Late last week Queensland’s (and possibly Australia’s) most divisive politician Pauline Hanson announced that she would be throwing her hat in the ring of this year’s state election, contesting the seat of Beaudesert.
This morning, at her official campaign launch, she was asked if she had become a serial campaigner, a fairly legitimate question after a failed attempt in 2004 to run for a state seat, and a failed attempt in 2007 to run for the federal Senate , where she received just 4.3% of votes (Source)
Her response? To compare herself to Abraham Lincoln.
“I’d suggest you go and have a look at the number of times Abraham Lincoln stood for Parliament – to stand up for what you believe in.”
Now, I’m no expert on American politics, but even I know off the top of my head that America doesn’t actually have a Parliament. And a quick look at Abraham Lincoln’s Wikipedia page reveals that while he did indeed run for a lot of things, most of his campaigns were successful.
Not bad for a campaign that is barely a day old.
As if the seat of Beaudesert wasn’t already about to become a circus, ex-AFL football star Warwick Capper has announced he will also contest the seat, and challenged Hanson to an election day cook-off. And, since his campaign is being sponsored by men’s magazine Zoo, his campaign launch will feature “a bevy of placard-carrying bikini girls.”
Up here in Queensland, we cop a bit of flack for being a bit redneck, a bit backward, a bit country bumpkin. People of Beaudesert, you have a chance to prove the critics wrong – send these two joke candidates packing, and let’s make sure this election is about the issues, and not the drama.
