Dublin West General Election 2011 [Mod note post #218]

oblivious

Pineapple stu wrote: »

Why does FF have Michael Martin's posters all over the place when he isnt standing for Dublin west? Its bad enough with the candidates posters on every lampost without Martin's posters adding to the mess.

Probably to take the heat of Brian Lenihan and give a sence the FF has changed:rolleyes:

Pineapple stu

It will confuse people when they dont see his name on the ballot paper

oblivious

Pineapple stu wrote: »

It will confuse people when they dont see his name on the ballot paper

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

The posters are annoying me already. I thought there was some rule about them having to be above a certain height on the poles. I've seen some lamp posts with 5 or 6 posters on them, some of them right down practically on the ground. It'll be no time at all until the kids have them down and they're lying around everywhere. :mad:

Justask

Im sorry if this is in the wrong place please feel free to move

There has been a Election poster put up right out side my front gate and my young son is very scared by this. its very visable from every window in the house! Even a couple of times today it stariled me! My son has said im not sleeping here.... Is there anything i can do???
i have contacted the party in question but they ignored, what they are good at!

Please help...:(

dirtynosebeps

i have always been a long and loyal supporter of lenihans, but thanks to him and his party myself and my wife are down hundreds of euro p/m. theres no way i nor my wife can support this man any longer. he has always/mostly topped the polls in this area and for that reason he's probably thinking the same again. i think it's time that the people of this country taught these guys a lesson and that is to show them nothing is guaranteed. maybe if we didn't vote for the likes of lenihan it'll show them what it's like to loose their cushy jobs.

The Waltzing Consumer

dirtynosebeps wrote: »

i have always been a long and loyal supporter of lenihans, but thanks to him and his party myself and my wife are down hundreds of euro p/m. theres no way i nor my wife can support this man any longer. he has always/mostly topped the polls in this area and for that reason he's probably thinking the same again. i think it's time that the people of this country taught these guys a lesson and that is to show them nothing is guaranteed. maybe if we didn't vote for the likes of lenihan it'll show them what it's like to loose their cushy jobs.

From an objective view, I still think Lenihan is a shoe-in even if he has lost a lot of local support. But it will be interesting to see how he does.

My own view, I think it is pretty unfair for "long and loyal" supporters of Lenihans and FF to suddenly act all innocent. You guys have as much to blame for as any FF politician. FF have not radically changed in the last few years, it is the way they are and always have been. They threw the countries money at everything, especially the drain, and long and loyal supporters did not mind then. You benefited from the incompetence, the corruption and the greed and now because the people have to pay for your party, FF voters are abandoning ship and blaming the people they voted in repeatedly. If it was not such a horrible situation, it would be laughable.

Sorry if that sounds crude, but come on, look at your parties history and members, past and present! A party of crooks, vultures, gombeens, tax exiles, robbers, development bed-fellows, drunks, liars and cheats who welcomed the likes of Ahern, Beverly Cooper Flynn, Haely Raes, Lawlors, Haugheys, Dunlops, Frank Fahey and many many other TDs, Councillors and members who have been wrapped up in controversies for decades.

After all that, it only took a slight increase in tax for "long and loyal" fans of Lenihan and Co., to change their tune.

hotmail.com

Justask wrote: »

Im sorry if this is in the wrong place please feel free to move

There has been a Election poster put up right out side my front gate and my young son is very scared by this. its very visable from every window in the house! Even a couple of times today it stariled me! My son has said im not sleeping here.... Is there anything i can do???
i have contacted the party in question but they ignored, what they are good at!

Please help...:(

Eh scissors. Just take it off yourself.

WTSIB

Is Lenihan not a SHOO-IN as opposed to a shoe in--- "big feet" etc

A defenition of Shoo in ---: "seems to have come from the verb shoo, meaning to drive a person or an animal in a given direction by making noises or gestures, which in turn comes from the noise people often make when they do it.";)

Flimbos

Lenihan may have been a shoo-in in recent elections but it could be a different story this time around.

Varadkar and Burton should poll well, and will provide an alternative for many traditional FF voters.

Joe Higgins will also be strong.

With 9 candidates competing for 4 seats, it should be an interesting battle, I can't see Lenihan getting in as easy as before, that's if he gets in at all.

Gaspode

hotmail.com wrote: »

Eh scissors. Just take it off yourself.

Hmmmm, not sure if it's legal to do that. Check before you do remove it.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

dirtynosebeps wrote: »

i have always been a long and loyal supporter of lenihans, but thanks to him and his party myself and my wife are down hundreds of euro p/m. theres no way i nor my wife can support this man any longer. he has always/mostly topped the polls in this area and for that reason he's probably thinking the same again. i think it's time that the people of this country taught these guys a lesson and that is to show them nothing is guaranteed. maybe if we didn't vote for the likes of lenihan it'll show them what it's like to loose their cushy jobs.

I haven't decide who I'm voting for, but I think it's unfair to blame Lenihan for the current situation. He was the unlucky sod that got saddled with the finance portfolio after the others had run us into the ground. Cowen was finance minister when all the shenanigans were going on. It didn't matter who was minister for finance the past few years, there's just no money there.

I suppose people will want to punish FF though, so I'm sure there'll be constituencies with FF candidates that had nothing to do with the last government who will not poll well just because they're FF.

The way I see it which ever party get in there's the same amount of money there, or the same lack of money. Cuts will have to be made somewhere, so FG or Labor will still have to make tight budgets and from what I know of their policies I don't like the idea of them being in charge of the cuts.
I'd never vote for Sinn Fein, but even if I was tempted, from what I can see, their economic policy is a joke. That leaves Joe Higgins, who we elected to represent us once before, and he fecked off to be an MEP, which we all voted him in for again, and now he's abandoning that. Why would people be silly enough to elect him to represent them a third time.

So.... as mental as it sounds, as far as I can see that leaves me with Lenihan.
To be honest, I think our constituency has to be one of the worst ones, candidate wise.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Gaspode wrote: »

Hmmmm, not sure if it's legal to do that. Check before you do remove it.

Kids tear them down all the time. Who's to say kids didn't tear this one down

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Flimbos wrote: »

Lenihan may have been a shoo-in in recent elections but it could be a different story this time around.

Varadkar and Burton should poll well, and will provide an alternative for many traditional FF voters.

I can't speak for others, but the only time I've seen or heard from Varadkar since the last election is when he's on RTE news. All the other TD's are always sending round letters and what not. They annoy me at the time but at least they maintain some sort of presence in the area, but as far as I'm concerned Varadkar may as well not exist.

oblivious

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

I haven't decide who I'm voting for, but I think it's unfair to blame Lenihan for the current situation. .

ANGLO IRISH BANK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and saddling private debt on to the public

BostonB

Have to say the local choice is brutal. I can't decide which is the least dire to vote for.

ThisRegard

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

I can't speak for others, but the only time I've seen or heard from Varadkar since the last election is when he's on RTE news. All the other TD's are always sending round letters and what not. They annoy me at the time but at least they maintain some sort of presence in the area, but as far as I'm concerned Varadkar may as well not exist.

As I already mentioned in this thread, it's probably all down to where you are and he just hasn't got to your area yet. We got a letter from his over a week ago and he came around the area, although I missed him. Then someone else here subsequently got a letter and presumably a visit after that. He's been in regular contract though mail shots and leaflets in my part of Dublin 15 anyway, not junk mail status but more so than any other local politician.

oblivious

ThisRegard wrote: »

not junk mail status but more so than any other local politician.

Probably because he does not hold clinics

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

oblivious wrote: »

ANGLO IRISH BANK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and saddling private debt on to the public

Yes but as minister for finance he inherited these already massive problems from the last minister, which was Cowen.

Obviously the decisions they made to guarantee the banks was the stupidest thing they could've done and we're all paying for it now, but I think blaming Lenihan specifically for the whole thing is a bit unfair. But like I said, people will want to send a message to FF and the fact that Lenihan is running in this area means we have the unique opportunity to send the message right to the minister for finance himself.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

ThisRegard wrote: »

As I already mentioned in this thread, it's probably all down to where you are and he just hasn't got to your area yet. We got a letter from his over a week ago and he came around the area, although I missed him. Then someone else here subsequently got a letter and presumably a visit after that. He's been in regular contract though mail shots and leaflets in my part of Dublin 15 anyway, not junk mail status but more so than any other local politician.

I don't just mean in regards to the upcoming election. I mean since the last general election I haven't once heard anything about Varadkar doing anything in the area where I live. We've gotten update letters through the door from Burton and Lenihan maybe once or twice a year outlining whatever issues they've been dealing with in the area. Not a peep from Varadkar. Now, maybe he's been doing great work in other areas, or maybe people in this area go to Bruton and Lenihan if they want something done, but as far as I'm concerned Varadkar has very little presence here.

oblivious

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

Yes but as minister for finance he inherited these already massive problems from the last minister, which was Cowen..

He did not need to give a blanked guarantee, Anglo was not need for economic survival and could have been let fail with pain all round for the country, but it going to be nothing that yet to come, sovereign debt default, by whatever name you want to all it is coming in 2012! :mad:

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

oblivious wrote: »

He did not need to give a blanked guarantee, Anglo was not need for economic survival and could have been let fail with pain all round for the country, but it going to be nothing that yet to come, sovereign debt default, by whatever name you want to all it is coming in 2012! :mad:

I know what you're saying, and I agree to a point. I'm just saying that Brian Lenihan isn't solely responsible for the decisions that were made. Do you think he went in one day and said to the rest of the government, "here, I think we should guarantee all the banks, see what happens." And they all said, "ah no Brian, we're not sure that's a great idea" but he told them to feck off he was minister for finance and he'd do what he wanted?

Long story short, Bertie Ahern ran this country into the ground then pissed off just as the ****e was about to hit the fan, leaving Cowen and Co. to deal with it. And what have the people of Dublin done with Bertie? Practically made a saint out of him and now he's retiring with his giant pension and living the life of riley.

Of course that's not relevant to Dublin West, what is relevant is that Brian Lenihan is not single handedly responsible for what happened.

If you genuinely think another candidate is the better option then by all means vote for them. But ruling out a candidate that has served us well in the past, without any thought to political or economic policy of other candidates, seems a little bit silly, to me anyway.

oblivious

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

I know what you're saying, and I agree to a point. I'm just saying that Brian Lenihan isn't solely responsible for the decisions that were made. Do you think he went in one day and said to the rest of the government, "here, I think we should guarantee all the banks, see what happens." And they all said, "ah no Brian, we're not sure that's a great idea" but he told them to feck off he was minister for finance and he'd do what he wanted?

Accountability is what missing in this country, "it was another minister" or an adivser to me to do it" crap !

If you get the salary to do a ministerial role then you go when you feck up as Lenihan did. Weather he had good intentisons or not by adding Anglo is to the bail out the out come is the sample.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

oblivious wrote: »

Accountability is what missing in this country, "it was another minister" or an adivser to me to do it" crap !

If you get the salary to do a ministerial role then you go when you feck up as Lenihan did. Weather he had good intentisons or not by adding Anglo is to the bail out the out come is the sample.

As far as accountability goes I'd far rather see Bertie held accountable.

I'm not saying I'm going to vote for Lenihan, but, if having looked at all the other candidates and their personal and party policies, if I think Lenihan is the best option, I'm not going to snub him just to prove a point to FF.

FG and/or Labor are going to be the next government, I don't think there's any doubt in that, but, they're going around with the idea that people want them in government, when the truth of the matter is that a lot of people just want to knock FF down a peg or two. Which is fair enough, but the other parties need to be aware that not everyone actually supports them.

As far as who you'd want on the opposition bench representing you, I think Lenihan is a better option than Socialists or Shinners.

BostonB

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

I ....
Long story short, Bertie Ahern ran this country into the ground then pissed off just as the ****e was about to hit the fan, leaving Cowen and Co. to deal with it. ....

One minute you say one person Lenihan isn't solely to blame, then you turn around and blame one person. Then you say the best candidate/party is the one (or part of one) that ran the party into the ground. If theres logic there I can't see it. Even if you ignore all that. Lenihan had a chance to step up for the FF leadership. He fluffed it up completely. Its hard to see how anyone else or party could have made a worse job of it. Theres a lack of accountability running through everything FF touches. We're all suffering because of it.

BostonB

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

......a lot of people just want to knock FF down a peg or two. ....

You kinda missing the point. Most people are looking for options to save the country. Because FF have destroyed the country.
Its beyond a peg or two. This is a seismic shift.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

BostonB wrote: »

One minute you say one person Lenihan isn't solely to blame, then you turn around and blame one person. Then you say the best candidate/party is the one (or part of one) that ran the party into the ground. If theres logic there I can't see it. Even if you ignore all that. Lenihan had a chance to step up for the FF leadership. He fluffed it up completely. Its hard to see how anyone else or party could have made a worse job of it. Theres a lack of accountability running through everything FF touches. We're all suffering because of it.

The person I was replying to seems to want to point the finger at one person, I was simply pointing out that if there was one person who deserved the finger of blame, then Bertie was it. Although I know Bertie is not in this constituency and there's feck all else we can do about him in regards to this election.

Personally, as far as Dublin West goes, I think Lenihan probably is the best candidate. I'm not a party person, so I won't vote for someone just because of their party, but looking at the individuals we have to pick between, it's like looking for the best of a bad lot.

There's 2 candidates who have only been on the county council for a year and a half. There's Joe Higgins, who was already elected to represent us before he decided he'd rather be an MEP, which he was elected for too, and is now abandoning that. How do we know he won't change his mind again a few months down the line?

Who does that leave? Sinn Fein, who's economic policy is laughable, who's leader's entire political experience is based in Northern Ireland/UK, who doesn't even live in the republic, and who's parties main concern seems to be uniting Ireland. As much as I might like the idea of a United Ireland, adding another 6 counties to the one's we already can't afford to run is really low down on my list of important issues for this election.

That brings us to Joan Burton, Leo Varadkar, Brian Lenihan and the Green candidate.

There's 4 seats to fill. Chances are it'll be the same 3 we already have.

I think the one thing that is undeniable is that for a constituency with 4 seats to fill, we have a very poor choice.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

BostonB wrote: »

You kinda missing the point. Most people are looking for options to save the country. Because FF have destroyed the country.
Its beyond a peg or two. This is a seismic shift.

It would be great if people were voting based on who they thought were the best candidates to sort this mess out, but at the end of the day I think a lot of people are just ignoring the FF candidates completely because they're FF.

It doesn't matter who we elect into power. The major decisions are made for us now, and yes that's because of FF, but electing Labor or FG isn't going to change the fact that money needs to be saved. They might not take it from the same places as FF did, but they're going to have to take it from somewhere.

The country can't be saved at this point. The next few years at the very least are going to be hell for everyone, and the only difference who's in power will make, is who suffers worse.

I suppose some people may be thinking that we should ignore the local issues and think about which party we want in power and vote for that candidate regardless of who they are. But that seems like a return to the old days of people being staunch FF or FG.

BostonB

You can only judge some one based on their track record and Lenihan's and FF track record is abysmal. What would be the point of voting for Lenihan and/or FF based on their track history. Country or local area the track record is the same. D.15 is ruined due to over development and poor planning, which was completely biased to favor developers and banks at the expense of people living with the results of those policies. How can someone who made such a mess of it be the best person to sort it out. They are not credible.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

BostonB wrote: »

You can only judge some one based on their track record and Lenihan's and FF track record is abysmal. What would be the point of voting for Lenihan and/or FF based on their track history. Country or local area the track record is the same. D.15 is ruined due to over development and poor planning, which was completely biased to favor developers and banks at the expense of people living with the results of those policies. How can someone who made such a mess of it be the best person to sort it out. They are not credible.

All true, but FF were also in charge when the Celtic tiger was roaring and we were all living the high life and perfectly happy to keep a questionable government in power.

I think it's a terrible situation we find ourselves in.