From the North,who would you vote for in free state general election?

[T Fearon]

Excluding SF,and assuming you could vote? Personally I don't see any material difference between any of them and they all look as nondescript as ours at Stormont.

[OgraAnDun]

Excluding SF it would have to be AAA/PBP and then the Social Democrats.

[trileacman]

Fine Gael.

Think Fianna Fáil ruined the country with a property bubble as plain as the nose on your face.
Independents have some nice ideas but they'll hold no power and only lead to a more fractured dail.
Labour are useless, I personally hate Eamon Gilmore and his ilk.
Sinn Fein are plowing the same populist shite Fianna Fáil sold the south, cut your tax, fix the hse, no water charges, no property tax, golden roads for all etc. Oh and we'll not go to government with any party so we can make all the f**king promises we Like and never have to keep them.

Exclude Enda for a moment and there's a solid bunch of people around that top table at fg now that shatter and Reilly are ousted. Noonan, Coveney, Fitzgerald and Varadkar are all reasonably sound politicians, in the grand sample of Irish politicians it's about  as good as you'd get. And look at the international alternatives, you could be voting for the likes of Cameron, trump, Jeb bush, hilary, merkel, osbourne, Nesbit, foster, abbot or tspras. None of whom or their parties I'd vote for in a fit.

In the ideal world we'd be ruled by a cabinet of jfk, John Hume, Tony Ryan and Gandhi. That's not reality though and you take the best of what you can get.

[Hardy]

Fine Gael.

Think Fianna Fáil ruined the country with a property bubble as plain as the nose on your face.
Independents have some nice ideas but they'll hold no power and only lead to a more fractured dail.
Labour are useless, I personally hate Eamon Gilmore and his ilk.
Sinn Fein are plowing the same populist shite Fianna Fáil sold the south, cut your tax, fix the hse, no water charges, no property tax, golden roads for all etc. Oh and we'll not go to government with any party so we can make all the f**king promises we Like and never have to keep them.

Exclude Enda for a moment and there's a solid bunch of people around that top table at fg now that shatter and Reilly are ousted. Noonan, Coveney, Fitzgerald and Varadkar are all reasonably sound politicians, in the grand sample of Irish politicians it's about  as good as you'd get. And look at the international alternatives, you could be voting for the likes of Cameron, trump, Jeb bush, hilary, merkel, osbourne, Nesbit, foster, abbot or tspras. None of whom or their parties I'd vote for in a fit.

In the ideal world we'd be ruled by a cabinet of jfk, John Hume, Tony Ryan and Gandhi. That's not reality though and you take the best of what you can get.

Good post.

[Itchy]

Are SF not the party with the most modest tax cuts? I thought FF and FG were claiming bigger cuts.

[Rossfan]

SF who aren't putting up enough candidates to form a Govt have in their fairytale the abolition of property tax and the charge for public water and sewerage.
All the  big 4's manifestos are fairy tales of tax cuts and spending increases and better public services.
Mammy O'Rourke pointed out last weekend that none of them could hope to implement their promises as we won't see 5 years of 3% growth rates.

[Il Bomber Destro]

Excluding SF it would have to be AAA/PBP and then the Social Democrats.

+1

I would put a bullet in my head before voting for the blueshirts, who are pure evil. Any blueshirt voter I've ever encountered has been a vile piece of work.

[armaghniac]

The AAA/PBP and SF are not fit to be in the government of an independent country. Their carry on in relation to water charges makes them so. They can propose not charging for water if they wish, although their reasons for doing so are self serving. But their calling on people not to pay and offering an amnesty for these evaders if they get elected puts them outside the pale. For opposition parties to propose amnesties for their supporters as a means of getting elected undermines the State. If these parties were in power they would be incandescent if FF or FG said to their supporters "ignore this tax or charge, we'll sort you when we get back".

[Il Bomber Destro]

The AAA/PBP and SF are not fit to be in the government of an independent country. Their carry on in relation to water charges makes them so. They can propose not charging for water if they wish, although their reasons for doing so are self serving. But their calling on people not to pay and offering an amnesty for these evaders if they get elected puts them outside the pale. For opposition parties to propose amnesties for their supporters as a means of getting elected undermines the State. If these parties were in power they would be incandescent if FF or FG said to their supporters "ignore this tax or charge, we'll sort you when we get back".

Did you oppose the civil rights movement?

[armaghniac]

Did you oppose the civil rights movement?

What an immature comment. I'd say you weren't around when there was a civil rights movements.
The civil rights movement was not about a refusal to pay for services, it was a noble movement not one of freeloaders.

[Il Bomber Destro]

Did you oppose the civil rights movement?

What an immature comment. I'd say you weren't around when there was a civil rights movements.
The civil rights movement was not about a refusal to pay for services, it was a noble movement not one of freeloaders.

That's a very immature comment, so people should accept indirect taxes which are not in anyway fair or progressive when the low income workers and underprivileged in Irish society are already being discriminated by penal taxes and living costs by the government. There seems to be an awful lot of hardship in the free state at the minute with homelessness and healthcare. Calling them freeloaders is Tatcheresque?

There is a choice between progressive taxes based on income and wealth, where the burden is scaled on the more you earn the more you contribute and there is a choice that you can place taxes on those who are struggling to mate ends meet for the benefit of those who can afford to pay.

You're a right little Tory, aren't you?

[armaghniac]

You can advocate a particular type of tax and vote for a party you agree with. If your party doesn't win then you get something different, that is called democracy. Not paying is simple freeloading.

[Il Bomber Destro]

You can advocate a particular type of tax and vote for a party you agree with. If your party doesn't win then you get something different, that is called democracy. Not paying is simple freeloading.

Was the civil rights movement freeloaders as they kicked off over the allocation of social housing?

[Billys Boots]

Fine Gael.

Think Fianna Fáil ruined the country with a property bubble as plain as the nose on your face.
Independents have some nice ideas but they'll hold no power and only lead to a more fractured dail.
Labour are useless, I personally hate Eamon Gilmore and his ilk.
Sinn Fein are plowing the same populist shite Fianna Fáil sold the south, cut your tax, fix the hse, no water charges, no property tax, golden roads for all etc. Oh and we'll not go to government with any party so we can make all the f**king promises we Like and never have to keep them.

Exclude Enda for a moment and there's a solid bunch of people around that top table at fg now that shatter and Reilly are ousted. Noonan, Coveney, Fitzgerald and Varadkar are all reasonably sound politicians, in the grand sample of Irish politicians it's about  as good as you'd get. And look at the international alternatives, you could be voting for the likes of Cameron, trump, Jeb bush, hilary, merkel, osbourne, Nesbit, foster, abbot or tspras. None of whom or their parties I'd vote for in a fit.

In the ideal world we'd be ruled by a cabinet of jfk, John Hume, Tony Ryan and Gandhi. That's not reality though and you take the best of what you can get.

Good post.

That's it in a nutshell for me too. 

[AQMP]

Excluding SF it would have to be AAA/PBP and then the Social Democrats.

+1

I would put a bullet in my head before voting for the blueshirts, who are pure evil. Any blueshirt voter I've ever encountered has been a vile piece of work.

Do you know trileacman??