Never mind.

The_Minister

EDIT: Actually mods please delete.

ballooba

Negative Campaigning, No thanks.

The_Minister

Some would call it informing the public of the opposing currents and stress points within an "alternative" that has never lasted a full term, and has never been re-elected. There are very valid questions about how a right-wing party, and a nominally left-wing party can co-operate, with the watermelons throw in as well, on issues such as the economy.

ballooba

And what about the current government. A left of centre party (FF) with a right of centre party (PD). That's worked well hasn't it. All that union breaking and stuff.

Glenbhoy

The_Minister Some would call it informing the public of the opposing currents and stress points within an "alternative" that has never lasted a full term, and has never been re-elected. There are very valid questions about how a right-wing party, and a nominally left-wing party can co-operate, with the watermelons throw in as well, on issues such as the economy.

I agree, it really makes no sense at all imo, why don't they all stand on their own merits for the election and then see what transpires afterwards - that's what will happen anyway.

JerkyBoy

The_Minister wrote:

Some would call it informing the public of the opposing currents and stress points within an "alternative" that has never lasted a full term, and has never been re-elected. There are very valid questions about how a right-wing party, and a nominally left-wing party can co-operate, with the watermelons throw in as well, on issues such as the economy.

Pointing out the policy differences on the Progressive Democrat's own election website would be "informing the public".
Dedicating a website to it, with images ridiculing your opponents by liking them to Laurel and Hardy IS negative campaigning and to claim otherwise is just dishonest and smacks of desperation.

Stargal

What a grubby, pathetic little site.

blorg

To me it makes a good argument against coalition government with a tiny minority party driving the agenda.

gandalf

I don't think I am inclined to delete this.

Pathetic I really hope this blows up in the PD's face badly. If its an offical and santioned site I would hope they are drawn over the coals by the media on this.

delta_bravo

That site is pathetic. Theres no need for a dirty tricks campaign, its policy that matters. Really changes my stance on the pd's

The_Minister

delta_bravo wrote:

That site is pathetic. Theres no need for a dirty tricks campaign, its policy that matters. Really changes my stance on the pd's

How is it a dirty trick? It's all true. What FG did leeking that story to the papers was a dirty trick.
I should add, I don't know if this is an official PD website or not. I found it through a link.

the_syco

The_Minister wrote:

I should add, I don't know if this is an official PD website or not. I found it through a link.

% Rights restricted by copyright; http://www.domainregistry.ie/copyright.html
% Do not remove this notice

domain: rainbowsplits.ie
descr: Progressive Democrats - Political Party
descr: Unincorporated Association
descr: Discretionary Name
admin-c: ADD864-IEDR
tech-c: IDL2-IEDR
renewal: 29-March-2008
status: Active
nserver: NS.IRISHDOMAINS.NET
nserver: NS2.IRISHDOMAINS.NET
source: IEDR

person: Paul McAuliffe
nic-hdl: ADD864-IEDR
source: IEDR

person: IRISH DOMAINS LTD
nic-hdl: IDL2-IEDR
source: IEDR

Paul McAuliffe is a PD.

Stargal

The_Minister wrote:

How is it a dirty trick? It's all true.

Lol. A 30 second glance over the site was enough to find at least five things that were wrong with it (I just wrote about it on my blog), and I'm guessing if I actually go through every single thing later on, there'll be a hell of a lot more.

There are no links to back up anything that they claim. Some of the quotes and policies that they cite go back as far as 2002. More seriously, there's no name attached to it and no contact details.

If you think that the site harms anyone except for the PDs, you're seriously mistaken.

Just out of interest, what did your original post say The_Minister? And why did you want it deleted? Gotta say, I think gandalf is completely right not to delete this.

Edit: Great detective work the_syco!

Jonny Arson

I don't find anything wrong in principle with anyone setting up a type of negative campaigning website like the rainbow splits one but in the circumstance when it is an actual political party providing and advocating the website that it is not on and is nothing but dirty politics. PDs are absolutely desperate, just look at the lies about Green Party policies that were put through some peoples' letterboxes by the PDs last week. And this is the same party that have the saying ''honest politics'' on their posters? :rolleyes:

The_Minister wrote:

What FG did leeking that story to the papers was a dirty trick.

If that is to with with the Bertie Briefcase/Garda Fallon story then that is a lie. A FG individual was part of the leaking of that story and not the party.

The_Minister wrote:

I should add, I don't know if this is an official PD website or not. I found it through a link.

The link to the rainbowsplits site was all over the PD website a month or so ago. Doesn't seem to be there now, they obviously felt the backlash.

Bottle_of_Smoke

The_Minister wrote:

I should add, I don't know if this is an official PD website or not. I found it through a link.

Well it says on the front page "A progressive democrats website which points out the the incompatible policies of a rainbow coalition"

E92

Well I looked at it(6 weeks ago,it was around back then),and of course its full of rubbish. The Motorway building programme being a case in point. You see what the 'Progressive' Democrats conveniently chose to forgot is that the national Motorway programme was supposed to be done by the end of 2006. Therefore, even if it is done by 2010, it will actually be 4 years late. All the contracts have been signed for the ''Motorways''(actually most of them are second rate Dual Carriageways, so even when these Road Improvements are done, they won't have done what they have said they would do), so I dont know what people are afraid of in that regard about the Greens. The ''Motorways'' to Limerick, Cork, Galway and Waterford will be delivered if/when the Greens are in Government, because they have already have on more than one occaison that existing road contracts will not be cancelled. PD supporters, how is that a ''rainbow split'' ?

If you like I can inform the readers of this board the differences between yourselves and Fianna Fáil in terms of yer manifesto/policy documents tomorrow night(as I will be afk till then, thats the earliest possible time I can show them).

Andrew 83

The PDs have been pushing this for a while. From about a month ago and for about a week or two it was the first thing you saw on their webpage.

Ardent

Pathetic website. More of a reflection on the PDs themselves rather than the other parties it tries to throw mud at.

Mike...

I really hate the mickey mouse PD's....
Hope they get f**ked in the election

brianthebard

God, Ahern calls for a clean campaign with no mudslinging and his partners in government come up with this...

InFront

It's not funny, it's pretty ridiculous. It just shows what kind of position the PDs have found themselves in. They were the architects of their own demise, the state will be no worse off without them.

SeanW

A lot of unnamed sources and unreferenced stuff. Some of which goes back to 1999. Jeepers, I didn't think the PDs were too bad until now.

BTW "The Minister" if you want to withdraw your coverage of this website, you could start by taking it out of your sig.

ballooba

brianthebard wrote:

God, Ahern calls for a clean campaign with no mudslinging and his partners in government come up with this...

And we all know why he said that...;)

brianthebard

Indeed it did seem obvious(ie Mahon tribunal), but apart from that the irony of the PD's making a site that suggests a coalition is unstable and won't work together, and having the taoiseach call for a clean election campaign from all was just too much for me....

ballooba

brianthebard wrote:

but apart from that the irony of the PD's making a site that suggests a coalition is unstable and won't work together

You mean with the pigs walking on two feet.

jmayo

I suppose it is the last sting of a dying wasp !
I don't think Dessie O'M<alley had this in mind when he founded the party.

Thanks to getting into bed with Fianna Fail, the PDs have had an inordinate amount of power for a party that has the support of so few people in this country. Maybe the time has finally come when we will see the back of them and their supposed superior cleaner brand of politics and ethics.

Grudaire

With less of first preference then Sinn Féin, and marginally more then the Greens (<.5% more). The PD's lecture Sinn Féin and the Greens on being marginal parties. Who actually will vote PD's?

Stephen

Bye bye PD's, don't let the door hit your arses on the way out of leinster house!

Heinrich

How in heaven's name could any halfway intelligent person subscribe to that amateurish website? The photoshop on L&H is pathetic. Unsubstantiated rubbish and someone now wants the thread deleted. Please leave the thread as it is so that the OP's face can remain scarlet for the duration.

Sad...

Dave!

The PD's seem to be running the most negative campaign of the major parties. All over town the election posters have scare-mongering crap like "DON'T THROW IT ALL AWAY" along the bottom of them.

ballooba

That's a climb-down and a half. Nicely executed.