I don't know whether it's that the Australian just hires journalists with really thin skins or that the water there contains some skin thinning chemical, but they always seem to overreact to criticism. The latest is from Caroline please preference Malcolm Overington.
You see, Gam blogged about Overington's "only joking" endorsement of Malcolm Turnbull with this comment:
How did she manage to type that with the Member for Wentworth's member in her mouth?
Overington didn't seem to get the joke because she phoned Gam and tried to bully him into removing the statement and even threatened to sue him. Overington's efforts to suppress Gam's speech seem to have backfired and will result in more publicity for Gam.
While on the subject of Turnbull endorsements, as well as thin-skinned journos, he also has the cute puppy demographic
Over the next two days the Sydney organisation Dogs Group plans to drop close to 30,000 flyers featuring the beagle around Turnbull's electorate of Wentworth in a bid to convince residents to vote for the Liberal candidate.
"Malcolm Turnbull has been a great supporter of dogs in the Wentworth electorate," said Dogs Group secretary Nick Bury.
It is entirely coincidental that Bury is a member of the Liberal Party.
I think Gam's little fracas will fade into isnsignificance after this.
Congrats on getting a sane leadership down there. I really, really hope we follow you all in a year.
So what was the outcome of this soap opera electoral seat?
Turnbull's dirty tricks campaign was completely triumphant over a play-dead performance from his Labor opponent. With 69% of the vote counted Turnbull had an increased primary vote to 49.9%(!), 53.4% after preferences. That's a 1% swing to him - a huge 9.4% swing on his primary vote - and the third strongest Liberal result in the nation. Given his vaulting ambition he'll be keen to challenge for Liberal party leadership.
A Fairfax Fin Review writer is threatening legal action all the time against people who discuss his stupid views. It's hilarious.
Overington is hardly the only one.
Are you sure this gal is isn't simply a lunatic, which has nothing to do with the OZ. I am starting to think she is.
You seen this?
Caroline Overington denies slapping George Newhouse
By staff writers and wires
November 24, 2007 06:29pm
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22813951-2,00.html
ONE of Australia's most prominent newspaper reporters has denied slapping a Labor candidate at a polling station in eastern Sydney today.
Caroline Overington from The Australian newspaper has admitted to being involved in a physical confrontation with George Newhouse outside of a polling station in Sydney's east.
In one email sent on October 9, published by the Sydney Morning Herald, Ms Overington asked the candidate to meet her in Bondi.
"Hey there ... Let's chat today, shall we? I could come out to Bondi, since I live there. And now you are single, I might even make a pass at you," she reportedly said in the email.
Ms Overington later explained in her blog on this website that her emails were "playful in tone".
Hi Tim,
Thanks for the link! Thanks also for pointing us to the mention on the ABC page- I'd read it recently but somehow missed the vague reference to Gam's post.
Crazy stuff, huh?