I often suspect that the reason so many feminists think all men are “toxic” and “rapists” is that they judge all men by the odious creeps they associate with. And the reason the left think all politicians are bullies is because they similarly judge everyone by their own low standard. They certainly don’t want to be held to the standards they demand of everyone else.
Anthony Albanese has refused to investigate allegations of bullying, isolation and hostility by senior female ALP Senate colleagues towards the late Kimberley Kitching, dismissing her “mean girls’’ description of Penny Wong, Katy Gallagher and Kristina Keneally as sexist and “extraordinarily disrespectful’’.
As cartoonist Johannes Leak describes it, this is “blaming the perpetrators”. “Sexist” is the go-to card used to deflect any and all criticism of female politicians, of course. Like a Millennial tennis player, they are quick to dish out screeching abuse, but run crying off the court if anyone dares answer back.
An investigation by The Australian revealed Senator Kitching endured a pattern of hostility by senior Labor senators that put her under intense strain in the lead-up to her death. Senator Kitching and several close confidants had referred to the group as “mean girls” after she was isolated, kicked off Labor’s tactics committee and subjected to cruel treatment.
Senator Wong on Wednesday said she was yet to decide whether she would attend Senator Kitching’s funeral service on Monday.
In fact, Wong has since announced that she’ll be clear across the country, attending a Labor fundraiser in the Northern Territory.
One suspects that Wong’s presence would be less than welcome, given her treatment of Kitching. In particular, Wong repeatedly undermined Kitching’s campaign to pass a Magnitsky Act in Australia — only to jump in the spotlight and claim it as her own idea, after celebrity Amal Clooney got involved.
Senator Gallagher on Wednesday denied any involvement in a “mean girls” culture among the party’s senior Senate leadership team, despite having been named by Kitching.
“Many of those assertions in that article are not true in my view, and I just don’t think it’s respectful for us to enter into commentary or disagreement about particular aspects of it at this time; I don’t think it’s right, people are still grieving,” Senator Gallagher told the ABC.
Senator Keneally told The Australian she had no comment to make.
Presumably because her big daddy protectors at ALP head office haven’t written one for her, yet.
The Prime Minister urged Labor to address problems in its culture, as he paid tribute to Senator Kitching as a figure who stood up strongly for Australia’s national security and sovereignty.
“These reports of her treatment are not ones that I can confirm, obviously, as the leader of the Liberal Party.”
As it happens, there are those in the Labor who can and will confirm.
Victorian Labor MP Michael Danby said on Wednesday the bullying of Senator Kitching was driven by the rise of a “strong” left-wing faction in the party who had “punished” her for her mainstream political position […]
“She was left there for 10 hours at a time during the midnight shift in the Senate for too long, too many days, as a sort of punishment because she didn’t believe in people’s ideological views.”
Of course, the government’s pursuit of Kitching’s bullies is not entirely disinterested.
Assistant Attorney-General Amanda Stoker said it showed the “tone” Labor would set if it won the election, adding she was concerned the ALP’s “petty” grievances would be prioritised over the needs of the nation.
“If this kind of ‘mean girls’ approach is the tone they intend to set should they have the opportunity to govern, then that will not only be bad for women in parliament, it’ll be bad for all Australians – as the petty grievances of one group against another, or one individual against another, are prioritised over the bigger-picture needs of the nation,” she told the ABC.
The Australian
This would be a powerful counter-narrative for the government against the media-left’s hammering of the Coalition’s so-called “woman problem”. Especially when Labor will surely be promoting divisive candidates like the perpetually sour-faced Grace Tame.
That it’s a convenient narrative for the government doesn’t, of course, change that it’s true — and a damning indictment on the self-righteous left.