Independent Conservatives

Independent Conservative Voters

"Sent to us courtesy of Mr. Louis Cook of Victoria, Australia."

Dear Reader,

This commentary is sent to folk on a worldwide list for information because it seems every western country is faced with the same problem... your parliamentary representation is poor or non-existent; your are told you live in some type of democracy but you see it is out of control, or is it? Perhaps it is all going to plan but not the plan you would like!

Some or all of the following may be applicable to your situation.

However, this message is particularly aimed at Australian voters who will go to the polls on the 21^st of August to vote for a new Federal government.

If Australians can “shake the crap” out of the major political parties at this election then I feel sure it would echo around the world.

Did somebody say Truth is the first casualty in war? Well I can tell you Truth is a casualty when political candidates are out on the hustings trail!

Voting in Australia is compulsory and some think because of this it is democratic but the system militates against democracy with its compulsion. You certainly cannot say it is responsible voting for even the “village idiot” is compelled to vote and it most likely fosters the “donkey vote”. (Marking your paper in consecutive order, up or down i.e. 1 2 3 4 5 etc)

The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) usually runs advertisements urging voters “to make their votes count”… sure, you vote for the candidate of your choice but then you have to consecutively number all the candidates so that when counting concludes, if your first choice is unsuccessful, your vote is likely to be counted for the person you like the least when you would rather not give them a vote at all.

So you see, the system works in favour of the major parties and compulsory voting gives them a legitimacy they do not deserve.

So where do you go from here?
There is “Hobson’s Choice”… where you are free to choose with only one option offered, the sort of situation I believe was the hallmark of Soviet style democracy, where you had to “take it or leave it”.

Then there is the “false dilemma” which can arise intentionally; when fallacy is used in an attempt to force a limited choice when in this instance, don’t vote at all should be an option… but YOU MUST vote because it is compulsory.

Chess players would be familiar with “zugzwang”, (of Germanic origin) it’s your move, and whatever you do… you lose.

Isn’t “zugzwang” a lovely word? It really sounds like its meaning… “You have had it mate!”

Perhaps you choose your candidate by “voting for the lesser of the evils on offer” but then you are still voting for evil!

Whatever you do, you should satisfy your conscience and this could include destroying your ballot paper but your frustration should be communicated to the candidates and their masters and one way to do this is to follow the suggestion on the attached pamphlet and leave a message on the ballot paper.

Scrutineers closely examine all votes and reports are made for it is here information for an electoral challenge can be found.

Now you are making YOUR OWN AGENDA… wonderful!

What else can you do?

A “Langer Vote” (by voting 1,2,2,2 etc) is an option politicians don’t like and this can be “tarted up” by giving the sitting member first position.

This is an informal vote in Australia but it lets the candidate know they might have had your vote. It is better to vote that way than screw your ballot paper up or write rude words across it because it sends a message that you will not be dictated to by politicians and bureaucrats.

More than anything, politicians fear a campaign of “putting the sitting member last”, unfortunately it could mean some good representation is lost but the good representatives are little in number so this is a small price to pay and it will certainly send a message to ALL politicians that will be difficult to counter.

It also means it will be much harder for the entrenched bureaucrats to mold the ministers to their liking which is generally Socialistic.

Another issue that needs close attention is that of “safe seats”… there should be no such thing as a “safe seat” because the “seats” belong to the voters not the political parties.

After the elections, no doubt the leading incumbent will claim a mandate for this or that to justify some radical change so they should be soundly disabused of such an idea whenever possible.

Opposition to the mandate is based on an essential element of true freedom and that is the freedom to choose or refuse, one thing at the time.

The politician’s promise is a “package deal” and it contains policies voters do not want such as financial inflation… would you vote for increased inflation or higher taxes?

I don’t think it is necessary to go into the various policies being promoted as it is all blatant vote-buying and there are other issues demanding attention if we are going to survive the immigration invasion.

It is up to us to make it an issue but don’t you leave it to the other bloke!

Election comment authorised by Louis Cook, Nathalia Road, Numurkah, Victoria

WHEN YOU CAST YOUR VALID VOTE LET YOUR OPINION BE KNOWN (PDF)