Girl 26 looking to become a TD- WTF?

Sergeant

dark crystal wrote: »

I'm not a politician or an economist, not do I pretend to be. We elect people supposedly more experienced and in a better position than us to make those changes.

Although, it's worth looking at how Iceland have made an amazing recovery from their crippling recession. They have taken almost the polar opposite tack than we and most other European countries have taken and it's working incredibly well for them. They took an unorthodox approach and it paid off.

That doesn't mean that you cannot have opinions. Endlessly giving out about our lot, but not having any viable alternatives is an exercise in futility. People recognised that on Wednesday.

And I wish this fallacy that Iceland took the best approach would go away. Even a quick read of the news would show that savings were wiped out, inflation is at a record high, there is a growing and unsustainable property bubble with personal loans tied to inflation, and personal insolvency is amongst the highest in Europe. Some things were done well, but they have their own control of their currency. Ireland does not.

Grayson

Sergeant wrote: »

You're perfectly entitled to disagree.

Have you ever considered putting yourself before the electorate? Yesterday, the results were counted, and it showed that 70% of those who voted went for moderate parties of the centre-right. There was a wide range of alternatives on offer. None of these were taken up by the electorate. Dem be da facts.

Are you trying the old "If you're not willing to do it yourself, you shouldn't criticize others?"

dark crystal

Sergeant wrote: »

That doesn't mean that you cannot have opinions. Endlessly giving out about our lot, but not having any viable alternatives is an exercise in futility. People recognised that on Wednesday.

And I wish this fallacy that Iceland took the best approach would go away. Even a quick read of the news would show that savings were wiped out, inflation is at a record high, there is a growing and unsustainable property bubble with personal loans tied to inflation, and personal insolvency is amongst the highest in Europe. Some things were done well, but they have their own control of their currency. Ireland does not.

Of course I have an opinion, but that is futile in itself because it matters not one jot what I think at the end of the day. My policies will not be implemented, only the policies devised by our current government will. They hold the power, they make the decisions and as citizens we have every right to question them if we feel they aren't working.

You can paint Iceland's recovery in as negative a light as you wish, it still trumps our recovery thus far. No one has the perfect solution to a recession, but we can look to how other governments deal successfully with the issues we find ourselves facing and perhaps take it on board. If something isn't working, look at why it isn't working and adapt accordingly.

As people, we never stop learning. Governments should never stop learning from their mistakes either. By electing an inexperienced young woman on her name and party affiliation alone, it shows we still have a long way to go when it comes to learning from past mistakes in this country.

robbiezero

dark crystal wrote: »

Of course I have an opinion, but that is futile in itself because it matters not one jot what I think at the end of the day. My policies will not be implemented, only the policies devised by our current government will. They hold the power, they make the decisions and as citizens we have every right to question them if we feel they aren't working.

You can paint Iceland's recovery in as negative a light as you wish, it still trumps our recovery thus far. No one has the perfect solution to a recession, but we can look to how other governments deal successfully with the issues we find ourselves facing and perhaps take it on board. If something isn't working, look at why it isn't working and adapt accordingly.

As people, we never stop learning. Governments should never stop learning from their mistakes either. By electing an inexperienced young woman on her name and party affiliation alone, it shows we still have a long way to go when it comes to learning from past mistakes in this country.

I don't see what is wrong with electing her on party affiliation. If I was a voter yesterday and I was happy with the Fine Gael party's performance in Government and wanted more of the same surely voting for her would have been a sensible option.
Its a better reason than electing someone to fill a pothole outside your house or get a swimming pool for the area.

dark crystal

robbiezero wrote: »

I don't see what is wrong with electing her on party affiliation. If I was a voter yesterday and I was happy with the Fine Gael party's performance in Government and wanted more of the same surely voting for her would have been a sensible option.
Its a better reason than electing someone to fill a pothole outside your house or get a swimming pool for the area.

But this particular party candidate has no proven track record of her own at all. None.

She was running on the FG ticket because of who her father was, not because she was the most experienced or best candidate for the job. Her whole campaign was based on her father's legacy and achievements.

If this is the best candidate FG can come up with, I despair. I could never support a party who would recruit a candidate with such a flimsy CV for such an important job. But everyone's criteria is different, I guess.

Grayson

dark crystal wrote: »

But this particular party candidate has no proven track record of her own at all. None.

She was running on the FG ticket because of who her father was, not because she was the most experienced or best candidate for the job. Her whole campaign was based on her father's legacy and achievements.

If this is the best candidate FG can come up with, I despair. I could never support a party who would recruit a candidate with such a flimsy CV for such an important job. But everyone's criteria is different, I guess.

Honestly, I'm having a hard time because she beat Fianna Fail. I hate Fianna Fail. They got the country into this mess. But her, she's an inexperienced girl who rode a sympathy vote into an election.

I think I would have been pissed off anyway.

dark crystal

Grayson wrote: »

Honestly, I'm having a hard time because she beat Fianna Fail. I hate Fianna Fail. They got the country into this mess. But her, she's an inexperienced girl who rode a sympathy vote into an election.

I think I would have been pissed off anyway.

Yeah, it's kinda like being up against a wall and choosing which one of the firing squad would do the least worst job of executing you.

Even at that, I surely wouldn't choose the most inexperienced one!

Yitzhak Rabin

Lapin wrote: »

You were no more "up and down the country" than the cat nextdoor.

Don't be talkin shíte.

Yes I travel this island extensively. I started this morning in Mallow, conducted some business in Athlone, and I am now writing this message from my BlackBerry in Virginia (Cavan, not the US).

I am an engaging type of person, so I always try and get a feel for the mood of the populace when I'm in an area, and overwhelmingly the mood is optimism where I go.

Of course I meet people with contrarian opinions from time to time, but usually these are people who were fighting the power even in the good times. The type of person you would have found up a tree trying to halt the construction of a motorway.

Anyway, please don't call me a liar again.

@Mikom: That was a nasty little dig. Please attack the post and not the poster.

Greentopia

Grayson wrote: »

Honestly, I'm having a hard time because she beat Fianna Fail. I hate Fianna Fail. They got the country into this mess. But her, she's an inexperienced girl who rode a sympathy vote into an election.

I think I would have been pissed off anyway.

While I agree with your main point can I say (as others have done several times on this thread!) that as a 26yr old she is an adult woman, not a girl.

You almost never hear an adult male being referred to as a boy-unless it's used as an insult, so why call a woman a girl? It's reductionist and disrespectful quite frankly.

JupiterKid

Nepotism and political dynasties are still very much alive and well in this country.

Was there no other candidate in Meath East with actual political experience that FG could have selected to run? Irish politics at its most predictable and depressing.

dark crystal

JupiterKid wrote: »

Nepotism and political dynasties are still very much alive and well in this country.

Was there no other candidate in Meath East with actual political experience that FG could have selected to run? Irish politics at its most predictable and depressing.

Certainly no other candidate with as much chance of winning. The reason they chose her, is because they know the Irish electorate only too well.

teddy_303

Well they could not run a candidate on their amoral shambolic policies, so ran with the sympathy vote, and hey presto, they know their audience it appears...

Yitzhak Rabin

If she won on a sympathy vote then why did she receive a comparable amount of votes as national polls would indicate???

Take a few moments to mull that over lads.

space_man

dark crystal wrote: »

Certainly no other candidate with as much chance of winning. The reason they chose her, is because they know the Irish electorate only too well.

She'll give the Meath electorate the representation they deserve.

Grayson

Greentopia wrote: »

While I agree with your main point can I say (as others have done several times on this thread!) that as a 26yr old she is an adult woman, not a girl.

You almost never hear an adult male being referred to as a boy-unless it's used as an insult, so why call a woman a girl? It's reductionist and disrespectful quite frankly.

That's because when you call someone a boy, it sounds like slave talk. I've heard plenty of referenced to guys in their twenties as lads etc...

But rather than girl which is insulting, I'm going to stick with immature woman

Grayson

Yitzhak Rabin wrote: »

If she won on a sympathy vote then why did she receive a comparable amount of votes as national polls would indicate???

Take a few moments to mull that over lads.

Did anyone say they were all sympathy votes?

Plus that's just as bad. If your right that means that the electorate don't care at all and anything under that party could have won.

Once again, carbon rod time.

Prodigious

I know people who have worked with her. She's worked under her father's wing for years and knows the system. She's young and enthusiastic and has energy. She also has good degrees. People need to stop being judgemental and look at her on face value, which shows she is a great candidate.

robbiezero

dark crystal wrote: »

But this particular party candidate has no proven track record of her own at all. None.

She was running on the FG ticket because of who her father was, not because she was the most experienced or best candidate for the job. Her whole campaign was based on her father's legacy and achievements.

If this is the best candidate FG can come up with, I despair. I could never support a party who would recruit a candidate with such a flimsy CV for such an important job. But everyone's criteria is different, I guess.

Important Job?
She will be a back bench TD. You could train a monkey to do that job. I'm not sure experience counts for all that much anyway. The Healy Rae's have loads of experience, thats not going to do anyone outside Kerry any good.
She can't be worse than some of the TD's already in there.

Sergeant

space_man wrote: »

She'll give the Meath electorate the representation they deserve.

Why are you dismissing the woman before she's even sat in her seat in the Dáil? It's the height of condescension.

My name is URL

Prodigious wrote: »

I know people who have worked with her. She's worked under her father's wing for years and knows the system. She's young and enthusiastic and has energy. She also has good degrees. People need to stop being judgemental and look at her on face value, which shows she is a great candidate.

Well time will tell how enthusiastic and driven she is. I'm going to guess we'll never hear too much from her bar the usual rowing in behind senior ministers with blind support and toeing of the party line etc (not her fault, mind.. but that of the system). A role that could have been filled by any candidate.

It's sleeveen politics.. simple as. On par with the parachuting in of Gerry Adams to Louth, or the numerous FF nods to 'celebrity' candidates in order to lazily retain seats.. the stuff that FG themselves have been so outspoken against in the past.. the very kind of thing that FG promised to put an end to in Irish politics.

Yitzhak Rabin

Grayson wrote: »

Did anyone say they were all sympathy votes?

Plus that's just as bad. If your right that means that the electorate don't care at all and anything under that party could have won.

Once again, carbon rod time.

Yes. That is the nature of Irish politics. The Toaiseach and his cabinet make policy, and due to the whip system, the backbenchers are merely there to make up numbers.

So when people go to the polls that are clued in, they know that in reality they are voting for a party rather than a person. Do you get that?

Sergeant

My name is URL wrote: »

Well time will tell how enthusiastic and driven she is. I'm going to guess we'll never hear too much from her bar the usual rowing in behind senior ministers with blind support and toeing of the party line etc (not her fault, mind.. but that of the system). A role that could have been filled by any candidate.

It's sleeveen politics.. simple as. On par with the parachuting in of Gerry Adams to Louth, or the numerous FF nods to 'celebrity' candidates in order to lazily retain seats.. the stuff that FG themselves have been so outspoken against in the past.. the very kind of thing that FG promised to put an end to in Irish politics.

Should she not have been allowed run because her father was a politician?

Greentopia

Grayson wrote: »

That's because when you call someone a boy, it sounds like slave talk. I've heard plenty of referenced to guys in their twenties as lads etc...

Sure, but lads or lassies is not a put down or an insult as is calling a man a boy. A boy is someone no older than puberty so I don't see why girl should be the word used for a female past puberty.

Unless of course you're from Waterford as I am and the standard greeting is "well boy" or "well girl" for anyone and everyone

And it's far less likely that people would raise an eyebrow to a 26 yr. old man becoming a TD so why should it be so with a woman? competence and qualifications are far more important than experience IMO.

space_man

Sergeant wrote: »

Why are you dismissing the woman before she's even sat in her seat in the Dáil? It's the height of condescension.

How are my remarks condscending?
She'll do a fantastic job for which she has been chosen.

Laneyh

Sand Wedge wrote: »

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/mcentees-daughter-urges-voters-to-look-beyond-name-as-she-runs-for-dads-seat-29116915.html

Helen McEntee daughter of the late Shane McEntee running to become TD of Meath East.

This country gets to me sometimes. Am I the only one who thinks that a 26 year old who never has had a job in the real world (apart from being employed by her Dad(R.I.P.) as a parliamentary assistant for two years) should be running for a TD position.

The circumstances for her fathers passing is terrible but that should not have a bearing on who we should be electing as TD's. We all have moaned about these career policitians who have never experienced the real world making decisions for us. But it seems that we never learn.

What 26 year old would not love to get a job paying a basic salary of €92,672 before all those generous allowances and travel expenses are thrown in and of course those great pensions. Maybe you cannot fault her for trying to go for it but surely someone in the Fine Gael party either should have advised her otherwise or at least contested the Fine Gael nomination.

That is my rant over for now. Am I the only one with this view or are there more like me out there?

Absolutely no issue with her age or gender.. we need more young people interested in politics and not just the same old turkeys knocking around. However, what does annoy me in Ireland is the political dynasties and the belief that politics is a family business. All politicians or wannabees should really need to work harder for public approval and be elected on the merit of their policies.

Bob_Latchford

Ireland looks backward when they elect someone for being someones relative

Royal Legend

No doubt that she will be added to the 10 nodding heads standing behind Enda Kenny whenever he makes statements on the news :rolleyes:

In fairness she will help bring down the overall age profile of the 10 nodding heads, but which of the 10 nodding heads will now be surplus to requirements or be put out to pasture?

Eamonn Gilmore has a bigger issue, instrad of his army of 10 nodding heads, he now has a posse of 7 hanging heads, very bad week for our eminent statesman Eamo.

Grayson

Greentopia wrote: »

Sure, but lads or lassies is not a put down or an insult as is calling a man a boy. A boy is someone no older than puberty so I don't see why girl should be the word used for a female past puberty.

Unless of course you're from Waterford as I am and the standard greeting is "well boy" or "well girl" for anyone and everyone

And it's far less likely that people would raise an eyebrow to a 26 yr. old man becoming a TD so why should it be so with a woman? competence and qualifications are far more important than experience IMO.

The fact that you think that is sexist. None of us have any issue with her gender. That's all in your head.

BTW, I'm going to make sure that next time i hear someone, no matter what their gender, say "hey girl", i let them know how sexist they are. I've also mailed Zooey Deschanel demanding that she rename her show. I don't think that counts as breaking a restraining order.

Yitzhak Rabin wrote: »

Yes. That is the nature of Irish politics. The Toaiseach and his cabinet make policy, and due to the whip system, the backbenchers are merely there to make up numbers.

So when people go to the polls that are clued in, they know that in reality they are voting for a party rather than a person. Do you get that?

I'm not sure. i couldn't hear what you were saying over the immense din of patronization.

Sergeant wrote: »

Why are you dismissing the woman before she's even sat in her seat in the Dáil? It's the height of condescension.

That's the point of elections. If not, we'd select by raffle and wait till after they had served their term to decide if they'd make a good TD.

dxhound2005

Laneyh wrote: »

Absolutely no issue with her age or gender.. we need more young people interested in politics and not just the same old turkeys knocking around. However, what does annoy me in Ireland is the political dynasties and the belief that politics is a family business. All politicians or wannabees should really need to work harder for public approval and be elected on the merit of their policies.

I don't think Ireland is the only country with political families. Without doing any research I can think of the Paisleys, Robinsons and Benns in the UK, the Kims in Korea and the Castros in Cuba. And now gone the Saddams in Iraq. And the Kennedy and Bush families in the USA. Once people have a democratic choice, which isn't the case everwhere, then I will not deride the people of Meath as being backward or question their reasoning power for the choice they have made.

As far as the McEntees go I don't think the word dynasty is appropriate. Shane McEntee was the first TD in the family and his daughter may well prove to be the last.

mikom

dxhound2005 wrote: »

I don't think Ireland is the only country with political families........ the Kims in Korea and now gone the Saddams in Iraq.

Ah, for fucks sake.

I have a dead horse out the back if you want to flog that as well.