The Battle for Fermanagh and South Tyrone

[longrunsthefox]

I assume Gerry is hoping the voters of F&ST reciprocate the gesture in kind by voting for Michelle Gildernew.

No sh*t Sherlock 

Shit is something you have a close relationship with given that 99.9% of your posts stink of the aforementioned brown stuff 

Touchy reply from the political expert 

[Doogie Browser]

I assume Gerry is hoping the voters of F&ST reciprocate the gesture in kind by voting for Michelle Gildernew.

No sh*t Sherlock 

Shit is something you have a close relationship with given that 99.9% of your posts stink of the aforementioned brown stuff 

Touchy reply from the political expert 

100% - well done!  You are a fully qualified A1, 100% bullshitter, take a bow.

[longrunsthefox]

I assume Gerry is hoping the voters of F&ST reciprocate the gesture in kind by voting for Michelle Gildernew.

No sh*t Sherlock 

Shit is something you have a close relationship with given that 99.9% of your posts stink of the aforementioned brown stuff 

Touchy reply from the political expert 

100% - well done!  You are a fully qualified A1, 100% bullshitter, take a bow.

Is that right Noel Thompson? 

[trileacman]

I havent heard SF make a big deal out of the Sands connection to the seat either.

Fair point.

I would suspect that SF's main motivation for wanting to win the seat is because they want to maximise their vote ahead of the next assembly elections, they dont want to lose a sitting MP and because, as already mentioned, they might feel that a tory MP might not have the best interests of the majority population at heart in this constituency.

I don't think the MP for FST will have much of an influence on the status quo there. Hence I must disregard your last point.

Interesting move by the shinners today. Will be fun to see the SDLP reaction. I don't expect them to take the bait as they have already given their word against a sectarian headcount.

[Nally Stand]

Thought it was an inspired move from a SF perspective. Win win you could say.

One one hand, if the stoops had bowed under the pressure and withdrew McKinney, then SF could have been confident of holding FST.
On the other hand, if (as it turned out to be the case) the stoops still refused to withdraw McKinney, it shows up the SDLP's narrow mindedness and the fact that they genuinely would prefer a tory repesenting a mainly nationalist area than a Sinn Fein candidate at any cost.

Just when you think they can stoop no lower...

[magickingdom]

that would be a smart move by sf. as someone who has always supported the sdlp they need to wake to the new reality in the north. if the conservatives and the dup are in for a sectarian headcount, then give them one

[Main Street]

I had heard gerry kelly on rte (on Monday?) refer to that they had already offered this deal to the SDLP and they had rejected it.

Are Sinn Fein looking to hear a louder, more emphatic, public rejection? or is the pressure being heaped upon the SDLP to agree.?

[ardmhachaabu]

I had heard gerry kelly on rte (on Monday?) refer to that they had already offered this deal to the SDLP and they had rejected it.

Are Sinn Fein looking to hear a louder, more emphatic, public rejection? or is the pressure being heaped upon the SDLP to agree.?

If it's the latter, I hope they don't bow to the Shinners

The only way that nationalists should be behaving is in a way which is better than political unionism and not stooping to their level of blatant sectarianism

[magickingdom]

I had heard gerry kelly on rte (on Monday?) refer to that they had already offered this deal to the SDLP and they had rejected it.

Are Sinn Fein looking to hear a louder, more emphatic, public rejection? or is the pressure being heaped upon the SDLP to agree.?

If it's the latter, I hope they don't bow to the Shinners

The only way that nationalists should be behaving is in a way which is better than political unionism and not stooping to their level of blatant sectarianism

the meek shall inherit the earth..................... if everyone else lets them

[stiffler]

Does this mean that the SDLP will retain South Belfast?

[Gaffer]

SDLP should not give into this pressure. Shinners trying to dictate nationalist votes. If they are so against Unionists gaining FST why dont they withdraw Gildernew and let McKinney have it. It appears they would rather have Unionism in FST than McKinney. They are desperate for Gildernew not to be unseated. Looks bad for them after the dismal showing in the south.

[Aaron Boone]

Today was the last day to register for a vote in every consituency. If your not in the hat now, then your not going to be.

[Ulick]

Jude Collins
Tuesday, 20 April 2010
Action not words

Maybe we shouldn't expect it. I've seen Laurence Olivier, a demi-god when he had a Shakespeare script to deliver, reduced to a silly windbag when he delivered his own thoughts and words. And John Lennon was a pretty good lyricist but he talked tripe when he was interviewed about politics. So no, we shouldn't have been surprised when Fearghal McKinney appeared on the BBC's 'Politics Show' on Sunday and showed himself to be next to tongue-tied on most of the questions asked of him. Even if he had been able to field them, his opponent, Sinn Fein's Gerry Kelly, was at his side to slice him – verbally – into very small pieces. You might want to encourage Fearghal by pointing out that he's only starting off in politics and that Gerry Kelly initially was just about as tongue-tied as Fearghal is today. True, true. Unfortunately, as Kelly pointed out, Fearghal isn't really making a career switch from the media to politics: he has as much chance of winning in Fermanagh/South Tyrone as Gerry Kelly has of becoming president of the US of A. Here today, gone in a couple of weeks.

And now, as if that hadn't shrunk the SDLP chances in Fermanagh/South Tyrone enough, there's this evening's news that Alex Maskey has withdrawn from the South Belfast race – AND that the news was delivered in Fermanagh/South Tyrone. Ouch, ouch and yarooh, you cads, that hurts! Having made the verbal offer of a nationalist voting pact and been rebuffed, Sinn Fein have now gone in for a spot of unilateral disarmament. If Maggie Ritchie's rebuff of the Adams overture looked churlish and anti-nationalist a few days back, there must be another word for what it looks like, now that Alex Maskey has given the good Doctor MacDonnell a clear run...Ah yes, now I remember. Self-harming. That's the word. Really really really self-harming. Well done, Maggie and Fearghal.

[Gaffer]

Wonder what Maskey thinks of being told to stand down?

[Ulick]

I don't know about all this sectarian headcounting business. Surely the difference between the two sides is a constitutional matter not an ecumenical one as Fr Dougal might say? If you buy into the sectarian thing then you are also buying into the British led propaganda so prevalent in the 70s, 80s and 90s that we had a religious conflict here i.e. it was not about the constitutional position of the north and our right to complete self-determination. If the sectarian headcounting business is true where does that leave good Protestant nationalists like CS Parnell and good Protestant republicans like T Wolfe Tone?

I'm disappointed by Maskey's withdrawl as it leaves me no one to vote for as I promised myself after the last election that I wouldn't give Anna Lo another vote, however I find it hard to ague against a position which aims to maximise support for the Irish nationalist and republican position on the national question.