Generational Politics

DrumSteve

Ive have voted in the past and i couldnt help but vote for FF because my family all are FF. Grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles... we'd all vote FF. So even if i did like enda kenny or FG(which i dont) and went to vote for him/them(which i wont) i'd feel almost... well....bad. ( i have voted for independents in the past)

I guess that now... as i see the country changing and I dont really respect/value the opinion of/trust/understand the people who are governing us at this time i have to re-assess my own political stance.

is it time we, as a country, ditched the last remnants of the civil war? while there are some good people in that party (i.e. richard bruton) im sure the fact that they are associated with FG is stopping potential FF voters for voting from them. i mean the only difference between them really is the name.

has anyone else felt like that? just been something ive been thinking of recently.

Dob74

FF and FG are almost identical on most major issues.
If you want to change vote Labour,greens or SF if you are left wing.
And if you are right wing your chioces are pretty limited now the PD's are gone. Maybe libertas?
FF and FG should merge maybe than we could have a proper politial system

dresden8

DrumSteve wrote: »

Ive have voted in the past and i couldnt help but vote for FF because my family all are FF. Grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles... we'd all vote FF. So even if i did like enda kenny or FG(which i dont) and went to vote for him/them(which i wont) i'd feel almost... well....bad. ( i have voted for independents in the past)

I guess that now... as i see the country changing and I dont really respect/value the opinion of/trust/understand the people who are governing us at this time i have to re-assess my own political stance.

is it time we, as a country, ditched the last remnants of the civil war? while there are some good people in that party (i.e. richard bruton) im sure the fact that they are associated with FG is stopping potential FF voters for voting from them. i mean the only difference between them really is the name.

has anyone else felt like that? just been something ive been thinking of recently.

Well that's why the country is fncked up.

You are presenting the idea that actually thinking about who you vote for is a new radical departure and maybe a good thing.

Unfortunately you are correct.

I despair.

bmaxi

Nobody who is incapable of thinking for him/her self, should be entrusted with the serious task of selecting who governs the country.

irish_bob

bmaxi wrote: »

Nobody who is incapable of thinking for him/her self, should be entrusted with the serious task of selecting who governs the country.

we both agree , fidel and i

DrumSteve

your stating like I dont know how to think for myself which is pretty much retarded.

i dont get that. i said i now had to re-assess where i stood. that was the whole point of my post... Just because there is an alternative does not mean people will vote for it once they got in the polling booth.

please tell me where im presenting thinking for one's self as a radical departure?

bmaxi

irish_bob wrote: »

we both agree , fidel and i

I presume you refer to Cuba. Given that the choice of candidate/party is somewhat limited, hardly a fair comparison.

DrumSteve, you've already stated that you voted FF because it was a tradition in your family, hardly a glowing example of free thinking.
I do, however, applaud your honesty and humility and I hope that your awakening will be repeated countrywide.
Although I am no lover of FF, as I see them as the root of all that is wrong with politics in the country, I would urge sheepish voters of any of the parties to sit back and reassess their motives.
FF have lied and fiddled their way through most of the term of existence of this state for one reason only, because we let them. I've no reason to doubt that any one of the other parties, given the same opportunities, would have done the same thing.
The fact is, FF have done it and they need to be taught a lesson they won't forget. Not only that, the point needs to be put across to the other parties that the same fate will befall them should they follow the same path.
Our politicians have had the gravy train for too long now, they need to be made to work for their priveleged living and not be cossetted in their plum jobs by people who will vote for them, "because Grandad did"

Het-Field

DrumSteve wrote: »

Ive have voted in the past and i couldnt help but vote for FF because my family all are FF. Grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles... we'd all vote FF. So even if i did like enda kenny or FG(which i dont) and went to vote for him/them(which i wont) i'd feel almost... well....bad. ( i have voted for independents in the past)

I guess that now... as i see the country changing and I dont really respect/value the opinion of/trust/understand the people who are governing us at this time i have to re-assess my own political stance.

is it time we, as a country, ditched the last remnants of the civil war? while there are some good people in that party (i.e. richard bruton) im sure the fact that they are associated with FG is stopping potential FF voters for voting from them. i mean the only difference between them really is the name.

has anyone else felt like that? just been something ive been thinking of recently.

It is impossible to ditch the civil war politics at this time. The Taoiseach, Tanaiste, Minister For Finanace, and Opposition Leader are all the offspring of former TDs. They all got into the Dail at a young age, and will not be for turning. The PDs tried, but before their demise, the O Malley dynasty (Tim and Fiona, had entered the fray. Oisin Quinn is already being groomed to replace his Uncle in Labour, and the upcoming locals are punctuated by children and relatives of existing TDs, and councellors.

Several years ago, i could never have voted Fine Gael. FF were the only party for me, until my defection to the PDs opened my eyes. I became capable of judging politics objectively. I dont believe that voting for FF or FG would have made much difference. The die was cast, and the economic apocalypse was on the way. The difficulty was FG had no proper experience in dealing with economic management, and were teathered to Labour. During FGs periods in Government in the 1980s, they were forced to engage in the tax and spend politics of Labour (a politic which the latter articulated a preference for in the recent days), and this crippled the economy further. I voted FF in 2007 for that reason (plus I had no PD candidate in my area ).

However, for the locals, and the Europeans, i cannot imagine myself voting "the Family Way", and plumping for Fianna Fail. They have overseen, exacerbated and dithered over our current economic woes. They have shown complete incompetence, and being at the bequest of vested interests (the buliders, the bankers, the Unions). This was articulated by their recent, ham fisted, attempts at budgets. They tried to discredit David McWilliams, Eddie hobbs, Peter Bacon, and a further plethora of economists who were urging them to take action in 2004-2007 (rmember Bertie's "suicide jibe, while knowing full well that the country was living on Capital Gains tax, and stamp duty). We find ourselves in a banking, competitive, creditworthy, unemployment, and leadership crisis. Most of that was facilitated by poor governmental regualtion (I hold my hand up and accept that the PDs played a role in that (notwithstanding McDowell's attempts to coll the property market in September 2007)), crazy rises in VAT, an unsustaniable minimum wage, sub prime lending/100% mortgages to first time buyers, steadfast corporation tax etc.

Cowen has been an absentee Taoiseach, only recently rearing his head to take the piss out of Enda's Ard Fheis Speech, and to shake hands with Barack Obama (who has articulated that he is no economic friend of Ireland).

We need to nip this in the bud now. No more should we have to put up with the incompetent dynasties which have brought the country to its knees.

segaBOY

DrumSteve wrote: »

Ive have voted in the past and i couldnt help but vote for FF because my family all are FF. Grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles... we'd all vote FF. So even if i did like enda kenny or FG(which i dont) and went to vote for him/them(which i wont) i'd feel almost... well....bad. ( i have voted for independents in the past)

I guess that now... as i see the country changing and I dont really respect/value the opinion of/trust/understand the people who are governing us at this time i have to re-assess my own political stance.

is it time we, as a country, ditched the last remnants of the civil war? while there are some good people in that party (i.e. richard bruton) im sure the fact that they are associated with FG is stopping potential FF voters for voting from them. i mean the only difference between them really is the name.

has anyone else felt like that? just been something ive been thinking of recently.

For every person that voted FF because of their family there is the same number that voted FG. It's a civil war politics thing, should have been banished long ago but unfortunately-particularly in rural areas it still lives on, blood is thicker than water and the way you were raised effects everything you do right down to your manners and way of thinking somewhat etc.

The poster that decided to slate the OP you obviously hasn't been influenced by the way your parents raised you?

Permabear

This post has been deleted.

Bob Z

i would be the same my family would have been very pro ff and anti fg. A relation had said that when asked for a vote a fine gaeler that all her ancesters would be turning in their graves if she ever voted fine gael

However recently i did vote for a fg candidate. not because i supported FG but because he seemed a decent sort