Bandt outed as potential 'watermelon'

Evil always wins through the strength of its splendid dupes. - G. K. Chesterton

	Bandt outed as potential 'watermelon'
	By Eric Smith
		Submitted: Sat, 28/08/2010 - 11:32am Authored: Sat, 28/08/2010 - 11:32am

Victorian journalist, Andrew Landeryou's website VexNews, earlier this month posted material outing new Greens MP, Adam Bandt as a potential 'watermelon', a communist using the 'cloak of green' as a Trojan Horse.

In March of 1995, as a student at Murdoch University, Bandt posted a memo on a newsgroup proclaiming that:

"Supporting the Greens would perhaps be the most effective strategy at the next election. The Greens are in many ways bourgeois, but they have been able to exert influence over the Government's agenda."

Bandt also made comments arguing against moderation and 'transitional politics' on the left, saying 'Social Democracy' was a dead end:

"It is futile to try and resurrect some kind of social democratic project. To try and make people believe in the impossible, namely that nationalist welfarist strategies are desirable and/or achievable, is to delude them."

He then goes onto attack the Keynesian welfare state from a communist perspective, saying it cannot work as a transition to communism given its utter failure and collapse:

"To quote a friend of mine, Ben Ross, we seem stuck in the idea that the burst balloon of the Keynesian welfare state can be reinflated just by pumping that bit harder."

This has today been covered by The Australian and should cause concern for Labor voters given that Gillard is considering a Labor-Green coalition government with Mr Bandt in the ministry.

Julia Gillard herself has been the object of controversy over her involvement with the extremist Socialist Forum organisation in her days at Melbourne University.

Can we really expect that Bandt (and indeed Julia) has radically changed the firm communist views of his formative years?

Sat, 28/08/2010 - 3:26pm — Sukrit Sabhlok

The Left knows more about strategy than us

"Bandt also made comments arguing against moderation and 'transitional politics' on the left, saying 'Social Democracy' was a dead end"

This is interesting. We libertarians could learn a lot from the Left when it comes to political strategy. They seem to understand that being radical, rather than "pragmatic" or "utilitarian", is more effective in the long-run at persuading people.

Tue, 31/08/2010 - 2:53pm — Col Rouge

Collective "Persuasion"

Sukrit Sabhlok - Left wing / Collectivists “more effective in the long-run at persuading people.”

One of the things I detest about the left wing is they have no interest in “persuading” people

And they are not more effective at doing it in any manner.

One simply has to observe the quotes of the Masters of the dark collectivism, Lenin and Stalin, to understand exactly what store they place in “persuading” people

Lenin

“One man with a gun can control 100 without one.”

And of course

“A lie told often enough becomes the truth.”

And then we come to Stalin, who considered other peoples views / values and opinions on anything, a mere inconvenience on the way to grabbing personal power re

“The people who cast the votes don't decide an election, the people who count the votes do.”

And therein lies the danger of watermelons like Brandt,

they say one thing (save the planet)

whilst believing and pursuing something else, which does not rely on persuasion (save the planet, so the collectivists will rule it).

Libertarian / Capitalism versus Collectivist Statre Control

The difference is simple

"Life" versus "subjectated existence"

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Sat, 28/08/2010 - 10:56pm — Tinos (not verified)

Utilitarianism the way to go

"Keynesian welfare state"
Keynesianism needn't have anything to do with welfare. It's just as right-wing as it is left-wing.

Sukrit: "utilitarian"
Being an intelligent utilitarian is what it means (for me) to be a libertarian. Anything beyond that is just delusional.

"being radical"
People are mostly utilitarian. They will never vote for radicals. (E.g. someone claiming taxation is theft, or that drug prohibition is evil.)

Sun, 29/08/2010 - 11:20am — Anthony Coralluzzo

Hi Tinos. Firstly, as you

Hi Tinos.

Firstly, as you imply, being "utilitarian" doesn't imply a specific policy program, because people have different opinions on what constitutes "standards of living" or "quality of life". I call myself "utilitarian" not because I am not radical, but because of the flaws in the non-agression axiom, hence meaning it cannot be an absolute truth. My utilitarianism leads me to advocate a society where coercive government does not exist, and where everyone has maximal and increasing living standards with maximal technological progress. I put equal emphasis on living standards and technological progress as I do on economic and civil liberty, in my utilitarian calculations. In my view, both must be present for a perfect and truly free society.

Secondly, when you say "people won't vote for it (radicalism)"

a) I disagree with that

b) Even if they don't - remember - the extremes define the centre-ground. This is how the left has had so much success. They have extremist groups who pull the centre-ground over to that side. If we are not extreme, then who will be?

If there's something we are very radical about it is peace. And that is not a bad thing. Capitalism and prosperity requires peace. War is the health of the state, the health of the oligarchs, and the health of human misery.

Mon, 30/08/2010 - 3:05pm — Col Rouge

The Green Movement has been

The Green Movement has been a water melon for decades.

The difference today is alot of young electors are simply unaware of the deceit of the extreme left, in this respect. -

Parading as one thing but (like Garrett said) able to "change policy once in power"

The history of entryism is well documented (just google it).

The left is not a benign political movement but as extremist as the failed politics of the 1930s and they will use every and any opportunity to impose their illegitimate philosophy on real people.

It does not surprise me that Brandt is a water melon.

http://www.driftline.org/cgi-bin/archive/archive_msg.cgi?file=spoon-archives/marxism.archive/marxism_1995/95-03-31.000&msgnum=45&start=3474

It does not surprise me one bit!

I have never been sure of Bob Brown (has anyone?) but at best you could call him one of Lenin's "useful idiots"