Galway West General Election

Amhran Nua

Sponge Bob wrote: »

Pity nobody told Joan Burton about the big picture before she appeared on Vincent Browne last night

After the budget speech nothing would surprise me.

Dan_Solo wrote: »

If they have, they don't work for FF, FG, Lab or the GP. They all have exactly the same "permanent economic slavery" fiscal model.

That's exactly right, they don't work for the mainstream parties.

dolphin city wrote: »

and without being snippy either but that is exceptionally naive to think that. ALL politics is local. National Issues ARE Local Issues.

Naive is playing footsie over potholes and planning for the house extension while the country burns down around our ears. Politics are only local if we make them so. We all go up or else all go down as one people, as Roosevelt put it.

dolphin city

Amhran Nua wrote: »

After the budget speech nothing would surprise me.


That's exactly right, they don't work for the mainstream parties.


Naive is playing footsie over potholes and planning for the house extension while the country burns down around our ears. Politics are only local if we make them so. We all go up or else all go down as one people, as Roosevelt put it.

if that's what you think is local politics then I give up. and in case you haven't noticed, its already time to call the fire brigade.

Dan_Solo

dolphin city wrote: »

i would be more interested in Mike Cubbard and others, sticking to the local issues, which seems to be getting swept under the carpet while everyone is worrying about bailing out the bondholders. I would like to know myself, what is is "local" agenda about, and who or what in particular he will devote his time to

It's this kind of thinking that gets useless non-entities like O'Cuiv in every time. If he's so great why doesn't he run as an independent instead of f&&king the country over as part of Fianna Fail? Let's see how big the grants are for speaking Irish when the country is bankrupt.

eagle10

Amhran Nua wrote: »

Naive is playing footsie over potholes and planning for the house extension while the country burns down around our ears. Politics are only local if we make them so. We all go up or else all go down as one people, as Roosevelt put it.

Well said local elections for all this mickey mouse bull$h!t.
I could live with crappy potholes and people moaning about not getting pp for their extensions once I knew that NATIONAL politicans were focusing on national problems.

The economic crisis is far more eminent than any city council issue at the moment imo and I think that any Galway west candidate trying to bring local council issues in to their ellection policy is a dim wit.

The economic problem needs to be sorted ASAP!

We are paying trough the teeth and I for one am sick of it that should be number 1 on any candidate's agenda if someone seems to have what I consider a good solution or approach to getting it sorted I will vote for them.

The local stuff is trivial imo.

PopeBuckfastXVI

eagle10 wrote: »

The local stuff is trivial imo.

We get the politicians we deserve, ultimately. If a sizeable chunk of the electorate continues to vote on local issues, then we will continue to have a sizeable chunk of politicians focusing on local issues.

Also, I'm trying to work behind the scenes at the moment to use the Galway City forum as a facilitator for candidates to share their policies, in a community driven way. I think it's very important that the community retains the balance of power when it comes to any discussion, and the politician shouldn't be free to soapbox and drive the discourse anywhere they like, particularly away from uncomfortable topics.

Watch this space...

eagle10

It would be great if all tds elected into galway west could make galway a great place, but it doesn't really happen. Bobby molloy got the flats built which was needed at the time it would be great if tds could secure money for councils for needed projects eg roads.

I really do think that this economic crisis be first on any of their list and local councillors sort out local issues.

Sponge Bob

PopeBuckfastXVI wrote: »

Also, I'm trying to work behind the scenes at the moment to use the Galway City forum as a facilitator for candidates to share their policies, in a community driven way.

Excellent idea Popey. In case any candidate reads this I would say for the record that the moderators in here are capable of the very highest levels of organisation.

If they say that a party and/or candidate thread will be about policy I have every confidence that will be the only outcome and that muppetry will be dealt with in very short order. I think that it should be ruled that a candidate may or may not post under their own name or may nominate a designated mouthpiece who may or may not be known in here already but that the rule should be one RECOGNISED POSTER per candidate ( or party if that is the case) and that the mods should tell us who these are for the duration of the campaign.

I also reckon that any candidate/party who has not designated their mouthpiece should be excluded after the 31st of January...that for the egregious crime of calculatedly snubbing internet opinion because their strategist told them a bit of th'oul twittering and facebookery is all they need on the internet.

But lets also keep this particular thread for generally squabbling with each other ....ie that which we do best in Galway

dolphin city

PopeBuckfastXVI wrote: »

We get the politicians we deserve, ultimately. If a sizeable chunk of the electorate continues to vote on local issues, then we will continue to have a sizeable chunk of politicians focusing on local issues.

Also, I'm trying to work behind the scenes at the moment to use the Galway City forum as a facilitator for candidates to share their policies, in a community driven way. I think it's very important that the community retains the balance of power when it comes to any discussion, and the politician shouldn't be free to soapbox and drive the discourse anywhere they like, particularly away from uncomfortable topics.

Watch this space...

sadly tho popebuckfast, it seems like people don't think that local issues have any relationship whatsoever to national issues - which is where they are going wrong. What on earth are they voting for I wonder? How much to give the French and German bondholders? no wonder the country is in a state.

Amhran Nua

dolphin city wrote: »

What on earth are they voting for I wonder?

Policies that make sure the state doesn't go bankrupt so we can all enjoy our outer bypass some day, with those of our children who haven't been forced to emigrate.

dolphin city

Amhran Nua wrote: »

Policies that make sure the state doesn't go bankrupt so we can all enjoy our outer bypass some day, with those of our children who haven't been forced to emigrate.

:D <

---

that is me, resting my case. :rolleyes:

dolphin city

eagle10 wrote: »

Well said local elections for all this mickey mouse bull$h!t.


so would you concur that your frustration and annoyance about who does and doesn't have a social house, is mickey mouse bull$hit - for once, I agree with you

eagle10

Amhran Nua wrote: »

Policies that make sure the state doesn't go bankrupt so we can all enjoy our outer bypass some day, with those of our children who haven't been forced to emigrate.

+1

We sure would look good with our bypass but no money for health education and so on.
would the imf approve of the galway bypass at this moment in time?

Amhran Nua

dolphin city wrote: »

:D <

---

that is me, resting my case. :rolleyes:

The success of the local areas depends entirely on the success of the country as a whole, not the other way round.

This focus on local favouritism, clientilism, is why the attendance in the Dáil is so low, TDs are always haring off to attend funerals. This is why Cowen walked out of the IMF talks to go canvassing in Donegal, why we have Jackie Healy-Rae holding the country to ransom, and why the TD who brought in free third level education promptly lost her seat while shady characters get re-elected. People who reward or punish TDs and more importantly parties based on how much they've personally gained to the detriment of all else are doing themselves no favours.

eagle10

dolphin city wrote: »

eagle10 wrote: »

Well said local elections for all this mickey mouse bull$h!t.


so would you concur that your frustration and annoyance about who does and doesn't have a social house, is mickey mouse bull$hit - for once, I agree with you

Its not what I consider national politics its local politics.

My pay slip is my main concern this time next year I wonder will I be able to survive financially along with many others I'm sure if a candidate has a convincing plan for financial growth stability and security will get my vote.

Its not that I don't care about local issues but the economic issue comrs first imo

dolphin city

Amhran Nua wrote: »

The success of the local areas depends entirely on the success of the country as a whole, not the other way round.

This focus on local favouritism, clientilism, is why the attendance in the Dáil is so low, TDs are always haring off to attend funerals. This is why Cowen walked out of the IMF talks to go canvassing in Donegal, why we have Jackie Healy-Rae holding the country to ransom, and why the TD who brought in free third level education promptly lost her seat while shady characters get re-elected. People who reward or punish TDs and more importantly parties based on how much they've personally gained to the detriment of all else are doing themselves no favours.

tell that to your granny lying on a hospital trolley for three or four days (yes in our "rich" times too). There was no such thing as taking care of them when the country was rich and please dont fool yourself into thinking they were taken care of - the old people were actually illegally robbed during the rich times) Whether you like it or not ALL politics is local - what do you think people are going to be talking about when people come to canvas - it will be their LOCAL issues not how france and germany are going to say we are a good little country for bailing them out. How do you think somebody gets to be a TD - its from what they do LOCALLY - politics needs to be dealing with "the bottom up" and not "the top down" which is what got us into this mess in the first place. there is none so blind than those who refuse to see :rolleyes:

dolphin city

eagle10 wrote: »

dolphin city wrote: »

Its not what I consider national politics its local politics.

My pay slip is my main concern this time next year I wonder will I be able to survive financially along with many others I'm sure if a candidate has a convincing plan for financial growth stability and security will get my vote.

Its not that I don't care about local issues but the economic issue comrs first imo

well be prepared for no paycheck in the future then.

Sponge Bob

The reason they are so clientalist is because there are far too many of them. Reducing the Dáil to 120 TDs from 12 x 10 seater constitencies is a priority.

Reducing the cabinet and number of governmment departments to 10 + a Taoiseach another.

Keeping them in Dublin four days a week, not three like today, will automatically reduce the opportunities for funeral lurking....which they do friday to monday inclusive.

Then what is left can concentrate on NATIONAL government and NATIONAL opposition not on some parish level crap as they do now.

However in the CURRENT system the obsession with LOCAL politics will get 2 or 3 out of 5 of this lot elected and with the others having more of a NATIONAL profile.

Therefore it is the SYSTEM that needs changing......but this is not the place to discuss that under the current arrangements

Amhran Nua

dolphin city wrote: »

How do you think somebody gets to be a TD - its from what they do LOCALLY -

And therein lies the problem, that's how they get there, and that's how they stay there.

So if the TDs are fixated on local issues, and councillors are fixated on local issues, and everyone is fixated on local issues, who's looking after the national issues? In such a system, national policies might be decided by whichever vested interest had the loudest voice - in such a system political parties might only add policies as an afterthought, why we might have a leadership vaccum that doesn't matter because everyone is too busy making eyes at representatives for looking after their little spot.

There are other electoral systems, whch deal with the clientelism problem very well indeed. These systems are in the overwhelming majority internationally. Perhaps its time we adopted one of these systems.

dolphin city

Sponge Bob wrote: »

The reason they are so clientalist is because there are far too many of them. Reducing the Dáil to 120 TDs from 12 x 10 seater constitencies is a priority.

Reducing the cabinet and number of governmment departments to 10 + a Taoiseach another.

Keeping them in Dublin four days a week, not three like today, will automatically reduce the opportunities for funeral lurking....which they do friday to monday inclusive.

Then what is left can concentrate on NATIONAL government and NATIONAL opposition not on some parish level crap as they do now.

However in the CURRENT system the obsession with LOCAL politics will get 2 or 3 out of 5 of this lot elected and with the others having more of a NATIONAL profile.

Therefore it is the SYSTEM that needs changing......but this is not the place to discuss that under the current arrangements

I agree with you that the system needs a major overhaul, but you can get your life that it will be the same oul thing that will be voted in again this time round in the shape of fianna GALE. People need to grab this country by the goolies and go for MAJOR change and forget making sure france and germany is okay. Yes its going to be hard all round for a few years but it can be hard on our own terms or it can be hard on us being dictated to by others.

People need to finally stand up and be counted and vote for MAJOR change this time and look out for ourselves.

sadly I don't think we have the gumption. People are too brainwashed and thats just how they like it.

dolphin city

Amhran Nua wrote: »

And therein lies the problem, that's how they get there, and that's how they stay there.

So if the TDs are fixated on local issues, and councillors are fixated on local issues, and everyone is fixated on local issues, who's looking after the national issues? In such a system, national policies might be decided by whichever vested interest had the loudest voice - in such a system political parties might only add policies as an afterthought, why we might have a leadership vaccum that doesn't matter because everyone is too busy making eyes at representatives for looking after their little spot.

There are other electoral systems, whch deal with the clientelism problem very well indeed. These systems are in the overwhelming majority internationally. Perhaps its time we adopted one of these systems.

as I said, politics is local - you can't pick and choose - why are you going on about an outer bypass - don't you think thats local? Do you think people in other parts of Ireland are going to judge their voting on the outer bypass. no offence but you seem to be changing the goalposts as you go along.

eagle10

dolphin city wrote: »

eagle10 wrote: »

well be prepared for no paycheck in the future then.

Perhaps ill jack the job in so and add to the problem.

I don't think it would be viable but who knows I might feel morally better fleeceing the system because I'm fed up getting fleeced now however I am happy paying my own way

dolphin city

eagle10 wrote: »

dolphin city wrote: »

Perhaps ill jack the job in so and add to the problem.

I don't think it would be viable but who knows I might feel morally better fleeceing the system because I'm fed up getting fleeced now however I am happy paying my own way

well that would have to be your own choice eagle, but I would sincerely ask you to again, check out the policies in place re. housing in Galway before you start going on about "adding to the problem" and "fleecing the system" - the actual facts are quite different. is there any reason why you won't investigate to see if what you are saying is factually correct? or is it just better to jump on the bandwagon and discuss things that are not true. Just wondering, have you, or anybody else ever taken a walk into the county council meetings to see what was going on for yourselves?

Amhran Nua

dolphin city wrote: »

why are you going on about an outer bypass - don't you think thats local?

Where will the funding come from? Which local policy will provide that funding?

On the one hand you're talking about major national change, but on the other hand the first thing you want to know from Mr. Cubbard is where he stands on local issues.

Can you not see the disconnect here?

Sponge Bob

This is a local forum about local politics and local personages, some members of national parties some not ......so please take the national stuff elsewhere

Lockstep

I'm getting seriously reminded of this:

dolphin city

Amhran Nua wrote: »

Where will the funding come from? Which local policy will provide that funding?

On the one hand you're talking about major national change, but on the other hand the first thing you want to know from Mr. Cubbard is where he stands on local issues.

Can you not see the disconnect here?

no, I don't because if you actually read my posts instead of glossing over them to get your own arguement in, you would have read that I said ALL politics is local - it all stems from LOCAL issues - you would not have the bypass question unless it was A LOCAL issue first. Everything starts out as a LOCAL issue.

Can you tell me what you are going to talk to canvassers about when they knock on your door?

dolphin city

Lockstep wrote: »

I'm getting seriously reminded of this:

:D hilarious - thats just how they have the people at the minute tho - so although its hilarious , its actually quite true and unless we want to stay like this we need to stand up and be counted

Amhran Nua

dolphin city wrote: »

no, I don't because if you actually read my posts instead of glossing over them to get your own arguement in, you would have read that I said ALL politics is local - it all stems from LOCAL issues - you would not have the bypass question unless it was A LOCAL issue first. Everything starts out as a LOCAL issue.

Can you tell me what you are going to talk to canvassers about when they knock on your door?

I give up.

Awaiting a reply from Mr. Cubbard.

Dan_Solo

Amhran Nua wrote: »

I give up.

Awaiting a reply from Mr. Cubbard.

Not meaning to speak for Cubbard here, but surely it's up to householders to tell their prospective TD what's on their mind? Most of the independents have reasonably detailed flyers to give you an idea what their case is.

Amhran Nua

Dan_Solo wrote: »

Not meaning to speak for Cubbard here, but surely it's up to householders to tell their prospective TD what's on their mind? Most of the independents have reasonably detailed flyers to give you an idea what their case is.

What? He's running for election, I want to know his policies and how he means to achieve them as an independent.