The Political Thread

[Hawkmumbler]

All I hear is Ideology. Which is almost always just superficial nonsense so i'm not gonna bother with either.

[The Legendary Shark]

www.1215.org/lawnotes/lawnotes/repvsdem.htm
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[COMMANDO FORCES]

It's quite simple what's going to happen next week really!

UKIP will do well in the European Election and that will be through their core voters and disgruntled Tory, Labour and Liberal voters. Many people are disillusioned with the main parties and so to give them a bloody nose/embarrass them, they will put in a protest vote for UKIP.

Once we get back to the General Election, people will resort back to what they always vote, apart from the floating voters and the very few at that time who want to do a protest vote, which at that time will do nothing.

I shall be listening to the radio on the election night and will probably be having a good laugh, as party members come up with excuses as to why they did so badly, poor turn out, protest, weather, etc...

[JayzusB.Christ]

I'm getting sick of democracy. In a democracy, 51% beats 49% - which means that if 51% pass the laws then 49% have no right to disagree.
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I think a republic would be better because in a republic if the 51% pass laws they are only advisory and not mandatory. So if the 49% disagree with the laws passed they can comply or not based on personal choice. Anyone not complying with the laws of the majority is not automatically a criminal - unless actual loss, harm or damage is caused, in which case they get taken to court just like anyone else.
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Democracy is all about blanket control whereas a republic is all about personal freedom and responsibility. Turn the EU into the ER and I'd be the first one waving the European flag.
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I don't know about that, Sharky, me old mate.  I live in a republic and feel like I have to comply with stupid laws all the time.  The last government prohibited the 'publication or utterance of blasphemous material', for example.  A fucking blasphemy law in 2009, for fuxake.

[COMMANDO FORCES]

Stone him!

[JayzusB.Christ]

But...  but... I'm Brian!
(I am, and all)

[TordelBack]

I live in a republic and feel like I have to comply with stupid laws all the time. 

I think Sharky is talking about an actual republic, not an oligarchy-in-drag.

[Hawkmumbler]

No point talking about actuality. Human greed and corruption always permeate any society hierarchy.

[Proudhuff]

I live in a republic and feel like I have to comply with stupid laws all the time. 

I think Sharky is talking about an actual republic, not an oligarchy-in-drag.

Don't start dragging the Eurovision song contest into this!

[Proudhuff]

.  Anyway, the idea that the Tories are going to get elected next year is in "pink pigs are flying" territory.  The only chance they've got is if you guys up North decide to go for a stroll!

Eh? as far as I know there is only one Tory MP in Scotland, so when we stroll off i don't think it will affect the Tory/UKip alliance when its elected.

[Theblazeuk]

Unless I'm missing something, he's saying that the only way the Tories will have a chance is if Scotland goes but you're reading it the other way around. As if Scotland is around they only get one Tory MP but Labour et al get several, whereas if nay Scotland is about then the competition loses out.


I'll be voting Green I think. I like my Labour MP and I like many Labour MPs but the cabinet are not a promising bunch. However the recent minimum wage announcement was a good step, I am so tired of politicians talking about national averages as though they represent the majority in any significant way. I wish more 'protest votes' would be cast for Green but largely in my experience the people who would protest by not doing anything period.

[Old Tankie]

You're missing my point, Proudhuff.  I wasn't referring to the one Tory MP, I was referring to the forty odd Labour MPs at Westminster who, presumably, wouldn't be there if Scotland votes for independence.  With them gone, the Tories have a chance, with them still there, they have no chance.

[NapalmKev]

The way the Tories have behaved I'd be surprised if they ever got Re-elected!

Cheers

[Professor Bear]

venal, asocial, evolution denying, mendacious f**king trash we get put in front of us on the ballot in NI are orders of magnitide beyond what you guys have to put up with in the rest of the UK. 

You forgot to add "holocaust deniers", "anti-semites", "terrorists", "Combat 18 apologists" etc.  I thought you'd at least know where you stood if you were electing a terrorist, but it seems quote-unquote socialism doesn't survive contact with a government job - on the other hand, bombs weren't working much so I suppose you can't blame them for finding a better way to dismantle British institutions in Northern Ireland (the NHS, Social Security etc).  Either way it just proves you can never trust a fucking commie.

[TordelBack]

This is what makes me chuckle* whenever I hear the vox populi going on about voting Sinn Fein Australis as a protest against austerity, the current government etc., as if this was some ingenious piece of realpolitik. Despite the fact that the only realistic outcome of a strong result for SF would be for them to enter a coalition with a mainstream party (one of the three that everyone hates), and if you want direct contemporary evidence of what that would look like, look no further than over the change-in-road-markings-formerly-known-as-the-Border. 

We also have a local European election candidate who bills himself as our 'Anti-Water Charges Candidate'.  It's certainly one way to avoid water charges, billeting yourself in Brussels/Strasbourg at our expense, but I'm not sure how having an MEP is going to help the people of Tallaght with their local services charges. 




*Not even vaguely.