From this week, Sinn Fein is just another political party

[David Cochrane]

Sam Smyth in this mornings' Irish Independent argues that Sinn Fein is from now on nothing more than 'just another political party'. The pact with Labour for the Seanad elections seems to be the obvious reason Smyth has drawn his conclusion.

So, has Sinn Fein just become another party?

No Indo bashing please.

[32]

Yes. They have been 'just another political party' for some time now. It must really make them sick though that every party in the 26 refuse to go into 'government' with them. The DUP have accepted them quicker than FF.

[rockyracoon]

I would like to think that SF have a mandate from heaven. Clearly this is not the case. SF has always been "just" another party. Always will be. It's just that in its present state it is closer in historical context to FG or FF after the civil war. Although I do take great heart in the fact that the Indo sees it as such a threat that it has to manufacture articles on an almost daily basis to denigrate it and its supporters.

[flyer]

You don't become "just another political party" overnight when you've spent the previous 30 years murdering Gardai, blowing up crowded pubs, shooting housewives, training Columbian cartels and protecting Dublin drug gangs.

Once Sinn-Fein-IRA stop all their criminal activities it will take at least a generation and a complete cycle through of membership to purge the criminal tendencies and make Sinn-Fein-IRA just another political party (and as the recent cases of the northern bank raid, training of Farc rebels and the ongoing links with the drug lords in Dublin prove these criminal activities are still ongoing and they seem to have no desire to stop any time soon).

[PatMcL]

They have always been just another political party and would have been happy to describe themselves as such.
I wonder why it took a showband promoter and self styled economic guru such a long time to kop on.

[Kerrygold]

You don't become "just another political party" overnight when you've spent the previous 30 years murdering Gardai, blowing up crowded pubs, shooting housewives, training Columbian cartels and protecting Dublin drug gangs.

You forgot the "eating babies" bit.

*Sheesh*

[flyer]

You don't become "just another political party" overnight when you've spent the previous 30 years murdering Gardai, blowing up crowded pubs, shooting housewives, training Columbian cartels and protecting Dublin drug gangs.

You forgot the "eating babies" bit.

*Sheesh*

They never did that. The rest is unfortunately true and no matter how much the provos and their fellow travellers try to gloss over their past Sinn-Fein-IRA remain an organisation with criminals and terrorists as the dominant part of their membership. Until that membership retires and younger members come through with no blood on their hands then Sinn-Fein-IRA will remain unacceptable to the majority of voters.

[Creggan2005]

The Provos are what happens when politics fail.

[rockyracoon]

You don't become "just another political party" overnight when you've spent the previous 30 years murdering Gardai, blowing up crowded pubs, shooting housewives, training Columbian cartels and protecting Dublin drug gangs.

Once Sinn-Fein-IRA stop all their criminal activities it will take at least a generation and a complete cycle through of membership to purge the criminal tendencies and make Sinn-Fein-IRA just another political party (and as the recent cases of the northern bank raid, training of Farc rebels and the ongoing links with the drug lords in Dublin prove these criminal activities are still ongoing and they seem to have no desire to stop any time soon).

Nice unsubstantiated rant. You could write for the Indo. I'm sure the Indo and their lackies would love to sideline SF and all Republicans for a generation. Republicans, by and large, are not so easily lead and dominated by special business interests and the like. They are too independent minded to be lead by the nose into whatever schemes that wealthy media owners have devised for us mere mortals.

[Creggan2005]

Let's not forget that many Republicans like myself have our own businesses too.