Presidential Election 2025

Much simpler for me TBH

1. Was there a sinister plan by Connolly here?

2. Was she just helping to rehabilitate a reformed prisoner?

Can't see anything in her career to believe No 1, so No 2 is what I think she was doing.

If O'Cuiv's advice was good enough for several MoJ's according to Martin then it was good enough for a TD.

Anyone who wishes to advocate radical socialism, is entitled to do so.

Its what tends to go along with this positioning, that raises eyebrows.

• In the case of the Lady involved in this story. Working with a group who refuse to recognize the Republic of Ireland, preferring instead to view it as an afront to the 32 County Irish Republic. This is to say nothing of Mock Executing the Queen, or displaying armed militent tendencies. The lady was sentenced and jailed for the later.
• In other cases, It tends to involve rhetorical attacks on 'Western Imperialism', and blaming western organizations like NATO for a multitude of things they are not remotely responsible for.
• For some reason which also baffles me, it tends to involve cosying up to obvious bad actors like Putin - not that i accuse CC of this; but we are discussing radical socialists in general. And this seems to occur frequently

If all we are talking about was domestic left wing radical socialism, we could debate that. I think it goes a tad too far? But its worthy of discussion. And I would never refuse to engage with this type of policy debate. I should also state, i dont ever join in any smearing of the left, so as to make it analagous to Communists or Maoists.

But when you add the above listed factors, I have often found, so called, 'radical socialists' to be quite distasteful, and lacking in substance.

Sinister? No. Foolish, bordering on reckless? Yes. Unbecoming of a presidential candidate? Absolutely.

I don't think this rehabilitation thing came into it, it's just political speak now.

??

If you need to find out what she believes in, there is a whole career to review.

And I am commenting on her judgement.

Said it before, rehabilitation very often or always requires somebody to make a judgement decision.

There is nothing in what this woman did subsequently to make me doubt either O'Cuiv's or Connolly's 'judgement'.

So it's only reckless for somebody running for President but not a TD?

Have you thought that one through Dulpit?

If there was a threat to the state, somebody sat on it for 7 years.

In terms of battening down the hatches, and batting away prior allies, or those who could have been potential supporters, we have seen this happen around the globe.

You only have to look at the UK, and the factionalism that took over the Tory's post brexit referendum. All moderate Tory voices were quashed, and those remaining principled MPs ended up leaving the party. All that remained were the radical hard right, under Boris, and subsequently Sunak. That didnt end well for them, but now with Reform looking like a bigger player, it could be the end of the old One nation Tory bloc in the UK.

It happened in UK labour too. Corbyn ignited the fire, with his bullishness over a possible left-wing brexit, and a refusal to deal with anti-semetic elements within the party. This was certainly exagerated at times, and used as a stick to beat labour with, but it was clearly present, and he tolerated it for too long. This led to splits and issues, and public arguing, and they got slaughtered in the 2019 election. They won last year, but they remain weakened by the Corbyn period - Meanwhile the man himself is back, and running a new party, which will further erode labours position.

Looking at the US, you see even more polarization. The republicans have combed their bloc and 'weeded out' moderate voices. They refer to these guys as 'Republican In Name Only', Rinos, and some go further referring to them as traitors. What they really are, is what remains of the respectable conservative bloc in the US. They abhor Trump, and are therefore no longer allowed to speak. The Dems are not immune either, with radical factions trying to push devisive topics, such as the Trans issue. Moderate voices that tried to warn that, devisive issues divide electorates, tended to be muted. Or in some cases, cancelled.

Political discourse is rapidly becoming polarized, and Ireland is not immune. A sort of 'With Us, or Against Us' mentality is starting to set in. And its always, and everywhere, the moderate voices that get silenced. Going back a week or two in this thread, you often saw people 'accusing' moderate centered voices of being 'FFG propagandists' - when all they were doing was asking questions, and pointing to problems with CC's campaign. And this is happening more so among the electorate. And if moderate voices are quashed we will see a shift in the base politics in this country. The radical left would seek to run the left as a whole, and be the tail that wags the dog. And the new right will capture the ground as they have done, in the US, the UK, and many other jurisdictions.

Just some thoughts, happy to discuss -

And you have to make a judgement call on whether a person is liable to do that.

Has to be done in any sensitive job regardless of the person's past.

Is somebody you are putting in a job liable to give sensitive info to others.

You are perfectly right in pointing out the issue.