Over there

Two days ago on the Twitter (yes, I base a lot of posts on convos I have there), I mentioned that there was no true right wing in Ireland. I was corrected with people saying that both Fianna Fail and Fine Gael were right of centre and some people even saying that Labour were right wing. I myself don’t consider them thus.
Some back ground first of all;
I’m one of those people who believe in the human race. I think that we have overcome tremendous and terrifying obstacles to bring ourselves to the edges of the universe and we are showing no signs of slowing down. We have climbed the tallest mountains and seen the floor of the deepest sees. The human race, my friends, is an unstoppable force of nature. Our discoveries and accomplishments in the fields of humanities, engineering, medicine, aeronautics and space are the result of one thing; hard graft. When people concentrate all of their efforts, nothing is out of reach.
To me, being right wing means working for your own life; setting your own goals and supporting your own family and being rewarded for your hard work. It is not so much a political stance as a personal philosophy with me. My views on many subjects are considered extreme and I have been called many, many names by members of the public, the press and even some politicians.
Economics:
My views on economics are that if people are free to establish a business with the minimal amount of government intervention then that business is likely to be a success. The telephone was not invented using government grants or a talking shop in a government department. It was invented by a man who saw a need for a faster means of communication in a time where there were few obstacles to progress.
Reagan summed up government attitudes to business quite well;

Government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidise it.

Some people will off course argue in favour of taxation, regulation and subsidisation. I will not. I think tax is the theft of my property for which I have worked hard for. Regulation is the stifling of human ingenuity and creativity and effort. Subsidization is a reward for poor management of a business. Those three actions become increasingly horrific in the order Reagan set them down. Why any government would use the money of its people to bail out a failing entity is beyond me. Look at the model of banks in this country and we’ve seen that it costs €80 billion to “fix” them. No, I say send them to the wall and allow new foreign or even domestic banks to take over the banking system.

Let the record show that I have never participated in a Pride March or any form of LGBT event. I think the closest I ever came to one was being in the Sycamore Club once when there was a exhibition by a photographer who happened to be a lesbian. I tell you this now as I know I will offend someone with my ignorance of these events. Not intentionally, I’m just too candid.

I used to pose the question to people involved in organising these events. I asked them how they expected respect when men danced down streets dressed as Carmen Miranda – it was an alien concept to me. However, in light of recent events, namely the passing of the Civil Partnership bill by the Dail, Dublin’s Pride Parade and having read this post by the ever excellent Neil Ward, I have come to a realisation – pride amongst gay people is not solely about respect as I had first thought but it is instead about acknowledgement, presence, being seen to be part of society and society tends to ignore everything that well, isn’t waltzing down O’Connell Street dressed as Carmen Miranda.

Now, here’s a song –
Proud

I’m bored, don’t want to write about the ongoing “Will he? Won’t he?” Bruton/Kenny saga. It’ll be Bruton by Friday and that’s it. I’ve decided instead to write 25 Things About Me.

1: I’m a libertarian.

2: I have a St. Bernard dog with whom I play rugby every so often.

3: I believe political parties ought to be organised from the bottom up. It’s the only way it can be entirely democratic.

4: I am not a member of any political party. Mainly because doing so would be unprofessional for me and because none represent my views to the extent that I can fully support them.

5: I have a fondness for wearing Canterbury sweat pants. they recently changed the design and without checking I bought a pair the other day and they feel horrible.

6: My diet consists mainly of chicken and cheese sandwiches, chinese food and coke. Occasionally I eat a home made meal.

7: I love smartphones! I had my first BlackBerry when I was 16 and went from there. Recently I bought an iPhone and am liking it but feel it was built up. It does what I need it to and is nicer then a BlackBerry but I still dislike the whole “OMG you *need* an iPhone…” mentality that pertains amongst Apple fanboys.

8: When I’m working I’m professional and to the point. I don’t dress things up and it helps both me and the client achieve the goals we set out.

9: I like loud ties. It comes down to me trying to be visibly eccentric. Duchamp are a favourite of mine so if you want to buy me presents… *hint*

10: I like to cuddle. I’m one of those people who likes nothing more then a movie, ice cream and duvet style night in. Call it soft but when I go out I tend to get into verbal arguments with people and while I enjoy them I do like mind numbing sloshy movies to unwind.

11: I love writing speeches. Words that are thrown with strength and passion can change everything.

12: My dream car is a modest BMW E30 coupe in black. Nothing fancy but I like it.

13: Politics came accidentally to me but I wouldn’t change it for anything.

14: I swear. A lot. It doesn’t bother me that some people are offended by it and when they say “Would you mind not swearing?” I tend to respond with “Asking me not to swear is like asking a man not to eat a steak because a baby can’t.”

15: I met someone interesting this week.

16: I’m not wearing shoes.

17: Have had many mentors and influences but none had as much an impression on me as my Granny.

18: I have a 97% success rate with campaigns I work on.

19: My jaw hurts from chewing gum.

20: I like outdoor stuff. Cycling, running, mountain climbing, off roading, camping, fishing, shooting… Basically I want to be a republican cowboy.

21: I love choir music! I never miss a chance to see a good choir except for one time when I was told by my doctor I could die from stress and was made stay in bed for a week… (True story.)

22: When I go to Dublin I always make a point to top into Carluccio’s. So good…

23: My secret shame is a fondness for Tayto sandwiches.

24: My wallet is empty but for cards and receipts. I don’t like carrying cash for some reason.

25: I have a weird habit of opening sugar sachets three at a time and pouring them all into the coffee at the same time, from the same height.

Over on Twitter Johnny Fallon raised the topic of John Gormley’s proposals for an electoral commission. He said it should consist of party representatives, academics and legal heads. Off course there’ll probably be some civil servants as is the case with most governmental commissions. However, I suggested that the general population should be represented along with corporate bodies. This made me think of something. Why don’t companies run for election? Where are the Google and Intel candidates?
This is the debate of “Corporate Personhood” which has been going on in the United States for some time now. The debate is over what rights afforded to natural persons should be afforded to corporate bodies. Contract rights are the greatest example of this. The Citizens United v Federal Election Commission resulted in corporations being allowed run independent campaign ads under the first amendment. In Ireland we saw similar with Ryanair and Intel both advocating a yes vote in the Lisbon Treaty so I suspect that there’d be very little difficulties regarding the legal standing of corporations fielding candidates.
There are three main arguments in favour of this. Companies, like citizens, require government to act in a way that allows them to become prosperous and wealthy. They stand to benefit from better infrastructure, education, health, security and off course, economic policies so by virtue of this, so does the rest of the country. It is in Google’s interest, for example to see a first class broadband system in Ireland. Would not Dáil Eireann be better equipped to provide this if there was sufficient motivation from corporate parties?
That is not to say however that Google does not already Lobby Minister Ryan. They may well do so. But wouldn’t their contesting elections make the process much more transparent? In Ireland there is no registrar of lobbyists and nor would one work owing to the fact that any citizen can meet with a member of the Oireachtas during their constituency office hours and discuss any matter they so wish; from pot holes to taxation policy. By allowing companies to field their own candidates and influence policy directly, the system immediately becomes more transparent.
“No taxation without representation!” is the strongest argument for the granting of suffrage so why, when companies pay tax are they denied the right to represent themselves? That argument may seem to be a reducto ad hominem but it is the crux of many arguments in a democracy.

Finally, after the Citizens United case, Murray Hill PR decided to run for Congress. This is what followed;

Murrary Hill

Thus far the Labour Party Conference has seen several motions debated along with an address by Eamon Gilmore, Joan Burton, Joe Costello and others. From an outsider looking in I can see a party that holds their ideals close to their hearts. They possess an energy which will carry them well into any election they face.

The conference opened with the war drums (quite literally) sounding and display of red flags being waved by stilt walkers. The countless delegates and attendees show there is intent and determination in the Labour Party grass roots and continued with the same electricity.

As the weekend progresses I have every confidence that the party will become more and more enthusiastic but to what end? There is little chance of an election being called until the government mandate expires in 2012. It will be imperative that Labour keeps a fire burning for their members until then.

Also, there is a young man at the conference wearing a “I still hate Thatcher” t shirt. I am not impressed by this. Thatcher may have her enemies but to hate someone because of political opinion is not something that helps the body politic as a whole and nor does it show a party in a good light.

Tomorrow is the first day of the 2010 Labour Party National Conference. It will be here that Labour presents themselves to the electorate for the next general election whenever that may be. There is a lot of ground to be gained here. They can win loose Fianna Fail voters, gain ground with a youth vote and further encourage their membership that victory is imminent.

Now, I’m not a subscriber to left wing thought nor am I a Labour supporter but I do see them as being strong performers particularly Joan Burton’s economic commentary (solutions are all wrong though) and Michael D Higgins has received a lot of praise from me based on his rhetoric when it comes to the role of parliament. The two speeches I look forward to most are Michael D’s which as far as I can tell will be a rousing to the troops and Gilmore’s speech which I hope is his pitch for him to be Taoiseach. If not it will be severe let down to the members.

As it is, Eamon Gilmore is the most popular party leader and with a campaign to make Enda Kenny Tánaiste he could damn well make Taoiseach. His speech needs to be work incorporate four factors;

1: Economic Optimism

He needs to set out clearly what Labour would do in government to turn the country’s finances around, what they’ll do for jobs and what they’ll do to reform banking. References to Joan Burton would not go astray here.

2: Social Policy

Health and education mixed with other minor tidbits and delivered in such a way as to convince the viewer that “Yes, Labour have the solutions and yes, we will implement them.”.

3: Political Reform

This is big and already people have been asking about it. Presenting a real alternative for the way the country is ran would bode well with voters who will forever associate the problems of now with the way the system works. Civil service, public sector and indeed whole refrm of the body politics should get a mention here.

4: Fianna Fail

This is a big thing for me for two reasons. When I was learning about political communications one thing that was drilled into me was that your candidate should always avoid mentioning their opponent’s name as it takes attention from them. Gilmore should not mention Fianna Fail in a good or a bad light as it will lead people to think about them and regardless of the context it gives them free air time when all eyes should be on Eamon. The other reason is so as not to be seen to remain in the past. What’s been done is done and he needs to talk about the future. Yes, where we’ve come from is important but where we’re going is even more so.

All in all I look forward to this conference and eagerly anticipate seeing how the country responds to it.

I’m just now catching up on the transcripts from this week and I read that Cowen referred to FG deputy Padraic McCormack (GW) as the “Gurrier in Chief”.

Gurrier is one of the words on the Dáil’s “Banned words list”. The rest are;
Brat; buffoon; chancer; communist; corner boy; coward; fascist guttersnip; hypocrite; rat; scumbag;
scurrilous; and yahoo.

I now assume Cowen will offer an apology to the deputy?

I was sent an email from a friend earlier which he received from Fianna Fail. It reads;

Dear ******,

I’ve been deeply involved in co-ordinating election campaigns at the local and national level ever since I first became active in Fianna Fáil. I’ve learned much about the long hours that go into campaigning and the thousands of party members, up and down the country, who are prepared to make incredible efforts on behalf of our candidates.

But campaigning costs money, and we’ve had to fight 7 campaigns over the last 30 months.

Click here to watch a video which explains why we need your help:

Watch Noel Dempsey on the Superdraw

Noel Dempsey on the Superdraw

We know it’s a difficult time to fundraise, but we need to ensure that our Party is prepared for future campaigns. All campaign material costs must be met by contributions we receive from you, our members and supporters.

Please buy a Superdraw ticket. They cost €50 and you’ll be entered in a draw to win some great prizes (cars, TVs and much more). Please buy a ticket today:

The draw closes next Wednesday, so there’s only a few days left to buy a ticket and be in with a chance of winning.

Alternatively, please get in touch with Darragh McShea at Party Headquarters. His email is darragh@fiannafail.ie or you can phone him on 01 6761551.

Thank you for everything you do for Fianna Fáil.

Noel Dempsey, T.D.

When I read this I was astounded by how much it stank of desperation. It reads like something one would expect from Trócaire.

Political campaigns cost money. Vast amounts of money really. And I don’t for a second begrudge Fianna Fáil the opportunity to fundraise. However, why can’t they maintain their dignity. I like Noel Dempsey. He’s a smart man with ideas but in this video he comes across as weak and apathetic. Sure, they showed us headlines praising the government’s decisions but that’s not enough. When you’re seeking fifty quid for a raffle ticket you need to show you believe in these, with conviction. This is a poor request for money from people who, while they may believe in Fianna Fail and the Government’s policies, they still would not be won over by this.

In 1973 Maragret Thatcher was asked about the feasibility of a female Prime Minister. She answered with;

I think it depends on who the person is. I don’t think there will be a woman Prime Minister in my lifetime. And I don’t think it depends so much on whether it’s a man Prime Minister or a woman Prime Minister as whether that person is the right person for the job at that time. And it’s very difficult to foresee what may happen many, many years ahead.

Mrs. Thatcher was a woman, this much is true. She was also a very logical and sensible person who always acted in what she thought would be most beneficial for her country and society. Given that today is International Woman’s Day I thought I’d address the subject of gender quotas in the national parliament.

So according to David Farrell of UCD, of the world’s 77 democracies, Ireland comes joint 54th in the number of women MPs. There are 23 women out of 166 TDs in Dáil Éireann. Firstly, I don’t see this as a problem but some people do. To me the number of female TDs is about as relevant as the number of TDs who smoke or the amount who drive. Off course the argument that “Well more women would show how progressive we are and those women would look out for women’s interests.” Off course, this is true but in terms of  the national parliament’s purpose, this is not it’s duty. Its duty is to legislate for all sections of society in spite of the gender of parliamentarians. There are off course ways for more women to become involved in politics. Indeed, any woman can put herself forward as a candidate, and indeed, any party can select a woman to be a candidate. Seeing as well that the overall choice rests with the electorate, most parties will select a candidate who they think can win and in most cases gender is irrelevant.

To pass over a better male candidate in favour of a female one is stupid and sexism in itself. In fact, it is the worst type of sexism as it suggests women are totally inept and can only be elected if measures are introduced to ensure this. My own suggestion is a humble one; we all recognise that women make valuable contributions to society as do men and that they are just as capable as men in government and therefore should be given every opportunity to represent their constituency at all levels once they can get elected. If not, we won’t whinge about it.

?Oh, and 8 years after she answered that question, Margaret Hilda Thatcher became the first and only female Prime Minister fo Great Britain and Northern Ireland as a result of her own intelligence and hard graft.

As many of you may guess I use Facebook. We all know the many groups founded on Facebook. There are the funny, tragic and downright pointless and stupid.

Councillor Cathal Crowe has taken it upon himself to establish a Facebook group which proclaims Willie O’Dea to be “Ireland’s hardest working TD”. Right so, Willie is a great man for getting the votes so he must be liked by his constituents. But to establish a group saying that he “has our support”? Really?

Councillor Crowe really should have put thought into what he was doing before defending a minister who was forced to resign.