I have no idea who will win tomorrow’s US presidential election. The character of the candidates, the Electoral College system, voluntary voting and the division within American society itself make it a difficult race to call. Whilst Clinton is the favourite according to the polls and the media, Trump could just pull off an extraordinary victory – or he could get thrashed!
However, there has been real value in being in the USA to observe the election contest up close. It has highlighted to me the weaknesses in modern politics and provided an insight into just how damaged the system has become.
Notwithstanding the personality traits of the two main players which seem to polarise voters, there is a stark contrast in many aspects of the policy platforms.
Trump wants to slash taxes; Clinton wants to increase them by $1.3 trillion. Trump wants stronger borders; Clinton has privately stated her support for an open border hemispheric trading block. Trump wants to reform the political system whilst both are publicly opposed to free trade. Clearly there are major differences between the agendas but that is not the most striking thing about observing this election.
In spite of the failings of the Republican candidate, the past six weeks have demonstrated just how crooked the Left’s political machine is.
We have seen video evidence of Democratic operatives boasting of their ability to incite violence at Republican rallies. We have read their candidate profess one thing in private whilst claiming another in public. Clinton’s campaign team has privately disparaged Catholics as ‘severely backwards’. They were prepared to delete 33,000 emails that they were legally required to provide to investigators. One Democrat governor pardoned 60,000 prisoners in a single day just so they could enrol to vote. Allegations of voter fraud and dodgy practices linked to the Democratic Party have been exposed. They have lied again and again and again.
I could go on but suffice to say that for the Democrat campaign machine the ends justify the means, no matter how sleazy, unethical or dishonest those means may be.
The exposure of these scandals has been largely due to non-mainstream media organisations because the major networks have become more cheerleaders than news reporters. As an outside observer, it is very difficult to rely on almost any television or online news service because the presentation of the story is so skewed. This is true for both candidates and major political parties.
It is no surprise to see that the machinations of the Left and their apparatchiks aren’t limited to the USA. In Australia the parliamentary cheer squad for Hillary Clinton has been busy too. The likes of Penny Wong are outraged that I am supporting Trump. Apparently it is inappropriate because I am in the USA but it is okay for her leader, Bill Shorten, to disparage Trump as ‘barking mad’ from Australia. We will now have to add ‘location bias’ as justification for Labor hypocrisy.
Wong was joined in her seemingly perpetual outrage by Federal parliamentary newcomer Linda Burney. She too was incensed that I dare tweet support for Trump. Burney mustered all her intellectual capacity to claim that Labor ‘tweets’ in support of Clinton are ‘free’ whilst mine are somehow ‘taxpayer funded’. She used Twitter to make this wise pronouncement, seemingly immune to the fatuity of her own position.
Sections of the media use these inane statements as the basis for stories skewed to support the Labor case. One newspaper even claimed a clearly labelled satirical piece from a little known website as a real statement. But it’s not just what’s reported that becomes a problem. Sometimes it is what’s not reported that tells the tale.
Whilst media networks in Australia are quick to highlight the flaws of the Republican candidate they seemingly are less interested in the myriad scandals plaguing the Democratic nominee. During one radio interview I did with the ABC last week, every time I tried to give an alternative view, I was interrupted so egregiously by the reporter that it was more him answering his own questions than allowing me to.
It’s clear to me that what has become overwhelmingly evident in America is starting to play out in Australia too. The Left’s political machine will say and do anything to get the result they want. They are untroubled by truth or consistency and will attack anyone not signed up to their agenda. For them, it is not the principle but the side that matters. They are prepared to do whatever it takes to fulfil their own ambition and it doesn’t matter what price you and I (or our nation) have to pay to make it happen.
It’s not just the swamp in Washington that needs to be drained. We have a bit of cleaning up to do at home as well.
Until next week.
Cory Bernardi
P.S Don't forget to listen to my regular podcast at www.corybernardi.com/podcast or subscribe to it here.
The thing that gets me, is these far right Aussie Trump supporters are the enemy of the working class.
The Trump election has shaken the political establishment to its core. The collective wisdom of the insiders and their media acolytes was seriously out of step with the American people.
Last night I had the opportunity to attend a function with Trump campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway. Her insights into the Trump campaign strategy and their internal research versus public polling was enlightening.
Her comments reinforced just how out of touch the political and media bubble has become.
Unfortunately, it seems to be a global phenomenon and Australia is not immune. Very few of the political or media class were supportive of the Trump candidacy. Even senior members of the Liberal Party (the sister Party of the Republicans) openly supported the big taxing, big government agenda of Hillary Clinton over the tax cuts, deregulation and border security offered by the Trump camp.
That told me a lot about the attitude and motivations of many of your elected representatives. In supporting Clinton, they effectively declared that the system is working how they want it to and those that seek to change it are the lesser good.
But the system does need change. If we don’t our deficits will continue, the national debt will balloon, our economy will weaken, our culture will be diminished and our nation will suffer for it.
The demand for a different approach is swelling in Australia. People are voicing their discontent on social media and at the ballot box.
Around 40 per cent of voters didn’t support the two major parties at the last federal election, a statistic that should send shivers through their respective organisations.
My time in the United States has been invaluable not only in identifying some of the common problems evident in global politics but also in formulating solutions to help strengthen Australia.
There is so much we can learn from the experience of others and being present during this political campaign, whilst also seeing the inner workings of the United Nations, has been an incredible learning experience.
The next step is to put that knowledge to good use. I look forward to doing so in the years ahead.
Until next week.
Cory Bernardi
P.S Don't forget to listen to my regular podcast at www.corybernardi.com/podcast or subscribe to it here.
It’s three degrees and the first tiny flakes of snow are falling in Manhattan. Somehow I find it symbolic, given that my secondment to the United Nations and my stay here is drawing to a close. The end of one season and the beginning of another.
The past weeks have been enlightening and filled with amazing experiences. In a sense, they have extended my understanding of what is possible and reinforced my knowledge of what needs to be done.
I don’t mean this in just a political context, although that has been a primary interest. However, seeing the scale of individual achievement evident wherever I look makes it seem that anything is possible.
Going back to politics, the Trump victory also makes it seem that standing up for change and making a difference isn’t a futile task either. Over the past years, I have often considered myself a lone voice, only able to slow – not reverse – the advancing tide of the tyrannical progressive agenda.
Despite sounding warning after warning about what was coming our way, the advances of new age socialism continued. That such initiatives were pushed by Labor and the Greens is to be expected, but the level of support for this dangerous agenda by Liberals has been heartbreaking to witness.
It is not and has never been the Liberal Party’s job to pursue the ‘regressive’ Left agenda. Why then have so many on the right of politics sought to support the green mirage, reduced public discourse to a perpetual discussion of newly discovered ‘rights’, embraced higher taxes, introduced bigger government spending, allowed themselves to be ‘guilt-tripped’ into migration increases and lost control of the economic, social and cultural narrative?
Political parties, if they are to survive, need to have a strong base of principled conviction that shapes and frames policy development. They don’t drift along wondering where the tide of public opinion will take them. Instead, they take up the oars with intent and try to convince others to join them on the journey.
I lament that for too many, the willingness to actually pick up an oar and do some of the hard paddling has been put in the too-hard basket. Much easier to leave it to others, or to just go along with the chirping minority voice in the hope of having a pleasant time.
But a pleasant time is not what politics is for. It’s to strengthen, to change, to advocate and to inspire. I regret too many seem to have lost sight of that.
Who then can blame the public for their high degree of cynicism about politics and politicians? It helps to explain why around 40 per cent of the electorate didn’t vote for either of the major parties in Australia. It explains why Donald Trump won the US Presidential election. It explains Brexit. It explains why Marine Le Pen and Geert Wilders are becoming more popular by the day. It explains many things but doesn’t explain why too few are really listening.
And it all goes to explain why politics in Australia needs to change.
My time in the USA has made me realise I have to be a part of that change, perhaps even in some way a catalyst for it.
Exactly what direction that will take is still a work in progress but there is one thing of which I am certain - I hope you will embark on the journey with me.
Until next week.
Cory Bernardi
P.S Don't forget to listen to my regular podcast at www.corybernardi.com/podcast or subscribe to it here.
