Did You ever vote Fianna Fail?

lividduck · 25-03-2012 10:06am #1

Ok, I voted FF in 1997 and 2002, Guilty as charged.
But who else will admit to it?

MOD NOTE:

This thread has been moved from After Hours to Politics. Please be aware that posting norms are different, and abusive language towards party supporters, the use of 'scumbags', 'cnuts', etc is not tolerated. And as with all forums on boards, personal abuse warrants immediate infraction.

Freddie59 · 25-03-2012 10:08am

lividduck wrote: »

Ok, I voted FF in 1997 and 2002, Guilty as charged.
But who else will admit to it?

Same here. Never, ever, again.

HalloweenJack · 25-03-2012 10:11am

Never have and never will.

2007 was my first election, though, so I missed out on FF capitalising on the boom in their electioneering.

MrJoeSoap · 25-03-2012 10:12am

Nope. My conscience is clear.

Freddie59 · 25-03-2012 10:14am

lividduck wrote: »

Ok, I voted FF in 1997 and 2002, Guilty as charged.
But who else will admit to it?

There will be many posting here who have, but who won't have the balls to admit it. And then there will be the smuggies.......

lividduck · 25-03-2012 10:16am

Freddie59 wrote: »

There will be many posting here who have, but who won't have the balls to admit it. And then there will be the smuggies.......

Yup, I know.
That said I fell for the whole Bertie thing for a while, feel like a right cnut now!

Ghost Buster · 25-03-2012 10:18am

Im a smuggie!!. I could first vote in 1988. I had witnessed the swagger of P Flynn riding into my home town waving out the sun roof of his ministerial Merc with the evil pixie Haughey waving out the window and it just struck me as nasty. My family were piss poor and this guy had a free Merc.
My conscience is clear:cool:

professore · 25-03-2012 10:19am

Maybe FF supporters don't use boards?

Also lots of people don't vote at all, there should be an option for them.

I never did, but only because I knew FF were crooks and destroying the country.

I didn't know if the other lot were going to be any better but thought they at least should have a chance. For the record I voted Green at one point, boy do I regret that ...

And Micheál Martin going on about Bertie and how it didn't represent the FF he knew, oh pleeeeease! It's been going on for decades now.

tfitzgerald · 25-03-2012 10:20am

I was , and I still am a member of the party . We will be back !

professore · 25-03-2012 10:22am

lividduck wrote: »

Yup, I know.
That said I fell for the whole Bertie thing for a while, feel like a right cnut now!

You know what - you give us some hope for the future. It's the ones who voted FF all along and won't admit it - and probably will again come the next election now that it's "cleaned up" LOL - are the problem.

Ghost Buster · 25-03-2012 10:22am

tfitzgerald wrote: »

I was , and I still am a member of the party . We will be back !

Course you will. How else will you survive without a population to rip off.

professore · 25-03-2012 10:23am

tfitzgerald wrote: »

I was , and I still am a member of the party . We will be back !

What's this? an honest FF supporter. Fair play to you.

At least you have loyalty.

jonski · 25-03-2012 10:25am

Started voting in '84 and yes I voted for them back in a time when I felt that the country needed a strong government and not a fall apart every two years coalition . It's grand to look back now and say we were wrong for voting them in and that such and such would never have let this happen but we don't know that ....it's quiet possible that whoever was in there would have done pretty much the same thing . I don't beat myself up over it .

Ledger · 25-03-2012 10:27am

2007 was my first election. I voted for a FF guy in my town (Sean Connick), it was the first time in a long time that someone from town ran for election (and won).

He is also not the typical archaic FF type, as in he's actually a nice guy and doe good for the area, it wasn't just for show like a lot of them.

But other than that I will never vote for them again.

Gary ITR · 25-03-2012 10:28am

I did when I was younger. If I'm honest I don't know if the opposition at the time would have behaved any differently. Back during the late 90's and early 00's I believe we actually had the best of a bad lot.

Berties nickname at the time was 'Teflon Taoiseach' because nothing stuck to him, how that's changed

RayM · 25-03-2012 10:28am

tfitzgerald wrote: »

I was , and I still am a member of the party . We will be back !

Have you ever felt tempted to cast that bizarre loyalty aside, on the grounds that they wrecked the economy in the pursuit of short-term electoral gain and were absolutely up to their necks in corruption?

Caraville · 25-03-2012 10:32am

I genuinely can't remember. Purely because I don't vote for someone because of their party, but because of whether I think as an individual they deserve my vote. Support of parties as a whole is part of the reason we're in the mess we're in.

So quite possibly yes, I may have voted Fianna Fail. Would I vote again? Even though I said I vote for the individual, I just think Fianna Fail have done so much damage to this country that I would question any individual who would remain loyal to that party. But then again, the only way they could improve things in the party is from the inside. I still don't think I could vote for them anymore though, they've caused too much hurt and pain.

zeusnero · 25-03-2012 10:34am

Never have, never will (excluding scenarios where desperate FF drones place a gun to my head - I'd still like to think at that point I still wouldn't give them my vote

)

bad2dabone · 25-03-2012 10:35am

nope, never voted for them, never will. I'm fairly proud of that!

Gary ITR · 25-03-2012 10:42am

bad2dabone wrote: »

nope, never voted for them, never will. I'm fairly proud of that!

Voting or not voting FF is not really something to be proud or ashamed of. Voters made a decision based on the facts available to them at the time

The current lot are hiding in the background too, all I've heard from them since they've taken office is how bad the last crowd were. I hadn't heard any interviews or commentary from Enda Kenny in weeks, yet the moment the Mahon findings were released he was all over the place, all he's doing at the moment is trying to bury FF, this should not be his focus at all. I know it's an old cliché but they are all the bloody same. Had Kenny been in Bertie's position would he have acted differently? I don't think so

lugha · 25-03-2012 10:45am

For me the real dividend in the demise of FF is that it will bring to an end a tolerance of low standards and corruption. Not corruption itself mind, that can and will arise in any political party, FF were different in the past by virtue of being more tolerant of it.

This crucify Bertie the crook crusade is certainly amusing but leaving aside the fact that as levels of corruption go, he was in the hapenny place, this delusion that any government who by accident or design, found themselves where FF were during the “boom” with untold revenues to perpetuate their time in power, would have acted differently is not very healthy. If we believe that the problem was because of corruption (it wasn’t!) and not because of a mismanaged boom, then we are likely to repeat our mistakes in the future.

It is a great failing of parliamentary democracy that there is little incentive for a government to pursue sensible policy if the dividend will not be in the life of the government and conversely, little disincentive to avoid disastrous ones, as long as the consequence are far enough into the future.

Freddie59 · 25-03-2012 10:45am

Gary ITR wrote: »

Voting or not voting FF is not really something to be proud or ashamed of. Voters made a decision based on the facts available to them at the time

The current lot are hiding in the background too, all I've heard from them since they've taken office is how bad the last crowd were. I hadn't heard any interviews or commentary from Enda Kenny in weeks, yet the moment the Mahon findings were released he was all over the place, all he's doing at the moment is trying to bury FF, this should not be his focus at all. I know it's an old cliché but they are all the bloody same. Had Kenny been in Bertie's position would he have acted differently? I don't think so

True. They seem to wheel out Happy Gilmore on occasion. This week it was to lecture people on the dangers of not paying the household charge.

Freddie59 · 25-03-2012 10:47am

lugha wrote: »

For me the real dividend in the demise of FF is that it will bring to an end a tolerance of low standards and corruption.

Not a chance. Ever. Look at the current mob. Full of promises about abolishing the gravy trains that are the Seanad and unvouched expenses (which to me are in themselves the highest form of corruption).

And then look at what their "entitlements" are. It would make you sick to the stomach:

http://namawinelake.wordpress.com/2012/02/18/how-much-do-irish-politicians-get-paid-part-1-of-2/

bad2dabone · 25-03-2012 10:54am

Gary ITR wrote: »

I know it's an old cliché but they are all the bloody same.

oh i agree, but FF have been so obviously rotten for years it always stunned me how many people voted for them.

tfitzgerald · 25-03-2012 10:54am

RayM wrote: »

Have you ever felt tempted to cast that bizarre loyalty aside, on the grounds that they wrecked the economy in the pursuit of short-term electoral gain and were absolutely up to their necks in corruption?

Yes of course I have . But I really can't see the difference in the crowd we have today, maybe not as crooked but I don't think they are pure saints either

Super-Rush · 25-03-2012 10:55am

Moved from After Hours.

hairyprincess · 25-03-2012 10:59am

jonski wrote: »

Started voting in '84 and yes I voted for them back in a time when I felt that the country needed a strong government.......... I don't beat myself up over it .

You won't mind if I do it for you then will you?

lugha · 25-03-2012 10:59am

Freddie59 wrote: »

Not a chance. Ever. Look at the current mob. Full of promises about abolishing the gravy trains that are the Seanad and unvouched expenses (which to me are in themselves the highest form of corruption).

And then look at what their "entitlements" are. It would make you sick to the stomach:

http://namawinelake.wordpress.com/2012/02/18/how-much-do-irish-politicians-get-paid-part-1-of-2/

I suppose it depends on how wide your definition of corruption is. Extravagance by public figures with tax payers money, may be unpalatable but I don’t count is as corruption. Corruption for me is where financial or other inducements are used to influence legislation.

FG, IMO have shown themselves more willing to deal with members whose conduct has been unbecoming. Contrast how the dealt with Lowry as compared to how FF dealt with (or didn’t!) with Flynn (the younger!), Lawlor, Burke, etc.

Mint Sauce · 25-03-2012 11:00am

Possibly did in the early noughties, but to be fair, had only recently moved in and was first vote in an Irish Election and didn't really know much difference in the parties or the voting system. This time around, didn't even get a preference.

stovelid · 25-03-2012 11:21am

Never did; never will.

Have been able to vote since 1989.

The only vote I have ever given that I regret is a preference for Sinn Fein once or twice.

raymon · 25-03-2012 11:35am

No . Never . I make a point of not voting for liars, tax evaders, corrupt politicians, thieves, forgers, misrepresenters, or traitors.

Thus I have not had a chance to ever vote FF

Did You ever vote Fianna Fail?

Did You ever vote Fianna Fail 276 votes

Comments