Keith Windschuttle. Scan of photo by James Croucher

A big week for Australia's little tyrant. First he showed utter cynical contempt for his own party members regarding the ACT civil unions standover (From Michael Gordon: Rocking the boat):

The anger over the civil unions matter concerns Tuesday's party-room discussion and Howard's failure to indicate during debate on that issue that he had dispatched Attorney-General, Philip Ruddock, to ask the Governor-General to quash the law.

"You don't blame Ruddock. He was acting on Howard's instruction," one MP explained. "But it was done while party room was having the debate on this very issue. Howard was chairing the discussion and didn't reveal what was happening. It was less than straightforward. It was outright deceptive."

For some, the episode recalled the words of former Liberal Party federal president, Shane Stone, in that infamous memo of 2001, when he remarked that the Government was seen as "too tricky, sneaky, mean, out of touch and not listening".

Appears the little fella's hubris has grown larger than his weird little body. It's one thing to do the dirty on his own kind, but his attempt to turn the ABC into a fascist mouthpiece for his government (isn't he satisfied with every last commercial radio and television station doing same?) is about to turn Australia into a one-party state.

Here is Robert Manne, from PM's contempt for ABC:

Even now relatively few Australians realise that John Howard leads the most ideologically combative government in the nation's history. Even though it has won four elections; even though the Labor Opposition is demoralised; even though the Murdoch press and talk radio now operate as a kind of permanent hallelujah chorus extolling its virtues; even though the ABC has in general learned to be compliant, the Government is infuriated that there still exist small groups of political dissenters broadcasting from obscure corners at the ABC.

Having failed to bring the ABC to heel with a new-style management team under Jonathan Shier; having failed to gain the co-operation of the old-style conservative chairman, Donald MacDonald, in its bid to change the culture of the ABC; having failed to tame the ABC by direct ministerial attack, the Government has gradually found itself turning more and more to the board appointment of reliable right-wing heavy hitters, such as Ron Brunton and Janet Albrechtsen, to complete the job.

With the appointment of the most extreme cultural warrior in the country, Keith Windschuttle, the ideological gloves are finally off. Howard is determined to silence the thin voice of dissent still heard inside the ABC. In his determination, even the pretence of ABC independence has now been formally abandoned. The contempt for the ABC audience and for the institutions of democracy could not be more complete.

Enough to gag a maggot.

-- Chet LaMerde

Addendum: Here is what Mike Carlton has to say:

Never let it be said that John Howard has no sense of the absurd. The naming of the loopy polemicist Keith Windschuttle to the board of the ABC is the most hilarious appointment to public office since the mad Emperor Caligula threatened to make his horse a consul of Rome.

Click here for the rest.