The Official After Hours Presidential Election Thread **POLL RESET 23/10**

Jimoslimos

Any way of doing a poll adjusted for preferences?

Maybe eliminate the lowest candidate every few days (bye bye Dana:pac:) and resubmit the poll perhaps?

At the moment MMG and Norris are way out in front, but given the polarising nature of these candidates I can't imagine it'll be these two fighting it out come the final count, perhaps one but not both - even on a boards poll.

Freddie59

Paparazzo wrote: »

I'm going for Norris.

Even after THIS??

This is from another boards.ie thread:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056402657&page=2

Aras hopeful says he has been misinterpreted, but his 2002 interview set out views that went far beyond endorsing ‘classical paedophilia’

On child sexual abuse: ‘Children in some instances are more damaged by the condemnation than the experience’

Asked if incest was acceptable, he said there was a case to ban it... but only for girls who might have an ‘undesirable’ pregnancy

On paedophilia: ‘There’s a lot of nonsense about paedophilia... I think there is a complete and utter hysteria about this subject’

Challenged on whether a child can give ‘informed consent’ to sex: ‘The law should take into account consent rather than age’

JMSE

I can't stand Norris' dialect and accent. It's extremely UK public school unnecessarily. I've never been able to listen to it, since the 80's I've thought he was barmy talking like that. Sorry Rodney.

Paparazzo

Freddie59 wrote: »

Even after THIS??

This is from another boards.ie thread:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056402657&page=2

Aras hopeful says he has been misinterpreted, but his 2002 interview set out views that went far beyond endorsing ‘classical paedophilia’

On child sexual abuse: ‘Children in some instances are more damaged by the condemnation than the experience’

Asked if incest was acceptable, he said there was a case to ban it... but only for girls who might have an ‘undesirable’ pregnancy

On paedophilia: ‘There’s a lot of nonsense about paedophilia... I think there is a complete and utter hysteria about this subject’

Challenged on whether a child can give ‘informed consent’ to sex: ‘The law should take into account consent rather than age’

The 3rd point is true. For instance, they were trying to ban cameras in playgrounds in cork because the paedos might try and take pictures of kids. Perfect example of hysteria about paedos.
Norris is still getting my number 1. And if the election is anything like this poll, lock up your kids

Kurtosis

Voting for Norris. Of all the candidates, I think he would make the best president.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

Freddie59 wrote: »

Even after THIS??

This is from another boards.ie thread:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056402657&page=2

Aras hopeful says he has been misinterpreted, but his 2002 interview set out views that went far beyond endorsing ‘classical paedophilia’

On child sexual abuse: ‘Children in some instances are more damaged by the condemnation than the experience’

Asked if incest was acceptable, he said there was a case to ban it... but only for girls who might have an ‘undesirable’ pregnancy

On paedophilia: ‘There’s a lot of nonsense about paedophilia... I think there is a complete and utter hysteria about this subject’

Challenged on whether a child can give ‘informed consent’ to sex: ‘The law should take into account consent rather than age’

I'd actually agree with one or two of those (BUT NOT ALL, before someone jumps on a bandwagon and calls me a pedophile).

Also, is the link to the other thread supposed to be to a specific post? First thing I read was someone claiming that he wouldn't vote for a gay candidate as he would never want a homosexual in the Aras.

Hawk Wing 2

McGuinness No 1
Norris No 7

KnifeWRENCH

Chris P. Bacon wrote: »

We will be the laughing stock of the world if a gay is elected head of our nation.

You forgot to capitalise the g. But I agree; having Gay Mitchell as our head of state would indeed make us into a laughing stock.

Before the Nawi scandal I was dead set on voting for Norris. Afterwards I said I wouldn't but having seen the concentrated effort (orchestrated mostly by Fine Gael) to keep his name off the ballot paper and seeing him fight his way back for the nomination I am now considering voting for him again. He definitely made a big mistake by sending those letters but it is perhaps not fair to hold one incident against him given that he has done more, perhaps, than anyone else in Ireland for gay rights in this country. He is a charming and intelligent man and I do believe his heart is in the right place. Overall I think his pros outweigh his cons and he would be a good president.

If I don't vote for Norris I will vote for Higgins.
Then #3 McGuinness, #4 Gallagher, #5 Davis and #6 Dana. I originally had Davis ahead of Gallagher but the more I hear about her involvement with quangos the more I dislike her, whereas Gallagher impressed me by asking councils to withdraw support for him when he had enough.

Mitchell will not get any preference from me and I hope the man comes nowhere near the Áras for as long as he's alive.

Hawk Wing 2

KnifeWRENCH wrote: »

Mitchell will not get any preference from me and I hope the man comes nowhere near the Áras for as long as he's alive.

Put him down as No 7 then, thats how PR works

dark crystal

Freddie59 wrote: »

Even after THIS??

This is from another boards.ie thread:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056402657&page=2

Aras hopeful says he has been misinterpreted, but his 2002 interview set out views that went far beyond endorsing ‘classical paedophilia’

On child sexual abuse: ‘Children in some instances are more damaged by the condemnation than the experience’

Asked if incest was acceptable, he said there was a case to ban it... but only for girls who might have an ‘undesirable’ pregnancy

On paedophilia: ‘There’s a lot of nonsense about paedophilia... I think there is a complete and utter hysteria about this subject’

Challenged on whether a child can give ‘informed consent’ to sex: ‘The law should take into account consent rather than age’

Lol, why are people still so incredulous when others state a preference for Norris? Everyone has differing opinions and many are supporting Norris for reasons other than his personal views on sexuality. There is more to him than just that, you know!

He has campaigned on mental health and child abuse issues and has campaigned against some of the actions of the United States during its early 21st century 'War On Terror' including the confinement of suspected terrorists in Guantanamo Bay. He is also a strong critic of both Irish Loyalist and Republican terrorism.
He has also been nominated for the European Human Rights Prize.

Along with colleagues (such as Mary Robinson), he was responsible for managing to get homosexuality de-criminalised in the Irish Republic in 1993.

Just on some of the above points you raised, however, if you scratch the surface of some of his comments, you would see he is making some valid points.
Take the age of consent issue, for example - his view of the age of consent is applied solely to what is called the 'Romeo and Juliet' issue: that is, a young boy and girl who have had sex while one or other is under the age of consent. Norris argues in favour of the discretion of a judge and I honestly don't see a problem with that.

I will be supporting him, not because of his sexuality, not because of some letters he wrote asking for clemency for a dear friend who had an ill-judged relationship with someone he believed was of age at the time and was desperate for help, but because I genuinely believe he is the best man for the job.

People are free to disagree - as is their right - but I wish people would start looking behind the headlines a bit more. If after you read about everything he has stood up for and achieved during his career and still dislike him, then fair enough. But condemning him for one personal incident in a whole career seems unfair to me.

Biggins

Had to laugh at Gay Mitchell today!

I’ve had to stand up for some of the poorest people in this country and indeed on the face of this earth, says Gay. He has used every office he has held to its utmost limits, he said.

http://www.thejournal.ie/liveblog-the-presidential-candidates-on-news-at-one-239126-Sep2011/

Indeed - he's ran up such huge expenses and seriously many junkets that he has indeed used every office to its utmost limits!

Have a read: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2015630/Gay-Mitchell-Controversial-views-lavish-junkets-notorious-gangster-cousin.html#ixzz1YQXF1JwI

KnifeWRENCH

Hawk Wing 2 wrote: »

Put him down as No 7 then, thats how PR works

I know how PR works, thanks. (And I think Single Transferable Vote is the more correct term since it's an election where only one person is to be elected.)

And I'd rather leave the box for him blank, I'll get more personal satisfaction out of it.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

Hawk Wing 2 wrote: »

Put him down as No 7 then, thats how PR works

It doesn't work at all in a Presidential election.

cosanostra

Ikky Poo2 wrote: »

It doesn't work at all in a Presidential election.

When the lowest candidates are eliminated pr comes into play but obviously not once someone is elected

retalivity

cant vote as im abroad.

would be norris/mickey d 1/2 if i was home.
wouldnt waste the ink/lead on any of the rest

Dionysus

o1s1n wrote: »

So you speak for everyone now, yes?

There are plenty of anti gay bigots who think along those lines and want nothing more than to smear him out of the running.

Do you reckon all of this would have been brought to the surface in the same way if he wasn't gay?

:rolleyes: So, remember, everybody, if you don't vote for Norris you're an "anti gay bigot". :rolleyes:

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

cosanostra wrote: »

When the lowest candidates are eliminated pr comes into play but obviously not once someone is elected

Did not know that.

Not sure it works though when only one candidate gets elected. I want the person with the most votes to win, not the one who comes second most frequently.

Hawk Wing 2

Ikky Poo2 wrote: »

Did not know that.

Not sure it works though when only one candidate gets elected. I want the person with the most votes to win, not the one who comes second most frequently.

Its not first past the post

Dionysus

I'm still going to vote for Michael D., broadly because I respect the integrity of his left-of-centre passions, but specifically because it was Michael D. as minister, and not any minister from the supposedly uber-Irish Fianna Fáil, who directed funding into establishing TG4 back in 1996. This is often overlooked.

TG4 is easily the most refreshing tv station in Ireland with great, interesting and informative documentaries about our history and culture. It's a world away from the ineffably tabloidesque TV3, or from most of the rubbish on RTÉ tv.

Unlike any of the other candidates, as President Michael D. would have the open-mindedness to be able to talk to Irish people in Irish as well as English. That passion and commitment to an Irish intellectual and cultural community rather than just verbal republicanism about Irish freedom is something which I personally value immensely. Michael D. showed he was good at standing up for minorities when he was in government, and not just when he was in opposition. Huge meas.

Deedsie

Primetime special on RTÉ 1 now!

Son Of A Vidic

Boston Substantial Searcher wrote: »

Not Norris anyway, more and more he's giving me the creeps.

Likewise, it amazes me the double standards in this country. Wait a sec.....it doesn't actually. The church has rightly fallen from its loft heights through the scourge of pedophilia. Yet here we have Norris, a man who abused his office and tried to use his influence to defend the indefensible. To put such a man in the Arás would be truly ironic and so 'Irish' indeed.

Notorious97

Corvus Maximus wrote: »

Likewise, it amazes me the double standards in this country. Wait a sec.....it doesn't actually. The church has rightly falling from its loft heights through the scourge of pedophilia. Yet here we have Norris, a man who abused his office and tried to use his influence to defend the indefensible. To put such a man in the Arás would be truly ironic and so 'Irish' indeed.

Havent you heard??!!

Its ok, it wasnt an irish minor it happened to!

Pighead

Miriam O'Callaghan after giving McGuinness a bit of a grilling there on Primetime. When it finished he muttered an angry "Thank You" as his right eye was twitching like a puppy dog's nose. Watch your back Miriam.

LaFlammeRouge

Pighead wrote: »

Miriam O'Callaghan after giving McGuinness a bit of a grilling there on Primetime. When it finished he muttered an angry "Thank You" as his right eye was twitching like a puppy dog's nose. Watch your back Miriam.

Did you see his face boiling up LOL

Lord Trollington

Pighead wrote: »

Miriam O'Callaghan after giving McGuinness a bit of a grilling there on Primetime. When it finished he muttered an angry "Thank You" as his right eye was twitching like a puppy dog's nose. Watch your back Miriam.

I missed MMG interview, but at the moment she's tickling Dana's tummy.

I'm waiting on them to break out a huge double ended Black Mamba.

woodoo

Pighead wrote: »

Miriam O'Callaghan after giving McGuinness a bit of a grilling there on Primetime. When it finished he muttered an angry "Thank You" as his right eye was twitching like a puppy dog's nose. Watch your back Miriam.

Yeah i noticed the angry vengeful eye twitch too

df1985

Dana was embarassing, "i cry too much"

Fcuk off.

Crea

Mary Davis just swept away the fact that she is a FF quango queen.

David Norris didn't answer when asked was writing the letters the right thing to do.

Lord Trollington

Norris getting a grilling now too...

Miriam and Dana are flicking each others bean at the moment

KeithAFC

Pighead wrote: »

Miriam O'Callaghan after giving McGuinness a bit of a grilling there on Primetime. When it finished he muttered an angry "Thank You" as his right eye was twitching like a puppy dog's nose. Watch your back Miriam.

Martin Mcguinness has to realise that he is going to be asked serious questions in the Republic, more so than in Northern Ireland. He needs to learn to keep his calm in my opinion. He can't expect an easy ride.