Mine was not a quip, it was an observation. It seems you cannot detect tone in people's posts. Once again, for which party do you expect those people to vote for? Which party presents a viable alternative at this time?Quote:
Originally Posted by Gather round
Does a 'Northern Ireland Nationalist Party' exist GR?
I'll resist answering for you.
It has dimmed your logic and observational skills. If I were to reply to posts in a similiar fashion to yourself, I would suggest that these faculties have escaped you for quite sometime, or maybe just in your excursions on foot.ie, but then.....I wouldn't do that. ;)Quote:
No, even the pressure of answering the same witless wind-up 60 times on this thread hasn't dimmed my faculties, thanks.
You also mention 'wind-ups' in your post. To that I will simply state, in case it has passed you by, that you do post a lot more on foot.ie than you do on your own supporters website - OWC.
Hmmmm........for some reason I'm getting images of pots and keetles in my mind.
They vote SF and SDLP because there is no viable (tribal) alternative - at this time, and hasn't been for a long time. The same applies to voters of the UUP and DUP, it is limiting - welcome back to NI. I have never stated that there will be no viable option for either community in the future. It has only been very recently that alternatives, in the form of Fianna Fail and the Conservatives, have appeared on the horizon. Has this fact escaped you as well.Quote:
I am. I recognise that they vote for SF and SDLP. Are you assuming that they have no alternative now and forever? Bit limiting, that. They could- with enough will and organisation- persuade other parties to stand, then vote for them. You know, Labour, Conservative, LibDem, Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, that sort of thing. But if they continue to vote SF and SDLP- basically single-issue parties- then I'll assume, quite reasonably, that they agree with the issue.
In addition to this, if you believe that the SDLP and SF are "basically single issue parties", then I'll assume, quite reasonably, that you believe the UUP and DUP to be likewise.
Change happens in increments, not in one foul swoop! I recommend that you read the works of Edmund Burke.
Of course people vote by choice, but in Northern Ireland voting for political parties is done along tribal lines, not along normal left-wing/right-wing lines. This is the reason why voter turn-out at Assembly and Westminister elections in Northern Ireland remains so high in comparison to other Western democracies - people want to make sure their 'tribe' gets in and receives as much representation as it can!Quote:
See above. Of course I recognise- as a left-leaning Ulster unionist- the difficulty of finding the right (no pun intended) party to vote for. But you know what- it's the same over here. In many constituencies in England, the only choice is the big three. I don't support any of them, so my choices are abstain, spoil or concentrate on some other form of politics. I'm not damning people for voting nationalist, just recognising- as you seem unwilling to- that most do so by choice, not compulsion.
It's not the same in England, I'll ask you again; are you being deliberately dense?
The assembly here in NI does not operate on the 'first past the post' system, unless you have forgotten. It is based on the principle of power-sharing under the D'Hondt method to ensure that Northern Ireland's largest political communities, the Unionist and Nationalist communities both participate in governing the region.
Another important example for you, every MLA is officially designated as either Nationalist, Unionist or Other.
The only 'substantial' cross-community party in Northern Ireland is the Alliance Party, which officially designates itself as 'Other'. Despite this, it has remained a minnow in NI politics.
Are you keeping up this time GR?
It's not that hard really, all it takes is logic!
I feel obliged to state the obvious while 'conversing' with you GR, rather like a parent does to a child. Though it seems to have little effect, producing as it does, replies containing obvious contradictions and frankly, stupidty.Quote:
Fine, thanks. Your mixture of cliche, pointless statement of the obvious and occasional cod-sociology is a bit disjointed, but I'm managing OK.
You don't see much initial impressions........hmmm.......what have I been saying again :rolleyes:. Once more, change happens, (especially in NI), in increments.Quote:
I'll react once they've contested an election. Although I don't see much initial impression.
Bravo - "they are well established". Maybe some logic is penetrating through at last. To make the final leap GR, add on to that........."along tribal lines."Quote:
The other parties are well-established and- as you may have noticed- Fianna Fail's image both home and abroad at the moment is about as popular as typhoid.
