David Norris for President....would you vote for him?

Spread · 22-07-2011 01:22PM

Senator David Norris poses for the cameras at Leinster House yesterday

Click on link for photo only

THE 'show of strength' by Independent Senator David Norris yesterday in his quest to get on the presidential election ticket has highlighted his weakness.
Four months after officially launching his campaign, Senator Norris still only has two-thirds of the support from TDs and senators he needs to get a nomination.
The senator proclaimed yesterday that he has 13 Oireachtas members agreeing to sign his nomination papers in September for October's election.
Mr Norris published the list of the 12 supporters, apart from himself, who will sign his papers in the autumn.
But he only has the backing of half the Independent TDs and senators in the Oireachtas.
And the Trinity College senator has yet to hold any talks with Fianna Fail and Sinn Fein about them supporting his nomination.
Mr Norris said he was certain he would get a nomination, despite lagging behind fellow Independent candidates, Sean Gallagher and Mary Davis, in getting the backing of local authorities.
Mr Gallagher has a promise of a nomination from five councils and Ms Davis has six, while Mr Norris is stuck on one. To get on the ticket, a candidate needs either 20 TDs and senators or four local authorities to nominate them.
'Failure'
"I don't consider that a failure," he said.
The senator said he was in discussions with other members of the Oireachtas.
But within political circles, it was regarded as highly significant that Mr Norris had failed to get the backing of a number of prominent Independents and those from the smaller group.
None of the United Left Alliance TDs, the group of five TDs led by Joe Higgins, is among his signatories. The ULA also includes Richard Boyd-Barrett, Joan Collins, Clare Daly and Seamus Healy.
Nor is Independent TD Shane Ross -- a long-time rival on the Trinity panel in the Seanad -- among his signatories.
Mr Norris is also without any of the TDs who were formerly members of the mainstream parties, such as Mattie McGrath, Michael Lowry, Michael Healy-Rae, Tom Fleming and Noel Grealish.
Although he did add Senator John Crown to his ranks, he only got two senators from the group of seven Independent senators nominated by Taoiseach Enda Kenny -- Mary Ann O'Brien and Marie Louise O'Donnell.
But the other members of that group, including Katherine Zappone, Fiach MacConghail, Eamon Coghlan and Jillian Van Turnhout, were missing from his list.
President Mary McAleese's husband, Senator Martin McAleese is not nominating anyone.
In the event that he fails to secure 20 signatures from the Independent ranks, Mr Norris will be reliant upon Fianna Fail and Sinn Fein lending him support to get on the ticket.
- Fionnan Sheahan Political Editor
Irish Independent

mikom · 22-07-2011 01:26PM

Spread wrote: »

But the other members of that group, including Katherine Zappone, Fiach MacConghail, Eamon Coghlan and Jillian Van Turnhout, were missing from his list.

Hellooooooooooooo

Statement from Senator Fiach Mac Conghail regarding the Irish Presidential raceFriday, 22nd July 2011

I am pleased to announce today that I will be voting for Michael D. Higgins to become the next President of Ireland.

Michael D. Higgins is a pioneer of social justice and has achieved important advances in the cultural landscape of Ireland. He is a pillar of our society and a visionary. He made a profound impact as Minister for the Arts and was the first Minister in that position to sit at the Cabinet table. After a lifetime of dedication to justice at home and internationally, Michael D. Higgins is best placed to represent our country as the future President of Ireland.

I see it part of my responsibility, as a Senator, to encourage public conversation on the future wellbeing and governance of our Republic. This debate can only be improved by the quality of candidates in the forthcoming election for President. In my opinion it should not only be politicians who should decide the candidates for the Presidency. Therefore, I will be exercising my constitutional right to nominate Senator David Norris as a candidate for election of the Irish President and I wish him well in his campaign.

_______________________________________________________________

Statement from Senator Katherine Zappone regarding the Irish Presidential race

I am delighted to announce today that I will be voting for Michael D. Higgins to become the next President of Ireland.

‘Michael D’ is a man of extraordinary integrity, intellect and culture and he has a proven record of making an exceptional contribution to the moral, political, and cultural development of Ireland over a lifetime of dedicated service. His contribution in the advancement of human rights – both nationally and internationally - has brought hope to and progressive change for many people and countries. He is quintessentially Irish and will represent our country in the way we need it most at this time.

I’m also announcing today that, as a Senator, I will be exercising my parliamentary privilege to nominate Senator David Norris for the Irish Presidency. We live in a democracy and as such, I believe that Senator Norris has a right to be in the race for the Irish Presidency. David is a man of great courage and a pioneer in the field of human rights. The Irish people should have an opportunity to vote for him if he is their choice and I wish David well in his campaign.

mikom · 22-07-2011 01:27PM

Post timed out..... sorry.

mikom · 22-07-2011 01:28PM

Post timed out........ sorry......... bogland internets

Captain Darling · 22-07-2011 01:37PM

Michael D was on Newstalk this morning. I said previously i think it would be 50/50 between himself and Norris. I think the interview swayed me towards Norris.

Mickey D just didnt come across as charming a figure as Norris, he came across as being a bit batty, which is obviously half his appeal, but his eloquence and ability to express himself as forthrightly as Norris is just not the same.

I hope Norris gets his quota.

Spread · 22-07-2011 01:41PM

Hmmmmmm!

expectationlost · 22-07-2011 02:00PM

Captain Darling wrote: »

Michael D was on Newstalk this morning. I said previously i think it would be 50/50 between himself and Norris. I think the interview swayed me towards Norris.

Mickey D just didnt come across as charming a figure as Norris, he came across as being a bit batty, which is obviously half his appeal, but his eloquence and ability to express himself as forthrightly as Norris is just not the same.

I hope Norris gets his quota.

charm wtf?

u saw his right http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJJ5q1_5jX8

don't he doesn't have a point he can put across

Spread · 22-07-2011 02:13PM

More fuel for the conspiracy firestorm ........... as Fingal may revisit Presidential nomination

http://www.herald.ie/national-news/councillors-now-set-to-drop-support-for-norris-battle-to-be-president-2827768.html

mikom · 22-07-2011 02:15PM

Spread wrote: »

More fuel for the conspiracy firestorm ........... as Fingal may revisit Presidential nomination

http://www.herald.ie/national-news/councillors-now-set-to-drop-support-for-norris-battle-to-be-president-2827768.html

He won't need them now if he is going the other route.
So.... meh.

Spread · 22-07-2011 02:20PM

mikom wrote: »

He won't need them now if he is going the other route.
So.... meh.

Do you mean a small meh or a really big M-E-H ?

Biggins · 22-07-2011 02:27PM

Spread wrote: »

More fuel for the conspiracy firestorm ........... as Fingal may revisit Presidential nomination

http://www.herald.ie/national-news/councillors-now-set-to-drop-support-for-norris-battle-to-be-president-2827768.html

If you actually read that with a with a bit of thought put into it...

Labour councillor Ken Farrell said he and his colleagues had not been aware that they could not nominate a candidate before the presidential election order was made.

So I reckon that in order to stay within the legal regulations of not officially selecting anyone before the appropriate time, they are indemnifying themselves against claims of early unfairness. Indeed they also add:

"Until such a time the (election) order is put down, we cannot nominate anyone. (The other candidates) are entitled to be heard as well," he said.

...They want to be seen to be fair - and thats understandable.
As for the Herald headline - its an over-reaching exaggeration at the least.
They cannot drop anyone if they have not officially opted for someone in the first place!

mikom · 22-07-2011 02:31PM

Spread wrote: »

Do you mean a small meh or a really big M-E-H ?

A moderate meh.
Not a fan of extremists.

Lol at the tags by the way.

Corsendonk · 22-07-2011 02:37PM

Spread wrote: »

More fuel for the conspiracy firestorm ........... as Fingal may revisit Presidential nomination

http://www.herald.ie/national-news/councillors-now-set-to-drop-support-for-norris-battle-to-be-president-2827768.html

The cllr on FCC that nominated him has been accused in the past by Alan Farrell TD on his Twitter of being a FF cllr in all but name. Would people still vote for Norris if he needs FF party support to secure his nomination or would that tarnish him?

Biggins · 22-07-2011 02:42PM

Corsendonk wrote: »

The cllr on FCC that nominated him has been accused in the past by Alan Farrell TD on his Twitter of being a FF cllr in all but name. Would people still vote for Norris if he needs FF party support to secure his nomination or would that tarnish him?

There is two sides to that I'm guessing.

There is the option that Norris seeks help from such people or (more likely in my opinion) there is that fact that FF know anyone they select from their own org, will more than likely face a humiliating defeat (this time around at least) so their might opt (without prompting) for selecting an independent candidate rather than be seen to be supporting one from an opposition party.

This is why to some extent FF as a free individual org to support as they please, might opt for who they then assess to be the best more neutral candidate.

Spread · 22-07-2011 02:47PM

mikom wrote: »

A moderate meh.
Not a fan of extremists.

Lol at the tags by the way.

Ahaa! Another extreme moderate outed.

Your avator seems to have disappeared. Pray tell us .......

mikom · 22-07-2011 02:52PM

Spread wrote: »

Your avator seems to have disappeared. Pray tell us .......

My Avatar is still there.
Same beardy fella as before............ or do you shy away from the beardy fellas.
Check your monitor or else you internet connection (mine was slow to load stuff today).

Spread · 22-07-2011 02:59PM

mikom wrote: »

My Avatar is still there.
Same beardy fella as before............ or do you shy away from the beardy fellas.
Check your monitor or else you internet connection (mine was slow to load stuff today).

It was there about two hours ago ......... but nothing now. Will try Google Chrome. And it's on there! Very strange.

JupiterKid · 23-07-2011 03:17AM

Shouldn't this subject be on the Politics forum? After all, there seems to be an arbitrary qualification for threads to be locked as they are deemed unworthy of being on AH...

wonderfulname · 23-07-2011 01:35PM

Shouldn't such sentiments be in a PM to whichever Mod shut your thread?

Think of AH as a place for pub talk, random political opinions are pretty standard pub talk, lucid discussions on environmental issues however, you're fracking kidding me :pac:

Biggins · 23-07-2011 01:42PM

JupiterKid wrote: »

Shouldn't this subject be on the Politics forum? After all, there seems to be an arbitrary qualification for threads to be locked as they are deemed unworthy of being on AH...

Considering we get threads in here from toilet subjects to the aspects of druggies and their walking sticks, maybe by similar strict thinking those topics should be moved to Health Sciences and Oulwans 'n' Oulfellas - and those are topics of less quality more often than not to be anywhere never mind A.H.

As wonderfulname correctly hints, welcome to the open bar called "After Hours".

Ruire · 23-07-2011 02:11PM

Saw him yesterday in Galway.

He did quite well to distance himself from those followers of his quite insistent on some kind of grand conspiracy against him.

policarp · 23-07-2011 04:45PM

Spread wrote: »

It was there about two hours ago ......... but nothing now. Will try Google Chrome. And it's on there! Very strange.

You can only see avatars when you're logged out. . .AFAIK

wonderfulname · 23-07-2011 05:48PM

policarp wrote: »

You can only see avatars when you're logged out. . .AFAIK

User CP >> Edit Options >> Thread Display Options

You can turn avatar, signature, and image visibility on and off from there, I believe the default for sigs and avatars is off.

Spread · 24-07-2011 06:07PM

policarp wrote: »

You can only see avatars when you're logged out. . .AFAIK

You're right. Thanks

wonderfulname wrote: »

User CP >> Edit Options >> Thread Display Options

You can turn avatar, signature, and image visibility on and off from there, I believe the default for sigs and avatars is off.

Thanks for that wonderfulname. Now I can look at mikom instead of trying to visualise his mug!

JRTJRT · 30-07-2011 10:38AM

It would seem David Norris is about to concede his campaign. Giving an interview endorsing paedophilia in ancient Greece and then having a partner who was convicted of statutory rape was a bridge too far it seems for most right-minded thinking people

Two of his major campaign staff have already resigned.

Sooopie · 30-07-2011 10:44AM

Very sad to see this on the news this morning.

No way he'll be able to run now.

JRTJRT · 30-07-2011 10:47AM

His ex partner, Ezra Nawi, and man he continues to have a close relationship with was convicted of having sex with an underage Palestinian youth in 1992.

It's good for Ireland that this man has pulled out of the race. What other skeletons would have been found in his closet.

lods · 30-07-2011 10:51AM

JRTJRT wrote: »

His ex partner, Ezra Nawi, and man he continues to have a close relationship with was convicted of having sex with an underage Palestinian youth in 1992.

It's good for Ireland that this man has pulled out of the race. What other skeletons would have been found in his closet.

He hasn't pulled out yet, your only 2 posts are very loaded against him. :rolleyes:

JRTJRT · 30-07-2011 11:00AM

lods wrote: »

He hasn't pulled out yet, your only 2 posts are very loaded against him. :rolleyes:

Of course you are right he has not pulled out yet.

JRTJRT · 30-07-2011 11:05AM

THis is being discussed on radio 1 now ,

David Norris for President....would you vote for him?

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