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Margie Abbott was wheeled out over the weekend to boost her husband’s political ambitions ― but the issue is not women’s attitude towards Tony Abbott, says Peter Wicks, the issue is Tony Abbott’s attitude towards women.
OVER THE PAST FEW DAYS, we have been forced to endure Margaret “Margie” Abbott front up in front of anything that vaguely resembles a camera or microphone, telling her nice guy Tony story to anyone who will listen.
After his mate Alan Jones really helped Tony Abbott and his image with women last week, we haven’t seen an act of this level of desperation since Tony Abbott and Christopher Pyne tried to flee the parliament a few months back.
Still, we shouldn’t hold anything against Margaret Abbott, it must be hard to know that she is only worth a public showing in times of desperation. It must also be extremely tough to smile on camera while the whole country questions the way your husband deals with women. I guess in a way, Margaret may feel she has to defend herself for being married to Tony, as if all of this controversy shows here in a bad light.
However, whilst treating the public like idiots in such a transparent manner, there is something the Coalition have forgotten in all of this lunacy.
The issue is not are there women that support Tony Abbott? The issue is does Tony Abbott support women?
We have just been reminded that Tony has a wife and daughters, so proud is he, that we haven’t seen them since the last election campaign, but we will put that aside.
If Tony Abbott supports women, let’s see him support his sister for a good start. He tells us that family is important, let’s see him listen to his own advice.
Abbott’s sister, Christine Forster, an advocate for same sex marriage, was there for Abbott last week for the photo opportunities
Picture in the Abbott family newsletter, The Australian, on Saturday. (Christine Forster far left.)
But where was he when it came to voting on same sex marriage? Voting against his sister, that’s where; not only that, making sure those in his own party could not make up their own mind by not allowing a conscience vote.
Abbott’s wife, in a blatant attempt to make her appearances seem as though they were not part of a Coalition spin cycle synchronised to the latest Newspoll, told interviewers on Channel 9’s weekend morning show that she was not a political person. This statement was totally disingenuous.
We really don’t need to know what type of woman supports Tony Abbott, we already have a pretty good idea. Every time we see Kelly O’Dwyer on Q&A, we are reminded of what the Abbott cheer squad sounds like.
We only need look at the type of women that Abbott shows support for, the lone two females on his front bench ― Julie Bishop, who is apparently only the part time deputy leader, if Tony Abbott is to be believed.
The only other female member of Abbott’s front bench is Sophie Mirabella. Sophie is a real charmer, just ask the children of the late Colin Howard QC; they’ll be happy to tell you what a class act Sophie is, or you can judge for yourself by her performance on Q&A.
If Abbott’s mates like Alan Jones and many of his Liberal Party colleagues weren’t so happy to portray an aggressive attitude towards women, then maybe Margaret wouldn’t have to venture out of wherever Abbott has had her hiding since the campaign.
Posing under “Bob Browns Bitch” signs doesn’t look good at any time. Having Mirabella and Bronwyn Bishop there with you does not fix it either.
When the Liberal party comes out with terms like “handbag hitsquad” to describe female MP’s who know how to debate policy, don’t think that it ingratiates you with female voters. They are not idiots.
After the reporting of Abbott thumping the walls on either side of a womans head brought forward credible witnesses, the damage control was laughable.
Having frontbenchers coming out with the “Tony I Know” stories was quite lame, with the laughable incident turning rapidly into a Twitter piss take, with the #TonyIKnow hashtag.
My advice to Tony is simple to get out of his pickle. Tony should leave the clutches of Catholicism and embrace Mormonism like Mitt Romney.
Maybe with 20 wives just like Margie, he’ll have a shot.
Peta Credlin, the other deputy opposition leader.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Australia License
12 Comments
I am most impressed Tony is not a woman hater, puts out fires, runs marathons for blind people and can jump tall buildings in a single bound for all I know, but what would impress me more would be a display of one single trait that would befit him for the highest office in the land. I am still waiting and am not holding my breath
proves to me one thing Tones is run and dominated by women and he doesn’t like it.
Desperate Margie was out trying to keep her mans $360 grand job which will drop to $160 grand i think, when the big boot arrives.
Made a fool of yourself Margie next time bring the rolling pin with you it will be a better look for you!
I think the funniest thing was Margie explaining how much Tony loves women by riding his bike for 2 days and raising money for a women’s shelter. Margie he loves riding his bike, it’s fun for him. It’s not hard work. It’s time he did some real work and that is a problem for Tony.
With reference to Julia Gillard and her recently deceased father Alan Jones said this: “”The old man recently died a few weeks ago of shame”.
This afternoon, in parliament, Tony Abbott said this:
“And every day the Prime Minister stands in this Parliament to defend this Speaker will be another day of shame for this Parliament, another day of shame for a government which should already have died of shame.”
Abbott is either equal part buffoon and equal part saphead, or completely saphead.
What a beautiful performance from the PM today, she was fired up like she used to be.
All the papers are singing her praises.
abbott you deserved it. To say to her all the time over the table in Parliament, make an honest woman of yourself, just shows what a monster he is. He must have said it so we couldn’t hear it. Go Julia.
The Australian’s Dennis Shanahan, in a report of this afternoon’s parliament, used the past participle of “shame”.
“Labor has tried to twist the attack. But it is still defending the shamed speaker.”
Foghorn Leghorn once said: “Two nothin’s is nothin’.” yep, apt description of Abbott and Shanahan.
Why has he been shamed? He has committed no crime of any kind, has not been charged with any crime.
The OO is a troublesome beast, Shammers is a troubled coward.
MarylinS, I want to understand your comment and who you are directing them at.
Who are OO and Shammers?
Lets just see what the people have to say at the next election, labor has become a disgrace running gutter politics against Abbott while embracing Slipper, who sadly will waltz off into the sunset with all the perks of office. i hope the labor party get the reality check they need at the next election. As i say play the ball not he man/woman. Both sides are a disgrace at the moment.
Slipper has shamed himself and his position. He acknowledges that now.
Abbott got the dressing down he deserved today, from Gillard in parliament. But he is unshameable.
Abbott felt no compunction in using the words “Died of shame” in his address. In the current context, that was a vile remark which expressed support for Alan Jones’ speech to the Young Libs.
I listened to the recording of Jones’ speech. After his “Died of shame” line, it is hard to gauge the response of the room, but there was certainly some shock. Jones responded to that shock by saying “No no no, this is where we’re weak!” and going on to exhort the Young Libs (and at least one Lib front bencher) to attack harder, effectively, to put aside common decency.
Whatever the circumstances of the speech being recorded, we got a glimpse of what Alan Jones truly thinks of how politics should be conducted. Abbott has tarred himself with the same brush.
How would Abbott go now? We all know that Abbott hates women in power. The 3 highest positions in government are held by women.
The Governor-General, the Prime Minister and the Speaker of the House of Representative are all women
Tony Abbott’s chickens are one by one coming home to roost. He ain’t likin’ it either.
it could not have happened to a nicer person.
As for Credlin…another Amazon putting Abbott under the pump. He just loves being ‘mistreated by his women’. Tony the Gimp.