For a long time Barnaby Joyce has looked like one of the good guys, but his carelessness concerning free speech has put that perception in doubt. Joyce has said he’s reluctant to pursue changes to Section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act, that its a distraction he doesn’t have the time for anyway, and that its a vote loser.

These reasons are so weak it is inevitable that Joyce’s image as a good straight Conservative politician will suffer. Many want the whole Act repealed. Surely its not too much to ask of politicians that they adjust one small part of it to fix a problem that has caused so much wrong, even tragedy, in Australian society.

Joyce says people do not talk about the issue to him, that they’re more interested in other issues. This is a story that angers Conservatives, not least because if this is true, it shows yet another dereliction of duty of the Liberal National Coalition. It is an important issue, and that so many voters don’t know that is a communication failure by Barnaby and his Liberal-National Party mates.

The Racial Discrimination Act and Section 18C in particular is just the thin end of the wedge, and the first step in the long term project to shut down Conservative political opinion. That’s why its important Barnaby, and you should be arguing against it on those grounds and alerting voters to its real intent. Not lamely surrendering.

If the Lib National coalition doesn’t stand for freedom of expression what does it stand for? When will it ever stand for anything?

That you think you might lose votes is another indicator of slack performance. You ought to have had an argument out there long ago, and one that will bring back those votes if its true they’re drifting away. Assuming you know there is an argument.

Barnaby Joyce and others need to develop a strategy to confront and defeat incremental left wing strategies and they can start doing that with this issue. If they don’t know how to do this by now, as appears to be the case, then they should get the hell out of politics. We need fighters, not gullible dupes who don’t get the left and who can’t wait to surrender to them.

Malcolm Turnbull doesn’t care about this issue either. His change of heart is just a pretense, a charade, a transparent attempt to bring back the Conservative votes he’s been losing in droves. He knows it won’t get through the Senate. (Thanks to Jacqui Lambie among others.) So what’s he got to lose. Nothing other than the last few remaining shreds of his credibility.

The Liberals and the Nationals treat the Conservative vote with arrogance and disdain. Stop supporting these Labor lite losers, and put your vote with Cory Bernardi or other parties. Apparently, they won’t get the message any other way.