Glenn Milne misses the point.

Kevin Rudd, who came into government stating that he was proudly an “economic conservative”, recently wrote a 7000 word load of nonsense in The Monthly in which he ditched his economic conservative hat and picked up his hammer and sickle. He’s now out of the closet as a socialist. The piece has been thoroughly debunked, but the leader of the opposition, Malcolm Turnbull, had only mentioned it in passing until this weekend. Turnbull’s counter to Rudd’s socialist diatribe has attracted criticism from several morons, including the Foreign Minister and Glenn Milne.

Glenn Milne (right) on the attack in a drunken stupor.

Milne, who shows his true colours by linking to the left wing Monthly, but not Turnbull’s original piece, characterises Turnbull as “attacking” Kevin Rudd’s ugly wife, Therese Rein. Milne may have a point. Here’s an excerpt from Turnbull’s fiery attack:

I congratulate the Rudds, especially Therese Rein, on their success. Their business grew into a very substantial one in Australia and as other countries followed the Australian approach, grew there as well exporting the expertise developed by them when they seized the opportunity created by Howard’s decision in 1998.

But what are we to think of the wealthiest Prime Minister Australia has ever had, a man greatly enriched by the privatisation and outsourcing of government services, standing up again and again to denounce the very policies from which he and his family have profited so extensively.

That’s harsh language. I know that whenever I’m attacking someone, I like to use words like “congratulate” and “success”. I congratulate Glenn Milne on successfully writing one of the most pathetic piles of garbage ever published in an Australian newspaper. Clearly, Turnbull is attacking Kevin Rudd’s hypocrisy: he and his wife have benefited greatly from the very policies he denounced in The Monthly. Indeed, Therese Rein might not be a millionaire if it weren’t for “neo-liberal” policies that have been enacted through the Hawke, Keating, and Howard prime ministerships.

Of course, you can’t mention Glenn Milne without bringing up the fact that at 2006’s Walkley awards, he physically attacked Crikey founder, Stephen Mayne. He blamed his abusive behaviour on alcohol and drug use. Perhaps this can explain how Milne managed to write such a horrible, untruthful column. Or perhaps it’s more likely that his long term friend, Peter Costello, played a part in some way.