Comments | natural20: Midway Point - General Election 2011

natural20

Midway Point - General Election 2011

Feb 14, 2011 23:35

When the election was called I thought I might post a lot, but really, there's been precious little to post about. The parties are trotting out their talking points, and I won't lie that I like Labour's more than anyone else's. But what will the reality of those policies be if they get into power ( Read more... )

Comments 33

hrafen February 15 2011, 00:33:25 UTC

As a spokesperson for the Great Old One we would like to notify you that he intends to run for the White House and is therefore not planning to become leader of your republic.

blearyboy February 15 2011, 01:09:46 UTC

I have a feeling that the next few years will be a long and brutal answer to the question, "Ah sure jaysus, how could the other shower be any worse?"

korenwolf February 15 2011, 16:20:14 UTC

and a few years down the track it'll be the same question but looking back in the other direction.

As I muttered during the UK election, we don't vote anyone in.

We keep voting the current bunch of lying scum out in favour of a fresh bunch of lying scum.

cheerfulcynic February 16 2011, 20:31:19 UTC

I think the theory is the scum will eventually develop the intelligence of lab rats and curb the scumming tendancies. I think the practice is even with one term in, they benefit too much from being scumbags.

ulaire_daidoji February 15 2011, 01:35:00 UTC

Started watching the debate about 20 minutes in and after 5 minutes of it I think your second paragraph summed it all up perfectly. Awful, awful format. It wasn't a debate at all.... so I left it and went to play Starcraft II. I imagine a metric crapload of likeminded people turned off as well.

Reading around the internet reactions it seems Kenny and Adams did best. General consensus is that while Martin was terrible, Gilmore lost the most.

Ps. What's wrong with a right wing green agenda? ;)

ramurphy February 15 2011, 09:57:34 UTC

I watched the whole thing. It was an exceptionally poorly moderated program. I found it interesting that it just happened that Kenny was centre stage, flanked by Gilmore and Martin, with Gormley and Adams hanging on the fringes. Sheer accident, luck of the draw, no doubt.

I thought Martin came across as petulant. Gormley's remark blaming FG and Labour for not stopping the budget was bizarre. Kenny did well, Gilmore did all right, as did Adams.

sciamanna February 15 2011, 10:44:24 UTC

I can't vote in the Irish general elections. That said, I have a couple of comments ( ... )

natural20 February 15 2011, 10:53:47 UTC

It's a fair point, and I suppose my problem with the Socialist Workers, and with SF, is that they're too far left, even for me. SF's economics policies are madness with no basis in reality, and a lot of the SWP policies are too. So when I say properly socialist, I'm couching it in my terms, that is to say left wing politics that acknowledges the realities of the capitalist world and the situation we're in.

sciamanna February 15 2011, 11:32:27 UTC

That's of course a point: I wonder if it applies to all sudden-Labour-supporters or not. But then of course you're right when you say that by "properly socialist" you don't actually mean "properly socialist ( ... )

natural20 February 15 2011, 12:04:20 UTC

Well, I think that people's definition of socialist can vary, but I'll happily admit there are people more left-wing than I. I have time, sometimes, for Joe Higgins, he does a lot of good stuff and I agree with him on a lot of things. I'm aware of the history, aye, and they're just on the edge of what I consider to be achievable. But it's not just economics.

I would suggest looking at SF's economic policies, however, and I genuinely believe they would be espousing these regardless of their prospects, but they may be wrong.

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