Stance of the Greens

Southsider1

Have the Greens done the right thing and scarpered before the ship sinks? They have been curiously invisible over the past few weeks. It conjures up images of Hitler's final days when they were all together in the bunker drinking and deciding who'd take the cyanide first.... They appear to have abandoned Fianna Fail to struggle for survival. One wonders if they will emerge again to vote the budget through? Maybe they're all tied up in the bowels of Leinster House?

johngalway

I'm sure they're off hugging badgers & foxes and other things as equally important in this our time of need

That or they've run off. I'd be happy with either.

Laminations

I reckon they're holed away trying to think up a way they can wriggle out of leaving government like they promised when their corporate donations legislation is not passed before Christmas, or how they can spin the forthcoming hikes in registration fees as totally different to their promise to protect free fees.

bcmf

Over the last week since the current mayhem began I have'nt heard much from them. Maybe I amnt listening/watching to the correct media much.
But even watching the Dail this morning I couldnt see them there.
Something happening behind the scene's with them?

Corsendonk

bcmf wrote: »

Over the last week since the current mayhem began I have'nt heard much from them. Maybe I amnt listening/watching to the correct media much.
But even watching the Dail this morning I couldnt see them there.
Something happening behind the scene's with them?

Your obviously like me and not on twitter following Dan Boyle proclamations to the nation.

Dannyboy83

Dan Boyle is losing confidence it seems:
http://twitter.com/sendboyle/status/4854174445469696

jd

Dan Boyle is busy tweeting away!
"@sendboyle Dan BoyleThere is a questioning of trust and an adding to uncertainty that is making the basis for being in government much more difficult."
http://twitter.com/#!/sendboyle/status/4854174445469696

Poly

Dannyboy83 wrote: »

Dan Boyle is losing confidence it seems:
http://twitter.com/sendboyle/status/4854174445469696

Good man Dan, it only took you 2 years to cop on?

bcmf

ah yes tweeter!!! where the nations leaders keep the peasants informed.
If I can remember my log in details for twitter here is the message I will send to DanBoyle.
'why dont the greens grow a set and pull the plug'







*bcmf rummages through ancient e-mails to see if he can find his log in details

Poly

bcmf wrote: »

ah yes tweeter!!! where the nations leaders keep the peasants informed.
If I can remember my log in details for twitter here is the message I will send to DanBoyle.
'why dont the greens grow a set and pull the plug'







*bcmf rummages through ancient e-mails to see if he can find his log in details

Done, but I was a little more colourful with the language. Doubt we'll see it though

Scofflaw

Identically titled threads covering identical topic and posted two hours apart merged.

moderately,
Scofflaw

the groutch

Southsider1 wrote: »

It conjures up images of Hitler's final days when they were all together in the bunker drinking and deciding who'd take the cyanide first....

more like this imo

Dannyboy83

Poly wrote: »

Good man Dan, it only took you 2 years to cop on?

LOL

Poly

Looks like the clown is trying to back track now, he must have got an earfull off Gormless:

"My Seanad quote is about my understanding and belief of where public perception stands at this time. We need to see what is being proposed."

Southsider1

jd wrote: »

Dan Boyle is busy tweeting away!
"@sendboyle Dan BoyleThere is a questioning of trust and an adding to uncertainty that is making the basis for being in government much more difficult."
http://twitter.com/#!/sendboyle/status/4854174445469696

He should quit tweeting, taking the píss out of us, and get a real job. He's a waster who only got in to Leinster House by the back door. Him and his cronies are the real culprits for holding this Government together when they could and should have done the decent honest thing and withdrawn and they must never be forgotten for that.

Corsendonk

Is Dan Boyle running as a TD in the next election? Or taking over running North Korea?

dan_d

I'm with Southsider1 on this - someone take away whatever it is that Dan Boyle keeps flipping tweeting on, and force him out the door to actually interact with his colleagues and others face to face.

The state things are in at the moment, I just find myself getting very angry when I read stories like "Dan Boyle tweeted today that....". We're way past the stupid social network thing, turn off your screen and go do your job.:mad:

GarlicBread

Its tempting to attack the greens since they are such easy targets, and strictly speaking they should have pulled the plug back when the bailouts were starting. Personally i think they are all traumatized after what has happened. They've been served up like a plate of veal and will soon have a tombstone next to the PD's.

Fair play to them for the stag hunting thing, but they pretty much failed at everything else.

PeterIanStaker

GarlicBread wrote: »

Its tempting to attack the greens since they are such easy targets, and strictly speaking they should have pulled the plug back when the bailouts were starting. Personally i think they are all traumatized after what has happened. They've been served up like a plate of veal and will soon have a tombstone next to the PD's.

Its not just tempting - it's great.

People in power are lightning rods for resentment anyway, and the fact that the Greens are such muesli eating, sandal wearing, clueless, save the trees tossers who were naive enough to go into power with the most corrupt and disengenuous party in Ireland means that if you apply Darwinian principles, i.e, survival of the fittest, they're going to be extinct fairly soon. And as I've said before, good riddance. And I sincerely hope that FF follow them, although I know in my heart that people are so stupid they'd get out of their hospital beds to vote for them.

Sticky_Fingers

PeterIanStaker wrote: »

Its not just tempting - it's great.

People in power are lightning rods for resentment anyway, and the fact that the Greens are such muesli eating, sandal wearing, clueless, save the trees tossers who were naive enough to go into power with the most corrupt and disengenuous party in Ireland means that if you apply Darwinian principles, i.e, survival of the fittest, they're going to be extinct fairly soon. And as I've said before, good riddance. And I sincerely hope that FF follow them, although I know in my heart that people are so stupid they'd get out of their hospital beds to vote for them.

Oh you forgot to mention that they lied through their teeth when they said they won't enter government with FF but hey whats one more nail in the biodegradable coffin of these hypocritical do gooders.

PeterIanStaker

Sticky_Fingers wrote: »

Oh you forgot to mention that they lied through their teeth when they said they won't enter government with FF but hey whats one more nail in the biodegradable coffin of these hypocritical do gooders.

Ooops I forgot that minor detail! My bad:o

alang184

Yeah, it's just occured to me today that the Greens have gone missing lately.

They're probably discussing the best way to choreograph their exit from the government; to cause as little damage possible to their party, regardless of what the Irish public want.

Southsider1

alang184 wrote: »

Yeah, it's just occured to me today that the Greens have gone missing lately.

They're probably discussing the best way to choreograph their exit from the government; to cause as little damage possible to their party, regardless of what the Irish public want.

It's ok. I found out where they are. They are busy sorting out the bill to ban hare coursing. You know that very important piece of legislation - way more important and urgent than the economy and unemployment and stuff. Can't have these country folk enjoying themselves and towns like Clonmel having their economy boosted by the coursing festival now can we.

Move along now. Nothing to see here!:pac:

goat2

do my ears deceive me, i think i heard somewhere, they want the lot of us on our bikes in this stormy weather, so that we will have less wear and tear on the roads, not the emmessions from our cars anymore, not worrying about finances just road surfaces

ei.sdraob

Can other politics moderators please take a look at this thread regarding the Greens closed by @Scofflaw (a self-proclaimed Green)

I feel the thread should not have been closed and needs to be reopened:

* the OP has a good point, the Greens are an important coalition member and have the power to bring down the government, their silence is deafening
* the only statement we get from the Greens, shows how little respect they have for the people of this country by effectively calling us "thickos", this alone deserves a thread.
* instead of closing the thread why doesn't @Scofflaw engage in the thread since he so often speaks for them here
* the Greens were an important player in the game that ended up with the IMF coming to town, are they ashamed of what they have helped cause or are they like FF (as displayed on last primetime) incapable of expressing shame and apologising to the people they have let down.


politically there could be a good reason why the Greens are silent, they don't want to provide any opinion on the IMF running the shop since this could backfire, I thought that this sort of fence-sitting was reserved to Labour before but no


I have asked several questions here on the politics of the Greens in the context of the current situation, locking threads does not make things go away, we need a discussion on the Greens and their political stance (whatever that is) in these times.

Mr Gormley said the arrival of the IMF could be a 'positive', as it offers the opportunity to restructure Ireland's economy in a way that should have been done years ago.

Wow restructure the economy ! Great Idea!! Why didnt I think of that earlier!!
http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/1119/economy1.html

More of Gormleys golden moments

Asked about Government denials of talks with the IMF, he said the distinction between discussions and negotiations 'was a Jesuitical one' that went over the heads of most people

There you go folks Gormley just spat on us all and called us a bunch of idiots.
How do you like that?

Permabear

This post has been deleted.

Het-Field

The Greens are a failed entity.

At no point have they stood up to this administration. Smaller cabals of PDs (1989-1992/1997-2002) and the Labour Party have always been difficult colation partners. On the other hand, the Greens have sold their soul for a few pieces of silver (some of the policies, some of which are based on nothing more then conspiracy theory). They have contributed NOTHING to attempts to rectify the financial meltdown which we are currently suffering from. Further, they have NEVER stood up to FF when it has come to clearly incompetent decisions.

The entry of the IMF ensures that the Greens are fighting for 1 seat in the next election.

gimme5minutes

I cant understand why the other thread was closed. It is a legitimate question and I have been wondering the same myself over the last few days. There is absolutely no sign of the greens, they seem to have went to ground since the by election debacle. Probably because they have no explanation as to why they forced FF to hold the donegal by election, yet they wont comment on the other by elections.

They are propping the government up so why aren't they making statments explaining their position to the public at this critical time?

The Valley

ei.sdraob,

thanks for bringing this up, to be honest i'm not surprised with scofflaw and his whiff of arrogance

i would not be counting on a qualified response.

meglome

The Greens are keeping their heads down I'd imagine. I used to always give the Greens a high preference but getting into bed with the devil put a stop to that. Hopefully another Green party will emerge after this one is wiped out.

The other Green thread was mostly a rant but I would like to know where the Greens are in all of this.

meglome

The Valley wrote: »

ei.sdraob,

thanks for bringing this up, to be honest i'm not surprised with scofflaw and his whiff of arrogance

i would not be counting on a qualified response.

Sorry without doubt he's one of the best mods on the entire site. Always logical and factual.

ei.sdraob

meglome wrote: »

Sorry without doubt he's one of the best mods on the entire site. Always logical and factual.

He is a good moderator, but this time i think the was too swift hence why other mods need to look at this.

Gormley managed to insult us all by saying IMF negotiations are "over our heads", now that is arrogant. If that opinion is shared among the Greens then i despair.

Scofflaw

1. there was another identical thread entitled "where are the Greens?" - with which this thread is now merged.

2. there was no discussion in the closed thread, just a series of comments like "what a tosser".

If people want to discuss the question of where the Greens are at the moment, then do so. If what they want to do is vent their feelings about the Greens, they can do so elsewhere - not because I'm pro-Green, but because it's not political discussion.

And yes, a couple of people have picked up bans here, because discussion of moderation is something you do by PM, or through the DR forum. Nor do you get to throw around accusations of bias because moderators make decisions you don't like.

For the record, I am in fact particularly reluctant to close threads about the Greens because it's always possible my preferences enter the decision. I have no such doubts in the case of the closed thread.

Finally, yes, this thread is closed too, because again it's not political discussion but a discussion of moderation, and, given the OP, will remain that way. Any issues this raises in people's minds belong in the proper channels.

moderately,
Scofflaw

[EDIT]Reopened. Merged with the thread "Where are the Greens?".[/EDIT]

Scofflaw

Scofflaw wrote: »

Finally, yes, this thread is closed too,

No its not

bleg

They stand behind FF, propping them up. They are complicit in the ruination of our country.

Liam Byrne

bleg wrote: »

They stand behind FF, propping them up. They are complicit in the ruination of our company.

our "country", no ?

Black Swan

Reminder... It is against both the Politics forum charter and boards.ie policy to discuss and critique mod actions on Politics discussion threads. This boards.ie policy applies to almost all forums found on the boards.ie site, not just the Politics forum.

If you have an problem with a decision made by a mod on our forum, or any forum found within the boards.ie site, please refer to the boards.ie appeal procedure. The first step in that procedure is to PM the mod you have the problem with to work towards a resolution.

For the remainder of this thread let's have a serious discussion on the main topic, "Where do the Greens stand."

RDM_83 again

I'd be curious about which party between FG and Labour the greens would feel most at home supporting, i'd think most of the southside core would be most at home with FG but many of the ones who have left struck me as being further to the Left than labour

later12

Deleted User wrote: »

Gormley just spat on us all and called us a bunch of idiots.
How do you like that?

No he didn't.

He just made the point that calling the negotiations a discussion is a Jesuitical distinction, in much the same way that a drunk elderly lady might refer to herself as 'feeling under the weather'.

In fairness, he's right. Jesuitical just means a form of circular argument designed to make a case rather than describe truth. He wasn't calling anyone an idiot.

donegalfella

donegalfella wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

and because he is part of Government he is accepting he is part of the problem

senordingdong

Deleted User wrote: »

and because he is part of Government he is accepting he is part of the problem

Ah I wouldn't go that far now.

thebman

The other thread has no discussion in it as Scofflaw stated TBH after reading it.

I am critical of the Green's during this crisis as they have disappeared but people should discuss it rather than shout insults.

Scofflaw

Thread merged with the existing "Where are the Greens?" thread.

moderately,
Scofflaw

flutered

they are hiding behind the coat tails of the dff.

Callan57

Surely they're hibernating ... it's that time of year (unless they've migrated)

Scofflaw

And (hopefully finally) thread title modified, to help prevent "funny" answers like the above. Yet another reminder - this isn't AH. This forum is not for "clever" quips and videos - those needs are met elsewhere on boards.ie.

moderately,
Scofflaw

Liam Byrne

later10 wrote: »

No he didn't.

He just made the point that calling the negotiations a discussion is a Jesuitical distinction, in much the same way that a drunk elderly lady might refer to herself as 'feeling under the weather'.

In fairness, he's right. Jesuitical just means a form of circular argument designed to make a case rather than describe truth. He wasn't calling anyone an idiot.

That sounds reasonable, but it ignores the actual fact - Cowen said that we weren't in negotiations. So basically - according to Cowen - the lady is neither drink nor "under the weather"!

Yet again The Greens ARE taking us for idiots - "won't lead" vs "won't go", "loan vs bailout", "discussion vs negotiations" - they twist the semantics, assume we won't notice and STILL choose the option we don't want while spouting manure.
And if Gormley can say that they're pretty much equal, why is he STILL CHOOSING to prop up this lying, corrupt shower of incompetents?

zootroid

The greens had numerous opportunities to pull out of government on matters of principle over the last two years, and chose not to. Because of that, and some of the unpopular policies they are trying to implement, they will be wiped out come the next election. And so they are just trying to hang on as long as they can. Because the alternative is the political scrapheap.

Personally, I wouldn't have the same anger towards to Greens as I do Fianna Fail, but I can't stand Gormley. Absolutely spineless, and the whole Poolbeg incinerator debacle is pure NIMBYism

meglome

bleg wrote: »

They stand behind FF, propping them up. They are complicit in the ruination of our country.

Liam Byrne wrote: »

our "country", no ?

Sadly both are very true.

goat2

Mr Gormley said the arrival of the IMF could be a 'positive', as it offers the opportunity to restructure Ireland's economy in a way that should have been done years ago.

---

simply translated,--- we cannot do our job,

---

and normally when we cannot do our jobs, we are fired