Thread by @Boston_Married

A Labor unionist in their enviro and planning committee

Pushing ALPs totally populist, classist, gaslighting smear campaign against Greens

This smear campaign kicked off months ago

Why?

Qld Greens doing effective grassroots renter advocacy, confronted ALP landlords. #auspol

https://twitter.com/TerpsMLC/status/1660145523209433088

I feel physically sick

as a lifelong unionist, enviro and feminist, now homeless until I die, which mainly upsets me as I can't advocate more effectively on climate for my grandkids

seeing these useful fools/bigots gaslight a genuine renter campaign coming from younger Greens.

If this is about the decision to end native logging

This is again, sickening.

Labor criminalized enviro protest in multiple states, even Labor enviros know their party are sick hypocrities on this issue.

https://twitter.com/TerpsMLC/status/1660818166862467072

And the few "credible" enviros that Labor will back, whether it's on electric cars, Lock the Gate or union alliances in mining regions

Part of what earns their "credibility" is toeing Labor partylines most enviros know to be bull.

The arrogance of these handmaids

The Populism that Isn't Populism, of former westies, north queenslanders or totaly middle class people from Melbourne, whose benchmark for Labor stopping poverty is people who grew up before Whitlam.

Not the modern slavery now, that Labor enables.

I have rare photos of illiterate grand/parents like that too, as would a few million other people on this continent

They would not be pleased if I used them to cape for some of the cruel poverty, climate, homeless politics Labor has now.

Not even the conservative ones!

Blocked of course
People were pointing out that Labor had the same response as the Greens, to the issue in the OP she was picking on.

But this smear campaign, isn't populist.

See also:

-it is a smear, rather than just campaigning, even negative campaigning, whether the Labor populists, partisans and classists believe it

-because there is *no election* about it, it sprung up entirely after wealthy Labor landlords were exposed by young renters

The emphasis on Labor vs Green, populist vs "not letting the perfect be the enemy of the good", or the eternal Boomer vs Millennial digs when that fails

Is all about avoiding the shocking class optics of Labor landlords really punching down on left renters in a housing crisis.

It's a basic comms tactic.

If you can't stop people saying damning, but irrefutable, things about you?

Saturate the media landscape with alternative views, and smear the messengers

Which Labor does via endless populist poor bashing or enviro bashing, masked as Greens bashing

Note: masking it as Greens bashing is very useful to them

It is partly about actual Greens re: where the renter campaign came from, a few highly contested seats during elections

But plenty of Labor people have discontent with their party over climate, welfare or housing too

Plenty of people swing more, back indies more, are generally more disillussioned with party politics.

It's not *just* about actual Greens.

Greens just make a handy target/decoy for the most bigoted/naive populists in the center left.

Because the entire political class in this country, has demonized environmentalist as crims or elites for a generation, while denying how bad working poverty is .

Big clickbait value.

This is what it's about specifically

MCM has been so consistent on housing, and building local base of real left organizing

In an electorate with stark class gaps in flooded housing, in renting uninhabitable units.

https://twitter.com/MChandlerMather/status/1660842927629955073