Daily distractions stop Morrison from gaining political traction

Scott Morrison is being drawn into cultural and religious battles with enormous political import at a time of great political weakness. The Prime Minister is trying not to retreat on key issues while simultaneously cauterising those needing immediate treatment.

His progress is patchy as he tries to balance the competing camps within the Liberal Party and fend off challenges from Labor and activist third parties over fundamental issues such as freedom of religion and funding of non-government schools.

In the past week, Morrison has been battered by daily political “crises” exploited expertly by his opponents — political and social.

The challenges included discrimination against gay school students in religious schools, discrimination against gay teachers in religious schools, white supremacy, the funding of non-government schools, denying Liberal involvement in anonymous homophobic claims about Kerryn Phelps, annoying Islamic nations with his support for moving Australia’s embassy into Jerusalem and accusing the NSW Labor Party of “behaving in an anti-Semitic” fashion.

All these events soak up vital media time when the government is not able to project a positive economic message or find room to develop effective political strategies or essential new policy.

Some of this is a result of Coalition ineptitude or desperation — voting for a Pauline Hanson motion with white supremacist sentiment and suddenly announcing support for shifting the Australian embassy in Israel on the eve of the Wentworth by-election.

There are also internal divisions exposed as Morrison tries to assert a more conservative leadership after Malcolm Turnbull’s removal.

A large part is also due to progressive activism and media manipulation to promote agendas that are anti-religious or socially progressive.

Exploitation of the stupidity of support for the Hanson Senate motion was effective and fed into the groundless inference that the Liberals were behind the vile anonymous note attacking Phelps.

While the grubby, false claims should never have been made against Phelps, more importantly they should never have been given media exposure justifying the malicious trolls’ intent.

Just because the technology has changed to allow push polling and electronic trolling doesn’t mean the reason for giving this rubbish justification has changed.

What’s more, the kneejerk treatment of the carefully crafted false email, down to deliberate typos, missed the racist dog whistle directed against Dave Sharma’s Indian descent.

The reporting on the ABC missed the usual modus operandi of racists trying to work behind the scenes and argue rationally, reasonably and subliminally completely racist positions. Eighty per cent of the email is about Sharma — not Phelps — and uses a series of set phrases and words designed to turn people against Sharma because of his Indian descent.

The email doesn’t only defame Phelps — it’s also a subtle white supremacist, world conspiracy, anti-immigration rant that should have been used like all shit sheets and not given oxygen.

But right now that’s the nature and tone of the desperate fight in which Morrison is immersed