153 thoughts on “Elections open thread”

1. I’m surprised the issue of Trump stacking the Pentagon with acolytes after the election hasn’t received more media attention because it is a very troubling move.

   https://www.businessinsider.com.au/trump-installs-loyalists-at-the-pentagon-officials-sound-alarm-2020-11?r=US&IR=T

2. John H., it’s useful because it is giving the US a list of people who can be trusted with the position of local dogcatcher.

3. (Borders & MAGA & JWH’s we will decide…battlers)
   POLITICS
   Exodus from One Nation helped Palaszczuk, but will it do the same for Albo?
   https://www.crikey.com.au/2020/11/17/one-nation-qld-election-morrison-albanese/
   MADONNA KING NOV 17, 2020 – Crikey

   Support for Pauline Hanson’s One Nation was decimated at the Queensland election, but it’s where those votes now sit that holds a clue for the federal campaigns of both Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese.

   Morrison knows Queensland helped hand him victory last time round, in the same way Anthony Albanese knows he must win back a swag of seats in the north if he’s to take the treasury benches.

   Just consider this: there is not one Labor seat north of the Brisbane River to the tip of Cape York. It’s a sea of Morrison blue. At the moment.

   But what happened on October 31 was not just an historic third term victory for Annastacia Palaszczuk and her Labor team. It also showcased the waning influence of Pauline Hanson in the state that made her famous.

   At its zenith, One Nation boasted 11 seats in the legislative assembly, and recorded 23% of the vote.

   Despite running 90 candidates this time around, it boasts only one MP, holding onto the seat of Mirani. More crucially, it copped a 7% swing against it across the state, raising real doubts about whether it can play any substantial party political role going forward.

   But here’s the thing: while it’s readily labelled a right-wing party, that only tells half the story. One Nation supporters have shown no real monogamy in terms of voting allegiance. Some of its members want the conservatives to be more conservative, but just as many others believe big government — Labor and Liberal — has lost its way and One Nation has been the noisy chihuahua to nip at its heels.

   Once upon a time, the party’s preferences favoured the conservative side of politics, but there are just as many examples — perhaps more — of that not being the case. And on October 31, Palaszczuk’s strong border stance brought One Nation voters back to the Labor fold.

   That now means those votes are up for grabs federally, in a move that will almost certainly set the tone, some of the policies, and a chunk of the campaign strategy, for both federal parties…

   PER: https://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2020/11/why-did-the-onenation-vote-collpase-to-labor-in-qld/