So Michael D IS running again!

Capt'n Midnight · 16-09-2018 10:38am

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

Hardly examples of senior party members by the time of their respective elections.

I suppose GM is questionable, although his role in Lisbon 1 should surely have solidified his peripheral significance.

Gay's a self publicist. Any chance of getting into the headlines and he's there.

Alan_P · 16-09-2018 10:42am

jmcc wrote: »

It raises the problem of Higgins being the RTE president. It will damage the legitimacy of his 2011 election and the electorate does not like being taken for fools.

Regards...jmcc

Okay, then. Explain how a sitting candidate, with 50 years worth of electoral exposure, who is at 67% at the start of his reelection campaign, manages to lose ?

Please explain it, in actual demographic terms.

Capt'n Midnight · 16-09-2018 10:48am

FrancieBrady wrote: »

Has Higgins actually said he won't do or limit debates or is this just a cheap shot at creating a perception that he won't or is running scared?

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/ireland/sean-gallagher-no-presidential-election-debates-if-michael-d-higgins-wont-join-in-shzl9xz5b?utm_campaign=Echobox&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook#Echobox=1537058600

'Never argue with an idiot.
They will only drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.'

There's no benefit in Higgins answering stuff like "what would you bring to the role ?"
Especially when the others can promise anything they like.

And besides it's Seanie who's scared of too much air-time.

expectationlost · 16-09-2018 10:52am

FrancieBrady wrote: »

Has Higgins actually said he won't do or limit debates or is this just a cheap shot at creating a perception that he won't or is running scared?

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/ireland/sean-gallagher-no-presidential-election-debates-if-michael-d-higgins-wont-join-in-shzl9xz5b?utm_campaign=Echobox&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook#Echobox=1537058600

short article in the Irish Times the other day saying he would do debates https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/presidential-election-higgins-likely-to-take-part-in-tv-debates-1.3627252

Capt'n Midnight · 16-09-2018 10:59am

Alan_P wrote: »

Okay, then. Explain how a sitting candidate, with 50 years worth of electoral exposure, who is at 67% at the start of his reelection campaign, manages to lose ?

Please explain it, in actual demographic terms.

67% and attracted two and a half times as many transfers from the other candidates last time round.

Henryhill2 · 16-09-2018 11:48am

Beechwoodspark wrote: »

Sean g hasn’t a hope.

All any of his opponents have to do is raise the issue of him collecting envelopes on behalf of ff

And that’s all they have to do to turn ppl away from him.

Don't agree with that

He's already carrying that baggage ,raising the issue wont change much.

Unlikely it will be raised by anyone except SF imo if at all

Henryhill2 · 16-09-2018 11:59am

I can't envisage any way MDH loses

Age is actually an advantage for the job

I think SG and Duffy (if he's helping SG) will take low-key potshots at MDH to little effect

Gallagher will have spin about expanding the role

Loafing Oaf · 16-09-2018 12:03pm

Just wondering, if we are talking about a race for second, is it only first preferences that are counted if MDH is elected on the first count? You'd think Ni Riada would pick up a lot of his surplus, but that won't be taken into account right?

pixelburp · 16-09-2018 12:08pm

The only scenario I can see Higgins pipped at the post is that the inevitably low turnout favours another candidate through voter apathy and engaged rival.

There's little doubt the animation of debate here is not reflective of the broader enthusiasm for this election. But that same logic could also default Higgins to success too, the average voter sticking with the safe, default preference - Higgins.

With the final tally of candidates in front of me, I find myself looping back to the line of thinking that this election is a colossal waste of time and money. Businessmen trying to indulge in state funded nepotism, under the guide of the democratic principle.

Henryhill2 · 16-09-2018 12:28pm

The media and spin is Duffy's game so he will be clever about it if he's assisting Gallagher in any way.

I'm not following the financial side of things but I assume the likes of Duffy and Gallagher are not throwing their own money away here?

Beechwoodspark · 16-09-2018 12:32pm

Henryhill2 wrote: »

Don't agree with that

He's already carrying that baggage ,raising the issue wont change much.

Unlikely it will be raised by anyone except SF imo if at all

The issue being raised will reinforce the views of ppl who were anti Gallagher last time and also

It will bring it back to the attention of the many many voters who tune out from politics most of the time.

He hasn’t a hope unless there’s a huge scandal involving the incumbent which I think is unlikely.

And even then, other candidates like freeman and Duffy have less baggage than Gallagher.

Loafing Oaf · 16-09-2018 12:38pm

pixelburp wrote: »

I find myself looping back to the line of thinking that this election is a colossal waste of time and money.

I'd say Gerard Craughwell is receiving a few angry emails asking why he insisted on putting us all through this charade...

Beechwoodspark · 16-09-2018 12:39pm

Henryhill2 wrote: »

The media and spin is Duffy's game so he will be clever about it if he's assisting Gallagher in any way.

I'm not following the financial side of things but I assume the likes of Duffy and Gallagher are not throwing their own money away here?

Duffy reportedly has financed his campaign by remortgaging his house

batgoat · 16-09-2018 12:42pm

Beechwoodspark wrote: »

Duffy reportedly has financed his campaign by remortgaging his house

Wasn't his house.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/duffy-changes-tack-over-presidential-bid-mortgage-bvfc7q7br

Henryhill2 · 16-09-2018 12:43pm

Beechwoodspark wrote: »

Duffy reportedly has financed his campaign by remortgaging his house

Why I wonder,what's in it for him?

He has only a slim chance

Henryhill2 · 16-09-2018 12:45pm

Reading the IT article it looks like Duffy is the usual sort of bluffer you get in this country

expectationlost · 16-09-2018 12:55pm

Loafing Oaf wrote: »

I'd say Gerard Craughwell is receiving a few angry emails asking why he insisted on putting us all through this charade...

its nothing to do with craughwell, the thing that forced the election was the various candidates who wrote to and went to the councils and got 4 nominations

Capt'n Midnight · 16-09-2018 1:04pm

batgoat wrote: »

Wasn't his house.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/duffy-changes-tack-over-presidential-bid-mortgage-bvfc7q7br

Trying to undermine the nomination process, telling untruths to elected representatives ?

Presidential hopeful Gavin Duffy is not remortgaging his family home to fund his campaign, contrary to what he told members of Meath county council last month.

Beechwoodspark · 16-09-2018 1:24pm

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

Trying to undermine the nomination process, telling untruths to elected representatives ?

So that’s another slip up by him

pixelburp · 16-09-2018 1:33pm

Don't see it posted already, but Liadh Ní Riada has been confirmed as SFs candidate. ..

So it's Higgins to lose really...

16-09-2018 1:46pm

blanch152 wrote: »

Ms. Ni Riadha will be doing well to keep her deposit, especially when her rather strange views of vaccinations are probed.

Bit of straw clutching there. The criticisms of her go back to 2016 when there was a hell of a lot less clarity about the HPV vaccine -- in fact, there was at that time an Italian study which seemed to indicate the concerns were justified. That paper has only since been discredited, and the HSE has also improved its communications surrounding the vaccine.

Here's what Ní Ríada says about HPV.

http://www.thejournal.ie/hpv-vaccine-11-4164229-Aug2018/

“During a radio interview in 2016 I clearly outlined that my issue was a lack of information coming from the HSE. A lot of concern and confusion around the HPV vaccination was going on at the time resulting in a pick up of the vaccine of just 51% and there was not nearly enough information forthcoming from the HSE to clarify matters or soothe the concerns of parents.

“So there is no confusion, let me be absolutely clear. Vaccines are a crucial part of modern life and it is only because of them that we now enjoy the greatest life expectancy in human history.

“I would, of course, encourage all parents to get their children fully vaccinated, including with the HPV vaccine and indeed there is recent research saying that this particular vaccine should be extended to boys, which I would also support.”

Loafing Oaf wrote: »

I'd say Gerard Craughwell is receiving a few angry emails asking why he insisted on putting us all through this charade...

I'm going to vote for MDH, and always had planned on doing so, but I for one was delighted that craughwell was pushing for a contest, especially given MDH's previous comments about seeking one term only. Those comments would have made a coronation unbearable, in that we'd be spending the next seven years listening to Seán Gallagher fanboys telling us how poor Seán had been robbed, humiliated, stripped of his chance at the Áras all over again. Muise!

Water John · 16-09-2018 2:07pm

At least the voters in Munster will become re-aquainted with her name. Might have slipped their minds since her election as an MEP.

blanch152 · 16-09-2018 2:17pm

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

Bit of straw clutching there. The criticisms of her go back to 2016 when there was a hell of a lot less clarity about the HPV vaccine -- in fact, there was at that time an Italian study which seemed to indicate the concerns were justified. That paper has only since been discredited, and the HSE has also improved its communications surrounding the vaccine.

Here's what Ní Ríada says about HPV.

http://www.thejournal.ie/hpv-vaccine-11-4164229-Aug2018/

!

There wasn't less clarity about HPV in 2016, there was just more scaremongering and ignorant politicians jumping on bandwagons.

I paid for my daughters to get the vaccine nearly a decade ago when it wasn't available for free, so sure was I that the risks from cervical cancer were so high.

FrancieBrady · 16-09-2018 2:22pm

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

Trying to undermine the nomination process, telling untruths to elected representatives ?

What was he thinking?

Image is everything with these guys.

16-09-2018 2:22pm

blanch152 wrote: »

There wasn't less clarity about HPV in 2016,

Pretty sure i heard a spokeswoman for the HSE admitting exactly that, multiple times, on the radio about a year ago.

I also remember personally reading about that Italian study on the British Medical Journal's website, before it was thoroughly discredited.

Anyway, at the end of the day it's clear that Ní Ríada isn't an anti-vaxxer, but i guess this is all part of the fun and games of a presidential campaign.

Water John · 16-09-2018 2:29pm

Duffy is all PR and no substance. Good grief for anyone who picked him to steer their business on Dragons Den, especially if it was a real product.
Perhaps he'd give a list of success stories from it.

blanch152 · 16-09-2018 2:42pm

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

Pretty sure i heard a spokeswoman for the HSE admitting exactly that, multiple times, on the radio about a year ago.

I also remember personally reading about that Italian study on the British Medical Journal's website, before it was thoroughly discredited.

Anyway, at the end of the day it's clear that Ní Ríada isn't an anti-vaxxer, but i guess this is all part of the fun and games of a presidential campaign.

Even if you accept that she isn't an anti-vaxxer (and I believe there are unanswered questions), there was an opportunity in 2016 for her to show leadership and encourage people to get vaccinated and she took the easy way out and played to the crowd about the concerns.

She flunked a leadership test, and shouldn't deserve even a nomination.

16-09-2018 2:46pm

blanch152 wrote: »

Even if you accept that she isn't an anti-vaxxer (and I believe there are unanswered questions), there was an opportunity in 2016 for her to show leadership and encourage people to get vaccinated and she took the easy way out and played to the crowd about the concerns.

What exactly did she say in 2016 that you have a problem with? Specifically.

(As a side note, this campaign really may be done, dusted and in the bag, if some of us are already resorting to defending other candidates, instead of our own preferred one!)

An Ciarraioch · 16-09-2018 2:57pm

The area where Ní Ríada should score best is the question of whether a candidate would perform well in historical and cultural duties, given her family background and nationalism - of course, Michael D has also excelled in such areas during his term, but one presumes she would have greater awareness than either Gallagher or Duffy.

CrabRevolution · 16-09-2018 3:06pm

Could it backfire on Gallagher to repeatedly bring up 2011 and the debates/tweets/brown envelopes business? While he can play the "I was robbed" line, it'll just remind people of the details of what happened and the fact he couldn't deny the allegations.

I'd say a lot of people have forgotten the exact thing he was accused of in the infamous tweet, but if he brings it up they'll remember/investigate and it'll reflect badly on him again, damaging his chances.

brightspark · 16-09-2018 3:12pm

Liadh Ní Riada promises to bring 'enthusiasm, energy and commitment' if elected president.

With a less than 80% attendance as an MEP, I would question the bit about commitment.

expectationlost · 16-09-2018 3:20pm

brightspark wrote: »

Liadh Niada promises to bring 'enthusiasm, energy and commitment' if elected president.

With a less than 80% attendance as an MEP, I would question the bit about commitment.

79% not bad for somebody with a youngish family that live here.

brightspark · 16-09-2018 3:23pm

expectationlost wrote: »

79% not bad for somebody with a youngish family that live here.

would your boss be okay with you working just 4 days while paying you for 5?

blanch152 · 16-09-2018 3:23pm

expectationlost wrote: »

79% not bad for somebody with a youngish family that live here.

She certainly is better than the FF lad.

brightspark · 16-09-2018 3:26pm

expectationlost wrote: »

79% not bad for somebody with a youngish family that live here.

Is a person with family commitments that prevent them from doing their work, any more suitable than an old candidate then?

Odyssey 2005 · 16-09-2018 3:59pm

Looks like Mickey D is in again .

richiepurgas · 16-09-2018 4:04pm

I have relatives from down around Coolea and,for reasons I could never figure out, they had no time at all for the O'Riadas. Many of them have passed on by now, but those still living just say they have not time for any of them but never go into details. Think it might be just a bit of begrudgery as you get in many communities but it appears to be deeply rooted.

Edgware · 16-09-2018 4:09pm

expectationlost wrote: »

79% not bad for somebody with a youngish family that live here.

Would you say that about a male or is minding kids a Mammy job?

16-09-2018 4:10pm

An Ciarraioch wrote: »

The area where Ní Ríada should score best is the question of whether a candidate would perform well in historical and cultural duties, given her family background and nationalism

Hopefully the irony is not lost, of a candidate's family connections being popular with ostensibly republican voters

expectationlost · 16-09-2018 4:32pm

Edgware wrote: »

Would you say that about a male or is minding kids a Mammy job?

I presume her husband is minding the kids when she not there. (and also when she is)

jm08 · 16-09-2018 5:03pm

Edgware wrote: »

Would you say that about a male or is minding kids a Mammy job?

Funnily enough, Ming Flanagan (along with Brian Crowley) had the worst voting record in 2014. Brian Crowley was in hospital a lot and Ming's wife just had a baby!

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/two-irish-meps-have-worst-voting-record-in-parliament-1.2037668

In that summery of voting records in 2014 - all Irish MEPs seem to have been around 80%.

brightspark · 16-09-2018 5:08pm

I think if there was only one opposing candidate Higgins would be a lot less likely to get re-elected, however with so many on the ballot paper the anti-Higgins vote will now be divided between the various candidates, even if one of the opposing candidates was to become popular for some unknown reason.

brightspark · 16-09-2018 5:15pm

jm08 wrote: »

Funnily enough, Ming Flanagan (along with Brian Crowley) had the worst voting record in 2014. Brian Crowley was in hospital a lot and Ming's wife just had a baby!

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/two-irish-meps-have-worst-voting-record-in-parliament-1.2037668

In that summery of voting records in 2014 - all Irish MEPs seem to have been around 80%.

Ming's attendance has improved slightly, but it appears that none of our MEP's think it's important to be there. No doubt attendance at the Dail is even worse if the empty seats frequently seen on tv are anything to go by.
Brian Crowley should really consider resigning if his health is that bad and allow someone else to take the seat instead (At this stage he has probably entitled to a pension so it's not as if he will be destitute).

16-09-2018 5:22pm

brightspark wrote: »

Brian Crowley should really consider resigning if his health is that bad and allow someone else to take the seat instead (At this stage he has probably entitled to a pension so it's not as if he will be destitute).

Crowley has already reached the pension limit of 70% of the mep salary (his pension will be paid at €67,200 per annum, but he currently earns €96,000 as an MEP)

Capt'n Midnight · 16-09-2018 5:23pm

brightspark wrote: »

Liadh Ní Riada promises to bring 'enthusiasm, energy and commitment' if elected president.

https://sluggerotoole.com/2018/09/16/liadh-ni-riada-announced-as-sinn-fein-presidential-candidate/

One, as David points out Michael D is a hugely popular even with SF voters. It will be a struggle to get even them to switch. Two, the party refused to let the press ask any questions at the launch event, in a clear attempt to avoid questions on the Cahill case.

Suspect that evasion will now follow her throughout the campaign.

Presidential debates will be interesting seeing as Michael has no reason to do them,
and Seanie is using that as an excuse to avoid questions on the five grand or what he's done over the last seven years,
and now Liada looks set to dodge them too.

At best this is whataboutery, but the merest whiff of support for the IRA means a lot more half the electorate will reject out of hand.
https://www.hotpress.com/opinion/hot-press-interview-with-sinn-fein-mep-liadh-ni-riada-sparks-row-with-dup-20381283

The Sinn Féin MEP also said that she disagreed with describing IRA atrocities such as Bloody Friday, Warrington or the Birmingham pub bombings as terrorist attacks. “It was a terrible time of conflict,” she said. “But there is no conflict without a reason.”

Larbre34 · 16-09-2018 5:24pm

Odyssey 2005 wrote: »

Looks like Mickey D is in again .

Many a slip twixt cup and lip

Capt'n Midnight · 16-09-2018 5:35pm

More comments from
https://sluggerotoole.com/2018/09/16/liadh-ni-riada-announced-as-sinn-fein-presidential-candidate/

Looks a very good candidate. Ireland has done a very good line female presidents

Unfortunately for her the boul Mickey will romp it so probably anything in the mid twenties or above, percent wise, will be respectable.

...
Agree. The wee garden gnome promised only one term the last time. He realised it was a cushy job. People should be mindful of that.

...
He was of course the official 'austerity' president, with all sorts of savings made due to his diminutive stature.

As a rich nation again we can now afford someone taller.

:pac:

Who leads to a different question , who would look after the business empires of the dragons ?

expectationlost · 16-09-2018 5:41pm

brightspark wrote: »

Ming's attendance has improved slightly, but it appears that none of our MEP's think it's important to be there. No doubt attendance at the Dail is even worse if the empty seats frequently seen on tv are anything to go by.
Brian Crowley should really consider resigning if his health is that bad and allow someone else to take the seat instead (At this stage he has probably entitled to a pension so it's not as if he will be destitute).

ming moved his family to brussels he's now at 94.65% https://www.votewatch.eu/en/term8-luke-ming-flanagan-2.html

pixelburp · 16-09-2018 5:50pm

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

More comments from
https://sluggerotoole.com/2018/09/16/liadh-ni-riada-announced-as-sinn-fein-presidential-candidate/ :pac:

Who leads to a different question , who would look after the business empires of the dragons ?

That's a fair question I and some friends were wondering; obviously with a businessman in the hotseat in the US, the question of a blind trust was pertinent after 2016, but presumably with fewer potential legislative issues, the Irish president isn't required to step away. Seems like an important set of questions for the Dragons and whether they intend stepping away from their ventures while President.

jimwallace197 · 16-09-2018 5:54pm

I think Michael D makes a good president. Diplomatic most of the time, patriotic and I'm pretty confident that he is not corrupt. Eloquent aswell

The same cannot be said of the rest of his rivals.

So Michael D IS running again!

Comments