Any solid evidence why I should not vote for Higgins

Liam Byrne

Every single one of the candidates has had some skeletons in their closets, dodgy associations and/or some seriously objectionable views - apart from, it seems, Higgins.

Anyone have any reasons not to vote for him ?

LordSutch

Apart from the fact that he looks and sounds like a Leprechaun (with a stiff neck), I can't think of any reason for him not to become President! He has the intellect, his is quick thinking, he has wisdom, and he has very little in the way of nasty baggage (he smoked a joint as a youff), and certainly no nasty skeletons to speak of, so at this stage it looks like the Aras is his for the next seven years.

The other candidates might as well pack their bags & go home now.

crazydaize

Would he last the seven years??

Liam Byrne

crazydaize wrote: »

Would he last the seven years??

Who's to say that any of them would last seven years ?

And as some have pointed out, it'll save us a fortune in pension payments if he does shuffle off this planet not long after the seven years are up.

Any of us could get hit by a bus tomorrow, and in general I'd reckon that Higgins is healthier and fitter than me, at about half his age.

todolist

Higgins is a nice guy,however he's a windbag and a darling of the arty/lefty/liberal/politically correct elite.Depressing to see him as favourite for the vice regal lodge gig.

foggy_lad

Is he a communist?

And he might not believe in the same god as Dana!

Liam Byrne

foggy_lad wrote: »

Is he a communist?

Not sure where you got that idea, but that could actually be a plus in my eyes, given the mess capitalism has left us in.

foggy_lad wrote: »

And he might not believe in the same god as Dana!

Again, that's a plus - Dana's God reckons that some makey-uppy canon law in confessionals is more important than doing your civic duty.

Actually, I've just realised that this whole election could be an episode of Fr Ted - whereby Dana realises that McGuinness has - being a "catholic" (yeah, I know - one that condones murder is a bit of an irony :rolleyes: ) - confesses in confession how involved he was, and is left with a dilemma as to what to do.......

foggy_lad

Liam Byrne wrote: »

Not sure where you got that idea, but that could actually be a plus in my eyes, given the mess capitalism has left us in.



Again, that's a plus - Dana's God reckons that some makey-uppy canon law in confessionals is more important than doing your civic duty.

Actually, I've just realised that this whole election could be an episode of Fr Ted - whereby Dana realises that McGuinness has - being a "catholic" (yeah, I know - one that condones murder is a bit of an irony :rolleyes: ) - confesses in confession how involved he was, and is left with a dilemma as to what to do.......

She will still get more of the vote in Londonderry Donegal than McGuinness:D

Mr. Presentable

He doesn't have his own box?

mikemac

President of Galway United, laughing stock of the Premier Division

So he is a failure at President already

foggy_lad

Mr. Presentable wrote: »

He doesn't have his own box?

Did Dana take her bible back off him after the VB debate?

catbear

He's harmless, perfect for the role.

crazydaize

Liam Byrne wrote: »

Who's to say that any of them would last seven years ?

And as some have pointed out, it'll save us a fortune in pension payments if he does shuffle off this planet not long after the seven years are up.

Any of us could get hit by a bus tomorrow, and in general I'd reckon that Higgins is healthier and fitter than me, at about half his age.

Not me, but he will be above the average age of life expectancy when the gig is over.

And to all those who think his age is not an issue - how would you feel about raising the statutory retirement age for everyone to at least 77, if not higher?

Liam Byrne

crazydaize wrote: »

And to all those who think his age is not an issue - how would you feel about raising the statutory retirement age for everyone to at least 77, if not higher?

What does that have to do with it ? No-one is forcing Higgins to run!

Statutory is the date the state wants you to work until; if you want to work longer and are able and enjoy what you do, why shouldn't you work longer ?

thebman

crazydaize wrote: »

Not me, but he will be above the average age of life expectancy when the gig is over.

And to all those who think his age is not an issue - how would you feel about raising the statutory retirement age for everyone to at least 77, if not higher?

http://www.indexmundi.com/g/g.aspx?c=ei&v=30

Not an issue anyway, if he dies early, we can just elect a new president. Great little system that way.

bleg

Squeaky clean.

and miles ahead of the rest of them in my opinion.

Wider Road

Liam Byrne wrote: »

Every single one of the candidates has had some skeletons in their closets, dodgy associations and/or some seriously objectionable views - apart from, it seems, Higgins.

Anyone have any reasons not to vote for him ?

Higgins supports this govt employing a man convicted of murder in 1975!
this and other reasons are why he is losing ground.

LordSutch

bleg wrote: »

Squeaky clean.

and miles ahead of the rest of them in my opinion.

Agreed, not that you'd know that from boards.ie, where a certain chap from NI seems to be the most talked about front runner by far

Liam Byrne

Wider Road wrote: »

Liam Byrne wrote: »

Every single one of the candidates has had some skeletons in their closets, dodgy associations and/or some seriously objectionable views - apart from, it seems, Higgins.

Anyone have any reasons not to vote for him ?

Higgins supports this govt employing a man convicted of murder in 1975!
this and other reasons are why he is losing ground.

Link / details please. I know many people on boards who shouldn't (if they were uncharacteristically consistent) have a problem with that, but I would.

Bullseye1

He has tricked alot of people that be has a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow with his squeaky voice. That should be enough.

Liam Byrne

Wider Road wrote: »

Liam Byrne wrote: »

Every single one of the candidates has had some skeletons in their closets, dodgy associations and/or some seriously objectionable views - apart from, it seems, Higgins.

Anyone have any reasons not to vote for him ?

Higgins supports this govt employing a man convicted of murder in 1975!
this and other reasons are why he is losing ground.

Pooh, that's just nasty! You're talking about a guy whose conviction was quashed?

Would you be objecting if he'd hired the Birmingham Six or the Guildford Four ?

Obviously there are no limits to the mud-slinging and misdirection in this election.

anymore

Sarkozy would probably be glad to see a head of state he can see eye to eye with.
Seems to me higgins is one of these 'Socialists' would rabbit on and on about social justice, inequality etc and then can come out and support artists and writers being able to earn € 100,000 a yeat without paying a penny tax. That is not eitther equality or just, it is hypocrisy. However he is not the only one guilty of this,.

On the question of the Presidents salary of €250,000 plus perks etc, he had a wonderful opportunityy to make a real stand on socialist principles but of course and not one bit surprissingly, he went for greed.
It really doent matter if people vote for him or not. They are all jsut in it for the money and for base vanity ( I suppose I have to exempt MGM on the greed part )
A plague on them all !

todolist

Bullseye1 wrote: »

He has tricked alot of people that be has a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow with his squeaky voice. That should be enough.

Brilliant!:D

LostinKildare

Michael D impressed me mightily when he put in his place the detestable Tea Partier Michael Graham on "The Right Hook" last year.

Listen here: http://www.newstalk.ie/2010/programmes/all-programmes/the-right-hook/the-two-michaels/

Short version:

"Be proud to be a decent American, rather than be just a wanker whipping up fear!"

Michael D is a LION.

maringo

What's age got to do with it anyway looks like we'll all be working till we're 90 to pay off the country's debts :P

Pat D. Almighty

He may not have turned off any machines, personally closed any hospitals or physically stopped people getting benefits but being a member of Labour he is responsible for many destroyed lives and deaths as a result of their policies and actions.

Of course, I don't believe this to be true, I'm just pointing out the absurdity of some people who suggest Martin McGuinness is responsible for all the carnage caused by the IRA.

phog

Pat D. Almighty wrote: »

He may not have turned off any machines, personally closed any hospitals or physically stopped people getting benefits but being a member of Labour he is responsible for many destroyed lives and deaths as a result of their policies and actions.

Of course, I don't believe this to be true, I'm just pointing out the absurdity of some people who suggest Martin McGuinness is responsible for all the carnage caused by the IRA.

Grasping at straws

Pat D. Almighty

phog wrote: »

Grasping at straws

Hardly. Just giving a perspective. As I've said before, McGuinness never stood a chance of winning this election. I'm not an IRA supporter, never have been. I just don't like revisionists, especially ignorant ones of they keyboard warrior variety.
I hope Michael D. Higgins wins the election.

blahfckingblah

Liam Byrne wrote: »

Pooh, that's just nasty! You're talking about a guy whose conviction was quashed?

Would you be objecting if he'd hired the Birmingham Six or the Guildford Four ?

Obviously there are no limits to the mud-slinging and misdirection in this election.

of course the mud-slinging only seems to bother some when its directed towards their chosen candidate

swampgas

LostinKildare wrote: »

Michael D impressed me mightily when he put in his place the detestable Tea Partier Michael Graham on "The Right Hook" last year.

Listen here: http://www.newstalk.ie/2010/programmes/all-programmes/the-right-hook/the-two-michaels/

Short version:

"Be proud to be a decent American, rather than be just a wanker whipping up fear!"

Michael D is a LION.

I can't stand that Michael Graham, I stopped listening to Newstalk as my drive home kept coinciding with his slot. Hadn't heard that exchange before - that's my vote for Michael D confirmed right there :-)

KeithAFC

One word comes to mind to describe Norris. Desperate. He is probably more desperate than Martin Mcguinness and that is saying something.

Wider Road

Liam Byrne wrote: »

Wider Road wrote: »

Liam Byrne wrote: »

Every single one of the candidates has had some skeletons in their closets, dodgy associations and/or some seriously objectionable views - apart from, it seems, Higgins.

Anyone have any reasons not to vote for him ?

Higgins supports this govt employing a man convicted of murder in 1975!
this and other reasons are why he is losing ground.

Pooh, that's just nasty! You're talking about a guy whose conviction was quashed?

Would you be objecting if he'd hired the Birmingham Six or the Guildford Four ?

Obviously there are no limits to the mud-slinging and misdirection in this election.

Why would Bernard Lynch be hiring the Birmingham Six or the Guildford Four? He got off on a a technacility, not because of his innocence. He pulled a trigger remember, shot a man, and all you quote are the Birmingham Six & the Guilford Four!! And his reward is, (wait for it) getting employed by the current govt!!
You couldn't make it up.

thebman

KeithAFC wrote: »

One word comes to mind to describe Norris. Desperate. He is probably more desperate than Martin Mcguinness and that is saying something.

Wrong thread?

c_man

Thought he came off terribly on the news last night in reaction to the poll over the weekend.

sarkozy

c_man wrote: »

Thought he came off terribly on the news last night in reaction to the poll over the weekend.

How do you work that one out?

JamJamJamJam

I think reaching the third page of the thread and having nobody reeeally making a proper stab at answering the OP is a solid enough basis to assume that the reasons are few and far between.

Jesus Wept

I think you should switch to 40 posts per page.

Podge_irl

He's exceptionally short.

Genuinely slightly bothers in me in a "meeting heads of state on a world stage and not having a commanding presence" type of way. It is, however, an utterly silly and small complaint and if that's the worst thing I can think of then he's a pretty solid candidate.

Liam Byrne

Podge_irl wrote: »

He's exceptionally short.

Genuinely slightly bothers in me in a "meeting heads of state on a world stage and not having a commanding presence" type of way. It is, however, an utterly silly and small complaint and if that's the worst thing I can think of then he's a pretty solid candidate.

The yanks have a soft spot for the whole leprechaun malarkey, though - he could try selling them a pot of gold!

View

Liam Byrne wrote: »

The yanks have a soft spot for the whole leprechaun malarkey, though - he could try selling them a pot of gold!

Do you mean TG4?

Liam Byrne

View wrote: »

Liam Byrne wrote: »

The yanks have a soft spot for the whole leprechaun malarkey, though - he could try selling them a pot of gold!

Do you mean TG4?

The station that brought us Magners League coverage without trying to rip us off ? Hands off!

jank

Anti-american, anti-israel, a socialist and will never survive 7 years in the Aras. Part of the Irish establishment, will bring nothing different to the Aras.

randylonghorn

He most certainly is not anti-American, though equally certainly he has opposed certain aspects of US foreign policy over the years. I honestly don't know his views on Israel, though I suspect you're broadly right. Socialist? Yes, and old-style socialist at heart, I doubt he would ever deny that.

Will he survive 7 years? Who can speak for anyone, and he is the oldest of the candidates, but tbh I'd put money on him still going strong for many years after that ... and still writing bad poetry!

Part of the establishment? In ways, yes, I suppose, though he has often insisted on speaking out on issues he felt strongly about when his party would have preferred that he fudge ... hence why there are no high-profile ministries on his CV.

I know the man slightly, have done for some years. I don't always agree with his political views, but I have a great deal of respect for him as a person and indeed for his intelligence.

In answer to the OP, I know of no reason not to vote for him, and I will in fact be doing so.

That said, I'm not here to canvass for him either ... everyone must make their own choices.

Happyman42

KeithAFC wrote: »

One word comes to mind to describe Norris. Desperate. He is probably more desperate than Martin Mcguinness and that is saying something.

I was talking to 2 SF workers on the canvas last night, you have no idea how delighted they are with how things are going. They were talking about Martin entering the race as having the same effect electorally as the Hunger Strikes aftermath. It's as if they were entering the promised land.

'Desperate' might be a bit of a stretch.

RonMexico

I'd have serious reservations about his health. Am I the only one who has noticed the constant shake in his hands. He also appears to have great difficulty walking. Sad because I do like him but I really don't think he is fit enough for the job.

oppenheimer1

Liam Byrne wrote: »

Every single one of the candidates has had some skeletons in their closets, dodgy associations and/or some seriously objectionable views - apart from, it seems, Higgins.

Anyone have any reasons not to vote for him ?

I was firmly in the Higgins camp until a few days ago. I really hate negative campaigning and because of what he has been saying he probably won't even get a preference.

His role in the reorganisation of his department while in government, leading to the duplication of services and thus waste also was drawing reservations from me.

isthatit

Liam Byrne wrote: »

Who's to say that any of them would last seven years ?

And as some have pointed out, it'll save us a fortune in pension payments if he does shuffle off this planet not long after the seven years are up.

Any of us could get hit by a bus tomorrow, and in general I'd reckon that Higgins is healthier and fitter than me, at about half his age.

how would another election in two years save us . when in fact eveything taken into consideration an election costs millions

isthatit

the main reason he wont be getting my vote is i hate everything labour stand for

thebman

oppenheimer1 wrote: »

I was firmly in the Higgins camp until a few days ago. I really hate negative campaigning and because of what he has been saying he probably won't even get a preference.

His role in the reorganisation of his department while in government, leading to the duplication of services and thus waste also was drawing reservations from me.

What negative campaigning?

Happyman42

Higgins selling out Shell to Sea supporters on Kenny now.

Fair play to Kenny, first to put him on the spot.

LordSutch

Just heard Higgins say something on the radio that I would like clarification on; Regarding Hamas, is he pro Hamas or Anti Hamas? or what? I found it very hard to get a clear picture of his stance on Hamas and their actions in the middle east.