Deeming and the Death of the Liberal Party

It really is time to ditch the Libs:

Less than a month ago I discussed how Victorian Liberal MP Moira Deeming was being vilified not only by the media but by her own political party. And I hate to say it, but when I first heard that she was running for office as a Liberal candidate I predicted that her career there would be short-lived. The Libs are just too far gone in Victoria, if not throughout the entire country.

In that earlier piece I wrote about how conservatism and Christianity are clearly at odds with the Liberal Party which is now overwhelmingly a secular left party that is little different from Labor and the Greens. See that earlier piece here: https://billmuehlenberg.com/2023/02/23/the-all-out-war-on-morality-rationality-and-normality/

But because Moira Deeming continues to care about women and children, and believes the radical trans revolution is so very harmful, the Libs want nothing to do with her. It was handy of course that some neo-Nazis crashed the party that she was at, and no one can see that party crashers are NOT welcome. But it is a great excuse by Pesutto to get rid of her once and for all.

The background to this story is found in the Herald Sun. But since the article is behind a pay wall, let me share the bulk of it here:

Opposition Leader John Pesutto will move to expel Moira Deeming from the Liberal party room. Mr Pesutto met with Ms Deeming on Sunday, a day after she attended a rally on the steps of parliament that was crashed by neo-Nazis. Ms Pesutto said Ms Deeming’s attendance at the rally made her position with the party “untenable”.

 

It comes as Ms Deeming distanced herself from the neo-Nazi movement. “I am so distressed that nobody is listening to or addressing the concerns of women,” she told the Herald Sun. “Nobody endorsed those Nazis. “We all condemned them. But nobody listened to what the women actually said.”

 

A move to expel Ms Deeming can’t be put to the party room before Friday, because party rules require five days notice be given. It will be the first test of leadership for Mr Pesutto, who beat senior opposition MP Brad Battin by a single vote to snare the top job in December. If the move to expel Ms Deeming is rejected, it would be a huge blow to Mr Pesutto’s authority.

 

Several Liberal sources said the motion would likely pass, but only narrowly. But while that would see Ms Deeming expelled from the parliamentary wing of the party, it is believed she would survive any move to expel her from the broader Liberal Party. https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/lib-mp-moira-deeming-faces-expulsion-after-neonazi-rally/news-story/096e7a7921b745a37641c98bff74068d

The statement put out by Pesutto is worth quoting in full:

Yesterday afternoon Victorians witnessed an abomination on the steps of the Victorian Parliament when neo-Nazi protesters engaged in an affront to the values we should all hold dear as Victorians. The violence, prejudice and hate that these protesters conveyed by their odious actions will never be acceptable in our State. I condemn them and commit to opposing such hate wherever it may exist.

 

This afternoon I met with Moira Deeming MP who attended yesterday’s rally. I discussed her involvement in organising, promoting and participating in a rally with speakers and other organisers who themselves have been publicly associated with far right-wing extremist groups including neo-Nazi activists.

 

At our meeting I informed Ms Deeming that I will move a motion at the next party room meeting to expel her as a member of the parliamentary Liberal Party as her position is untenable. This is not an issue about free speech but a member of the parliamentary party associating with people whose views are abhorrent to my values, the values of the Liberal Party and the wider community.

 

The Liberal Party I joined and which I am now honoured to lead, must strive to represent all Victorians. Regardless of religious faith, race, sexual preference and identity, Victorians everywhere should know that the Liberal Party is inclusive and can be a voice for them. No matter what our background we all share the abiding bond of an essential humanity.

Good grief. Moira did NOT attend a Nazi rally. She had nothing to do with them. She even denounced them. But it was a neat excuse to finally get rid of that pesky Christian conservative. They are verboten in today’s Liberal Party. The Libs have made themselves clear on all this.

And talk about virtue-signalling woke wonders. Whenever you hear all this jabberwocky about “inclusion,” “sexual preference” and the like, you know you have the death of a once conservative political party. What we now have is just another group of loony leftist political hacks that have zero principles left to stand on. They simply exist to be a mirror image of Labor.

The Libs want nothing to do with people like Deeming. If this was a once off affair, we might not rush to judgment. But both on a state level and a federal level, we have seen a string of Christians and conservatives booted out or hounded out of the Liberal Party. Those who are courageously pro-life, pro-family, and pro-faith are now nearly anathema there.

While there is a slight possibility that we just might be surprised by how the Party votes on her tenure, I will not hold my breath. I said in previous articles that we need to pray for Moira and others like her. Let’s hope she can find a new political home where she is wanted and appreciated, if she decides to stay in politics.

Keep on standing strong Moira. You are much too good for the low life Libs.

Update

Since last night’s article, a few developments have transpired, mainly in the form of some resistance: it seems not every one in the Liberal Party is happy with the move by Pesutto to dump Deeming. The Herald Sun article for example has been updated this morning to say this:

Opposition leader John Pesutto is facing an uphill battle to expel Moira Deeming from the Liberal party room, senior figures believe. In his boldest move since taking over the leadership in December, Mr Pesutto on Sunday said he would bring on a vote to have Ms Deeming expelled from the party room after she attended a rally on the steps of parliament that was crashed by neo-Nazis.

 

Ms Pesutto said Ms Deeming’s attendance at the rally made her position with the party “untenable”. But party figures opposing the move say they are “confident” the motion will be defeated in a move that would be huge blow to Mr Pesutto’s authority. Some party figures backing the move also fear it may not have enough support. “It’s close, but there are unexpected opposers,” one source said.

And the Melbourne Age said this in part:

[F]ormer federal Liberal MP Nicolle Flint said Deeming’s expulsion from the party room was “insane”. “The only person who should go is the leader of the Liberal Party because he’s clearly not a Lib,” Flint said. Deeming’s supporters have pointed to the comments by the Australian Jewish Association, which issued a statement saying it was “disgraceful” some politicians and elements of the media had falsely smeared the rally as being involved with neo-Nazis. “The Let Women Speak organisers had nothing to do with the event,” the association said. https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/liberals-move-to-expel-moira-deeming-over-neo-nazi-rally-links-20230319-p5ctgm.html

So there is a bit of a fightback underway, which is good. But it still seems to be the case that if she is not booted out now, she soon enough will be. The current crop of Liberal leadership is such a spineless pack of woke losers that no real conservative and outspoken Christian will likely last long there.

And as I expected, I have had various conservatives who are still with the Libs telling me we need to persevere and try to get more conservatives into the party. Of course I have heard this for decades now. Perhaps they are right, and we need to try harder.

But the older I get the more cynical I become. Just as in the US the GOP is now largely made up of RINOs, so too here the Libs are largely made up of LINOs. I am not sure that either one can be changed, let alone resurrected.

As I just told one fellow, ‘the real question is whether the Libs are any longer redeemable’. Yes, miracles can still happen, and perhaps the party can be freed of its leftist leaders and woke wonders. But I tend to doubt that this will ever happen, although I am happy to be proven wrong.

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17 Replies to “Deeming and the Death of the Liberal Party”

  1. My email to Mr Presutto, c/- the address shown in your own response was returned. I wrote:

    ‘I have read that you intend to demand Moira Deeming’s resignation from the Liberal Party and I wish to register my sincere displeasure should you take this action. The fact that the Nazi protesters turned up at the rally was beyond her culpability, so it appears that this is a case of death by association. Moira stands for the values of biological women, which are under threatened by transgenderists. This is a fact well known and for the Liberal Party to cut her adrift is basically cutting your nose off to spite your face. It will contribute to more populist despair with the party and, dare I say, your own ruination.

    Thank you for the opportunity to present my heartfelt views.’

  2. Thanks for that Bill. The person who gave me that email address got it wrong (I should have looked at it more closely). I just tried one without the ‘r’ and will try your suggestion as well. Thanks again.

  3. I did get a reply by using this address: leader@opposition.vic.gov.au
    But it was just a form letter:
    “Thank you for emailing the Office of John Pesutto, the Leader of the Opposition.
    It’s great to hear from you. We have received your email.
    All emails are reviewed by our team and we will respond as appropriate.
    Due to the volume of correspondence we receive, it may take a little bit of time for us to get back to you.
    Kind regards,
    The Office of the Leader of the Opposition”

  4. Yes, you got an automated reply to your email as I did.

    It has to be agreed that the proposed action against Moira Deeming has to be very poor judgment. We can be sure that Dan will exploit this episode to the hilt, thanks to a compliant media.

  5. Thanks for the correct address to which my email as posted has now been redirected. Moira Deeming has taken a stand and deserves our support. The issue for which she stands has drawn the attention of health and other government departments, i.e, the PM and education in the UK. For both Victorian major political parties to adopt a negative opinion of Mrs Deeming is simply a cave-in to the welfare of a large section of the population, plus those constituents who voted her into parliament. It does not augur well for democratic freedoms unless more people take a stand to support her. It is ironic the the Leader of the Opposition is behaving like those whom he cites as the reason for her enforced resignation.

  6. Yes, agree with you Bill. In the ABC’S breakfast program this morning, John Pesutto gave the only reason for Moira Deeming’s proposed expulsion was her support for the pro-Nazi group. So he’s not being honest at all.
    Will Moira be given any opportunity to speak to her party room? She’s in my prayers.

    Of course, transgenderism is backed by the Vic. Labor Government and there are penalties for trying to help even those who seek help. Possibly most Victorians believe that if it’s a law then it must be right.

    It seems that the Liberals don’t want to rock the boat.

  7. I don’t think writing letters will help. The only way slanderous ratbags like Pesutto will listen is if they are sued in a court of law.

  8. Loving this commentary, Bill – too funny if it wasn’t so sad…..
    ‘The current crop of Liberal leadership is such a spineless pack of woke losers that no real conservative and outspoken Christian will likely last long there.’

    Thanks Russell – used a little of your email to send mine and Michael – Writing letters mightn’t help but I do find them extremely cathartic.
    We do what we can – We leave the rest to God – He has this…And we find JOY in doing what He requires of us….

    NO PREJUDICE INTENDED

    To the Opposition Leader, Mr. John Pesutto,

    I have read that you intend to demand Moira Deeming’s resignation from the Liberal Party.
    What on earth for? This action is deplorable as well as ridiculous.

    The facts are:
    Nazi protesters (uninvited) turn up at a rally attended by Ms Deeming.
    Ms. Deeming stands for the values of biological women who are threatened by ‘transgenderism’ and Ms Deeming also stands for ‘the rights of unborn children’.

    You Sir & The (fallen) Liberal Party are using false accusations to remove Ms. Deeming’s truthful influence in such a misguided, disturbed and deceived world.

    Shame on you, Mr Pesutto.
    May God have Mercy on you and your Liberal Party poor, deluded souls.

    Respectfully yours,
    Melinda
    Geelong

  9. Hi Bill,

    There is a fair bit of effort going on behind the scenes but John Pesutto has backed himself into a corner. I can confidently say that Moira has very strong support at the grass roots level in the Party, and I suspect the leadership group is very nervous.

    Interesting to note how the so-called Neo Nazis were almost given a guard of honour by VicPol, and allowed to assemble in formation in an area that is normally off limits to protesters. There is more to this than meets the eye, and if you look closely you can see that all the men dressed in black have a wrist band. I suspect that Pesutto has been played.

  10. @ Peter Coventry. Nevertheless, the Leader of the Opposition made a rash call and met with MP Deeming the following day, giving the five-day notice required for dismissal. He may have acted so because he feared (!) a backlash from Labor for not calling her out. It’s the nature of the politics by which we are so poorly served to play to the 24 hour news cycle and the demand to be seen to be acting with righteousness, but without wisdom or even all the facts. Secular government lacks the checks and balances of an ethical system, much less a Scriptural mandate, but God is not absent from the field. The Leader’s most damning behaviour, as I see it, is to not recognise his duty as a man to support a woman standing up for the rights of biological women and the unborn because of this warped view from the so-called inclusivists. It will be difficult for him to regain this ground without admitting his mistake. It takes a man to do that. Hopefully, the Liberal Party will realise this as a watershed moment and make it a policy issue before they become an exhibit in the Winton dinosaur park.

  11. Typically, Daniel Andrews mendaciously attacks Moira Deeming and disgorges his support for the trans activists. – but NOT for the vast majority of women and girls who are being victimised by them with Andrews’ support.
    The State Libs lost the plot long ago, and sadly are a lost cause.
    Perhaps Moira should consider leaving that sinking ship and jump aboard the One Nation flotilla where her decency and principles would be appreciated.

  12. @Russell Guy
    I agree it was a very rash call by Pesutto that didn’t need to be made. Had it been Andrews, he would have brushed it off as speculation and refrained from commenting until a report had been completed. Pesutto could have easily hit this one for six, but instead chose to come out with all guns blazing for Moira’s expulsion. Whatever way you look at it, he did not gather all the facts before taking this course of action. Not what you expect from a seasoned politician.

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