th, 2013 at 7:39 am
“Please Julian, do something interesting or at least stir the pot and catch the others on the hop!”
That’s it, that’s it in a nutshell. We vote one lot out in disgust but the alternative is just as disgusting. I want to see change, a real change in how our polies do business. I want to send them a message they can’t ignore, can’t spin to suit themselves.
If they can’t act with integrity then I want them smacked so they’ll at least /pretend/ better. Gah…
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April 8th, 2013 at 12:39 pm
I’m not sure Julian will be any good in authority, he has done his best to undermine authority in the past, how will he wield any power he gets?
Will he be an open leader, working for the good of the people, or will his experiences at wikileaks make him REALLY good at digging up the dirt on the other pollies, making the next term an exercise in arse-covering for everyone and nothing gets done at all? (No change, then….) Will it be all about him or will someone actually lead a party and do what they were voted in for?
I guess question time could become watchable tv if you are never sure what snippet Julian’s party has been fed, who knows what those questions might be! 🙂
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April 8th, 2013 at 3:31 pm
-grin- I think Wikileaks could become the first anarchist party! As you say, question time could become riveting! However they’ll never get enough votes to be able to do very much other than make the other polies intensely uncomfortable. But boy that sounds good just at the moment!
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April 6th, 2013 at 9:32 pm
Cool – happy voting. I’m not convinced there isn’t something a little suspect about Assange. There are a few documented cases now where he’s shown himself to be unwilling to be subject to the same analysis he expects others to put up with. I’m not talking about the “rape” case, but he’s been given to other rants that would make any reasonable person unsure of his true motivations.
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April 6th, 2013 at 10:03 pm
Up to now he was never an elected official, so his private motivations weren’t really anyone’s concern- in my opinion.
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April 7th, 2013 at 7:44 am
Whatever his personal motivation may be, I doubt it could be any worse than the self-serving behaviour of the politicians we already have. 😦
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April 7th, 2013 at 7:42 am
For all we know, Julian Assange could be an egotistical little sociopath. But as a symbol he is perfect, or at least Wikileaks is perfect. I think I speak for a great many Australians when I say I’m sick to death of the bullshit. 😦
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April 6th, 2013 at 8:26 pm
I’ll be voting Green. Much as I love Julian, I’m worried he’ll split the progressive vote, and give Tony Abbott a free run in the senate …
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April 6th, 2013 at 8:41 pm
I fear he’s going to have that free run anyway. I wish I could do a Rip Van Winkle and just wake up for the election when he gets voted /out/. 😦
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