Politics forum has convinced me who to vote for...

Tarzan007

I normally vote for the leftist Independent candidates, anything but the usual FF, FG, so called Labour party etc but with all the conservative knee jerking that would embarrass a back bench Tory, conspiracy theories, Gombeenism and west britishism I have seen on this politics forum, it has convinced me it has to.......Sinn Fein. The more they have been slagged off by the Gombeens and reactionary's ranging from the Legion of Mary to the West British Assoc. ( a very strange alliance I must admit, but birds of a feather ), the more I have come to believe that they are the party to challenge the established order, whether it be the Gombeens of FF or the back bench Tory's of FG.
So what about the rest of you, does the Politics forum actually influence you in your views on the upcoming elections or not ??

LostinBlanch

It's your choice who to vote for that's why it's called democracy.

This forum doesn't convince me vote for any candidate / party etc. As a matter of fact it has reminded me why I don't vote for certain ones though.

spank_inferno

Well I commend you for voting anyway.

At least the demented ramblings of us weirdos here didnt put you off voting for good :P

BlitzKrieg

does the Politics forum actually influence you in your views on the upcoming elections or not ??

not directly the posters, but the rules that accusations and claims need to be backed up with an actual source really helps i find, I mean going to official websites or other political forums and people will be plucking quotes and figures out of thin air.

Here though and especially in the european union forum, they come down very strict on backing up one's post and like LostinBlanch you can quickly learn which groups you wouldnt trust.

Liam Byrne

Your choice, but I have a feeling that you were probably leaning in that direction anyway. Anyone who views objective criticism and valid questions as "west britishism" and "slagged off" has a predefined bias.

Odd that the "conspiracy theories" and bull**** about FG & racism didn't bring you to the same conclusion about voting for them. But like I said, your vote. Work away.

As for me, boards didn't affect my vote, in the sense that I still haven't decided 100% who's getting them, and had already decided who wasn't.

Should one or two of the posts re Enda Kenny turn out to be true, then it might, but those smell more of an American smear campaign than actual facts.

So what it DID do is reinforce the reasons why I wasn't voting for the parties I was already not voting for.

Joey the lips

If boards was reflective of real life we aould all be

athiest loving pot smoking junkies who think coke is not a soft drink. Our sisters would be prostitutes and our mother would be shagging the local priest. Our father????? and our brothers would be up all night replying to stupid threads on afterhouse like" the last one to reply here is...."

Oh yes! we would be convinced that prostitution is not harmful to women and to actually believe in god is stupid!

Why not have an opinion on who your voting for, boards will never immatate life thank god!

gandalf

Nope Boards didn't make me decide who I will vote for. I certainly wouldn't let the negative opinions of others of any of the political parties change my convictions or to herd me to change my logical decisions.

Jack Sheehan

Odds on you were going in the shinners direction anyway. 'Westbrit' is not commonly used term among neutrals.

Scofflaw

I don't like where this is going...

moderately,
Scofflaw

irish_bob

Tarzan007 wrote: »

I normally vote for the leftist Independent candidates, anything but the usual FF, FG, so called Labour party etc but with all the conservative knee jerking that would embarrass a back bench Tory, conspiracy theories, Gombeenism and west britishism I have seen on this politics forum, it has convinced me it has to.......Sinn Fein. The more they have been slagged off by the Gombeens and reactionary's ranging from the Legion of Mary to the West British Assoc. ( a very strange alliance I must admit, but birds of a feather ), the more I have come to believe that they are the party to challenge the established order, whether it be the Gombeens of FF or the back bench Tory's of FG.
So what about the rest of you, does the Politics forum actually influence you in your views on the upcoming elections or not ??

if my descision who to vote for was based on my experiences on either this forum or politics.ie then i would vote for either sinn fein , labour , the socilist workers party or joe higgins for the simple reason that the overwhelming majority of key contributors on forums stem from the left side of the political spectrum , sinn fein are particular well organised in the virtual world

Tricity Bendix

I used to be very active on the old politics.ie, and on very rare occassions I actually got to discuss higher ideals with people who were able to think outside of their chosen party or ideological sphere. These were often people who had, on paper, very different beliefs than my own, and true frank and constructive discussion, I could sometimes find my stance on something moderated or altered. As such, I no longer dismiss leftist politics out of hand.

But politics.ie went downhill heavily in the lead up to the general election and partisan politiking became ubiquitous. And I think posters here are too knee-jerk and adversarial in their posting style to ever convince me of anything.

turgon

Dont worry Tarzan007, once we all saw "west brit" we knew that there was no point convincing you otherwise.

Also, its seem obvious you are a Sinn Fein supporter trying to make Sinn Fein look like a genuine choice for dissatisfied voters.

testicle

Tarzan007 wrote: »

I normally vote for the leftist Independent candidates, anything but the usual FF, FG, so called Labour party etc but with all the conservative knee jerking that would embarrass a back bench Tory, conspiracy theories, Gombeenism and west britishism I have seen on this politics forum, it has convinced me it has to.......Sinn Fein. The more they have been slagged off by the Gombeens and reactionary's ranging from the Legion of Mary to the West British Assoc. ( a very strange alliance I must admit, but birds of a feather ), the more I have come to believe that they are the party to challenge the established order, whether it be the Gombeens of FF or the back bench Tory's of FG.
So what about the rest of you, does the Politics forum actually influence you in your views on the upcoming elections or not ??

So you support terrorism then. Would you vote for the National Socialists too?

Nodin

testicle wrote: »

So you support terrorism then. Would you vote for the National Socialists too?

Sinn Fein have links with the ANC, PLO and the Basques, and have done for many, many years. They are a left wing party. If you're going to slag them off, do it on the facts please.

ejmaztec

testicle wrote: »

So you support terrorism then. Would you vote for the National Socialists too?

Even the Israeli terrorists of 1940s Palestine became statesmen, after they got what they wanted.

A Dub in Glasgo

Nodin wrote: »

Sinn Fein have links with the ANC, PLO and the Basques, and have done for many, many years. They are a left wing party. If you're going to slag them off, do it on the facts please.

Facts?? now that would be a first!!

prinz

Nodin wrote: »

Sinn Fein have links with the ANC, PLO and the Basques, and have done for many, many years. They are a left wing party. If you're going to slag them off, do it on the facts please.

I think the poster had a fair point, and I don't believe the ideology of either was his point. The fact that Sinn Fein is a party of terrorist apologist thugs is fairly well factual, they go around bullying, shouting down, and terrorising opposition - note recent car vandalism episode. Much like the NSDAP party when they were trying to come to power. Doesn't matter if they're left wing, right wing, JR Ewing, what matters is the same hooligan backgrounds and tactics.

is_that_so

No it doesn't affect my vote a bit , although dome of the debate especially on Lisbon was of the highest quality. Most of us here bring our own baggage and that has its own problems. For those less political I think they can learn something that will help them decide which party or grouping might best suit their votes. But as posted earlier this will probably lead them off to read material about the parties and their candidates.

Scofflaw

Is this a Sinn Fein thread? Why, no, it isn't.

moderately,
Scofflaw

Nodin

Scofflaw wrote: »

Is this a Sinn Fein thread? Why, no, it isn't.

moderately,
Scofflaw

In what is probably an Irish law of the internet, all political threads may become "Sinn Fein" threads, regardless of the original subject matter, the presence or otherwise of 'Shinners', or indeed repeated pleas, threats, bans and lockings.

sceptre

Nodin wrote: »

In what is probably an Irish law of the internet, all political threads may become "Sinn Fein" threads, regardless of the original subject matter, the presence or otherwise of 'Shinners', or indeed repeated pleas, threats, bans and lockings.

Indeed. I called it sceptre's law in 2004 and it seems in 2005 but the name didn't really catch on:) Still, if anyone wants to comment on the basis that this thread has nothing do do with SF, please do.

Nodin

sceptre wrote: »

Indeed. I called it sceptre's law in 2004 and it seems in 2005 but the name didn't really catch on:) Still, if anyone wants to comment on the basis that this thread has nothing do do with SF, please do.

I'll quote that and link the post now and again, if you don't mind. Miracles notwithstanding, I can't see it being redundant any time soon.

Liam Byrne

sceptre wrote: »

Indeed. I called it sceptre's law in 2004 and it seems in 2005 but the name didn't really catch on:) Still, if anyone wants to comment on the basis that this thread has nothing do do with SF, please do.

Spot on, but two adjustments / updates required, sceptre :

You left out the "you're just an unpatriotic gob****e / a west brit" and "how can you call yourself Irish if you don't .... [paraphrase: support crime, violence and murder]" !!!

And also you forgot to mention that someone, somewhere would have highlighted the fact that those nice people who left bombs in places (bombs that were likely to indisciminately blow people to smithereens regardless of their religion or viewpoint - some of them might have even been SF voters) were "nice enough to give a warning" :rolleyes:

Maybe those could be included in the 2009 edition ?

O'Coonassa

Tarzan007 wrote: »

I normally vote

West Brit.....;)

prinz

Tarzan007 wrote: »

Politics forum has convinced me who to vote for...
.....Sinn Fein.

Scofflaw wrote: »

Is this a Sinn Fein thread? Why, no, it isn't.

Perfectly normal to expect comment on the OP's party of choice.

Scofflaw

prinz wrote: »

Perfectly normal to expect comment on the OP's party of choice.

And it's perfectly normal for a comment on Sinn Fein to be inflammatory, as yours was. That doesn't make it acceptable.

moderately,
Scofflaw

prinz

Scofflaw wrote: »

And it's perfectly normal for a comment on Sinn Fein to be inflammatory, as yours was. That doesn't make it acceptable.

Not acceptable? :pac:

Do you also apply the same limits of acceptability to posts on FF, because I have seen many posts similar if not worse than mine relating to the party and it's members. Not that I am FF myself, but I have yet to see one described as inflammatory.

The bounds of acceptability are intriguing none the less. If you want to prove me wrong about similarities in methodologies of SF and the fledgling Nazi Party than go ahead.

Tarzan007

sceptre wrote: »

Indeed. I called it sceptre's law in 2004 and it seems in 2005 but the name didn't really catch on:) Still, if anyone wants to comment on the basis that this thread has nothing do do with SF, please do.

. Very good and only too true sceptre.

Tarzan007

So it seems that the vast majority of the 1,000's of posts on this forum which some people seem to think their earnestness and greater foresight etc will enlighten everyone else, is well, just hot air. I seem to be the only one who has been influenced by the forum so far
BTW, in the Euro elections I'll give Mary Lou no.1, Joe Higgins no.2 ( It must be said, I'm a bit iffy on that, as I wouldn't mind Joe giving my no.1, but as stated, any doubts I had about the SF have been changed thanks to the ranting and downright disrespect shown to the country by some who post here. I expect Joe to unfortunately go out and transfers would go to Mary Lou whom I expect to get elected with Joe's transfers ).

At council level, SF will get my no.1, the leftist independents the rest.

solice

Tarzan007 wrote: »

So it seems that the vast majority of the 1,000's of posts on this forum which some people seem to think their earnestness and greater foresight etc will enlighten everyone else, is well, just hot air. I seem to be the only one who has been influenced by the forum so far
BTW, in the Euro elections I'll give Mary Lou no.1, Joe Higgins no.2 ( It must be said, I'm a bit iffy on that, as I wouldn't mind Joe giving my no.1, but as stated, any doubts I had about the SF have been changed thanks to the ranting and downright disrespect shown to the country by some who post here. I expect Joe to unfortunately go out and transfers would go to Mary Lou whom I expect to get elected with Joe's transfers ).

At council level, SF will get my no.1, the leftist independents the rest.

Would you have ever voted for a centralist or right wing party?

And to be honest, your initial post indicated that you normally vote for socialist/leftist candidates. I would put it to you that you would have no intention of ever voting for anyone other than Sinn Fein as the main left wing party. Your opinion was not unduly influenced through negative hysteria against the party and the whole purpose of this thread was to promote the SF message.

Tarzan007

Liam Byrne wrote: »

Spot on, but two adjustments / updates required, sceptre :

You left out the "you're just an unpatriotic gob****e / a west brit" and "how can you call yourself Irish if you don't .... [paraphrase: support crime, violence and murder]" !!!

And also you forgot to mention that someone, somewhere would have highlighted the fact that those nice people who left bombs in places (bombs that were likely to indisciminately blow people to smithereens regardless of their religion or viewpoint - some of them might have even been SF voters) were "nice enough to give a warning" :rolleyes:

Maybe those could be included in the 2009 edition ?

And maybe he could include the usual chorus who start ranting " Gerry McCabe, Gerry McCabe, Gerry McCabe :pac: Gerry McCabe, Gerry McCabe, Gerry McCabe :pac:" whom I'm sure you know very well.

prinz

Tarzan007 wrote: »

any doubts I had about the SF have been changed thanks to the ranting and downright disrespect shown to the country by some who post here.

:pac: You mean the same people who for decades refused to acknowledge this country at all, claimed to be the 'real' government and army, and stated that all Gardaí and members of the Defence Forces were legitimate targets, who have repeatedly rejected the democratic will of the people of this island?

What is that if not disrespect. What a crock.

Tarzan007

solice wrote: »

Would you have ever voted for a centralist or right wing party?

And to be honest, your initial post indicated that you normally vote for socialist/leftist candidates. I would put it to you that you would have no intention of ever voting for anyone other than Sinn Fein as the main left wing party. Your opinion was not unduly influenced through negative hysteria against the party and the whole purpose of this thread was to promote the SF message.

You are right my post indicated that I normally vote for socialist/leftist candidates, which I will probably continue to do. I will give Joe Higgins no.2 and then leftist independents. The only reason I am not more big on Joe Higgins and the socialists, is well, at the moment anyway, the party IS Joe Higgins.

And you are also right, my opinion was influenced through negative hysteria against the party and this forum certainly helped convince me !!!. Ok, it's not been the main factor by any means, but I mean look at the thread - Commemorate 1798 with a 'United Irishmen' Day petition. The same have dozen or so come on with the same old Kevin Meyers/Eoghan Harrisisms and pulled a moderate nationalist thread into the mire accusing Tone, 1916 etc as been something like Al-Qaeda. Some of the leaders of FG ( Garret Fitzgerald, John Unionist Bruton :rolleyes: ) would indeed concur with these postings to a certain extent, Labour party, De Rossa and the former stickes would also be similiar. As for FF the Republican Party - no comment. Listen to the Shinners, no bad mouthing or apologies for our heritage there.

The more I see the establishment parties steering over their shoulder at them and condemning them, the more I ask, are these the boys to give this country the kick up the arse it needs !!!

solice

Tarzan007 wrote: »

And you are also right, my opinion was influenced through negative hysteria against the party and this forum certainly helped convince me !!!

That would actually make me wrong....but I dont believe you. I dont believe that somebody that normally votes for left wing socialist parties could possibly have their opinion altered by the ramblings of people on this board and make them want to vote for a left wing socialist party.

prinz

Tarzan007 wrote: »

Listen to the Shinners, no bad mouthing or apologies for our heritage there.

"Our" heritage? Our heritage is not killing and burying teenagers, blowing up boys in London, kidnapping and executing a mother of a large family because she had the temerity to give a dying man a drink and to call an ambulance. SF make my skin crawl everytime they claim to represent Irish nationalism. They are a disgrace to those who have gone before them.

Tarzan007

solice wrote: »

That would actually make me wrong....but I dont believe you. I dont believe that somebody that normally votes for left wing socialist parties could possibly have their opinion altered by the ramblings of people on this board and make them want to vote for a left wing socialist party.

Well as I said regarding the ramblings of people forum, " it's not been the main factor by any means, " and went onto to explain how this disrespect for the country at all costs has been the result of some of the leading politicians and journalists ( if that's what they could be called) that I named and their negativity towards all things nationalist. If you don't believe me, well so be it.

Tarzan007

prinz wrote: »

:pac: You mean the same people who for decades refused to acknowledge this country at all, claimed to be the 'real' government and army, and stated that all Gardaí and members of the Defence Forces were legitimate targets, who have repeatedly rejected the democratic will of the people of this island?

What is that if not disrespect. What a crock.

One page later and already Sceptre's Law is again coming into play :rolleyes:
"As a boards.ie politics discussion grows longer, the probability of a thread turning into a discussion about Sinn Fein and/or the IRA approaches one."

Corollary 1: The discussion will degenerate into repetition within twenty posts.

prinz wrote: »

"Our" heritage? Our heritage is not killing and burying teenagers, blowing up boys in London, kidnapping and executing a mother of a large family because she had the temerity to give a dying man a drink and to call an ambulance. SF make my skin crawl everytime they claim to represent Irish nationalism. They are a disgrace to those who have gone before them.

Corollary 2: Most of the sane people won't bother even reading the thread after that. ( Well hopefully we can have a decent discussion without the ranting of prinz :rolleyes: )

Liam Byrne

Tarzan007 wrote: »

And maybe he could include the usual chorus who start ranting " Gerry McCabe, Gerry McCabe, Gerry McCabe :pac: Gerry McCabe, Gerry McCabe, Gerry McCabe :pac:" whom I'm sure you know very well.

Gerry McCabe's fate is a FACT.

Name calling like "west brit" is a biased lie and a diversionary tactic to avoid admitting that the target might have a valid point; easier to try to cast derogatory aspersions.

Questioning someone's patriotism because they have an alternative view is pathetic, undemocratic and smacks of "the Borg" style thought-control.

Any other comments ? Just make the next one comparable and relevant. :rolleyes:

BTW, nice to know you're so respectful of Irish people who died doing their duty of protecting this country from thugs; if I was pathetic enough to repeatedly abuse Bobby Sands' name, typing it multiple times with smilies, to make a cheap, snide comment, would you be as glib ? I wouldn't do it, btw, I'm just asking in an effort to point out that this was a real person and that your disrespect is sickening.

Tarzan007

Liam Byrne wrote: »

Gerry McCabe's fate is a FACT.

Name calling like "west brit" is a biased lie and a diversionary tactic to avoid admitting that the target might have a valid point; easier to try to cast derogatory aspersions.

Questioning someone's patriotism because they have an alternative view is pathetic, undemocratic and smacks of "the Borg" style thought-control.

Any other comments ? Just make the next one comparable and relevant. :rolleyes:

BTW, nice to know you're so respectful of Irish people who died doing their duty of protecting this country from thugs; if I was pathetic enough to repeatedly abuse Bobby Sands' name, typing it multiple times with smilies, to make a cheap, snide comment, would you be as glib ? I wouldn't do it, btw, I'm just asking in an effort to point out that this was a real person and that your disrespect is sickening.

I think some people will now understand why I will vote for SF.:)

Liam Byrne

Tarzan007 wrote: »

I think some people will now understand why I will vote for SF.:)

That post makes no sense, which puts it right up there with your previous one. :rolleyes:

Always MUCH better to come back with a cryptic and irrelevant remark than debate the issue...... :rolleyes:

arybvtcw0eolkf

ejmaztec wrote: »

Even the Israeli terrorists of 1940s Palestine became statesmen, after they got what they wanted.

Same could be said of the ANC, and maybe sometime in the future the terrorists of the PLO & The Basque's.

Guys, our state was born out of terrorism & constantly harping back to SF's past and the war in N.I. (and even some of their dastly deeds here in the south) smacks of desparation.

The party has moved on, lets all move on with it. This country is never going back to the armalite, but to keep SF down on its knee's I think it would suit some here to see a return to it.

OP, no this forum hasn't influenced my vote (I've a postal vote so I've cast mine already) but it has shown me some desparation by the main party supporters & while the SF supporters kept cool heads and didn't rack up sh*t it seem's the other's were tripping over themselves to reminds us all of our recent past.

.

Liam Byrne

Lyla Little Luggage wrote: »

The party has moved on

There is nothing to indicate this.

Nodin

prinz wrote: »

"Our" heritage? (.....) them.

Actually it is, if you look through Irish history. Stabbings, killings and the mutilation of animals. And we're saints compared to some head-the-balls.

You ever go on about this with regards ex-democratic left people in the Labour party?

Nodin

Liam Byrne wrote: »

There is nothing to indicate this.

They've an ex-Ruc protestant lay preacher as a councillor. The shooting is long over. Theres only so many times this can be pointed before one suspects the problem lies in the eye of the beholder.

arybvtcw0eolkf

Liam Byrne wrote: »

There is nothing to indicate this.

Obviously you missed the rest of the paragraph or you deliberatly quoted me out of context!....

Lyla Little Luggage wrote: »

The party has moved on, lets all move on with it. This country is never going back to the armalite, but to keep SF down on its knee's I think it would suit some here to see a return to it.


.

.

Taxipete29

To say this country is never going back to the armalite is naive considering recent events. Sinn Fein may be done with it but others are not

solice

Tarzan007 wrote: »

Well as I said regarding the ramblings of people forum, " it's not been the main factor by any means, " and went onto to explain how this disrespect for the country at all costs has been the result of some of the leading politicians and journalists ( if that's what they could be called) that I named and their negativity towards all things nationalist. If you don't believe me, well so be it.

By your own admission in that Boards was not the

Tarzan007 wrote: »

main factor by any means

do you not think that you should re-name the thread to "I wasnt really convinced by the politics forum to vote for....(but I thought I would say it anyway just to get a reaction and another pro SF/ Anti SF argument going)"