FOOT IN MOUTH DISEASE
Good evening and welcome to Lateline. I’m Emma Alberici.
On tonight’s program, we’re joined by former Liberal Party adviser Grahame Morris.
Grahame, it’s widely accepted that Tony Abbott was exposed as shallow and loose with the truth in his recent interview with Leigh Sales…
MORRIS: Can I just stop you there, Emma, Leigh is an absolute cow and I would not place any credence in her as a journalist…
ALBERICI: Hold on, I have to cut in there. Did you just call the nation’s leading current affairs journalist a cow?
MORRIS: Did I? Did I? Really? I’m sorry. That just slipped out, believe me. I apologise. It was a bad choice of words. I meant to say she was dogged. Dogged, yes that’s it.
ALBERICI: Well, can we get back to the issue about Mr Abbott’s credibility…
MORRIS: Credibility! Let me tell you, little girl that if anyone has a credibility problem, it’s that Gillard hag, who frankly should get kicked to death at the next election…
ALBERICI: Excuse me, Mr Morris. But do you think calling for the prime minister to be kicked to death is acceptable language?
MORRIS: Pardon me, Emma. That really was a misplaced metaphor. I meant to say she will face the full fury of the voters at the next election. Some of those voters may be kicking. Some may be wearing hob-nailed boots. But let me say clearly, I do not condone violence of any kind, even to women.
ALBERICI: OK, so Mr Abbott’s reputation for gilding the lily…
MORRIS: Lily? You want to talk about a lily, take a look at that skanky ‘ho Nicola Roxon. That chick badly needs some rays. At least use some fake tan, girl.
ALBERICI: Ok, I need to stop you there. I mean, really…’skanky ho’??
MORRIS: Emma, Emma, sweetheart. You’re taking me way out of context. My point is Nicola needs to take care of herself. She’s working too hard. Unlike that lazy bimbo , Pilbersek. She spends her afternoons in a ministerial office watching soaps and eating Mars bars.
ALBERICI: Mr Morris. That is ENOUGH. I have asked you onto this program to speak about the Leader of the Opposition. And you have spent the entire time making lame, sexist jokes about female ministers….
MORRIS: Emma, I must take exception to that. To say I am targeting female ministers is nonsense. Take you, as an example. You could do with a bit of meat on your bones, honey. I can hear your shoulder blades clacking from here.
ALBERICI: That’s all we have time for on Lateline. Tomorrow, another superannuated sexist Liberal Party hack gets a free kick from your ABC.
( This is a “transcript” of an imagined appearance by Grahame Morris, former Liberal Party strategist after his comment to ABC 702 radio yesterday that Leigh Sales “can be quite a “cow” during her recent interview with Tony Abbott.)
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*Mr Denmore was a finalist in The Sydney Writer’s Centre Best Australian Blogs in 2012. You can read him here. Or sample his stylings on Twitter @MrDenmore
18 Responses to this article
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Rod August 29, 2012
Disgusted at the slimy level of vitriolic abuse grubs like Morris are resorting to in misguided, lame minded attempts to make Tony Abbott look human.
By his guttural use of weak patriarchal & patronizing humour in his Howard “leaching attachment” Morris has lost all credibility. -
diane August 29, 2012
omg, how on earth can we expect the men of our society to respect us women folk when we have people like grahame morris talking the way he did, No apoligise is acceptable and he Wasn’t misquoted, it came out of His mouth and that is the way he thinks. Thank God not all men are arses, just the few wanna bee’s. He is a great role model for the Liberal Party…. NOT.
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Lyn August 29, 2012
I’m confused. Was this REALLY said? Seriously? !!,
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Julia August 29, 2012
What an arrogant, patronizing and misogynist he is!
It is no wonder why I will not look to the Liberal party next election regardless of the mistakes that Julia has made. This type of attitude towards women is rife in the the party from the leader down. -
Shepard August 29, 2012
Sleuthcity… it’s a joke.
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Julie August 29, 2012
LOL – had me fooled – I really could believe this happened, but there wasn’t a link to the clip!! Well done Mr Dinmore – you really can read what people think in their minds, and after a long day on the hustings let them slip.
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JoanneH August 29, 2012
Grahame Morris uses sexist stereotyping to denigrate a professional journalist, and the Prime Minister for political reasons. As well as his “kicking to death” comments, he recently referred to Julia as “bitchy” on Sky TV. I’m sure he would not use that insult against a man. Maybe it’s time the media stopped using him as a Liberal spruiker.
Andrew Bolt, as expected, has found a way of turning the attack back onto Leigh Sales. Under a headline of “Sexist attack by ABC on respected veteran” he states, “Ms Sales responded via Twitter: “I’d rather be a cow than a dinosaur.” You can see why The Age and ABC are in uproar, It’s damn rude – and rather sexist as well as ageist – to call Morris a “dinosaur”.
God knows what Morris could be “respected” for?, and all I can think is – Julia was correct to say nothing will stop those misogynist nut jobs!
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Mrs Pops August 29, 2012
Why Mr Morris, Sir, you could just sweep a poor little gal like me right off her hooves with your smart sexy words;)
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helenbea August 29, 2012
Welll done Mr Denmore for an entertaining poke at Grahame Morris and the whole ‘package’ of misogynist language! Congratulations to Hoop-La and Wendy for staying ‘on the case’ of raising consciousness. Pleased to see the humour…such a relief from the relentless ‘war’ on sexism.
Wendy, I think the opposite of ‘cow’ is ‘bull’. This leads us to associations like ‘bull-headed’, behaving like ‘a bull in a china shop’. Talking a lot of ‘bull’ and ‘bullshit’.I think Leigh Sales took the bull by the horns! Ole!
Wouldn’t it be great if we could leave out negative associations with animals.
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Leesa August 29, 2012
I was talking about our Prime Minister to my male employer the other day when he said “I just don’t like the way she talks. Asking what he meant he said “She talks down to men and men just don’t like that.” After much discussion he finally admitted that she didn’t talk down to them unlike many men, Morris being one, but rather she outsmarted them and that was a big kick in the male ego. I think thats the bottom line.
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Rhoda August 29, 2012
Yep – men don’t like women giving them the lie. Make no mistake – women are on the front line here and everywhere and should speak up. Read all about it – hey the news from the US if full of it and it is supposed to be a democracy in pursuit of happiness. Hah!
U.S. Representative Todd Akin, a Senate candidate from Missouri, said women’s bodies protect them from becoming pregnant in case of “legitimate rape,” eliminating the need for legal abortions for victims.
And this is the 21st century.
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Anna August 29, 2012
The other day I heard this fellow bring interviewed about this on 774. The thing I noticed was that he kept saying that the ABC and it’s reporters were being too sensitive – and that’s how he began his “apology” too. He just didn’t seem to a get it that he had offended LOTS of other people. By the end of the interview I was shouting at the radio! Honestly, I felt like my opinion had been totally ignored and ridiculed. Let’s say that he did nothing to change my opinion!
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Annie from Faulco August 30, 2012
I’ve heard a few interviews with Bruce Hawker and Grahame Morris, and I accept that they both promote their respective positions. Hawker can be hawkish in defence of his actions, and quite pithy in his assessment of political opponents. What Hawker lacks is the fundamental nastiness of many other commentators. Disagreeing with a position or action does not justify vilification. Most of us learned this in the playground. Nasty people do not win hearts and minds: they merely impress other nasty people, especially with apologies which continue the original attack.
