Who’s the largest looney in federal parliament? It is a subjective name, purely a matter of opinion, however for me, Gerard Rennick has shot forward of a crowded discipline to grab the tinfoil cap trophy with daylight second. Proof within the senator’s personal phrases down beneath.
In fact, if you happen to’re a Trump-supporting, climate-denying, elites-fearing anti-vaxxer who thinks we needs to be pleasant with Russia as a result of they’re Caucasian soccer-playing Christians, you’ll disagree.
Certainly, the Liberal senator for Queensland might properly be your private hero, somebody you’ll be comfortable to comply with when he is out and about seeking Liberal Party recruits from the right-wing fringe.
OK, possibly daylight wasn’t second – there’s Ralph Babet, the Victorian actual property agent for whom Clive Palmer purchased a Senate seat final 12 months.
Very a lot Senator Rennick’s fellow traveller, Senator Babet has left former silver medal rivals, Pauline Hanson’s little Queensland mate, Malcolm Roberts and South Australian Liberal Alex Antic, to combat for bronze.
It says a lot in regards to the RWNJ finish of the Senate that Senator Hanson can not make the rostrum.
Choose candidates
It additionally says a lot in regards to the issue Peter Dutton has in making an attempt to make the Liberal Celebration politically acceptable for youthful, educated voters when he begins with two of Parliament’s 4 greatest far-right geese (in my view) as members of his caucus, exerting their affect as a part of the hard-and-looney proper controlling the celebration.
Do not forget that Senator Rennick and Senator Antic have been chosen not a lot by electors as by the Liberal Celebration membership, presumably reflecting the ambitions, intelligence, hopes and insurance policies of the celebration in Queensland and South Australia respectively.
No person actually voted for Senator Rennick, the third choose on the LNP ticket in 2019 – they voted for the Liberal Celebration. (Nicely, maybe a number of associates and relations, however they did not get him elected.)
The Darling Downs accountant was a fear properly earlier than he was elected, however that did not fear the Liberal Celebration.
No worries
In October 2018, he was advocating closer ties with Russia, telling The Australian: “They’re a part of the West; they drink, they’re Christians, they play soccer, they’re Caucasian.”
(By implication, white is good, different colours not so good.)
And he was “taking with a grain of salt” Britain’s view that Russia was behind the lethal Salisbury chemical weapons assault.
That was 4 years after MH17 was shot down over Ukraine by a Russian missile, killing 298 individuals, 38 of them Australians, not that nationality ought to matter with such against the law.
Senator Rennick has been a rabid local weather denialist from the beginning, apparently believing the Bureau of Meteorology was concerned in a conspiracy to fiddle temperature statistics.
Not so tweet
For these and different causes, in my view he was clearly a goose, however I did not know fairly how huge a goose till stumbling upon Senator Rennick’s Twitter output on the weekend.
Senator Rennick – not The Shovel or Betoota Advocate or The Chaser – proudly posted a video of his good self utilizing the Senate economics laws committee to highschool precise scientists – the CSIRO chief govt, Dr Larry Marshall, amongst them – in regards to the function of gravity in warming and thus why shifting to renewable power would not cease world warming.
No, actually.
“Local weather scientists argue that CO2 traps warmth in the identical means {that a} greenhouse traps warmth. That is categorically false,” Senator Rennick additional suggested his followers.
“What traps convection is gravity. It is why the floor of the Earth is hotter than, say, the highest of Mount Everest. Gravity stops all of the molecules within the ambiance, together with O2 and N2, from floating off into outer area.
“We’re taught in grade eight science that gases and solids have completely different properties. But local weather scientists overlook this quite simple reality.”
Senator Rennick utilizing, as he stated, his grade eight science, versus Dr Marshall together with his PhD in physics… ah, the Liberal Celebration. Ah, the Queensland Liberal Celebration in its LNP configuration particularly.
I used to be moved to precise my shock about Senator Rennick on Twitter in language unbecoming to The New Every day. Sure, it was naughty of me, however I used to be a bit shocked at discovering Senator Rennick might nonetheless shock me.
Wait, there’s extra
However now he is achieved it once more, pushing his nut job standing means out past mere excessive local weather denialism (98 per cent of scientists are flawed and I am proper) to a degree of Donald Trump adoration and conspiracy idea promotion which may even fear Sky After Darkish presenters.
Kindred spirit Senator Babet thoughtfully tweeted a sprig from Senator Rennick’s Fb web page for these of us who solely undergo from Elon Musk’s social media affliction, not Mark Zuckerberg’s.
It’s past weird.
“It is quite simple,” Senator Rennick posted. “If Trump turns into president he’ll search peace in Ukraine and rebuild the affect and productive capability of the USA and the West.
“The globalists don’t need this to occur. They need to begin World Battle Three to destroy the West earlier than transferring energy to China.”
And that was only for openers.
“As Germany was compelled to pay up after WWI and Britain after WWII, the aim is to empty the USA of its wealth via punitive reparations with the intention to empower China. The opaque Financial institution of Worldwide Settlements will orchestrate it.
“The Democrat celebration led by Biden is a puppet of the deep state. They don’t have any regard for democracy or the rights of the person. He’s no doubt the George III of the 21st Century.”
And so forth and so forth.
No joke
Sure, it was posted on April 1. However, no, it is not Senator Rennick having a joke. It is Senator Rennick. It’s Peter Dutton’s Liberal Celebration.
Senator Antic solely desires to abolish the United Nations. He must attempt a lot more durable.
It took two phrases of presidency earlier than the Liberal management labored up the nerve to ditch the embarrassment of its former prime RWNJ, Craig “horse wormer” Kelly.
The query for Mr Dutton is what number of phrases of opposition will it take to ditch the ratbaggery of senators Rennick and Antic – until he prefers to stay their captive, if not fellow traveller.
