Is there anyone voting FF or the full Fianna Fail ticket

CDfm

Fianna Fail supporters are very quiet.

But I heard from a friend of mine who has voted the full ticket and there is a local guy where I live who I like and I am going to give him a scratch, amongst others.

So I am off to exercise my constitutional rights before the Germans take over.

Baralis1

I voted a Fianna Fail full ticket. I am not a hardcore voter. I thought long and hard about it, and the fact that nobody in my constituency canvassed me meant that for me I chose based on national factors rather than local factors.
While I am not happy some of the decisions FF have made in the last few years, I feel they have the strongest arguement and the most detailed plan going forward. Enda's comment in the last debate of check my website when pushed on the details of his policies confirmed to me that he doesn't have a full grasp of the facts and just reads pre-prepared scripts. I believe that he will be a very weak Taoiseach who has been hidden away by his own party and will cause instability because he is already unpopular. Look how Brian Cowen's unpopularity affected his leadership. I am also not happy with some of the plans FG are proposing in particular their plans on health.
I don't agree with a lot of Labours plans in particular the higher taxes.
I wouldn't consider Sinn Fein as mulitnationals would run a mile from them and they have no credible plan after defaulting, plus have a bad past.
Greens, who?
I gave no vote to any independent both because I don't know anything about the ones in my constituency and I don't believe they have much imput on average except on local issues.

Downlinz

Baralis1 wrote: »

I voted a Fianna Fail full ticket. I am not a hardcore voter. I thought long and hard about it, and the fact that nobody in my constituency canvassed me meant that for me I chose based on national factors rather than local factors.
While I am not happy some of the decisions FF have made in the last few years, I feel they have the strongest arguement and the most detailed plan going forward.

Pretty much this word for word for me too.

MaybeI

Baralis1 wrote: »

I voted a Fianna Fail full ticket. I am not a hardcore voter. I thought long and hard about it, and the fact that nobody in my constituency canvassed me meant that for me I chose based on national factors rather than local factors.
While I am not happy some of the decisions FF have made in the last few years, I feel they have the strongest arguement and the most detailed plan going forward. Enda's comment in the last debate of check my website when pushed on the details of his policies confirmed to me that he doesn't have a full grasp of the facts and just reads pre-prepared scripts. I believe that he will be a very weak Taoiseach who has been hidden away by his own party and will cause instability because he is already unpopular. Look how Brian Cowen's unpopularity affected his leadership. I am also not happy with some of the plans FG are proposing in particular their plans on health.
I don't agree with a lot of Labours plans in particular the higher taxes.
I wouldn't consider Sinn Fein as mulitnationals would run a mile from them and they have no credible plan after defaulting, plus have a bad past.
Greens, who?
I gave no vote to any independent both because I don't know anything about the ones in my constituency and I don't believe they have much imput on average except on local issues.

Agree with everything 100%.

Tea drinker

3 of my friends are voting for them. They have some spluttering excuse unable to express clearly.

johno2

Are all of you drinking from the same water supply or something?

johno

Baralis1

People will always blame a government during a recession and will say its completely their fault. The media also love the whip this up. I look at it logically though. Even though they were in charge and did make mistakes, none of the opposition saw the recession coming either and encouraged expenditure etc. In fact very few people saw it coming. Most of the developed world is also in recession. I refused to jump on any bandwagon and continued to analyse the facts and made a judgement based on my belief of the best way forward.

Atlantic Dawn

Baralis1 wrote: »

People will always blame a government during a recession and will say its completely their fault. The media also love the whip this up. I look at it logically though. Even though they were in charge and did make mistakes, none of the opposition saw the recession coming either and encouraged expenditure etc. In fact very few people saw it coming. Most of the developed world is also in recession. I refused to jump on any bandwagon and continued to analyse the facts and made a judgement based on my belief of the best way forward.

No country on this earth has as much of a problem with the economy as ours, the whole pyramid scheme of an "economy" if you want to call it that was built solely on construction and despite warnings from large groups of people about this it was all ignored and they just believed the whole thing would continue forever. NAMA is the largest property company on earth which will mean a 2nd massive problem coming when they "discover" that land and property cannot be exported from this banana republic.

joulter

no ones blaming the recession on fianna fail, it's a global recession. but the reason we are in such a hole is because of ff's woeful handling of the economy from 2004-08 and then their terrible "solutions" to the banking crisis.

CDfm

I think the recession has been done to death. I would like to hear from who voted FF really & why.

Baralis1

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

No country on this earth has as much of a problem with the economy as ours, the whole pyramid scheme of an "economy" if you want to call it that was built solely on construction and despite warnings from large groups of people about this it was all ignored and they just believed the whole thing would continue forever. NAMA is the largest property company on earth which will mean a 2nd massive problem coming when they "discover" that land and property cannot be exported from this banana republic.

There are lots of other industries in the country besides construction. The pharmaceutical, medical device and IT industries are huge employers. Even now, we have a huge amount of exports. What do the 1.7 million people working now at the moment work at if the construction industry is wiped out and was the sole industry as you said.
Large groups of people? There were a few economists, and other economists including international bodies said the economy was fine. Which "experts" were people to believe?

If there hadn't been a global recession, the property bubble would still have burst but it would haven't been as extreme.

challenges

Ok I hate the way FF dealt with the blanket guarantee given to the banks and the secrecy prior to the arrival of the IMF, but to be honest they have been good to me and thousands like me over the years. I just hope and pray they will get ir right now if given any influence, or at least get it less wrong than the others!!!!!
I dont trust a lot of things they say, but I trust the others less. If I vote Labour they will take every last cent of disposable income off me, and Im sure FG will do the same in an even sneakier fashion!!
There is one Independent I will also vote for as I feel he might have a handle on things and I will give him a chance. I just have to decide whether it will be I, FF and FF , or FF, FF, I or FF, I and FF. After that Feck the rest of them , they dont impress me at all. By the way my choices are based on national not local issues.

Baralis1

joulter wrote: »

no ones blaming the recession on fianna fail, it's a global recession. but the reason we are in such a hole is because of ff's woeful handling of the economy from 2004-08 and then their terrible "solutions" to the banking crisis.

You contradict yourself there. On one hand you say no-one blames Fianna Fail for the recession and in the next sentence you blame FF's handling of the economy from 2004 to 2008 for the hole we are in. Some of banking solutions were necessary. If they hadn't guarenteed deposits in Sep08, within a few weeks, you would have been queueing outside the bank trying to get your money back, and have no way of receiving your pay packet.

Dr Kildare

i voted only ff on my voting sheet

um7y1h83ge06nx

Maybe I'm a tired old cynic but isn't it strange that pretty much everyone that has voted for FF here have created Boards accounts in the last month or so?

Mr.Micro

Ariana Whining Bookcase wrote: »

Maybe I'm a tired old cynic but isn't it strange that pretty much everyone that has voted for FF here have created Boards accounts in the last month or so?

Its probably the same poster or like born again Meehole Martin asleep for last 10 years.

roosh

I thought it was funny on the 11th hour on RTÉ on wednesday night, that one guy said that he thought what the country needed was a single party government, and that it was likely that it would be Fine Gael that would make up the government. But he was still voting for Fianna Fáil.

I think its interesting that some people try to justify their vote for Fianna Fáil by saying that none of the opposition parties read the warning signs either. Clearly that isn't justification to vote for Fianna Fáil, its justification to vote for none of the parties.

Personally I tried to be as rational as I could about it, and I was really disappointed that any discussion on Fianna Fáil policy, from the other parties centered on the fallacious argument of "14yrs in Government". I would much rather have seen a decent critique of Fianna Fáil policies, as I would have liked to see a decent critique of the other parties policies - hopefully this can be a media driven exercise in the future.

Fianna Fáil's policies seem to be relatively strong, even though I really don't think there will be a major difference regardless of who is in power - the cuts will still be required. Of course, there is more to be considered than just the policies - particularly when some of them are broadly similar. I think the country needs the psychological effect of a change in government, to draw a line underneath the whole debacle of the last few months. Fianna Fáil's track record in government also has to be considered (alongside their policies), and this raises serious questions about their credibility. There are of course questions over the credibility of the oppostion parties, but being in power carries greater responsibility and therefore impacts greater on the credibility of the party. There is also the issue of the need to punish the incompetence of government. The only way that politics will change in the country is if there are visionary leaders to lead it - which appear to be in short supply at the moment - or if the circumstances one of the parties finds themselves in, necessitates change for their own survival. A serious decimation of Fianna Fáil would potentially inspire the cultural change needed within the party, which would then translate into a change in the political dynamic of the country.

Baralis1

challenges wrote: »

Ok I hate the way FF dealt with the blanket guarantee given to the banks and the secrecy prior to the arrival of the IMF, but to be honest they have been good to me and thousands like me over the years..

I agree with you. As regards the blanket ban, it has is faults and they could have been more careful about who they guaranteed and left out some of the bondholders. However, they had to make the decision very quickly and had little time to get advice or consider all the future implications and the EU was putting pressure on for a blanket garantee. Almost all economists said immediately after it that it was a very good move. Its only with the considerable benefit of hindsight that people have begun to query it. For the record, Fine Gael supported it at the time.

Baralis1

Ariana Whining Bookcase wrote: »

Maybe I'm a tired old cynic but isn't it strange that pretty much everyone that has voted for FF here have created Boards accounts in the last month or so?

I joined a year ago. I just haven't been an active poster but I've always been reading boards.

joulter

regardless of who was in charge and regardless of how well the country was run there would have been a recession, it was a worldwide recession, it affected every country in the world.

the reason ireland was so badly affected was because of the economic policies of ff from 2004-2008. they threw money at every special interest and kept cutting taxes. they filled that gap with money from stamp duty. this was unsustainable and the €15bn fiscal deficit we have now is because of that. other countries kept tax and spending on an even keel and built up a surplus. when the recession hit they spent the surplus to negate the effects of the recession.

with regards to the banking situation there were far more intelligent gurantees that could have been given instead of the blanket gurantee, like a gurantee on new bonds only which was recommended by patrick honohan.

in conclusion ff can take all the responsibility for the state of the domestic economy

diarmuid79

I voted Fianna Fail 1&2 on the ticket because we need a strong opposition, Fianna Gail/Labour wont last a year in power. I would even predict another election this year !!!!!:eek:

MagicMoose

I voted for FF 1st, FG 2nd. I recognize FF won't win a majority but I'd still like them to be a strong opposition.

Baralis1

joulter wrote: »

regardless of who was in charge and regardless of how well the country was run there would have been a recession, it was a worldwide recession, it affected every country in the world.

the reason ireland was so badly affected was because of the economic policies of ff from 2004-2008. they threw money at every special interest and kept cutting taxes. they filled that gap with money from stamp duty. this was unsustainable and the €15bn fiscal deficit we have now is because of that. other countries kept tax and spending on an even keel and built up a surplus. when the recession hit they spent the surplus to negate the effects of the recession.

They did as the people wished. If they had put all the surpluses away for a rainy day or paid off the national debt or something and kept the same taxes, instead of reducing taxes and spending the surpluses on capital expenditure and more services etc, they would have been crucified.
If they had tried to cut they number of public sector employees during the good times when the ecomony was booming there would have been massive strikes that would have crippled the country.
There was huge pressure put on by opposition, media, lobby groups and the public to spend spend spend.

flash1080

[Jackass] wrote: »

This thread serves as a handy roll call for the simpleton classroom.

Yeah, make of list of the anyone-but-FF clowns that post in this thread.

Baralis1

[Jackass] wrote: »

This thread serves as a handy roll call for the simpleton classroom.

Nothing more constructive to say?

Magi11

Baralis1 wrote: »

They did as the people wished. If they had put all the surpluses away for a rainy day or paid off the national debt or something and kept the same taxes, instead of reducing taxes and spending the surpluses on capital expenditure and more services etc, they would have been crucified.
If they had tried to cut they number of public sector employees during the good times when the ecomony was booming there would have been massive strikes that would have crippled the country.
There was huge pressure put on by opposition, media, lobby groups and the public to spend spend spend.

It wasn't their job to do as the public wished, it their job to provide responsible government and not do as McCreevy said "If I have it, I'll spend it"
There would have been huge pressure, that when having a backbone comes in handy.

joulter

Baralis1 wrote: »

They did as the people wished. If they had put all the surpluses away for a rainy day or paid off the national debt or something and kept the same taxes, instead of reducing taxes and spending the surpluses on capital expenditure and more services etc, they would have been crucified.
If they had tried to cut they number of public sector employees during the good times when the ecomony was booming there would have been massive strikes that would have crippled the country.
There was huge pressure put on by opposition, media, lobby groups and the public to spend spend spend.

its called leadership, what they were paid quite handsomely to do. whats more important winning the next election or governing the country properly?

ps ff massively increased the size of the ps during the boom, they had no intention of ever cutting the size of government

Magi11

diarmuid79 wrote: »

I voted Fianna Fail 1&2 on the ticket because we need a strong opposition, Fianna Gail/Labour wont last a year in power. I would even predict another election this year !!!!!:eek:

As you can't even spell either Fine or Gael, it's hard to take you seriously.

Baralis1

Magi11 wrote: »

It wasn't their job to do as the public wished.

Ah, it is their job to do as the public wished. They are elected by the public. This is a democracy.

CDfm

[Jackass] wrote: »

This thread serves as a handy roll call for the simpleton classroom.

Yes and the lesson today is democracy.

Enda Kenny does not enthuse me but I can admire what he has achieved.

Alan Shatter is a big turn off - Lucinda Creighton :eek:

But the possibility of a "Labour" led coallition based on past experience horrifies me.

Mr.Micro

I hope that Biffo did the right thing today and voted for FG/Labour.

CDfm

Mr.Micro wrote: »

I hope that Biffo did the right thing today and voted for FG/Labour.

Oh right -they are the one party :rolleyes:

Mr.Micro

CDfm wrote: »

Oh right -they are the one party :rolleyes:

Like it makes a difference at this stage. It would be better for stability if they were. In case you did not notice / was between FG/Labour, so either would be appropriate for Biffo to vote for and do something right for the country for once.

danger man

Baralis1 wrote: »

I voted a Fianna Fail full ticket. I am not a hardcore voter. I thought long and hard about it, and the fact that nobody in my constituency canvassed me meant that for me I chose based on national factors rather than local factors.
While I am not happy some of the decisions FF have made in the last few years, I feel they have the strongest arguement and the most detailed plan going forward. Enda's comment in the last debate of check my website when pushed on the details of his policies confirmed to me that he doesn't have a full grasp of the facts and just reads pre-prepared scripts. I believe that he will be a very weak Taoiseach who has been hidden away by his own party and will cause instability because he is already unpopular. Look how Brian Cowen's unpopularity affected his leadership. I am also not happy with some of the plans FG are proposing in particular their plans on health.
I don't agree with a lot of Labours plans in particular the higher taxes.
I wouldn't consider Sinn Fein as mulitnationals would run a mile from them and they have no credible plan after defaulting, plus have a bad past.
Greens, who?
I gave no vote to any independent both because I don't know anything about the ones in my constituency and I don't believe they have much imput on average except on local issues.

i agreee with you in most of youre post,

but i dont with the mulitnationals corporations, they would get in to bed with their own mothers.and you have to know adams is well in with high ranking whitehouse officials.he an expert negotiator and work he did in his last constituency speaks volumes,

im not trying to sell you on sinn fein just a piont

CDfm

Mr.Micro wrote: »

Like it makes a difference at this stage. It would be better for stability if they were. In case you did not notice / was between FG/Labour, so either would be appropriate for Biffo to vote for and do something right for the country for once.

A point i feel very strongly about is the lack of authority the government holds over the public service.

John Bruton is of the opinion that the publoic service weilds such power that the oireachtas simply rubberstamp their decisions

so a labour/fg coallition is by definition a disaster due labours public service union affiliation.

Paully D

Some people will never, ever learn.

THE LINK WALSH

I was talking to my brother on the phone there hes just voted in Carlow/Kilkenny,gave his 1,2 and 3 to Fianna Fail and didnt make any other mark on the ballot,i voted no.1 for Bobby Aylward myself but voted 2 and 4 for Labour and FG candidates.

dixiefly

Can a thread like this be restricted to people that are already registered for even a few days?

I dont give a monkeys what someone that is not a normal poster says. It could be a repeat of another poster's opinion already expressed or a FF hack registering and giving an opinion that might influence an undecided.

Well, I DIDNT vote FF for obvious reasons that have been well debated in recent years. Suffice to say that I blame Bertie Ahern and Charlie mcCreevy facilitating the environment that created most of our problems, Brian Cowen for following the crazy policies and Lenihan making committments that we will never be able to meet.

Fianna Fail of course will be waiting in the long grass to say they can do better once the new government inevitably struggle with the poisoned chalice they have been given. I just hope that the people of this country have a good memory and that the staunch FF voters that will vote FF no matter what continue to die off.

Mr.Micro

CDfm wrote: »

A point i feel very strongly about is the lack of authority the government holds over the public service.

John Bruton is of the opinion that the publoic service weilds such power that the oireachtas simply rubberstamp their decisions

so a labour/fg coallition is by definition a disaster due labours public service union affiliation.

That remains to be seen. The last Government were in control of nothing. It let the developers, banks and crooks run the country for their own benefit as we all know and handed the nation the bill via the IMF/EU. So if its a FG/Lab Government it surely cannot do worse that the FF disaster we have endured. We will be optimistic.

THE LINK WALSH

dixiefly wrote: »

Can a thread like this be restricted to people that are already registered for even a few days?

I dont give a monkeys what someone that is not a normal poster says. It could be a repeat of another poster's opinion already expressed or a FF hack registering and giving an opinion that might influence an undecided.

Well, I DIDNT vote FF for obvious reasons that have been well debated in recent years. Suffice to say that I blame Bertie Ahern and Charlie mcCreevy facilitating the environment that created most of our problems, Brian Cowen for following the crazy policies and Lenihan making committments that we will never be able to meet.

Fianna Fail of course will be waiting in the long grass to say they can do better once the new government inevitably struggle with the poisoned chalice they have been given. I just hope that the people of this country have a good memory and that the staunch FF voters that will vote FF no matter what continue to die off.

Here Buddy,thats elitist crap your coming out with there,this thread is titled "is there anyone voting FF or the full Fianna Fail ticket" and I was giving my tuppence worth on the subject as im entitled to do,ive been registered here for Four Months and have held opinion on many subjects for my entire life meaning id be as qualified as you or anybody else to post on any subject on the site,Ill always vote for Fianna Fail in South Kilkenny whilst the Aylwards are involved.

This lad should be getting a ban.

darragh16

I went FF 1 & 2

Again I believe they (FF) should be punished for overseeing the meltdown of the economy but politics as a whole has failed us and I can't see that FG's plan of pointing fingers and their 5-pts will actually be good enough to help us forward. Their constant bickering with Labour has also put me off. Most of the hard work has been done and I believe FF do have the credible plans to bring us out of this recession. They've cleared out the old guard as well and I can see them going back to the fundamentals of Lemass.

*I'm not a FFailer by any means*

andrewdeerpark

Voted FF today cannot stand Enda Kenny; George Bush lite. Plus the FF candidate was the best by far...

Hope they also have a decent opposition to put it up to Kenny.

Tomorrow will be interesting.

dixiefly

THE LINK WALSH wrote: »

Here Buddy,thats elitist crap your coming out with there,this thread is titled "is there anyone voting FF or the full Fianna Fail ticket" and I was giving my tuppence worth on the subject as im entitled to do,ive been registered here for Four Months and have held opinion on many subjects for my entire life meaning id be as qualified as you or anybody else to post on any subject on the site,Ill always vote for Fianna Fail in South Kilkenny whilst the Aylwards are involved.

This lad should be getting a ban.

I mean people that registered specifically and only for such a thread. I dont mean people that even registered last weekend.

So dont get your knickers in a twist - I didnt mean you.

At the same time feel free to make a complaint about my post if you feel so strongly about it.

counterlock

Meanwhile back on topic;

I think that the government is only as strong as the opposition and I think that FF will provide a good strong opposition for the government over the next few years.

Personally, I spoiled my vote, no candidate represents my views

Monty Burnz

joulter wrote: »

no ones blaming the recession on fianna fail, it's a global recession. but the reason we are in such a hole is because of ff's woeful handling of the economy from 2004-08 and then their terrible "solutions" to the banking crisis.

Newsflash for those still peddalling the 'global recession' line - I spend most of my time in other EU countries and I see no recession. Germany is growing like the clappers. And we don't have a recession in Ireland, we have a depression.

Basically the rest of the world hit a speed bump and carried on, while we ended up wrapped around a tree.

Monty Burnz

Reading this thread makes me want to kill myself.

Is there anything that Fianna Failure could do that would put some people off voting for them? I genuinely want to know. In their term of office, the have taken a successful country and bankrupted it. The pain is only beginning, believe me. I was actually hoping they would stay in government for a few more years so that they could truly reap what they have sown.

Instead the new government will spend the next 5 years fighting a desperate battle to prevent Ireland turning into another Argentina.

What would they have to do to lose your votes??

Tefral

Cant believe those voters for FF, its your right I suppose.

I left a blank alongside the FF candidate.

THE LINK WALSH

dixiefly wrote: »

I mean people that registered specifically and only for such a thread. I dont mean people that even registered last weekend.

So dont get your knickers in a twist - I didnt mean you.

At the same time feel free to make a complaint about my post if you feel so strongly about it.

I wont yer grand,dont mind me us FFers are a little touchy this Weather.

CDfm

Mr.Micro wrote: »

That remains to be seen. The last Government were in control of nothing. It let the developers, banks and crooks run the country for their own benefit as we all know and handed the nation the bill via the IMF/EU. So if its a FG/Lab Government it surely cannot do worse that the FF disaster we have endured. We will be optimistic.

But governments are not as in control as we would like to think.

There was an article in Vanity Fair which pointed out that the boom and crash were self inflicted and inlike other countries sales were made and financed by irish to irish.

foreign banks did not get a look in.

try as i might I cant get around the Dept of Finance officials and Central Bank share in this -I just cant .

Suryavarman

THE LINK WALSH wrote: »

Here Buddy,thats elitist crap your coming out with there,this thread is titled "is there anyone voting FF or the full Fianna Fail ticket" and I was giving my tuppence worth on the subject as im entitled to do,ive been registered here for Four Months and have held opinion on many subjects for my entire life meaning id be as qualified as you or anybody else to post on any subject on the site,Ill always vote for Fianna Fail in South Kilkenny whilst the Aylwards are involved.

This lad should be getting a ban.

Voting like this is one of the reasons this country is in such a mess.

StupidLikeAFox

Its just the arrogance and cronyism that gets me about Fianna Fail. How can you look at their policies and have faith in them with all the lies they have told over the years, all the proven cronyism. Why would their election promises mean ANYTHING?

You can also say, for instance, that the opposition parties didnt see the buble bursting. However, even if they didnt, Fianna Fails handling of the thing was brutal.

They trotted out the "hard decisions" line as often as they could.

What hard decisions were these?

Commissioning the Bord Snip report then implementing almost NONE of it?
Agreeing to a very generous pay freeze with the unions in return for increased efficiency, but enforcing very little of it?

Years upon years of unethical practices and dodgy crooked politicians have graced the FF party, and yet people turn off Enda Kenny for the sole reason that he said "All our policies are on the website". Seriously folks look at the bigger picture, dont get fooled by the spin. I have no doubt that there are lot of decent grassroots followers and activists, the current top brass deserve to be turfed out for a history of incompetance, short-sightedness and self servitude