It’s been a week since the Eden-Monaro by-election.

The outcome has been overshadowed by the mounting coronavirus crisis, but one truly hateful, horrible part of the wash-up deserves national exposure — the Twitter bile directed at the residents of the hamlet of Cobargo for “not voting the right way”.

When bushfires tore through Cobargo last summer, clearly it was Scott Morrison’s fault.  

When homes, farms and neighbourhoods all went up in flames, there was clearly one person to blame.

Take one look at social media and you’ll see relentless moaning about the “embarrassment” of our “CrimeMinister”.

Yes, climate change is the fault of our evil government’s lack of action, but, ultimately, residents of Cobargo deserved better than mean, selfish Morrison. 

Or did they? 

When the(ir) ABC visited for a Four Corners special that went to air last Monday they reported that many residents are still without running water or a warm place to sleep. Six months on, and despite the promise of government assistance, many are still struggling. 

What does it say about the state of our media then, that the swing to the Liberals in the recent Eden-Monaro by-election went largely unreported?

That doesn’t fit the carefully sculpted narrative does it? 

Even with all the anti-government rhetoric being channelled, for months, through social media campaigns, how dare the people of Cobargo not revolt against the establishment that failed them?

The bile being spewed about the swing in one of the most bushfire damaged areas was intense. 

Some lunatics went so far as demanding punishment.

Yes, any locals who dared to think for themselves and vote Liberal deserve to be deserted and left to rot.  

One ranted, “#Cobargo = voters who will never change. This is why I donated to animal charities, not for these LNP whingers and whiners who were always going to vote the way they did. Don’t assist them again in times of peril. Don’t help people who won’t help themselves.”

“Don’t assist them again in times of peril”?

How dare locals not get the message? 

How dare they not vote against the evil Morrison government at every twist, turn and local by-election opportunity? 

Peter Logue, a Canberra press gallery veteran retired to the area — no apologist for the right — stepped in to put the record straight. “ALP won the booth, ffs. So a majority did not vote Lib. No reason to not support the real people here. Watch Four Corners tomorrow night.”

These furious anti-Morrisonites are complaining about a booth that contributed 661 votes out of more than 100,000.

Morrison Derangement Syndrome really is a sickness.

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