The electoral register is inaccurate in certain areas with people registered multiple times at multiple addresses according to early reports on rte this morning. Sort that out first.
An unsuitable President ? And the failure of mainstream politics
- Thread starter cremeegg
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Or, as this statistical pedant would put it, the "clear choice" of 55% of the 46% of the electorate who put a ballot paper in a ballot box last Friday.
Catherine Connolly was elected fairly and squarely. She put up with a lot of mudslinging in her direction. She is sympathetic, educated, wise, eloquent and determined. I have no doubt she will be a terrific present and will represent us to the best of her ability. I think she could receive more support from many on this forum.
Do you indeed?
Well, I'm too busy supporting Shamrock Rovers this afternoon, after my wasted support for Connacht last night (why in God's name didn't they select a place kicker?) - but my supporter's diary is empty tomorrow, so I'll try to muster up some lukewarm support for your preferred candidate.
Update: Well, Rovers failed to seal the deal, so the caravan rolls on to Wednesday.
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But that's democracy for you. If portions of the the populace can't be bothered to engage in our democratic processes, then those who do, make the choices for the inert, lazy, stupid, and "the protesters", if those are distinct groups. I'd like to to see a good old Venn diagram of those groupings. The groups I have listed above (there may be more) are likely to be the post-electoral whingers - the "ah but nobody asked our opinion" or the "we don't have a voice" shower.
There may be flaws in how candidates are selected, there are corrections needed to the electoral register, but based on what we had in place last Friday I again congratulate our Uachtarán nua and wish her well in representing our country as our Head of State. I believe that to do otherwise is just a bad case of sour-grape-ism (see, a non-Trump neologism)
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Sorry, I missed this earlier. Would the Cork rebels have been kinder had their candidate for King of England, Perkin Warbeck, been elected?
As you will recall, poor Perkin lost his head in his early 20's so wasn't eligible to run for President on age gounds, but if he had then I'd probably have voted for him twice, using my Irish and English names. (It's a trick that I picked up from my West Belfast cousins).
Moving on, as you're probably aware, The Irish Examiner is owned and controlled by The Irish Times so these days there's about as much Cork in it as there is in a screw top bottle of Argentinian Malbec (strongly recommended).
Furthermore, as you're doubtless aware, Terry Prone is the Chatelaine of a Martello Tower in downtown Portrane - a village which has been located firmly inside The Pale since the 13th Century! So you probably have a far greater claim to being a Rebel than she has.
Anyway I'm off for a spot of road bowling; very popular hereabouts. I'll leave you to brush up on your statistics for the next few hours. Toodle pip.
Moving on, as you're probably aware, The Irish Examiner is owned and controlled by The Irish Times so these days there's about as much Cork in it as there is in a screw top bottle of Argentinian Malbec (strongly recommended).
Furthermore, as you're doubtless aware, Terry Prone is the Chatelaine of a Martello Tower in downtown Portrane - a village which has been located firmly inside The Pale since the 13th Century! So you probably have a far greater claim to being a Rebel than she has.
Anyway I'm off for a spot of road bowling; very popular hereabouts. I'll leave you to brush up on your statistics for the next few hours. Toodle pip.
Sister Sara
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Kelly says he was 'shafted' by Fine Gael's Áras selection process
Not just FF so?
Trouble ahead in both camps and how they went about selecting their respective candidates. These parties are experienced electioneers, I would have thought the candidate selection process would be transparent, democratic and reflect the views of the parties? It would appear that there are powers inside these parties that can override their own rules!
Not just FF so?
Trouble ahead in both camps and how they went about selecting their respective candidates. These parties are experienced electioneers, I would have thought the candidate selection process would be transparent, democratic and reflect the views of the parties? It would appear that there are powers inside these parties that can override their own rules!
But surely that's the kind of thing that you'd be very familiar with and approve of?
What's amusing about the FF omnishambles is that they had two potential "game changers" in their ranks: that fellow from Drumcondra who "never done nuttin' wrong", and a chap from Cork called Mick Martin; but instead they opted for a no-hoper with a bad memory who flies a desk in the Irish Aviation Authority. Bad call, Meehawl!
As for FG, they were stuffed from the moment that Mairead McGuinness pulled out. Sean Kelly is just a headline for bored journalists on a wet Bank Holiday Monday, when there's nothing much else to write about.
Sister Sara
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It looks like 'they' didn't opt for Gavin at all. Rather, it was the leadership undermining the selection process.
Maybe, or maybe there is something to his 'shafted' comment. When the journalists return from their Bank Holiday I would be interested in knowing if there was some journalistic probing on this.
Apologies, your right. She is a member.
I mis-interpreted an article that said she used to represent the Iona institute as a barrister for them but hadn't done so in recent years.
If he hadn'ta losin' the head he'da been old enough now. And there was I thinkin' it was the FFers that invented the "vote early, vote often" tactic.
I'm from the right side of the Liffey to qualify in anyways!
Cork things will always be Cork things, but not the All Ireland Senior Hurling Championship.
It's very worrying. At the moment people are moving towards an completely illogical mix of populism and far left politics, as can be seem by the support for PBP and Sinn Fein. That vote can just as easily swing to a mix of populism and the far right. Both the far left and the far right are equally dangerous and populism is the fuel that feeds them.
In short, they literally don't know what they want!
More importantly, they have absolutely no idea of what any political party can realistically provide when it gets into government.
The opposition lie and tell us that they can change things when they get into power. The Government lie and tell us that they are changing things. When we outsource power and decision making away from those who are democratically elected to wield it we undermine democracy itself. That given oxygen to the extremists who seek to impose their solution, usually a utopian version of some previously failed ideology.
I think 'the left' alliance are reading too much into CC's victory. Basically a kicking to the Govt and their contempt for the electorate, as shown by how they went about choosing candidates.
But its one thing to agree a common candidate but very different to have agreed policies for a general election, from Labour to SD to PBP to SF.
But its one thing to agree a common candidate but very different to have agreed policies for a general election, from Labour to SD to PBP to SF.
The Shinners would eat the rest of them alive.
Sister Sara
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SF vote bounces around anywhere from 20% to mid-twenties for last decade. PBP profit vote is between 2-3% over the same period. So that's not it, it must be something else.
According to this chart, FG and FF (to lessor extent) are on a downward trajectory. Dissaffected centre-right voters that would ordinarily find home in these parties are turning to parties such as "Independent Ireland" and "Ireland First". These parties harbour hostile anti-migration sentiment fuelling itself in violence in CityWest and elsewhere. "Coolock says No", who parade with right-wing Ulster loyalists, are also attracting fuelling anti-immigration conflict.
These are the votes that centre-right politics would ordinarily have shored up in more politically stable times. They are more likely to label Sinn Fein as "traitors" as they break bread with their loyalist brethen.
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