John Howard’s impeccable record over many years has cemented his place as the pre-eminent Australian racist. He is the man. Despite his despair during the anti-racist years of Whitlam, Fraser, Hawke, and Keating, Johnny never gave up.
Who can forget his support of Pauline Hanson under the guise of protecting free speech, or the children overboard and Siev X lies, or the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq waged under false pretences; or the fabulous comment about the unacceptable appearance of Asian immigrants, etc.
Individually these tactics display uncanny brilliance; taken together they constitute the greatest comeback of the past 100 years. Singlehandedly Johnny reestablished the popularity of racism in Australia. Unfortunately for Australia, however, the tactics also struck a chord in the ‘broad church’ of the Coalition, especially amongst Howard’s principle acolytes Morrison and Dutton.
Unless we as a nation recognise the ‘No’ vote for what it is – namely a triumph of racism and stupidity over decency – we will become a pariah in the world and will run the risk of more Howards, Morrisons, and Duttons infecting our country with their racist bile.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
