Tonight's debate

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peemac

Registered User
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My thoughts...

Michael Martin came across "presidential" Well able to fight his corner

Simon Harris good. A little childish at times. But well able to get his point across.

McDonald a little better than I expected, but like a broken record and still refuses to acknowledge history. Her misstep on carbon tax was rather funny.

Was Bacik there as a decoration? Really disappointed with her leadership of labour. Didn't do well.

Tobin was poor. Not a good performance and probably damage any potential of extra votes.

Boyd Barrett - another broken record. I don't think he actually knew what he was talking about. Rabbit in headlights.

O'Gorman was quite articulate. Well able to answer and get points across. I was surprised.

Cian O'Callaghan was ok. Wasn't at ease. Lacks debating experience. But likeable.


Everyone in opposition seems to "meet people" with non stop ailments. Do they ever talk to people who are doing ok? (Majority of people and businesses)
 
Would broadly agree with the above...with some minor differences.

Poor Mary Lou was unfortunate to be positioned side-stage (on the far right!) Those side camera angles were very unflattering...

Waiting for the immigration/asylum issue to be brought up.

Hopefully there'll be a debate featuring Independent candidates - they're a sizeable (if undisciplined) chunk of the vote. You'd miss the likes of Mattie McGrath/Carole Nolan/Alan Shatter at debates such as this.
 
All things considered Mary Lou McDonnell came out of last night’s debate ahead of Simon Harris and Micheal Martin by a distance. Very few viewers are concerned about things that happened over six months ago never mind sixty years ago. Voters are concerned about the future not the past. Sinn Fein will not show its manifesto until today, another stunt from Mary Lou. I was glad to see that People in opposition hadn’t forgot the recession and the scourge of vulture funds. Immigration deserved to be a topic but was not. FF and FG appear to be keeping parish pump politics alive. Who cares now that SF opposed our entry into the EEC back in the 1960’s? Most people outside of FF have moved on from that stuff. I wasn’t wow’d into voting for FF or FG by last night’s chit chat.
 
Is anyone ever swayed by the soundbites heard in these things? Sounded like a lot of waffle to me and with 10 "leaders" present you couldn't possibly get into any discussion on any topic. TBH I'd be concerned by anyone watching last night looking to help decide who to vote for.
 
Leper said:
Very few viewers are concerned about things that happened over six months ago never mind sixty years ago. Voters are concerned about the future not the past.
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You seem to be forgetting an awful lot if you're suggesting all Sinn Fein's missteps were 60+ years ago. there have been multiple reminders in recent years that they are still run by the army council, including documents confirming ministers in the north were seeking their approval for decisions.
 
10 contestants!! Sorry this didn't come near Trump vs Biden or even its sequel Trump vs Harris. Would you stay up to 3 in the morning to watch that?
As for the question "do you support Palestine?", why not "do you support the Irish Rugby team?".
 
What a mess. And what the hell was Joan Collins, a party of 1, doing there
 
10 leaders was probably too many - the main 3 leaders dominated the debate and at times it seemed like no-one else was there !
The others seemed like spectators...
 
Leper said:
All things considered Mary Lou McDonnell came out of last night’s debate ahead of Simon Harris and Micheal Martin by a distance. Very few viewers are concerned about things that happened over six months ago never mind sixty years ago. Voters are concerned about the future not the past. Sinn Fein will not show its manifesto until today, another stunt from Mary Lou. I was glad to see that People in opposition hadn’t forgot the recession and the scourge of vulture funds. Immigration deserved to be a topic but was not. FF and FG appear to be keeping parish pump politics alive. Who cares now that SF opposed our entry into the EEC back in the 1960’s? Most people outside of FF have moved on from that stuff. I wasn’t wow’d into voting for FF or FG by last night’s chit chat.
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They didn't just oppose entry into the EEC, they opposed absolutely every single EU related constitutional change, including the more recent ones, and including many fairly benign ones. And Mary Lou literally sat with Farage on many issues as an MEP. They only suddenly stopped being so blatantly Eurosceptic when the UK left the EU. I would seriously question their judgment on it.

MLMD also shamelessly accused the governments of deliberately putting up the cost of fuel via carbon taxation when 39 other countries are also imposing them, and they are rapidly growing as a form of pressurizing consumers and businesses to change to green energy sources. They simply have no real commitment or concern for the biggest concern of our era, the climate crisis, despite regularly paying lip service to it.

As for housing, there is a Jerkyll and Hyde SF, one which pontificates about FF or FG policies or practice on housing, and another, which objects to a small sheltered housing development for the elderly (see F21A/0654, submission by Cllr Anne Graves) while publicly complaining about the lack of provision of same. And which proposes "affordable homes" where the buyer cannot ever buy out the freehold on the property, leaving them with a very expensive council house. I'm not sure they can be taken seriously on housing when they've objected to so much.
 
lff12 said:
What a mess. And what the hell was Joan Collins, a party of 1, doing there
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The bigger question is did she insist on standing on the far left?

I believe the also have one councillor.

The Healy Rae’s have two TDs and a good few councillors.

Madness she was there. Same with Tobin and I’m not sure about independent groupings.
 
Leper said:
All things considered Mary Lou McDonnell came out of last night’s debate ahead of Simon Harris and Micheal Martin by a distance. Very few viewers are concerned about things that happened over six months ago never mind sixty years ago. Voters are concerned about the future not the past. Sinn Fein will not show its manifesto until today, another stunt from Mary Lou. I was glad to see that People in opposition hadn’t forgot the recession and the scourge of vulture funds. Immigration deserved to be a topic but was not. FF and FG appear to be keeping parish pump politics alive. Who cares now that SF opposed our entry into the EEC back in the 1960’s? Most people outside of FF have moved on from that stuff. I wasn’t wow’d into voting for FF or FG by last night’s chit chat.
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You're old, retired and already own your home. You should vote for Sinn Fein. They are the party of the old and wealthy.
 
Purple said:
You're old, retired and already own your home. You should vote for Sinn Fein. They are the party of the old and wealthy.
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Thanks Oh Great Purple One, I’ll decide for whom I’ll vote, as old as I am I’ll be voting 1 - whatever in order of my choice, not yours. Thanks for your suggestion too. A FF canvasser at my door last night agrees with you.
 
Leper said:
Thanks Oh Great Purple One, I’ll decide for whom I’ll vote, as old as I am
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Don't start getting obstreperous in your dotage now Leper!
Leper said:
I’ll be voting 1 - whatever in order of my choice, not yours.
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Okay, as long as you agree with me.
Leper said:
Thanks for your suggestion too.
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It wasn't really a suggestion. And you know it.
Leper said:
A FF canvasser at my door last night agrees with you.
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Well of course they did.
 
Leper said:
I was glad to see that People in opposition hadn’t forgot the recession and the scourge of vulture funds.
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I'd be glad if people never forgot who opened the door for them.

“It happens that every man in a bank hates what the bank does, and yet the bank does it. The bank is something more than men, I tell you. It's the monster. Men made it, but they can't control it.” - J. Steinbeck.
 
Mary Lou streets ahead at half time. :mad:
She lost a bit of ground in the second period, but since crime was in play she should have been buried. She called MM Martin, a Biden moment.
Well it is over. The girls did very well in asking some very tricky questions. No knockout blows. Mary Lou the winner on a split decision, MM second. SH said "that is a very good question" too often.
 
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It always amuses me when commentators fall over each other to debate “who won” as if they were scoring a boxing match that requires a definitive outcome.

People make their own determinations based on their own judgement.
 
Salvadore said:
It always amuses me when commentators fall over each other to debate “who won” as if they were scoring a boxing match that requires a definitive outcome.

People make their own determinations based on their own judgement.
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I never watch the debates. I don't see the point is a contest to see who the best debater is. We're meant to be electing someone to govern, not someone to win an argument. You marry someone for that.
 
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