Politics can bring out the best in people. But more often than not it can bring out the worst. Some people so love politics and power that they can lose any last vestige of their humanity, and they are happy to treat others like dirt if it helps them to advance their climb up the political ladder.
Such political junkies are a dime a dozen, and we see this very much on display in folks like the Victorian Liberal leader John Pesutto. His appalling treatment of Christian conservative Party member Moira Deeming is a really sad and ugly example of this.
He wanted her expelled from the Party, but he was rolled yesterday in a Party room meeting when it was clear that his own party did not agree with him on this. And what actually happened at that meeting is something we all need to be aware of. As to that, the most important 8-minute video you will watch this week is found here:
It features Peta Credlin of Sky News discussing what transpired yesterday morning, and it includes powerful quotes from a very moving speech by Moira as she sought to defend herself against the moronic and blatantly false accusations that Pesutto and the secular left media were making against her.
Credlin informs us that Pesutto and three of his henchmen first made speeches, seeking to get Deeming booted out of the Parliamentary Party. But then not one, not two, but TEN Liberal Party colleagues got up and spoke in defence of Deeming. Wow.
That was followed by one of the most important and powerful speeches heard in the Party room. Deeming’s defence was so moving that many of her colleagues were brought to tears. And it is clear that after she had finished, most Libs wanted nothing to do with kicking her out.
So Pesutto was forced to briefly adjourn the meeting and head out with his lackeys. He then came back with Plan B: a nine-month suspension of Deeming. So the vote to expel her never took place. What a gutless wonder. What a political hack. He does not seem to have a decent bone in his body. He threw Moira under the bus just to save his own political skin. What a disgusting leader.
It is not Moira who should be suspended – it is Pesutto who should be expelled. And many now are wondering just that: how long will he last as leader? He was rolled big time by his colleagues, and he is now walking on very shaky ground. The sooner he goes the better.
As Credlin reminds us, Deeming will be back in action around Christmas. The question is, will Pesutto be around then? And wouldn’t it be ironic if there were enough intelligent and principled Libs who actually made Moira the leader instead? It is not likely, but we can always pray for miracles. Perhaps one day she will lead the Party while Pesutto is long gone.
Credlin closed her monologue with these words: “This has been a terrible own goal from the beginning, and at every point when John Pesutto could have pulled back, he instead chose to make it worse – and worse it’s got. If the Liberal Party will no longer welcome conservatives into its ranks, well, the conservative side of politics really is in diabolical trouble.”
As to Deeming’s speech, if I find a full copy of it I will likely offer it here in full. In the meantime, you can listen to excerpts of it from the link I shared above. Also, one news outlet has shared some of the quotes, so let me present some of that here:
In a speech to the party room, she revealed she had been raped as a child and sexually assaulted which is what drove her actions, according to the speech provided to Sky News host Peta Credlin. “I note that many of you are confused and annoyed with me for persisting in taking about women’s rights, intersex rights, gay rights, parents rights and safeguards for women and children,” Ms Deeming told the party room.
“I assure you the reasons are completely and utterly based on love and compassion, not any sort of bigotry – and not even on religion or conservative politics. When I speak on these issues, I speak from personal experience. My life has been marred repeatedly by rape – at the hands of men – from the age of four.
“I have been assaulted in public facilities, I was sexually harassed and assaulted by a teacher who later went to jail for having sex with minors. I am driven by a desire to make sure other children and women don’t suffer like I did.”
She said her uncle who helped to raise her was Jewish and the survivor of the Holocaust, which is why she said the allegations she had Nazi links were untrue and “deeply and personally offensive and hurtful.”
“These allegations against me of Nazism and hatred towards the trans community are 100 per cent false, but people will believe them if you support this motion to expel me.” https://www.news.com.au/national/victoria/politics/victorian-liberals-to-decide-moira-deemings-future-in-party-room-vote/news-story/66b08f80ffac8ca3a6ed688f465aab32
As Credlin makes clear, throughout this entire episode, Pesutto still wanted her expelled. It was only after it was evident that his own party did not agree with him that he had to go to an alternative. What a loser. What a lousy piece of work.
As I say, politics can often bring out the worst in people. We had this on full display with Pesutto.
But politics can often bring out the best in people. We had this on full display with Deeming.
God bless you, Moira. We stand with you and we will keep you in our prayers. We need more champions like you.
