Whither the Greens (to Gary McL, Ben Co and Pyotr B)

[DAVID MURRAY <dmurray@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

GARY M:
As most would know my take on the Greens is totally jaundiced by my experience 
of the Qld Greens led by an ex-anarchist cabal dominated by Drew Hutton. The 
latter, not the brightest bloke on the block, represents a 'realo" current.
DAVE:
Whats a realo current?
GARY M:
It is the existence of that unease which makes it incumbent on the Left to 
unite. It is not good enough for the Socialist Party or anyone else to just sit 
on the status quo. Loyalty to one's party (sect), personal bitterness and 
enmities etc are all in play at present and prevent us from growing to the 
point where we can actually act as a pole of attraction to those who 
desperately want things to improve.
DAVE
On this one you are both right and wrong. In a situation where the left is 
divided hopelessly, there needs to be as much effort at genuine unity as 
possible. Unfortunately, none of the conditions exist for genuine unity today 
on the marxist left. Genuine unity can exist when there is suiffcient agreement 
on the basics of perspectives and orientation. This is why we didn't join the 
alliance, as they have a lunatic perspective of a massive growth on the left 
due to greater unity. two years later, a few independents have joined the 
alliance and many other fair-weather friends have left for the Greens.
It is not personal bitterness that separates us from the alliance its general 
orientation and perspectives. At the moment the DSP cant decide even on its 
basic orientation to the capitalist state.
BEN:
And Bob Brown has been hinting that he would love Garrett to run for the
Greens? It would be a fairly sure Senate seat for Garrett. Just what he wanted 
when he
split the Nuclear Disarmament Party to get rid of the Socialist electoral career
liability in 1984.
DAVE:
Well its good to see celebrities run for the senate for the left. Garret is a 
scumbag but he is much better than the pondscum that exists in the senate. 
Simmilarly it would be good to see hubbard in the senate.
BEN:
In Lara, it was
impossible to tell because the way we ordered our preferences 
(SA-Green-Labor-Liberal)
was actually the order of the ballot.
DAVE:
Thats quite an unlikely turn up. Probabilitywise.
PETER:
You call that a "diatribe", Dave?
DAVE:
Yes. If you read between the lines.
PETER: "The Socialist
Party's Steve Jolly ran in the fourth inner-Melbourne seat,
Richmond, and obtained decent 2% (623 votes). This, however,
was sharply down from Jolly's 12% vote in the same seat in
the previous state elections. The Socialist Alliance offered
to support Jolly and endorse him as a Socialist Alliance
candidate in the November 30 poll but this offer was turned
down."
DAVE: From reading that the socialist party lost votes because A. It did not 
take alliance endorsement and B. Was under some obligation to accept 
endorsement.
Which is untrue on both counts.





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