anyone here going to vote sinn féin?

Adrian009 wrote: »

I would say I'm fairly left-wing, and am trying to seek out the best candidates in that area for my vote. FF were never going to get my vote anyway because I was disgusted with them years ago. And as I said, I have very serious reservations voting for SF because of their support of the IRA. Also, I'm not sure how their preformance in their home ground would translate down here. The likes of Pearse Doherty would have my vote if only he were Labour! Or even Fine Gael!

TBH the IRA is gone now.

PauloMN wrote: »

You are imo, if you vote for them - because you, me and the dogs on the street know that they are not nearly completely disconnected from the IRA yet. Maybe they will be in future with new blood (no pun intended) in the party, but it's all still too raw as far as I'm concerned, and selling IRA shirts on their site just shows me they are not willing to cut off that past. I find that tasteless to say the least.

Seriously, Sinn Fein sell IRA t-shirts on their website????????

Adrian009 wrote: »

Then how the hell can Adams have the gall to say he 'regrets' IRA actions such as the murder of the likes of Jean McConville, yet still sell t-shirts of the organisation on the website of the party of which he is president??? I got to check this out for myself -

I say he would say something like "The IRA is nothing to be ashamed of, some of their actions perhaps."

Argued reasons for voting against Sinn Fein:


1. Their economic policies are illiterate

No they are not. What they actually are is another viable method of handling the current economic crises, and what people should be voting for is the actual implications of going down this route, in the sense of, for example, how the social and economic distribution of wealth and the nationalisation of public services which are both necessary processes in the Sinn Fein anti-bailout ideology; and not voting for a particular party based on the opposition parties that condone the plan due to its implications, and their ideology, and those who condone the plan based on the thoughts of a group of economists who are against those implications.

Depending on whatever path you go down in regards to the bailout, each one will need to adhere to a very specific turn of events in order to work as planned. Regardless, your vote should be made based on your own political outlook and rational analysis of the situation, not on populist propaganda against a particular party.

2. Gerry Adams murders people

This just shows the irrationality of those against Sinn Fein. I’m not going to vote for Fine Gael because of their standing on economic and social issues, not because I think Enda Kenny is a racist. There are various ways to debate this, and I have already said my bit, but I’m not going debate it any further because it is completely irrelevant to our current situation.

PulsW wrote: »

Argued reasons for voting against Sinn Fein:


1. Their economic policies are illiterate

No they are not. What they actually are is another viable method of handling the current economic crises, and what people should be voting for is the actual implications of going down this route, in the sense of, for example, how the social and economic distribution of wealth and the nationalisation of public services which are both necessary processes in the Sinn Fein anti-bailout ideology; and not voting for a particular party based on the opposition parties that condone the plan due to its implications, and their ideology, and those who condone the plan based on the thoughts of a group of economists who are against those implications.

Depending on whatever path you go down in regards to the bailout, each one will need to adhere to a very specific turn of events in order to work as planned. Regardless, your vote should be made based on your own political outlook and rational analysis of the situation, not on populist propaganda against a particular party.

2. Gerry Adams murders people

This just shows the irrationality of those against Sinn Fein. I’m not going to vote for Fine Gael because of their standing on economic and social issues, not because I think Enda Kenny is a racist. There are various ways to debate this, and I have already said my bit, but I’m not going debate it any further because it is completely irrelevant to our current situation.

Good, AT LAST someone who will discuss the actual SF policies as well as their relationship to the IRA. I might be getting somewhere.

1 -I'm honestly not fully convinced that using the pension funds is a good idea. Okay, it would be nice to tell Europe to F off, but is'nt using the pensions just taking even more away from yet another vunerable section of society?

2 - But Adams has stood up for people who have committed such actions. How is that irrational? How do we know what the likes of Martin Ferriss got up to while in the IRA?

KIERAN1 wrote: »

The DUP went into politics with Sinn Fein, and both were opposed to each other bitterly for many generations. I think both Communities just accepted the situation and got on with it. I think we down here are the ones holding onto the past, while the rest up there what to move on with their lives.

Well, they pretty much HAD to. Sinn Fein and the DUP were the biggest parties in Northern Ireland. That is not the case here in Ireland. And the past is not long ago, every voter in this election lived through the Troubles.

Wolfe Tone wrote: »

They didnt have to, the PIRA had the resources to carry on for decades, they chose to go into politics

but sure who was stopping the IRA from doing all that? The SDLP? The Alliance party? They could have taken up politics at any time.

Anyway, I remember the IRA during the last years of the Troubles. They were killing more civilians and soft targets than military ones. Probably because they could'nt do anything else. Hardly indicitive of an army with resources to fight for decades.

Hasschu wrote: »

In desperate times throughout our history groups have emerged to restore balance to our society. Some commenters here refer to the 1970s as the 'Troubles' we have had many troubles but the term is usualy used to refer to the period 1916-1922. The indigenous Irish in NI were set upon by the descendants of the Planters in as close an attempt at ethnic cleansing as you can get in the 1960s' and 1970s'. The IRA was derided as the 'I Ran Aways' by the public at large. They were shamed into action reluctantly, many of them rotted and died in British jails. Atrocity was met with atrocity and after the atrocities migrated to the British mainland the British gov't woke up and finally reined in the descendants of the Planters. Thank you Tony Blair. We Irish are noted for our long memories, but there comes a time when we have to bury the past and get on with life. The NI situation is now close to normal and the IRA is a shadow of its former self because it is no longer required to address the imbalance in terror that existed decades ago. Today we have SF which is the only honest party of the four biggest parties. Are we so afraid of honesty and integrity that we have to attack SF in order to continue with the travesty that passes for gov't in Ireland.

Yes, I know the history and I can't do anything about what happened out of living memory.

But I can do something, however small, about incidents that did occour during my own lifetime, and that includes asking why I should give a vote to a party that supported the IRA. The matter of their IRA membership is irrlevant to this. Their refusal to condem the actions of the IRA, which resulted in the deaths of thousands of Irish people, is.

Adrian009 wrote: »

Good, AT LAST someone who will discuss the actual SF policies as well as their relationship to the IRA. I might be getting somewhere.

1 -I'm honestly not fully convinced that using the pension funds is a good idea. Okay, it would be nice to tell Europe to F off, but is'nt using the pensions just taking even more away from yet another vunerable section of society?

2 - But Adams has stood up for people who have committed such actions. How is that irrational? How do we know what the likes of Martin Ferriss got up to while in the IRA?

1. Yes, but if you plan on separating sovereign debt and private debt, it is a necessity, but you must also look into the future. The current situation of Ireland demands things be done that are out of the 'comfort zone' that many experienced in the past.

As you have probably been told before, each party manifesto lays out their respective plans and I suggest you read through each if you want further details.

2. It is irrational in the context of our current situation. Yes, Adams has stood up for people who have committed those actions, but those actions where sanctioned within a particular socio-political time in Irelands history. Actions, from both sides, were spurred on from beyond the simplistic analysis many adhere to.

PulsW wrote: »

1. Yes, but if you plan on separating sovereign debt and private debt, it is a necessity, but you must also look into the future. The current situation of Ireland demands things be done that are out of the 'comfort zone' that many experienced in the past.

As you have probably been told before, each party manifesto lays out their respective plans and I suggest you read through each if you want further details.

2. It is irrational in the context of our current situation. Yes, Adams has stood up for people who have committed those actions, but those actions where sanctioned within a particular socio-political time in Irelands history. Actions, from both sides, were spurred on from beyond the simplistic analysis many adhere to.

1 - Agreed. We cannot have 'politics as usual'.
2 - It is not irrational to ask a Dail candidate and a leader of an Irish political party why he and his party do not condem the murder of Irish people.

Sergeant wrote: »

At what rate do Sinn Fein believe we will be able to borrow at on the bond markets if we were to default on bank debt? This is not in their policy documents and is a central tenet of their election campaign.

What do the other partys propose as a rate?

Sergeant wrote: »

They don't propose default as the basis of their economic policy. So we borrow at the agreed EU/IMF rate. Sinn Fein want us to return to the markets following default. So at what rate to they think we will be able to borrow at? Ballpark figure....

Okay, but surely they must have some sence somewhere in their policys. I mean these are the smartest guys the party can assemble.