George Lee resigns from Fine Gael and as a TD

[turdsl]

He is an honest man , 9 months was long enough, Kenny and Bruton Are the most of my life, what have they done for their country, I am not blaming them for that but the system is rotten and all TDs are protecting it, What i do not understand is how Lee who was very close to the Dail in his job saw how it worked. he should have kept miles away from active politics, Kenny did 2 good interviews but today,nobody knows what he will say next, Fine Gael should get over it and stop taking cheap shots at him. I wonder did anyone else approach him since last Tuesday until Monday.

[Limerick Lad]

I see you're back

Do you ever stop making stuff up ?

George Lee to run for Fine Gael - The Irish Times - Tue, May 05, 2009
May 5th 2009
[COLOR="Green"]“It is now time for me to move on . . . to participate and help put the country back together”, Mr Lee told the programme. Mr Lee will now have to take a leave of absence from his position within the State broadcaster.

“I want to make sure that the country get’s a better Government," he added....
He is now on unpaid leave of absence for the duration of the campaign, RTÉ said in a statement.
[/COLOR]

He and RTE made it very clear that he was on unpaid leave of absence.

cYp

A leave of absence for the duration of the campaign is perfectly acceptable and understandable in the run up to the by-election, he after all might not have been elected but the campaign is over a long time and he was elected yet he apparently is still on leave of absence.

[myksav]

He must have been told/promised something by FG about his role or position or possible inputs, so that he made the step to get into it initially?
Those promises probably weren't kept?

He was asked by FG to run for election. For what purpose? To give input to economic policy? Or just to fill a seat?
I think Lee accepted the ask on the basis of his knowledge of economics, and that was the position he ran on.
It is possible that Kenny wanted Lee to run because he would be a 'shoe-in' and make sure that FF didn't have a chance of getting the seat. It is looking more like that is the likely scenario.

I think Kenny was actually politically stupid to not use Lee in a visible manner. A total waste of ammunition.

[spidermom]

One of the few things I've ever Leo say that I would agree with...on the frontline I think...you are 1 of 15...1 in 51...1 in 166...and thats the nub really I think.....

george was emminently qualified yes.....but you don' get handed it.....you have to put your self about....join the commitees...come up with properly researched proposals...and then keep hastling people with your ideas...If you sit back and wait for people to ask you for your ideas.....you'll wait!!

I think George believed that only his ideas counted...nobody has a god given right to be correct...if if you're the "messiah"......


Its been quite interesting watching this over the last 24 hours for me with no party affiliation....that initially, when the resigning was announced it was firmly plonked on Endas doorstep.....I laughed out loud when I heard it on newstalk.....then I listened to George on his media parade...and my opinion changed....Not sure if Enda really pulled back from the percieved or real damage with his media appearances today...


One thing that strikes me is that FF must be chuffed...its all we're fecking discussing....

Ye all should have a look at the fairytale that is the HSE service plan instead!!

HSE.ie - Health Service Executive Website - HSE National Service Plan 2010

[Fantasia]

..Wow, he cut it close there. Only three months to go! He had to check-out before his RTE one year leave of absence expired. Otherwise GeorgyPorgy loses his Guaranteed €100k and runs the risk of losing the next GE and then what.. he is out of a job. And who wants to hire an economist these days?

He cynically abused the Oreachtas and the national political system and betrayed the trust of the people who elected him. All, so as to ensure he is in kept in clover.

He must have figured there is less boot licking in Montrose then in a constituency the size of Dublin South.

Did he seriously believe he was going to be given a ministerial portfolio on his arrival at the Leinster House door?

No doubt but the Planet called RTE must be rarefied indeed.

And what party did the charlatan gravitate to?.. not the cowboys. Then it must have been the Indians. Led by none other then Chief Enda of the Western Tribe.

[constitutionus]

A leave of absence for the duration of the campaign is perfectly acceptable and understandable in the run up to the by-election, he after all might not have been elected but the campaign is over a long time and he was elected yet he apparently is still on leave of absence.

exactly when did enda kenny give up his teaching job thats been on hold for him in his 35 years in the dail?

[Gimpanzee]

I think Kenny was actually politically stupid to not use Lee in a visible manner. A total waste of ammunition.

Kenny is getting the flak, but it looks like it was Bruton who saw to it that Lee was not given the role he wanted and a big chunk of the 27k of voters expected. As the dust settles, I think Kenny has taken another bad hit, but he probably doesn't deserve this one.

[Gimpanzee]

exactly when did enda kenny give up his teaching job thats been on hold for him in his 35 years in the dail?

lol. nailed.

[L.O. Dublin S.C.]

Kenny is getting the flak, but it looks like it was Bruton who saw to it that Lee was not given the role he wanted and a big chunk of the 27k of voters expected. As the dust settles, I think Kenny has taken another bad hit, but he probably doesn't deserve this one.

He is the leader of FG. It was up to him to see what George Lee could do for the benefit of FG and/or the country, if anything. If Richard Bruton was getting in the way then Enda Kenny isn't fit to lead.

Also, I never got the feeling that George Lee was committed. On the Tonight show on TV3 during the by-election campaign, he said he was approached by FG in 2002 but declined the offer. I think that says it all.

[constitutionus]

Kenny is getting the flak, but it looks like it was Bruton who saw to it that Lee was not given the role he wanted and a big chunk of the 27k of voters expected. As the dust settles, I think Kenny has taken another bad hit, but he probably doesn't deserve this one.

been thinking about this myself.

no sign at all of richard all day yesterday and the first we heard from him today was after the front bench meeting that gave full support to enda.

i think the hand of bruton has alot more to do with whats gone on here than were giving him credit for.