Are you a member of a political party?

#1 · 12-06-2011 12:49pm #1

What does this membership involve?
Did you first decide to join a political party, and then decide which one to join?
Is it worth doing?

mikemac · 12-06-2011 12:57pm

I was in college

Loved it. Giving talks, moderating meetings and organizing drinking sessions meetups with the other student cumann in Galway

Got elected an officer. I put it on my CV and was able to talk about it an interview.

Attended one Ard Fheis which was good. Did some canvassing for the local guy.

Went to some meetings in the main local cumann but I fell away. Doubt I'll be back.

Duffy the Vampire Slayer · 12-06-2011 1:48pm

Yes I am, although I'm not an active member as I'm living away from any branches at present. And no deciding to join a party and then picking one is putting the horse before the cart.

Sunnyisland · 12-06-2011 5:20pm

No, havent found a politcal party that suits my wide range of views.

later12 · 12-06-2011 5:38pm

It is from the point of view of political engagement.

I am a member of three different political parties, to the best of my knowledge. I have never fully agreed with any of them, but they can be great forums to engage in political conversations, challenge your own politics or the strength of your own arguments, and as a social outlet generally.

If you ever want to run for political office, as an independent or as a party member, I would recommend getting involved. You can usually be as involved as you want to be, and can develop some invaluable experience in how to win or not to win elections, how the electoral process works, tallying and even networking more generally.

thebman · 12-06-2011 7:14pm

Not in any party, signed up to all the main parties mailing lists.

Noticable that FG have stopped sending emails since getting elected, FF are starting to send them more now they are out of power, Labour stopped too.

Wolfe Tone · 12-06-2011 7:29pm

Joined one in college, was more to meet people than anything else tbh, unfortunately the cumann is not very active.

I wouldnt be an active member.

Permabear · 12-06-2011 8:05pm

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ninty9er · 12-06-2011 8:15pm

Most parties have 'I declare I am not a member of any other political party' in the small print when you sign up.

I'm a relatively active FF member. I joined in college after I emailed all TDs in my constituency concerning an issue with public expenditure wastage. Only the junior FF TD replied and at that he asked for a meeting with me to discuss it. Bear in mind that I was about 16 at the time and of no electoral use to him.

It was the fact that someone was listening to me that made my mind up.

I generally agree with the fundamental principles, but have to admit that they haven't been adhered to by national elected representatives in government, well, they have at the expense of other fundamentals. But nobody wanted to hear it was a bubble across the political spectrum and I like the varied internal opinion in FF.

I would canvass, but refused to in February. I did so on the basis of sitting down with that same TD I sat with at 16 in a one-to-one and told him that if the leadership changed it would have to be an unknown backbencher and not someone like Micheál Martin. He didn't agree with me, but understood the principle on which I made my decision. I did some driving for him during the campaign, but I was unwilling to go to anyone's door and defend a decision to replace one complicit member of cabinet with another. In my mind there was no difference between Cowen and Martin in that regard.

Of all the parties, we have the most to gain in the coming years. We will be starting from scratch, new personnel, new policies, new structure and a focus on communicating properly. In the coming months as a constituency officer I'll be (apparnetly based on experiences elsewhere in the country) having a one-on-one with Micheál Martin, and one of my primary issues will be the ongoing failure to communicate with the public despite the promise to do so. I am sick of the constant attack mode, and a bit of substance wouldn't go astray on all sides of the house at this stage.

Phil Hogan and Ruairí Quinn are about the two only people I can rate at the moment.

Permabear · 12-06-2011 8:18pm

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later12 · 12-06-2011 8:24pm

Well, even if it is against the rules, it does not keep me awake at night. One of them was the British Labour party, and if anything, that keeps me awake at night. They had a lot of wine receptions in my university. I just drank the Gallo and shouted out communist expletives every so often.

Duffy the Vampire Slayer · 12-06-2011 8:36pm

A friend of mine joined the youth wings of most parties in NUIG and got a bottle-opener from each of them. He claimed to use the party bottle openers for different tasks- Labour when he wanted to take someone elses bottle, Fine Gael when he was having a boring non-alcoholic drink, Fianna Fail when he planned on getting very drunk, Green Party when he wanted to recycle the bottle, and Sinn Fein when he wanted to stab someone with the bottle.

I'm also a US citizen as it happens. I was just wondering, are you entitled to vote in US elections from Ireland?

thebman · 12-06-2011 8:38pm

will join political party if there is free milk and cookies :P

Will join faster if that becomes beer and roasted peanuts :P

Seriously though, I have considered joining FG but only to explain my anger at them not engaging in reforming and cutting the deficit since taking control of government and I won't buy the Labour wouldn't let us.

We all know it is, Labour will be a convenient scapegoat for why we didn't make the cuts/reforms we promised.

Macha · 12-06-2011 8:48pm

Yes - joined a few years ago after getting frustrated with shouting from the sidelines. I joined after meeting a few members and being very impressed with them. It's the party most in line with my views and priorities, but of course no party is a perfect fit.

Understanding the reality of how politics operates in Ireland (both within a party and between parties) has given me a greater understanding of why things are they way they are, and hopefully an idea of what needs to change.

You can be as disengaged or involved as you like, really. From paying your annual subscription right up to volunteering on a regular basis or even working for the party.

Permabear · 12-06-2011 8:55pm

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Duffy the Vampire Slayer · 12-06-2011 8:59pm

They had dissolved by then, no doubt he'd have that bottle opener if they were around!

ninty9er · 13-06-2011 12:55am

.

Sully · 13-06-2011 1:09am

I'm getting Enda Kennys emails, but not as many from the party. I assume that's because they are all being put up on the government website these days and saves hiring extra staff to do both? No idea.

later12 · 13-06-2011 1:57am

Had FG still been sending out emails by the wheelbarrow?

One of their biggest problems with their PR a few years back was the amount of press releases they issued in a week. They issued so many that journalists were simply snowed under in minor, trifling point scorings that there was a lot of noise and very little signal. There was a problem that FG press releases did not follow any pattern - you could not really make out what the party policy was in a broad sense. Then someone had a quiet word with Mount Street HQ and the press releases started to slow down, and FG only released statements on issues that actually mattered or were a core part of their manifesto. The coverage, and reception to FG statements, improved significantly.

This was a significant PR improvement for FG and it seems a bit silly if they had not been doing the same thing with their supporters. Maybe they have recently cottoned on to the importance of quality over quantity.

Is mise le key · 13-06-2011 7:20am

You could but it would be against a parties rules upon registering.

Would that not be,

"I'll drink it when I have it, and when I don't i'll drink yours!.":D

Anyway, i am at present not a member of a party as the United left Alliance is yet to form as an official party, but i was sought to join a particular political party a few times over the past number of years, when the ULA becomes a party i will study the manifesto carefully & make my descision at that time. At present the people within the organisation that i know are trustworthy, uncorruptable, principled & seeking to change the system for the better of all the people & not themselves.

Too many within the ranks of FG, FF & LAB are in it as a career choice, for the same reason we are answering the question posed here around why you should join a political party, the same criteria applys if you are running for office, if it is as a career choice then you are not really suited for serving the people as your decsions will be made on the basis of furthering your own career & not in the best interest of the people.

Your choice to join a party or run for office should be because you are compelled to change the status quo that you see as unjust, unfit, unfair for society as a whole & self sacrafice being a part of that.

Are you a member of a political party?

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