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

BostonB

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

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.

Thats an attempt at passing the buck on to everyone. Sorry but I call foul. Not everyone voted for FF even then, not everyone lived the high life. Personally I feel FF inherited the situation they did not create it. But they certainly mismanaged it.

athtrasna

BostonB wrote: »

Personally I feel FF inherited the situation they did not create it. But they certainly mismanaged it.

FF inherited the Celtic Tiger! And a deficit that had fallen for every year of the Rainbow..prior to which FF had been in power for over a decade, that deficit is now more than triple what FF inherited. Fianna Fail inherited a country on the up, and dropped us to depths unknown to our generation.

Lenihan made unpopular decisions in 2009 which were supposed to make things better, they didn't, and then we were hit with budget 2010. Every voter in Dublin 15 is hurting as a result.

dirtynosebeps

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

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.

it was lenihan and his party that gave a blanket guarantee to the banks. god knows how many billions has been pumped into anglo and how much more will be needed. maybe someone can answer that here.
do u think lenihan is going to give any of us a blanket guarantee to safe guard our houses if we fall into arrears? Billions of tax payers money wasted, whereas it could've been well spent to help those that really need it. i.e. our neighbours and friends whose houses are on the verge of being reprocessed.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

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'm not fond of that idea either, in fact if they do get into government to me it'll be like the Lib Dems and the Conservatives in the uk.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

So.... as mental as it sounds, as far as I can see that leaves me with Lenihan.

again it goes back to my point earlier. will lenihan give you the same blanket guarantee that he gave to the banks when he comes knocking at your door?

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

To be honest, I think our constituency has to be one of the worst ones, candidate wise.

Agreed 100%. at this point in time as far as i'm concerned lenihan is out, leo is almost out the door for me as well. that leaves a few of the others who will most likely get my vote.
At the end of the day the more T.D.'s that get in from a certain party the better chance they have of getting into power. now if we all thought ,ahhh to heck with it, a F.F. candiate is about the best out of a bad lot and we all gave a F/Failer our number 1 vote. that would leave us that shower of feckers in charge again.
NO WAY I SAY. out with F.F. and let them get buses to work, let them worry about loosing their jobs, their houses and their lively hoods.

athtrasna

Leo was getting a good reception down at Superquinn in Blanch tonight, people queueing up to talk to him. Burton was down at Tesco in Roselawn tonight too, fair play to the pair of them, not ideal conditions for canvassing.

Lenihan posters down all over the place, of all the candidates his posters seem to be the weakest.

daymobrew

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

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.

The local councillors should be doing stuff for this area and the TDs doing stuff for the country.

I would like to see TDs doing stuff that benefits this area and the rest of the country e.g. proper funding of schools.

Murt10

In the poll conducted on Boards.ie, it looks at this stage, that we will have 1 FG 2 Lab and 1 S P

Brian Lenihan is down in 6th place with 5.3% of the vote.

http://www.boards.ie/vote/results.php?type=local&c_id=21

That would be some result for the left.:D

I see Lenihan also got a pasting for what he said and denied later in todays Examiner.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/lenihan-slip-up-as-he-denies-he-said-the-worst-is-over-144213.html#ixzz1CyySKG00

Interesting times.

dirtynosebeps

Murt10 wrote: »

In the poll conducted on Boards.ie, it looks at this stage, that we will have 1 FG 2 Lab and 1 S P

Brian Lenihan is down in 6th place with 5.3% of the vote.

http://www.boards.ie/vote/results.php?type=local&c_id=21

That would be some result for the left.:D

I see Lenihan also got a pasting for what he said and denied later in todays Examiner.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/lenihan-slip-up-as-he-denies-he-said-the-worst-is-over-144213.html#ixzz1CyySKG00

Interesting times.

thanks for the heads up murt, just paid a visit to the local polling station

athtrasna

Got a leaflet in the door from Patrick Nulty yesterday - advertising himself as "your Labour Party General Election Candidate in Waterville". He just lost himself a preference.

I've lived here for 7 years, he hasn't darkened the door, hasn't sent leaflets before, and hasn't answered emails we sent about the management company. Then rather than call or send a team to my door, a random teenager was being paid to stuff them in letterboxes. Nothing against the teen, he was obviously earning some pocket money but I think my vote is worth a little more than that.

Part of the problem is obviously the Snugborough Road being the divide between the Castleknock and Mulhuddart LEAs for the council. All the more reason to send a person rather than a leaflet.

Gaspode

If you are using the boards Vote webpage, there's an option to have a badge saying you have voted appear under your avatar. If everyone advertises this it might encourage others to vote here, and maybe even do so in the real thing!
you can go back and get the badge any time, as well as changing your votes whenever you want (e.g. if someone stuffs an annoying leaflet in your door!)

Zaph

Interesting to see that support for Brian Lenihan has picked up significantly. He's now only a few votes behind Nulty in 4th spot, up from second last at one stage.

The Waltzing Consumer

Zaph wrote: »

Interesting to see that support for Brian Lenihan has picked up significantly. He's now only a few votes behind Nulty in 4th spot, up from second last at one stage.

Well, that can probably be explained due to Nultys fan base being younger and a lot more active online. Lenihan has an older voting base who would not use the internet as much.

I am pretty surprised at the votes for SF, Nulty of Labour and McGuinness of FF. It just looks like these councillors who have a tiny amount of experience and a very questionable amount of achievements want a cushier job and pay.

I still can't understand why people would vote for Higgins given his position on significantly raising corporation tax which would destroy West Dublin. I don't get it.

BostonB

Zaph wrote: »

Interesting to see that support for Brian Lenihan has picked up significantly. He's now only a few votes behind Nulty in 4th spot, up from second last at one stage.

If you didn't know anything of their past, Lenihan comes across quite well,. Especially considering you never hear from some of the other candidates unless there's an election.

hotmail.com

BostonB wrote: »

If you didn't know anything of their past, Lenihan comes across quite well,. Especially considering you never hear from some of the other candidates unless there's an election.

That's the only time I want to hear from them.

BostonB

hotmail.com wrote: »

That's the only time I want to hear from them.

You've plenty to choose from then.

ciaran76

Wasn’t in Ireland over the weekend and when I was leaving on Friday noticed a lot of posters being put up.

Come home yesterday and notice less posters on lampposts etc and most on the ground or flying about the place in the wind.

I wish election posters were banned in D15 to be honest.

Nothing from the local candidates appeal to me at the moment so still very much undecided.

Past30Now

I think enough people (particularly the older dyed in the wool FF type) will come out as FF supporters in the GE and will push the likes of Lenihan across the line. The argument that Lenihan supporters are less likely to support him in a poll (or the boards election) is probably correct.

daymobrew

ciaran76 wrote: »

I wish election posters were banned in D15 to be honest.

Nothing from the local candidates appeal to me at the moment so still very much undecided.

You might like Roderic's proposal to eliminate election posters.

BostonB

daymobrew wrote: »

You might like Roderic's proposal to eliminate election posters.

I think its a great idea. Such a waste.

Morag

ciaran76 wrote: »

Wasn’t in Ireland over the weekend and when I was leaving on Friday noticed a lot of posters being put up.

Come home yesterday and notice less posters on lampposts etc and most on the ground or flying about the place in the wind.

I wish election posters were banned in D15 to be honest.

Nothing from the local candidates appeal to me at the moment so still very much undecided.

Apprently it can be done


http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2011/0207/1224289182967.html

Not so in the village of Newmarket on Fergus in Co Clare, where a 12-year-old prohibition on election posters has created an atmosphere of electoral calm rarely seen in other places.

“It was decided that election posters in around Newmarket on Fergus and on the approach roads to the village looked very tacky,” says the environmental services manager Brendan McInerney of community group Obair, which organised the initiative with the local tidy towns committee.

“If candidates erect posters inside the boundary we have set, we contact them and ask them to remove them or we take them down and put them into storage so that the candidates can collect them. We don’t destroy them because we know they cost money to make but we do remove them.”

McInerney admits that the local poster ban has no legal standing but says it has been very successful.

Zaph

I've heard of one good suggestion regarding the removal of the mess after the election. All parties would have colour coded cable ties, so even if they pull the poster down and leave the ties, it can easily be seen who's littering and action can be taken.

Zaph

Just had my first canvasser, which if memory serves me right is one more than I had at the last election. It was for Joe Higgins, and so I expressed my disappointment to him about Higgins standing for the Dáil, which will mean giving up his European seat if elected, in the same way that he didn't take up his Council seat. Instead we have someone we didn't elect, and possibly will have the same again in Europe. I told him that I was a fan of Higgins, but that he's the public face of the Socialist Party and he gets the votes, not the others who replace him, and that I wasn't sure I could vote for him on that basis. The poor guy was a bit stunned, I don't think he was expecting that at all. The best he could come up with was that the party members only take the average industrial wage from their politician's salaries and that they aren't in it for their own benefit.

Right, bring on the next one!

chucknorris

The Waltzing Consumer wrote: »

I am pretty surprised at the votes for SF, Nulty of Labour and McGuinness of FF. It just looks like these councillors who have a tiny amount of experience and a very questionable amount of achievements want a cushier job and pay.

:

You can not be for real can you? What Dublin west and the country generally need is for a change of generation but to be tagged as looking for a cushier job is disingenuous to these two.

You cannot get experience unless you run and build up a base.

The way I see it, they are the future and should run.

Joan Burton and Joe Higgins are both 62/63.

Out with the old and in with the new.:cool:

The Waltzing Consumer

chucknorris wrote: »

You can not be for real can you? What Dublin west and the country generally need is for a change of generation but to be tagged as looking for a cushier job is disingenuous to these two.

You cannot get experience unless you run and build up a base.

The way I see it, they are the future and should run.

Joan Burton and Joe Higgins are both 62/63.

Out with the old and in with the new.:cool:

Well, I would agree it sounded bad in respect of Nulty for Labour. He has a genuine interest, but he has too little experience and whatever I read from him is populist rhetoric. That is normal as he is pretty young, so he might be ready in another four/eight years, but not now.

In regards SF. Well, the people voted for one SF candidate, who was replaced with another candidate, who was replaced with the current guy. So shows the dedication there to the area. Three times removed.

I am not aiming to be mean, but I have met no one who has ever heard of the FF guy let alone read anything or received any literature. So yeah, cushy job.

chucknorris

The Waltzing Consumer wrote: »

Well, I would agree it sounded bad in respect of Nulty for Labour. He has a genuine interest, but he has too little experience and whatever I read from him is populist rhetoric. That is normal as he is pretty young, so he might be ready in another four/eight years, but not now.

In regards SF. Well, the people voted for one SF candidate, who was replaced with another candidate, who was replaced with the current guy. So shows the dedication there to the area. Three times removed.

I am not aiming to be mean, but I have met no one who has ever heard of the FF guy let alone read anything or received any literature. So yeah, cushy job.

I'll give you a run down of the three in the order you addressed them above.

(1) Patrick Nulty: The big surprise in the local elections of 2009. He had a massive first preference for number 1's. He is 27 and seems to get good press but also seem to be so far left, he is in danger of upsetting his own party members with his rhetoric. He will do well this time out as he is a safe bet for most. He could eat in to Joan's vote. His extended family extends from Clonsilla to Corduff.

(2) SF: Paul Donnelly has been running for election a number of times and found it hard to shake off the co-opt of members after Martin Christie and Felix Gallagher. Things have turned out nicely for SF lately and Paul will do well this time out, but maybe not enough for a seat. He topped the poll in Corduff last time although the Castleknock vote in the GE may not have any impact for him, but the fortlawn/hartstown/sheepmoor areas will support him.

(3) The unknown: David McGuinness is not all that unknown, he is the youngest FF councilor in the country and the second big story of the locals in 2009 as he was only 22 when elected to Fingal co co. He is now 24 and BL's running mate. He is a school teacher and is better known within Hartstown, Mulhuddart and Corduff (where he grew up). FF will not back him ahead of BL and is most likely running his own campaign.

That's a fairly level discussion on all three I reckon :cool:

Flimbos

Murt10 wrote: »

In the poll conducted on Boards.ie, it looks at this stage, that we will have 1 FG 2 Lab and 1 S P

Brian Lenihan is down in 6th place with 5.3% of the vote.

http://www.boards.ie/vote/results.php?type=local&c_id=21

That would be some result for the left.:D

I see Lenihan also got a pasting for what he said and denied later in todays Examiner.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/lenihan-slip-up-as-he-denies-he-said-the-worst-is-over-144213.html#ixzz1CyySKG00

Interesting times.

Unfortunately, Boards.ie voters aren't a good representation of the country as a whole. A lot of older people will still vote for Lenihan (hopefully they see sense). Paddy Power have Lenihan as 4th favorite after Burton, Varadkar and Higgins.

chucknorris

Flimbos wrote: »

Unfortunately, Boards.ie voters aren't a good representation of the country as a whole. A lot of older people will still vote for Lenihan (hopefully they see sense). Paddy Power have Lenihan as 4th favorite after Burton, Varadkar and Higgins.

If Joan Burton worked with Nulty a bit closer and better, they could threaten that fourth seat but that relationship does not exist. Predictable election in Dublin West.

godscop

So is Nulty worth a flutter ?

chucknorris

godscop wrote: »

So is Nulty worth a flutter ?

Hard to call. dmcg and donnelly will eat in to his vote. He will in turn eat in to Burton's vote. It'll leave Lenihan and Higgins safe.

Flimbos

I'd have thought David McGuinness will eat into Lenihan's vote (disgruntled FF voters, still intent on voting FF, but not Lenihan).

Burton, Varadkar and Higgins look safe. Who is most likely to take Lenihan's seat? I'm not sure, but I fear Lenihan will still poll strongly on election day.

chucknorris

Flimbos wrote: »

I'd have thought David McGuinness will eat into Lenihan's vote (disgruntled FF voters, still intent on voting FF, but not Lenihan).
.

Fair point and all though I'd like to see that happen, would they just stick to their usual? Again, he not being well, perhaps they will give David McGuinness the boost he will need for the future.