Liberal Senator and professional moral panic instigator Cory Bernardi has delivered his verdict on the Tea Party: it’s “pretty sensible” and Australian Liberal MPs would be foolish to ignore it. And just in case you were holding out hope that he was talking about the kind that involves tiny cakes: yep, he means the US lunatic right-wing Tea Party.
Bernardi was sent to the backbench in 2012 for saying gay marriage is a gateway to bestiality. Since then, he’s been spending his extra free time befriending Rick Santorum, the Tea Party politician whose name, thanks to Dan Savage, has become synonymous with the frothy mix of lube and fecal matter that is sometimes the byproduct of anal sex through guerrilla SEO tactics we are absolutely not using here.
Now Bernardi’s warned his colleagues against ignoring the rise of far-right groups like the Tea Party and the UK Independence Party: “The message seems very clear. The people want something different to what establishment politics is offering.”
“People across the world are tired of being treated as economic slaves by bloated governments,” he said. “[They] are fed up with political parties that don’t or won’t respond to their legitimate concerns. Of course, many Australian politicians dismiss the events overseas as not being applicable to our circumstances. Frankly, I see that as a very short-sighted approach.”
Fairfax reports he felt it was important for “conservative consciences” in the Coalition to not “ape Labor/Greens policy” by adopting progressive policies like the emissions trading scheme.
We’re absolutely not suggesting that any grassroots movement give Cory Bernardi the Santorum treatment, but it’d be amazing if they did. What a beautiful dream.
Image via Justin Sullivan for Getty Images News
