How to get elected

roygmitchell

I'm just wondering how do you get elected in Ireland...I mean really when you see all of the T.Ds and local authority councillors we have in Ireland you have to wonder where on earth some of them got the political savvy or just simple intelligence to get elected. And most of them don't really have any definite campaign issues, just little turf wars!
Well thats just my opinion. What's yours? How do you get elected in Ireland?

bmaxi

roygmitchell wrote: »

I'm just wondering how do you get elected in Ireland...I mean really when you see all of the T.Ds and local authority councillors we have in Ireland you have to wonder where on earth some of them got the political savvy or just simple intelligence to get elected. And most of them don't really have any definite campaign issues, just little turf wars!
Well thats just my opinion. What's yours? How do you get elected in Ireland?

If you read some of the threads on this subject you will realise that savvy and intelligence don't figure in the list of qualifications necessary to be elected.
Much more important is to be somebody's son, daughter, uncle, aunt, dog, cat, budgie, favourite hurler, footballer, leprechaun etc. etc.
I would venture, in fact, that savvy and intelligence would be a positive disadvantage.

Papad

roygmitchell wrote: »

I'm just wondering how do you get elected in Ireland...I mean really when you see all of the T.Ds and local authority councillors we have in Ireland you have to wonder where on earth some of them got the political savvy or just simple intelligence to get elected. And most of them don't really have any definite campaign issues, just little turf wars!
Well thats just my opinion. What's yours? How do you get elected in Ireland?

Good man. At least you want to do something about it.
We were talking about this particular topic at breakfast this morning in a land, far, far away.

I cannot believe that with such a young population, why there isn't a grass roots organisation to oust the corrupt, greedy bastards that are in power. How 'bout a party for the working class, where the focus is not on the wealthy elite or wasters on social welfare (notwithstanding the deserving few)? The Labour party does not represent the working class (aka the tax payers). Their focus is on the unions and welfare folk. Their stance on some social issues in bewildering.

So a new party, not tainted with the current corrupt bunch is required.

Sand

So a new party, not tainted with the current corrupt bunch is required.

We should probably start a thread to organise this new party...

As for the quality of Irish politicians - look the majority of Irish voters are snivelling, knuckle dragging morons. The main criticism of a party policy is "I dont like Xs head...its too big" or "Ah, Y is mad mad craic - seems like hed be a great man to have a drink with!"

Christ, I saw a letter from some constituent of Michael Lowry outraged at the criticism he received over the last week or two, saying what great work he had done for the area and thats why the re-elected the corrupt, incompetent idiot of a politician. Its voters like these who should have their votes removed, and probably be chemically castrated for the good of Ireland while were at it.

The quality of our politians is in perfect correlation with the quality of our voters. The voters are morons, the politicians are just blameless victims. If you give a monkey a box of handgrenades, whose to blame? You, or the monkey?

For democracy to work properly - you need a society of stubborn, rational individuals. People who can smell bull**** and call politicians on it. Who dislike and despise false promises. Who know when someone is telling them only what they want to hear and react to that. Irish people, culturally at least, are not stubborn, are not rational and are not individuals. They have always voted as they have been told by the priest, the landlord and the big man round the village - who usually ends up being made TD/County Councillor/Chieftain of the tribe. Irish people instinctively want to find someone in a position of authority and get told what to do.

Thats not democracy, its neo-feudalism, with local voters swearing fealty to their local lord, who in turns swears fealty to his lord in the party, and everyone expects rewards from his master, and service from his followers. Thats Irish democracy.

The problem isnt just some party - its the culture and the system.

Driseog

Thats a fair aul rant Sand but its good to hear. Its a combination of the above and the endless appeasing our politicians are somehow able to do. Just when you think they've fcuked up so much that there isn't a hope of them staying in they'll come up with some scheme to keep enough people on-side.
By rights with everything thats been revealed in the past 9 months the people of this country should have forced the government to resign and it wouldn't have been that hard either.
Young people are the biggest threat to all the cronies but sure the majority are too wrapped up about what the next i-phone is going to be like.
Our politicians and their actions are only a reflection of society itself...unfortunately.