Bye George!!

RoadKillTs · 08-02-2010 1:28pm #1

George Lee has resigned from Fine Gael. That didnt last too long. Wonder will he go back to the RTE.

Link

Cookie_Monster · 08-02-2010 1:30pm

if only the rest of them would do the same.

Fair play to himn for not sitting there and putting up with all the ****e

RoadKillTs · 08-02-2010 1:35pm

Ya true. He obviously wasn't allowed to be heard. In fairness they were only using him as a bit of a poster boy.

ScumLord · 08-02-2010 1:36pm

I don't know whether to be disappointed he didn't last longer but I can understand how the current political system would make you dispare once you realise there's nothing you can do to fix it when your towing the line and playing by the rules.

Kalimah · 08-02-2010 1:41pm

Well bloody hell. What a waste of all those votes he got. I voted for Alex White and was disappointed he didn't get in.

RoadKillTs · 08-02-2010 1:44pm

I thought he would have lasted longer than 9 months allright.

Reginald P. DuM · 08-02-2010 1:49pm

He should of lasted longer in fairness.. If he went into politics thinking he could change its ways he was deluded. He'll end up back mouthing on RTE. He should never get a job with public money again.

Morlar · 08-02-2010 1:52pm

That's a shame. At least he kept his integrity.

Buford T Justice · 08-02-2010 1:54pm

RoadKillTs wrote: »

George Lee has resigned from Fine Gael. That didnt last too long. Wonder will he go back to the RTE.

Link

Fair play to him for sticking to his guns and leaving....

I'd say TV3'll have him

Sulmac · 08-02-2010 1:55pm

He was elected in June and expected to be playing some sort of senior role within Fine Gael by now, basically.

Celebrity or not, that's a hell of an ego.

Hail 2 Da Chimp · 08-02-2010 1:59pm

In the statement, he thanked everyone who helped him but says he would not be serving the electorate honestly if he were to continue in office.

Thats fair enough - I wish there were more politicians like him...

brianthebard · 08-02-2010 2:06pm

Sulmac wrote: »

He was elected in June and expected to be playing some sort of senior role within Fine Gael by now, basically.

Celebrity or not, that's a hell of an ego.

agree 100%, just because he had some sort of 'profile' before being elected did not entitle him to be seen as a senior member of the party from day one. What did he think would happen, he'd get elected once and bump Richard Bruton out of the finance spokeperson position? Reeks of petulance.

08-02-2010 2:06pm

RIP Boy George

TitoPuente · 08-02-2010 2:10pm

Sulmac wrote: »

He was elected in June and expected to be playing some sort of senior role within Fine Gael by now, basically.

You're obviously just speculating. He was offered a front bench position when he handed in his resignation and refused it.

ejmaztec · 08-02-2010 2:10pm

Sulmac wrote: »

He was elected in June and expected to be playing some sort of senior role within Fine Gael by now, basically.

Celebrity or not, that's a hell of an ego.

Celebrity or no, he still had a lot more vote-gathering power than many of the FG non-entities that he was sitting alongside. It was probably the egos of these people that kept him outside the loop.

08-02-2010 2:12pm

Sulmac wrote: »

He was elected in June and expected to be playing some sort of senior role within Fine Gael by now, basically.

Celebrity or not, that's a hell of an ego.

Or, he had leave of absence from RTE for a year and will walk back into a job there.

Who knows?

Sulmac · 08-02-2010 2:12pm

TitoPuente wrote: »

You're obviously just speculating. He was offered a front bench position when he handed in his resignation and refused it.

I wasn't aware of that, I haven't looked into the details yet. Thanks, though!

Choke · 08-02-2010 2:12pm

This has to be the end of Kenny.

FG just released a book (or rather, a supporter did) trying to detail how great Enda is as a leader - with a big mention of Lee in one chapter.:D

The FG spindoctors will be out in force trying to discredit Lee, just as they did with Lucinda Creighton when she stood up to him, but I doubt it will work this time.

North_West_Art · 08-02-2010 2:14pm

Id say he can see whats coming, and hes gone and done a 'Bertie' on us

DamoDLK · 08-02-2010 2:16pm

Morlar wrote: »

That's a shame. At least he kept his integrity.

Hardly, quitting a hard job is not that of a man of Integrity, he pledged to sever his electorate and he has failed them.

Fingers McGee wrote: »

Fair play to him for sticking to his guns and leaving....

I have to say i'm quite disgusted that he didn't last longer. These are not commendable actions of a public servant.

Richard Bruton is FG's spokesperson on Finance - Lee probably felt that within FG he is playing second fiddle and only a background figure.

RoadKillTs · 08-02-2010 2:17pm

Update from RTE site

'I don't know 100% what I am going to do now...I think I will be probably going back to RTÉ.'

candlegrease · 08-02-2010 2:18pm

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

if only the rest of them would do the same.

Fair play to himn for not sitting there and putting up with all the ****e

I hope you're joking. The man is an absolute tool.

Sulmac · 08-02-2010 2:19pm

Another thing of note is that Lee's constituency, Dublin South, had three FG TDs (Shatter and Mitchell - two very high profile FGers). It is very doubtful they would have been able to hold these three seats; I wouldn't be surprised if he was left out by more senior members who felt threatened by his popularity.

More than likely that seat is going to Alex White of Labour (if the government ever decide to hold a by-election - they have yet to hold one in Donegal South West), and I wish him well - he seems like a very good politician and a decent man.

It'd be a complete joke of RTÉ's so-called "neutrality" if Lee went back to his cushy number there.

ejmaztec · 08-02-2010 2:24pm

If any political party doesn't make the best use of its TDs, it may as well just give up. It just proves again that there's no real opposition to the current crooks in power, which is more than a shame.

ScumLord · 08-02-2010 2:31pm

DamoDLK wrote: »

Hardly, quitting a hard job is not that of a man of Integrity, he pledged to sever his electorate and he has failed them.

I have to say i'm quite disgusted that he didn't last longer. These are not commendable actions of a public servant.

Richard Bruton is FG's spokesperson on Finance - Lee probably felt that within FG he is playing second fiddle and only a background figure.

I've been swayed and have to say your right. He campaigned and made promises, 6 months isn't a long time to settle into a new job either. He made promises to people and didn't stay the course so I guess that makes him no better than other politicians that don't follow through on their promises.

ejmaztec · 08-02-2010 2:36pm

ScumLord wrote: »

I've been swayed and have to say your right. He campaigned and made promises, 6 months isn't a long time to settle into a new job either. He made promises to people and didn't stay the course so I guess that makes him no better than other politicians that don't follow through on their promises.

The difference being that they're all still on the gravy-train getting paid for pretending that they're keeping their promises.:P

DamoDLK · 08-02-2010 2:41pm

ScumLord wrote: »

I've been swayed and have to say your right. He campaigned and made promises, 6 months isn't a long time to settle into a new job either. He made promises to people and didn't stay the course so I guess that makes him no better than other politicians that don't follow through on their promises.

Thats what annoys me the most, while he was canvassing for the election, the electorate knowing him as 'that chap from the news' who 'knows a lot about finance stuff' and that he 'must know how to get us out of the mess' etc etc. He had used his "fame" (and I hate saying that - because it was his job in RTE) to dupe the electorate into voting for him, with no doubt hollow promises. Now that things are not going the way he had hoped, his response is to give up!?

The world of Politics is not a damn country club.

DamoDLK · 08-02-2010 2:44pm

ejmaztec wrote: »

The difference being that they're all still on the gravy-train getting paid for pretending that they're keeping their promises.:P

No, sorry, the difference is that they're still there, doing what they can.

I will not defend the actions/inactions of reining politicians this is for another forum/thread and is in my opinion OT

deisedude · 08-02-2010 3:11pm

He acted like a spoilt child and threw a wobbly when he didn't get his own way. We are better off without the likes of him in office. Who goes into a new job and expects to have a significant say in 9 months? He must have some ego. Hop back on your segway George and feck off:mad:

Choke · 08-02-2010 3:14pm

DamoDLK wrote: »

No, sorry, the difference is that they're still there, doing what they can.

I will not defend the actions/inactions of reining politicians this is for another forum/thread and is in my opinion OT

He went in thinking he could change things for the better, by being in Fine Gael.
Turns out that no he couldn't, that he was just a face for a poster, and to give FG the PR boost of winning a bi-election.
The people of his constituency voted for him so that FG could utilise his economic knowledge, they had no intention of doing so, so he left.

Choke · 08-02-2010 3:19pm

deisedude wrote: »

He acted like a spoilt child and threw a wobbly when he didn't get his own way. We are better off without the likes of him in office. Who goes into a new job and expects to have a significant say in 9 months? He must have some ego. Hop back on your segway George and feck off:mad:

Sorry, but that is so wrong.

He was elected as a TD by the people of his constituency. There is nothing in the constitution that says he has to wait three years before he gets a say. He represents them the second he is elected.

He ran on the basis that he would get a say in running the country (and FG made it clear that they wanted his experience), so he naturally resigned when that turned out not to be the case.

deisedude · 08-02-2010 3:26pm

Choke wrote: »

Sorry, but that is so wrong.

He was elected as a TD by the people of his constituency. There is nothing in the constitution that says he has to wait three years before he gets a say. He represents them the second he is elected.

He ran on the basis that he would get a say in running the country (and FG made it clear that they wanted his experience), so he naturally resigned when that turned out not to be the case.

Richard Bruton is far more qualified for dealing with finance than Lee. Lee is only a face off the telly and he got found out when he went into politics for the spoofer that he is. He has let down everyone in his constituency and wasted taxpayers money on having to run another by election. It will be a joke if RTE leave him back

brianthebard · 08-02-2010 3:28pm

Choke wrote: »

Sorry, but that is so wrong.

He was elected as a TD by the people of his constituency. There is nothing in the constitution that says he has to wait three years before he gets a say. He represents them the second he is elected.

Did he run for election to the position of finance spokesperson? He ran to become an ordinary TD, and clearly was too egotistical to carry on that job or accept the responsibility it entailed.

Choke · 08-02-2010 3:30pm

brianthebard wrote: »

Did he run for election to the position of finance spokesperson? He ran to become an ordinary TD, and clearly was too egotistical to carry on that job or accept the responsibility it entailed.

If you think back, his entire campaign was about fixing the economy, about how his expertise could help matters.
If he is not in a position to utilise that expertise, then he is right to resign.

laugh · 08-02-2010 3:31pm

What a massive fuck you to the people who voted him in. From someone like Seamus Brennan, who helped break the Aer Lingus monopoly, to that wimp.

no1beemerfan · 08-02-2010 3:33pm

I think its not going to do Fine Gael any good. He should have been on the front benches since day one. As the way things were I'd forgotten he was in Fine Gael! Doesn't bode well for aul Mr. Kenny me thinks!

deisedude · 08-02-2010 3:33pm

Choke wrote: »

If you think back, his entire campaign was about fixing the economy, about how his expertise could help matters.
If he is not in a position to utilise that expertise, then he is right to resign.

He also stated he didn't mind being a backbencher and didn't expect a front bench position straight away but we all know that is horse**** now

Choke · 08-02-2010 3:39pm

deisedude wrote: »

He also stated he didn't mind being a backbencher and didn't expect a front bench position straight away but we all know that is horse**** now

He didn't resign because he didn't get a front bench position, he resigned because he wasn't getting a chance to give any input.

It's an open secret that even in FF, backbenchers have huge input behind the scenes. They have large meetings where they can question the current ministers about policy, and they will often lobby on certain issues behind the scenes, presenting a united front in public.

If Fine Gael aren't doing that (and they probably aren't considering how small they were post-2002), then something is wrong in the party.

Kurtosis · 08-02-2010 3:39pm

deisedude wrote: »

He also stated he didn't mind being a backbencher and didn't expect a front bench position straight away but we all know that is horse**** now

Well he did turn down a front bench position that was offered to him to try and stop him from resigning. He could have taken that with no one being any the wiser, but he refused. So doesn't really seem like "horse****" at all.

From what I've heard of the man, sounds like he wanted to be a genuine part of the political process (even if it was a small part) while the party only wanted him as a big name, crowd puller and general way of promoting the party. When he discovered this clash of intentions, he went.

ejmaztec · 08-02-2010 4:23pm

DamoDLK wrote: »

No, sorry, the difference is that they're still there, doing what they can.

I will not defend the actions/inactions of reining politicians this is for another forum/thread and is in my opinion OT

Ok, one or two of them might not be pretending.:P

Snickers Man · 08-02-2010 5:08pm

Choke wrote: »

This has to be the end of Kenny.

If FG can't win an election at this point in time then they may as well do a PD and give up.

The thought of that prick Kenny as Taoiseach is not palatable, but allowing the current shower back into office after what they've done would be downright disloyal.

It's a pity that FG have about as much talent between them as the Italian rugby team.

techdiver · 08-02-2010 5:10pm

brianthebard wrote: »

agree 100%, just because he had some sort of 'profile' before being elected did not entitle him to be seen as a senior member of the party from day one. What did he think would happen, he'd get elected once and bump Richard Bruton out of the finance spokeperson position? Reeks of petulance.

Because closed shop political nepotism has served us well in the past?:rolleyes:

cock robin · 08-02-2010 5:16pm

He did right. He was elected on the basis that he could help resolve the economic problems the country faced and ended up being touted as a new scalp for FG. They have let themselves down badly and with any luck George will get back into journalism in some way shape or form.

VERYinterested · 08-02-2010 5:20pm

So his CV will read that he kind of sorted out some clamping company that was acting illegally in Churchtown.

brianthebard · 08-02-2010 5:46pm

Snickers Man wrote: »

The thought of that prick Kenny as Taoiseach is not palatable

Why is he a prick? I know this isn't the politics forum so you don't have to make an intelligent argument, but I don't think it would hurt to base posts on issues rather than name calling.

techdiver wrote: »

Because closed shop political nepotism has served us well in the past?:rolleyes:

So if the new kid doesn't get the second most senior position in the front bench within a year its obviously nepotism that's getting in the way? I couldn't include enough rolleyes here if I tried.

dilallio · 08-02-2010 5:58pm

I hope that when the dust settles on this, that George will let the people know, especially those from South Dublin, what has changed so much since his election to the Dail.

I am very disappointed that we have lost someone, who seemed to be providing a much needed injection of new blood and ideas into a system that many people now feel alienated from. The last thing the country needs, in addition to the cost of another by-election, is the thought that we are governed by a system that is so entrenched in its workings that nothing will ever change.

Here are a few comments from George after he was elected last June'

On his interview with Bryan Dobson after he was elected, Bryan asked him if it would be difficult for him to work within the 'constraints' of a political party such as Fine Gael.
George replied

"I can live within the constraints of any political party and I think I have proven that (because of his 17 yrs experience with RTE). So no, it will not be a difficulty at all, all that matters is that we put the government out, and we put the people first, and whatever that takes in terms of discipline, I'm well up for it".

And

"The people of Dublin South expect, that when they elect somebody to any particular office, that that sombody will do the job"

Source

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvJbddjYzXg

themont85 · 08-02-2010 6:34pm

Well if he was promised a key economic role and didn't get it, then obviousely he wasn't happy. He didn't leave his 150,000k plus job for the craic. I have no doubt that some in FG were threatened by him and conspired against him. This is a problem in Irish politics (and the public sector and segments of the private sector too). There is a sense of entitlement. 'I've been sitting in this seat for 8 years, now where's my junior ministerial job?'. Horse**** tbh. Lee is more qualified than some of the chancers in the Dáil, teachers and solicitors who don't have a clue about about their portfolio but have 'served their time'.

Alfasud · 08-02-2010 6:43pm

George obviously got no' LEEway' with Fine Gael He wasn't one of the Dynasties in the Dail

Big Nasty · 08-02-2010 7:28pm

If anyone saw the RTE news his contempt for Enda Kenny and the restraints of FG in general were VERY evident, even though he refused to say how he would vote in a general election. In fact his refusal to comment was quite intelligent, it was damn obvious where he stands now but nobody can ever say in the future that he is 'taking sides' or that his opinion is 'biased against FG', even if we know it's the truth!

Fecked if I would ever work for or vote for Enda 'Kipper Face' Kenny myself! - Give me BIFFO any day!

Jimbo · 08-02-2010 7:35pm

Apparently under the terms of his unpaid leave with RTE, he is entitled to a job, but not necessarily the same one, from them.

Can he really go back to his job with RTE now and give an unbiased view of politics after all this? Will he now have to work behind the scenes?

Biggins · 08-02-2010 7:38pm

MCMLXXV wrote: »

If anyone saw the RTE news his contempt for Enda Kenny and the restraints of FG in general were VERY evident, even though he refused to say how he would vote in a general election. In fact his refusal to comment was quite intelligent, it was damn obvious where he stands now...

He appeared very angry and was just about holding his temper in.
FG Enda it appears might have promised him a lot for joining them, used him for PR then when that was done, shoved him in a proverbial corner.
George only got to see FG finance man three times apparently, he was side-tracked by the old boys and apparently shunned by the rest.

Thats the state of Irish politics today. Its not about aiding the country, its about "...'Ere you! Your jumping ahead of the queue for the good jobs!"

FF, FG, Labour - the whole lot so far are a friggin' disgrace.

Bye George!!

Comments