Ms. McHugh and national broadcaster

Edgware

KiKi III wrote: »

Greta Thunberg has never won an election, nor Malala Yousafzai or Emma Watson. You can choose to be an advocate for causes you care about outside of the electoral system and still have an impact.

If that’s the path Saoirse is choosing, fair play to her.

As long as we don't have to listen to her oul ****e.
Let her back to minding her chickens and goats

KiKi III

Edgware wrote: »

As long as we don't have to listen to her oul ****e.
Let her back to minding her chickens and goats

I doubt you’ve heard the last of her.

elperello

Edgware wrote: »

And that ended well

Sin sceal eile

Poor_old_gill

KiKi III wrote: »

I doubt you’ve heard the last of her.

Kiki you seem to be getting the whole point of this thread wrong.

People are questioning why she gets so much airtime as she's a failed politician.

They are not saying that they hope she never amounts to anything - if she becomes a successful activist who helps change society for the better than fairplay to her.

However she chose to be a politician, failed and is now saying electoral politics doesnt work - it's all very childish in fairness.

Galwayguy35

KiKi III wrote: »

The determination not to give McHugh any credit for her success to date is interesting.

Was she lifted by a tide that saw the Greens resurgence? Yes, certainly a factor.

Did she impress in a nationally televised debate? Yes, she absolutely did. She rinsed Peter Casey.

Did she find ways to connect with farmers who are naturally skeptical of the Green Party? Yes, she did.

The reluctance to give credit where credit’s due says a lot more about the posters here than it does about her.

I'd be interested to see the farmers she connected with, certainly none over here in the west anyway.

KiKi III

Galwayguy35 wrote: »

I'd be interested to see the farmers she connected with, certainly none over here in the west anyway.

None of those 51,000 voters in the West had any farms in the family?

KiKi III

Poor_old_gill wrote: »

Kiki you seem to be getting the whole point of this thread wrong.

People are questioning why she gets so much airtime as she's a failed politician.

They are not saying that they hope she never amounts to anything - if she becomes a successful activist who helps change society for the better than fairplay to her.

However she chose to be a politician, failed and is now saying electoral politics doesnt work - it's all very childish in fairness.

I’m not, I was responding to someone who had just said “as long as we don’t have to hear any more of her oul ****e”. Read the context before you tell me I don’t understand the point of the thread.

Why does she get airtime? Because she’s a young, passionate, articulate woman who’s airing a dissenting view at a time the Greens have chosen to go into government. She’s representative of a clear rift in the Green Party between the older and younger generations that was very apparent during the PfG negotiations.

If the Greens get shafted again at the next election having achieved fück all, she’ll be proven right.

Posters here are saying she left because she didn’t get elected; that’s not quite accurate. The election was in February. She left because she doesn’t believe in the PfG the Greens have agreed to and that they shouldn’t have gone into government.

Poor_old_gill

She was getting unwarranted airtime a long time before the PfG.

Her record as a politician is very poor and that's what most people are saying.

We can only speculate on next steps & how successful they will be but at the moment her impact does not warrant her coverage

KiKi III

Poor_old_gill wrote: »

She was getting unwarranted airtime a long time before the PfG.

Her record as a politician is very poor and that's what most people are saying.

We can only speculate on next steps & how successful they will be but at the moment her impact does not warrant her coverage

Her electoral record is poor, her record as an activist seems to be quite strong.

To flip the question on its head: Why shouldn’t she get air time? Climate change is a massive issue globally, should you have to be an elected representative to talk about and get media coverage? Extinction Rebellion also gets a lot of coverage when they run protests.

Poor_old_gill

KiKi III wrote: »

Her electoral record is poor, her record as an activist seems to be quite strong.

To flip the question on its head: Why shouldn’t she get air time? Climate change is a massive issue globally, should you have to be an elected representative to talk about and get media coverage? Extinction Rebellion also gets a lot of coverage when they run protests.

What is her record as an activist? I genuinely have no idea so give me an example of something/anything she has done as an activist

Flipping it on its head? Why should she get more airtime than any other activist?
She presented herself as a politician and failed at that - she then decided to throw a strop & say "ye are all stupid & politics is b*llox'.

So her credibility is at a very low ebb currently

Invidious

Poor_old_gill wrote: »

People are questioning why she gets so much airtime as she's a failed politician.

It's premature to call McHugh a "failed politician." She's only 30 years old.

Look at Pearse Doherty. He failed to win a seat in the 2002 and 2007 general elections, as well as the 2004 European election, and could easily have been written off as a "failed politician" when he was McHugh's age.

He finally won a Dail seat in a 2010 by-election, when he was 33. In February, he achieved the second-highest first-preference vote in the country, with 21,044 votes.

In other words, things can change, and it's premature to label someone so young a failure.

KiKi III

Poor_old_gill wrote: »

What is her record as an activist? I genuinely have no idea so give me an example of something/anything she has done as an activist

Flipping it on its head? Why should she get more airtime than any other activist?
She presented herself as a politician and failed at that - she then decided to throw a strop & say "ye are all stupid & politics is b*llox'.

So her credibility is at a very low ebb currently

Her credibility might be at a low ebb with you, it’s intact with me and I would guess with a lot of young people for whom climate change is an urgent concern.

You’ve paraphrased her there in a way that makes her sound crazy, but that’s not actually what she said at all. Have you actually read her statement in her own words?

Poor_old_gill

KiKi III wrote: »

Her credibility might be at a low ebb with you, it’s intact with me and I would guess with a lot of young people for whom climate change is an urgent concern.

You’ve paraphrased her there in a way that makes her sound crazy, but that’s not actually what she said at all. Have you actually read her statement in her own words?

You said that she has a good record as an activist - what is it?

Poor_old_gill

Invidious wrote: »

It's premature to call McHugh a "failed politician." She's only 30 years old.

Look at Pearse Doherty. He failed to win a seat in the 2002 and 2007 general elections, as well as the 2004 European election, and could easily have been written off as a "failed politician" when he was McHugh's age.

He finally won a Dail seat in a 2010 by-election, when he was 33. In February, he achieved the second-highest first-preference vote in the country, with 21,044 votes.

In other words, things can change, and it's premature to label someone so young a failure.

She has retired from politics, thus deeming herself as the failure.

Tell me how

Poor_old_gill wrote: »

She was getting unwarranted airtime a long time before the PfG.

Her record as a politician is very poor and that's what most people are saying.

We can only speculate on next steps & how successful they will be but at the moment her impact does not warrant her coverage

Why was her airtime unwarranted?

Do you think Presidential or European Candidates should get no media coverage until such time as they are elected? How then can people decide whether to vote for them or not?

Beechwoodspark

The Montrose elite latched on to her as a “home grown” version of Greta

StackSteevens

Invidious wrote: »

It's premature to call McHugh a "failed politician." She's only 30 years old.

Look at Pearse Doherty. He failed to win a seat in the 2002 and 2007 general elections, as well as the 2004 European election, and could easily have been written off as a "failed politician" when he was McHugh's age.

He finally won a Dail seat in a 2010 by-election, when he was 33. In February, he achieved the second-highest first-preference vote in the country, with 21,044 votes.

In other words, things can change, and it's premature to label someone so young a failure.

One would have to be smoking something very potent and most likely illicit to regard Motormouth Doherty as anything other than an abject failure as a politician. He's been in the Oireachtas, Dail and Seanad, for 13 years and has achieved absolutely zilch.

Poor_old_gill

Tell me how wrote: »

Why was her airtime unwarranted?

Do you think Presidential or European Candidates should get no media coverage until such time as they are elected? How then can people decide whether to vote for them or not?

I gave the example of Catherine Martin, who won a seat & was running for the Green party leadership - who got less airtime than McHugh, who couldnt even get a seat

KiKi III

Poor_old_gill wrote: »

You said that she has a good record as an activist - what is it?

She was the most prominent voice in the European elections advocating for Green policies.

She’s made a huge effort in reaching across a traditional divide between green politics and farmers in the West.

She’s got a far bigger online following than Catherine Martin (you may scoff, but it’s important these days)

She convinced 51,000 people to give her their number one vote as a 28 year old newcomer to politics.

And as someone else said, she’s only at the beginning of her career.

Poor_old_gill

KiKi III wrote: »

She was the most prominent voice in the European elections advocating for Green policies.

She’s made a huge effort in reaching across a traditional divide between green politics and farmers in the West.

She’s got a far bigger online following than Catherine Martin (you may scoff, but it’s important these days)

She convinced 51,000 people to give her their number one vote as a 28 year old newcomer to politics.

And as someone else said, she’s only at the beginning of her career.

So, as an activist, nothing?

elperello

McHugh is mocked as a failure for not getting elected.

Doherty is mocked despite getting elected.

Politics is truly a tough trade.

Tell me how

Poor_old_gill wrote: »

I gave the example of Catherine Martin, who won a seat & was running for the Green party leadership - who got less airtime than McHugh, who couldnt even get a seat

Catherine hasn't ran for President, or a seat in Brussels, she was the lead Green negotiator for the PfG so wouldn't have been doing media during that time anyway. Your comparison is of no value.

KiKi III

Poor_old_gill wrote: »

So, as an activist, nothing?

You can interpret that as nothing I suppose if you want to. I’d see shaping the national conversation on green policies during a major election as a pretty big achievement myself.

MrMusician18

KiKi III wrote: »

She was the most prominent voice in the European elections advocating for Green policies.

She’s made a huge effort in reaching across a traditional divide between green politics and farmers in the West.

She’s got a far bigger online following than Catherine Martin (you may scoff, but it’s important these days)

She convinced 51,000 people to give her their number one vote as a 28 year old newcomer to politics.

And as someone else said, she’s only at the beginning of her career.

They are not real tangible achievements. An achievement as an activist is getting a law overturned or a referendum won or getting your area of concern a concern of government/wider society.

Would you describe Peter Casey's 342,727 first preference votes as an achievement?

Poor_old_gill

Tell me how wrote: »

Catherine hasn't ran for President, or a seat in Brussels, she was the lead Green negotiator for the PfG so wouldn't have been doing media during that time anyway. Your comparison is of no value.

Catherine is a TD, McHugh hasnt won anything.

By your logic - any loon ball who runs for president deserves more press coverage than an elected TD.

McHugh has done nothing thus far & should be treated as such -when this changes, then media adulation should follow.

It should be a meritocracy and she has done nothing to merit any real coverage

Poor_old_gill

KiKi III wrote: »

You can interpret that as nothing I suppose if you want to. I’d see shaping the national conversation on green policies during a major election as a pretty big achievement myself.

But she hasnt done that & all your 'points' have no substantial evidence to back them up.

You are just dealing in hypotheticals & twisting things to suit your narrative.

None of this will change the fact that she tried to be a politician - failed miserable & has now thrown a sulk

Tell me how

Poor_old_gill wrote: »

Catherine is a TD, McHugh hasnt won anything.

By your logic - any loon ball who runs for president deserves more press coverage than an elected TD.

McHugh has done nothing thus far & should be treated as such -when this changes, then media adulation should follow.

It should be a meritocracy and she has done nothing to merit any real coverage

Showing Peter Casey up for being a foghorn - deserves merit
Being a strong advocate of the need to develop sustainable solutions - deserves merit
Being a passionate and informed speaker and a good communicator on the subject - deserves merit
Increasing the Green vote presentation in Mayo in both European and General elections by at least 400% - deserves merit

KiKi III

MrMusician18 wrote: »

They are not real tangible achievements. An achievement as an activist is getting a law overturned or a referendum won or getting your area of concern a concern of government/wider society.

Would you describe Peter Casey's 342,727 first preference votes as an achievement?

I agree with your definition of achievement and I’d say hers falls into your third category: her area of concern is becoming a concern for wider society partially because of a conversation she is a vocal participant in.

Repeal was won in 2019 but some of the activists had been involved since the 80s. Technically by your standards up to 2018 they had no “tangible achievements” but they were laying important groundwork for when the referendum finally happened.

Tell me how

Poor_old_gill wrote: »

But she hasnt done that & all your 'points' have no substantial evidence to back them up.

You are just dealing in hypotheticals & twisting things to suit your narrative.

None of this will change the fact that she tried to be a politician - failed miserable & has now thrown a sulk

She is picking a different path.

Einstein is purported to have said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. You appear to disagree.

I don't think it matters anyhow, I've seen people here call Leo a failed Doctor. Some people just look for an angle to be able to be judgmental about others. It's as old as time itself.

StupidLikeAFox

Poor_old_gill wrote: »

But she hasnt done that & all your 'points' have no substantial evidence to back them up.

You are just dealing in hypotheticals & twisting things to suit your narrative.

None of this will change the fact that she tried to be a politician - failed miserable & has now thrown a sulk

You are giving her a fair bit of airtime yourself.