Small-l Liberals and true Burkian conservatives who watched John Valder on Sunday this morning may well have been a tad discombobulated by JV's final rather...er, 'cheeky' dig at the kind of tactic the on-going evolution of his once-beloved 'broad church' may yet introduce to Australian 'conservative' politicking:

GRAHAM DAVIS: But to sink the knife in one last time himself, John Valder makes yet another extraordinary claim - that so far to the right has John Howard taken the Liberals that he now fears a violent reprisal from the Party's more ardent supporters among the Young Liberals.
JOHN VALDER: It could take things as extreme of people like myself being roughed up, which I think is, in modern politics, the dirt units get out ...
GRAHAM DAVIS: When you say roughed up, you mean physically?
JOHN VALDER: Physically.
GRAHAM DAVIS: What, you're worried about being physically attacked?
JOHN VALDER: I am now, in 2004, fearful and people have said, 'Watch out, your tyre car tyres will be slashed', and 'You'll get bricks through your window'.
GRAHAM DAVIS: They're quite capable of physically assaulting an old man like you?
JOHN VALDER: Well, I sincerely hope not, but roughed up means jostled and so on.
GRAHAM DAVIS: Young Liberals?
JOHN VALDER: Yeah, this is all part of the Liberal Party's move to the right which is what I suppose fundamentally we're on about.

Bit hyperbolic? Bit hysterical? Just another doddery old daiquirie-slurper, JWH? Think again, mate.

JV's talking about 'family-values', 'loving Christian', Young Liberal Howardistas like Alex Hawke and Chums when he makes this observation, after all. Or hasn't anybody in your Canberra office told you what's been going on in the NSW Liberal Party of late?