Sinn Fein Nomination for President in '11

[merle haggard]

Keep reading that here - why is he being described as the likely LP candidate? Hasn't Michael D already aid he's seeking the nomination (at Labour Youth conference in 2008?) It's hard to see Michael D not get the nod over someone outside the party.

a country that thought it a good idea to send Dustin to eurovision may well find it equally appropriate to elect David Norris as president .

[RepublicanSocialist1798]

Frankly it wouldn't be worth the party's while spending an idiotic sum of money on electioneering to get elected to an office that doesn't have much power.

They should back a left-leaning unity candidate.

[hiding behind a poster]

Nice 'democracy' we have isn't it? The people are only given a choice of candidates the establishment allow.

What you describe as "the establishment" are in fact the elected representatives chosen in elections by us, the people. In the context of this thread, that means SF could nominate a presidential candidate if more people had voted for SF. Which they didn't.

Why can't anyone just run for the presidency? Good old Dev. He really didn't trust the people at all.

Because if anyone could run for the Presidency, then money would become the determinant of who runs, rather than having at least some level of public support.

[hiding behind a poster]

Far be it from me to guide SF, but if they got their act together they could get this election to work in their favour. They should decide if they are going to try and nominate their own candidate. If they go down that road they should now be working on getting the required support in Leinster Hour or in councils. If they decide not to have their own candidate, they should come out in favour of Norris. That way it would mean that it would look like Labour were supporting a SF endorsed candidate and not the other way around.

Keith actually has a sort of a point here. It may suit FG, or FF, or Labour, depending on who was showing as candidates for the other parties, to have a SF candidate in the race in order to split the vote of one of the other candidates.

[Hagbard Celine]

Frankly it wouldn't be worth the party's while spending an idiotic sum of money on electioneering to get elected to an office that doesn't have much power.

How dare you belittle our beloved Stormont assembly; enemy of peace.

[ivnryn]

Or maybe you just allow people freedom. Freedom to fund. Freedom to run.

I agree, but most people object to "evil" corporate funding.

Maybe, any irish resident can donate from their personal wealth.

Also, there is the issue with regards to if donations should be secret. Maybe the parties would be required to give a breakdown of their donations, without having to say who:

I.e. in the last year, donations received were
>100k: 2
50-100k: 7
30-50k: 12
15-30k: 24
5-15: 72
<5k: 2000

This would make funding transparent, while allowing people to donate in secret.

[Red_93]

The biggest problem for SF in endorsing Norris is that he has, on several occasions declared that the 1916 leaders were terrorists. Endorsing Norris as has already been said would have great benefits in the south. However, it could also potentially have immense benefits in the North as Norris is both protestant and gay, this could win them votes from the alliance, sdlp, greens and maybe even from more liberal unionists.

[merle haggard]

The biggest problem for SF in endorsing Norris is that he has, on several occasions declared that the 1916 leaders were terrorists.

they go to work every morning under a union jack and the statue of edward carson . Theyve made u turns much more fundamental than supporting an anglophile , west british, prancing irritating ponce like David Norris .

Endorsing Norris as has already been said would have great benefits in the south.

like what ?

However, it could also potentially have immense benefits in the North as Norris is both protestant and gay, this could win them votes from the alliance, sdlp, greens and maybe even from more liberal unionists.

no , it wouldnt . Thats a silly notion . And you seem to calling for the election of david norris simply because hes protestant and gay . That seems to be all he actually has going for him, some sort of middle class liberal totem pole . In my opinion his disgraceful jokes about clerical child abuse in the past make him completely unsuitable as a presidential candidate particularly at this time .

[Murph]

So what -there will be people commemoration the rising outside the GPO this weekend who also believe privately the 1916 leaders were terrorists.

There are also anti shinners posting on here who collect their dole in sterling with the queens head on the notes -so what?

I think they should endorse Norris.

[merle haggard]

So what -there will be people commemoration the rising outside the GPO this weekend who also believe privately the 1916 leaders were terrorists.

There are also anti shinners posting on here who collect their dole in sterling with the queens head on the notes -so what?

I think they should endorse Norris.

why ? David Norris was a happy camper on the completely one sided " peace train" that completely ignored the fact irish citizens were being massacred by british counter gangs and put the blame for akillings squarely at the door of irish republicanism and not a foreign occupation and the dirty war that sustained it . A man committed to the utter demonisation of opposition to british rule in Ireland while himself a staunch supporter of it , who even denounced 1916 as a criminal terrorist action . Hes utterly unsuitable to represent a state that commemorates this event much less receive any republican endorsement .
Michael D Higgins however did make a very conscious stand against section 31 over many years when it wasnt popular to do so , a draconian and evil piece of blanket censorship that ensured not only sinn fein were banned from the airwaves but so too was pretty much any voice that was prepared to chalenge the dirt the brits were getting up to .
If anyone was to get sinn feins endorsement hed be much more suitable and dignified as an option . Norris is capable of saying and doing anything that would be a complete and utter embarassment .
The only purpose of electing norris would be to go " look at me, i dont go to mass" . Utterly childish .