The thing that jumps out of Fierravanti-Wells', Molan's, and McGrath's statements is the incredible, bottomless *neediness* of contemporary conservatism. (1/)
At face value the claim about the party 'moving too far to the left' is just an obvious nonsense. You'd be hard-pressed to find a single policy position of this government that could credibly be called 'left' or even more left than Abbott's government was. (2/)
Fierravanti-Wells' statement only mentioned marriage equality, and she's since only mentioned that, energy policy, and 'religious freedom.' Turnbull only moved on *one* of these, and that was in a way dictated by the right of the party. (3/)
She complained that the 'base' needed to be assured there were 'conservatives around the table' - yet it's pretty clear the conservatives have exercised far more power in this Cabinet than anyone else. (4/)
McGrath complains about 'disrespect' to 'our people' - but again, doesn't at all indicate what that disrespect is or in what positions or policies it has manifested. (5/)
But this all makes sense when you consider that so much conservative energy now is not spent advancing or even defending a position, but rather *on insisting the discussion is not yet over* (6/)
In short, they don't want Turnbull to simply do things they like. What they want from Turnbull is what they want from the broader culture: reassurance that their worldview is still secure. But no one can offer that, because it isn't. (7/)
It's no accident that all Fierravanti-Wells could point to was marriage equality and (the very existence of an) energy policy. Those are areas conservatives of that stripe can't give ground on, because it means admitting their worldview has lost. (8/)
It's often (rightly) said Turnbull seems to have a gaping, needy hole at his core. Many politicians do (see Rudd, K). But the Abbott forces have a neediness that nobody can fill. (9/)
Nothing Turnbull could have done could ever have been good enough, because he, like the ALP and Greens, represents something they cannot tolerate: the existence of a wider world in which their views are no longer the accepted default. (10/)
When they demand "respect" they really mean "tell us we're right and the world is wrong." Mere capitulation isn't enough. Nothing can ever satisfy them except a return to a past that never actually existed. (11/)
And so they will keep on litigating and re-litigating every argument because they think that if you just keep talking you haven't yet lost the fight. (/end)
