Who has never voted FF?

Craven99

Yes in my stupidity I have voted FF in the past. Not for the last electionbut certainly in the boom years before that. I felt personally better off and rewarded the party with my vote.
Unfortunately like many people now I have learned a hard lesson a hard way.

arybvtcw0eolkf

starbelgrade wrote: »

The way to choose who to vote for should be based on the policies of the party & ignore the candidates. You may not like Enda Kenny (who does?!), but do you agree with FG policies?

I think a large part of the problem is that people just don't believe what the various parties say re. their policies, so they (the voter) give a preference to a friendly face instead.

nmblade

I didnt vote for Fianna Fáil at the last general election.

Back in 2007 there was a certain arrogance about Fianna Fáil and Bertie in particular that didn't sit well with me.

I had thought by that stage they were ten years in power and it was time for them to go.

Although now with the major malfunctions that have come to fruition over the last 2-3 years, there's an even greater incentive for me not to vote Fianna Fáil.

It dosen't really matter who's in power now anyway, it's almost irrelevant really.

Penn

Nope. Used to vote FG. Mainly because my folks did, and I hated Bertie. For the next election though, my vote is up for grabs. Except for FF. They can't touch this.

Dyr

I have never and would never vote FF, Haughey, Reynolds, Ahern. The leaders tells you everything that you need to know about the party

Snakeblood

Noel Damp Watermelon wrote: »

I think a large part of the problem is that people just don't believe what the various parties say re. their policies, so they (the voter) give a preference to a friendly face instead.

I think it's mostly that people think at a local level and don't think about policy at all. THey look out on the road and see that that nice FF TD has sorted out getting the road paved for them, so they vote for him. In return of course, he's landed them with 500 grand of debt per member of family, but whisht, at least the road is nice and smooth.

Policy up until recently was a big pink misty thing that they had a dim understanding of. Now it's suddenly explained to people that things cost money.

Jackie ****ing healy rae as well. Pork barrel politics at its most explicit.

sensibleken

Joe10000 wrote: »

I've never voted for them but no idea who to vote for this time as end is a clown. Maybe independent candidates us the way forward.

I've always thought the ability to run as an independant was essential for democracy but Im changing my mind.

Too many FF governments have stayed in power because of the support of independants giving massive amounts of power to fúck flaps like healy-ray and lowry. allowing them to polish their pump at the expense of the country.

maybe list systems are the way forward, maybe

starbelgrade

Noel Damp Watermelon wrote: »

I think a large part of the problem is that people just don't believe what the various parties say re. their policies, so they (the voter) give a preference to a friendly face instead.

Oh, I know. That's the point I was trying to make.

The two problems - people voting for candidates and having parties with weak policies - are part of the same problem and caused by the same thing.

If elections were based purely on a party voting system, this would change politics in Ireland completely - and in my opinion, for the better & greater good of the country.

starbelgrade

paddyirishman85 wrote: »

Nope. Used to vote FG. Mainly because my folks did, and I hated Bertie. For the next election though, my vote is up for grabs. Except for FF. They can't touch this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otCpCn0l4Wo

ChopShop

jimthemental wrote: »

I've never had a chance because I was stuck in college for the last election. .

Isn't that the way FF run every election? IIRC, Cowen basically said they regard students as Labour supporters anyway.

Mark200 wrote: »

When people say they never voted for FF, are they just talking about 1st preference votes?

Never. Full stop.

Snakeblood

starbelgrade wrote: »

Oh, I know. That's the point I was trying to make.

The two problems - people voting for candidates and having parties with weak policies - are part of the same problem and caused by the same thing.

If elections were based purely on a party voting system, this would change politics in Ireland completely - and in my opinion, for the better & greater good of the country.

People in general are to blame as well. If you give a people a choice between fiscal rectitude and cautious growth, and '**** IT IT'S A MONEY PARTY' then you get the election in 1997 again.

no1beemerfan

Mark200 wrote: »

When people say they never voted for FF, are they just talking about 1st preference votes?

If you gave them a preference at all then you contributed to their success at being elected. No need to be so smug.

I wouldn't give a FF'r the steam off me pi$$ so no way they'd even get a mention on my ballot paper.

starbelgrade wrote: »

You said that you have voted for FF candidates in the past & will in the future.

That's part of the problem with our electorate system... people vote for candidates rather than for parties. And each candidate has a local area which - not only do they represent, but spend most of their time looking after to ensure their votes are safe for the next elections.

This is a total distraction from what they should actually be doing, which is running the country. And there is quite often a conflict between looking out for the best interests of the country & the best interests of their constituents.

In most other countries it is the case that MPs (TDs) are able to devote themselves to their national parliamentary role and do not have to immerse themselves in the minutiae of constituency work, which plays only a minor role in the work of MPs in most countries. Ireland must be virtually unique in the constituency involvement and workload expected of its national parliamentarians.

Also, getting rid of this system of voting would increase parties' willingness to prioritise policy when they appeal for votes, leading to a more programmatic, less personality-based, style of politics in which voters are given real policy choices at elections.

Well said....well said.

Fremen

I haven't seen one of those "Ogra Fianna Fail" sigs around in a while.

Bwa ha ha ha

Mr Freeze

Never voted FF, and never will.

Being eligible to vote since 1998, and even as a kiddo knew Bertie was a snake, and still to this day can't understand the admiration and support some people still have for him and FF, yes they're supporters numbers are falling, but they should have none left at this stage.

When Bertie was resigning a few years back and it was being broadcast on the radio, here at work there were a few people saying "what a great man, he'll be missed", that sorta crap, stunned I was, they'd probably support him still, the snake.

Lightshow

flash1080 wrote: »

I've voted for FF candidates in the past and I'll vote for FF candidates again.

Then you, sir, are a traitor to your country. I can only assume that you have some sort of vested interest which only the corrupt and inpet Fianna Fail candidate in your area is willing to support.

To claim that you have voted for the bast people to run the counrty is this most ridiculous and unintellegent thing I've heard from an Irish man - ever.

Do the country a favour and crawl back to whatever pond you crawled out of and give the rest of the decent people in this country a chance at some sort of future.

snickerpuss

I've never voted FF but then I'm only 24. Although I'm a former Labour party member (in first year of college) I voted for an independant 1st in last general election and was freaked when he joined goverment in coalition. My second choice was Richard Bruton who is fantastic all round, the only candidate you hear from between elections and really prompt to answer any questions, and in great detail. So I have no really party affiliations. I'd rather a good candidate.

starbelgrade

Lightshow wrote: »

Then you, sir, are a traitor to your country. I can only assume that you have some sort of vested interest which only the corrupt and inpet Fianna Fail candidate in your area is willing to support.

To claim that you have voted for the bast people to run the counrty is this most ridiculous and unintellegent thing I've heard from an Irish man - ever.

Do the country a favour and crawl back to whatever pond you crawled out of and give the rest of the decent people in this country a chance at some sort of future.

Ehm... it's called democracy. You know the kind of system where people are allowed to vote for what ever party they want?

What would you prefer... a nice, cuddly dictator to run the show?

bonerm

I have never voted for them - and by never voting I don't mean I just haven't given them a first pref - i mean I just leave their box blank so they don't even get 10th place from me either. I've been voting since 1997 and haven't missed a local, general, european or referendum so far.

I have had run-ins with their acolytes since a young age and I've seen how they're nothing but a favours for the boys organisation verging on a masonic lodge. I don't a think country should be run by that sort of people.

BTW, I probably voted for FG a few times during my earlier years (in some naive idea it would damage FF) but I don't even vote for them either any more fwiw.

no1beemerfan

:oOH FCUK...............I just clicked on the poll and got distracted and hit the I have voted FF option. FCUK FCUK FCUK


Can who ever put it up fix it? Please...........


Talk about the mother of all ironies

starbelgrade

no1beemerfan wrote: »

:oOH FCUK...............I just clicked on the poll and got distracted and hit the I have voted FF option. FCUK FCUK FCUK


Can who ever up it up fix it? Please...........


Talk about the mother of all ironies

You should get a job voting in the Dail. You'd fit in nicely there!

ejmaztec

Never voted for FF or FG here, and never voted for the Tories or Lib-Dems in the UK. I'm a bit of a lefty.

Lightshow

starbelgrade wrote: »

Ehm... it's called democracy. You know the kind of system where people are allowed to vote for what ever party they want?

What would you prefer... a nice, cuddly dictator to run the show?

What I would like is for those people who have put this corrupt group of nest-featherers into office repeatedly to see what a mess their actions have made of the country and to act accordingly in the next election.

It's exactly this type of blinkered support which has allowed Fianna Fail to lead the state to the brink of collapse.

And by the way, successive Fianna Fail governments HAVE run the country like a dictatorship. Unilateral legislation, no public debate, no accountability, no responsibility.... no SHAME.

If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck.....

flahavaj

Noel Damp Watermelon wrote: »

I've always voted FF. But you and everyone else here have my word that it'll be a cold day in hell before I vote for them again..

Too late now, the damage is done.

Thanks a million.

Angron

Never voted for FF, but then I've only been able to vote for less than a year. Even if the country wasn't crapped up, I still wouldn't vote for them.

Doublin

Never voted FF or FG, but wasn't around much during the noughties. When I first started voting I always went for Proinsias De Rossa, thought he was great in the area.

Have a friend who was/is a campainer for Bertie, she still thinks the suns shines out of his a**e and won't listen to anyone slating him..

steddyeddy

no1beemerfan wrote: »

I bet I'm in the minority here but something about Bertie (as I'm only eligible to vote since 1998) stopped me voting FF at every election since 1998.

I've certainly been proved right about FF and Bertie and I have a smugness in that I can honestly say I wasn't one of the idiots who voted him in THREE times.

So who else was smart enough never to vote FF?

no never voted, I was out of the country when that scumbag haughey was in power. When I came back I thought bertie was a slimy corrupt bastard so I didnt vote for him, unfortuantly I was proved right. Either way though no one could have predicted this happening to the extant that it has.

TwoShedsJackson

lizt wrote: »

Voted in one general election and it was for Brian Cowen. He's always been good to Offaly and he is a nice man (I know that isn't really a good enough reason to vote but - meh!).

Bloody right it isn't. No offence, but bollox to Offaly and whatever Cowen has done for it.

A proper system of local government should be looking after Offaly, and Cowen and other TDs should be looking after the country as a whole. None of this 'oh he went to my Da's funeral' or 'oh he fixed that pothole in the road, he's a great man'. The time for that bollox is long gone.

Examine the party's policies and vote for the ones who come closest to what you want in the next general election. FOR THE LOVE OF CHRIST PLEASE DO NOT VOTE FOR PEOPLE BASED ON WHAT THEY DID IN THE LOCAL AREA. UNTIL PEOPLE GET OVER THIS, THE COUNTRY WILL CONTINUE TO BE FU<KED.

steddyeddy

TwoShedsJackson wrote: »

Bloody right it isn't. No offence, but bollox to Offaly and whatever Cowen has done for it.

A proper system of local government should be looking after Offaly, and Cowen and other TDs should be looking after the country as a whole. None of this 'oh he went to my Da's funeral' or 'oh he fixed that pothole in the road, he's a great man'. The time for that bollox is long gone.

Examine the party's policies and vote for the ones who come closest to what you want in the next general election. FOR THE LOVE OF CHRIST PLEASE DO NOT VOTE FOR PEOPLE BASED ON WHAT THEY DID IN THE LOCAL AREA. UNTIL PEOPLE GET OVER THIS, THE COUNTRY WILL CONTINUE TO BE FU<KED.

you hit the nail on the head this type of "government" local lads looking after local lads sort of thing belongs in 1950s ireland.

stovelid

Been voting since the late 80s and have never voted for FF, FG or PDs.

And never will (for the first two obviously).

That said, they came within a whisker of a majority only 3 years ago so many of the pitchfork brandishers here obviously saw fit to vote for them even when it was obvious what they up to.

jezko

Please NO ONE EVER VOTE in the SON or DAUGHTER of Bertie ...Brian's Enda or BOB... EVER AGAIN ...Even if the Da, was a Great man in his DAY...and did "Great things locally and for the ol' folk "

steddyeddy

jezko wrote: »

Please NO ONE EVER VOTE in the SON or DAUGHTER of Bertie ...Brian's Enda or BOB... EVER AGAIN ...Even if the Da, was a Great man in his DAY...and did "Great things locally and for the ol' folk "

Yes get rid of this keep it in the family style of government, on the frontline what plank kenny was interviewing the candidates for donegal south I would have loved to ask who are you related to that is currently in government.

They simply got into politics because a member of their family was in the same party.
In ireland the 5 most important political positions are filled by the children of national politicians. In the uk its 0 and in the us Its one.

And people wonder why the government in this country is so corrupt.

TeddyTedson

Never voted for FF myself because they're a shower of €*£&$, but the alternatives aren't great either. :mad:
The country needs a new party!

Mark200

no1beemerfan wrote: »

I wouldn't give a FF'r the steam off me pi$$ so no way they'd even get a mention on my ballot paper.

Well, I was referring to previous elections really. There seems to be a cute little witch-hunt going on here for any previous/current FF supporter... as if the people who voted for FF are this rare breed that come out slightly more often then leprechauns. But the fact that they had enough seats to form a government with just a few other TDs shows that in fact most of the country contributed in some way to their power.

Lightshow wrote: »

Then you, sir, are a traitor to your country. I can only assume that you have some sort of vested interest which only the corrupt and inpet Fianna Fail candidate in your area is willing to support.

To claim that you have voted for the bast people to run the counrty is this most ridiculous and unintellegent thing I've heard from an Irish man - ever.

Do the country a favour and crawl back to whatever pond you crawled out of and give the rest of the decent people in this country a chance at some sort of future.

:rolleyes:

hinault

Voted since 1982.

Have never voted for any FF candidate in any election since that time.
I've never even given them a transfer.

General Zod

this country is still voting on Civil War politics.

Gerry.L

Have only ever voted SF..... and TBH if SF were the ones getting all this stick FF are getting now... Id still be voting for them. For me, its either SF or forget it.

Snakeblood

Gerry.L wrote: »

Have only ever voted SF..... and TBH if SF were the ones getting all this stick FF are getting now... Id still be voting for them. For me, its either SF or forget it.

If a party I was a fan of screwed the country up as badly as this, I'd be a complete and total moron to vote for them again. It's not a football team.

Fluorescence

I have never voted FF, but I only turned 18 last summer so I've never had the chance to vote in a General Election

Sugar Free

I never have but then I've only been able to vote since 2003.

I wouldn't say I'll never vote for them but I certainly won't be for a long time.

scientific1982

Never voted for FF in my life. They're corrupt bastards.

Liam Byrne

Mark200 wrote: »

When people say they never voted for FF, are they just talking about 1st preference votes?

If you gave them a preference at all then you contributed to their success at being elected. No need to be so smug.

Never = never. No 1st preference or any preference whatsoever.

Sir Oxman

lizt wrote: »

Voted in one general election and it was for Brian Cowen. He's always been good to Offaly and he is a nice man (I know that isn't really a good enough reason to vote but - meh!).

I don't know if I'm going to vote in this election. We do need a change of government but I just don't know who to support. I just don't like FG, mainly because I don't like Enda Kenny and I don't really know the other parties policies.

Do you know FG's policies? Or did you think 'Oh I don't like the look of Kenny' and not bother about the party's policies?
At least have a look!

Myself, eligible to vote since 1985 and never once even preferenced FF. And yes, that makes me feel very proud in myself that I was never hoodwinked by those criminals as that's what they were back then and now.

FG - gave 2nd/3rd/4th/5th prefs at times, Labour voted once for them (1992) and preferenced many times.
SF never voted or preferenced.
Greens voted for them twice, never again.
PD - never.
Independents, a few votes/prefs

Leaning towards FG even though I don't particaularly like their candidate in my constituency; Labour will get at least prefs from me but they need to pony up on policies.
SF may get a pref from me.

If the closeted Ahern one runs in the constituency all of the above is out the window as I will use my vote as tactically as I can to ensure that gouger is defeated.

Mark200

Liam Byrne wrote: »

Never = never. No 1st preference or any preference whatsoever.

Well clearly not everyone has that definition considering 87% of people who have voted in this poll have apparently never given FF any preference despite them being in Government for 20 of the last 23 years

The UN should be notified.

Dempsey

Have voted for alot of people/parties, FF included.

This place certainly doesnt cover the cross section of the Irish Electorate. LOL at the poll with all the "I didnt vote for FF so I can look smug" posts. There is gold stars in the post for ye all!

Already we've seen a opposition leader try to worm out of a promise if made Taoiseach. Can we vote 'no confidence in the entire political system - massive reform needed' on the next general election?

Pherekydes

Liam Byrne wrote: »

I'll go one better and add 10 years to your tally - I'm eligible to vote since Haughey was swanning around like a deluded Emperor.

I beat you by ten!

Eligible since 1978; never voted FF.

flash1080

starbelgrade wrote: »

You said that you have voted for FF candidates in the past & will in the future.

That's part of the problem with our electorate system... people vote for candidates rather than for parties. And each candidate has a local area which - not only do they represent, but spend most of their time looking after to ensure their votes are safe for the next elections.

This is a total distraction from what they should actually be doing, which is running the country. And there is quite often a conflict between looking out for the best interests of the country & the best interests of their constituents.

In most other countries it is the case that MPs (TDs) are able to devote themselves to their national parliamentary role and do not have to immerse themselves in the minutiae of constituency work, which plays only a minor role in the work of MPs in most countries. Ireland must be virtually unique in the constituency involvement and workload expected of its national parliamentarians.

Also, getting rid of this system of voting would increase parties' willingness to prioritise policy when they appeal for votes, leading to a more programmatic, less personality-based, style of politics in which voters are given real policy choices at elections.

So people should vote for a candidate solely based on what party s/he is a member of, rather than whether the person is actually capable or not? Great logic that.

Pherekydes

steddyeddy wrote: »

Yes get rid of this keep it in the family style of government...

Why should people be excluded from politics based on an accident of birth? I'm sure many politicians could raise perfectly competent offspring politicians.

Mark200

flash1080 wrote: »

So people should vote for a candidate solely based on what party s/he is a member of, rather than whether the person is actually capable or not? Great logic that.

Party affiliation should be top of your mind. It doesn't matter what they're capable of, because once they get into the Dail their party will be telling them how to vote. Capability should only really be a factor if they're one of the leading party members, and so one of the members who will be forming policy and therefore deciding how the party will be voting.

starbelgrade

flash1080 wrote: »

So people should vote for a candidate solely based on what party s/he is a member of, rather than whether the person is actually capable or not? Great logic that.

Capable of what exactly?

If you vote for a party or a candidate - if they are elected - you have no say in what area of government they could be working in. That's down to the party / parties in power to decide.

flash1080

starbelgrade wrote: »

Capable of what exactly?

If you vote for a party or a candidate - if they are elected - you have no say in what area of government they could be working in. That's down to the party / parties in power to decide.

Capable of doing a good job, obviously enough.