Green Party Subversives!?

by Sen. Joe McCarthy Sat Mar 18, 2006 19:18

SMEAR TACTICS - the first refuge of the brutal
WELL ! we all know what he is up to ! Herr McDowell is trying to discredit the Green Party generally and John Gormley specifically.

For political anoraks like those who read this Information Median (and I include myself in this) there is an awareness that the vast majority of Green Party members, sympathisers and voters would be repelled by the most violent of the actions in the Dublin 'Love Ulster' Riots. But (unfortunately for any prospect of long-term substantial change) the majority of the electorate who have grown up with the 2 (and 1/2) party system can't relate to this new phenomenon in Irish politics that is the Green Party. And as a result a great many people will conclude "If the Minister of Justice blames them well . . . . . there is no smoke without fire".

McDowell having successfully neutralised any potency (Provisional) Sinn Fein might have had as a revolutionary force in the political arena through his abortion of Connolly's C.P.I. as an effective watch-dog, (along with other measures) he is now turning his attention to the Green Party. A fully functioning parliamentary democracy with opposition parties scrutinising the govt is the last thing that McDowell and his neo-liberal ideologues want. McDowell like so many of the rest of our political class is an elitist; he arrogantly believes his political agenda to be infallible. He wants the business of the ruling class to be above the scrutiny of the 'rabble'.

There is only a minimum opposition to the political thinking currently en vogue; that of institutionalising inequality for the sake of the market. ("McDowell says inequality an incentive in the economy" - I.T. May 28, 04). The mainstream Trade Union movement is now fully emasculated within the state apparatus. Between ‘the jigs and the reels’ over the last 10 years or so the power elite in London, in Washington and in Dublin have fitted the square peg of the Shinners into a round hole; they are now yet another reformist party with a soft-left populist political platform. (This of course follows a set-down pattern of former-I.R.A. cliques "coming in from the cold" i.e. MacGiolla & Goulding, MacBride, De V.) Other manifestations of the insufficient opposition include Dublin West T.D. for the Socialist Party: Joe Higgins. Inspiringly he has continually proven to be a "thorn in the side" of the power 'n' the money, but to paraphrase Dermot Ahern's now famous statement re: the electronic voting machines; 'they can take a hit on that constituency'.

Also, the potential of An Taisce has been seriously curtailed through a combination of their public vilification as much as been given Ministerial approval; the ending of a considerable source of their revenue; and serious threats to replace them with something similar but more politically-compliant. This kind of organisational political assassination was motivated by a fear that the organisation might threaten to 'upset any other apple-carts once they were invigorated by the impact that former An Taisce head Michael Smith had in exposing political corruption.

The coming General Election is set to be a crucial one for the Green Party. The party will be fighting to hang on to its 6 seats in Dail Eireann; a daunting task, given the history of smaller parties’ long term electoral fortunes in this state. The T.D.’s were all elected from marginal constituencies through proportional representation. In most of the 6 constituencies that returned Green Party T.D.’s the loss of a few hundred votes could see the party drastically reduced. In labelling them as a party who associates with or condones property-destruction and life-endangering activities McDowell hopes a lot of their more reluctant voters will reconsider. If his scare tactics work the result is the Green Party/Comhaontas Glas being finished as a (admittedly limited) parliamentary force, and relegated to the fringe with the C.P.O.I., S.W.P., and W.S.M.

by Smart Mon Mar 13, 2006 13:46

Mr McDowell added: “The anoraked group that descended upon the office were clearly wearing shoes, and i have observed Mr Gormley wearing shoes on many occasions. I am preparing a warrent for his arrest.”

by Susan Smith Fri Mar 10, 2006 18:13

How does McDowell know of “the websites that Deputy Gormley stares at in the early hours of the morning” (that the ‘Justice’ Minister cannot identify)?

We should be told what this silly gobshite (the Minister) does with his time, apart from reading salacious tittle tattle in police and immigration files – and meeting fellow thinking ‘FAIR-right’ fascists from up north.

by A la Kalle Fri Mar 10, 2006 17:55

So McDowell downloaded indymedia footage and forwarded to filth, I hope none of the comrades involved are identifiable - I know of at least one person who case against was totally based on the indymedia footage from Mayday 04.

by Notthefirsttime Fri Mar 10, 2006 14:49

Willie O'Dea accused Gormley of sending GP members to spray his constituency office, and even said that the Gardai in Limerick had eveidence of this which he could produce... but never did...

Gormley got him to withdraw the remark, but it seems Willie's old boss at Justice liked the idea of painting Gormley as a co-ordinator of subversive vandalism...

Ah, Dail privilege... ain't it great...

by redjade Fri Mar 10, 2006 13:56

Full Text/No Subscription required here:
http://groups.google.com/group/miscrandometc/browse_thr...a0f9a

———

Minister accuses Gormley's 'friends'
source webaddress:
http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2006/0310/3947....html

There were heated exchanges when the Minister for Justice claimed a Green Party TD's "type of people" had vandalised the PD offices during the recent Dublin riots.

Michael McDowell was replying to questions on the riot from his Dublin South East constituency colleague, John Gormley. Mr Gormley asked the Minister why it was not possible to monitor the internet traffic showing there would be trouble in Dublin, if the gardaí had such resources at their disposal.

He added that he had seen the sites telling people not to go into town.

The Minister replied: "I am not acquainted with the websites that Deputy Gormley stares at in the early hours of the morning, but one of them, www.indymedia.ie, has in the past produced interesting footage. On this occasion, it produced footage from outside of the Progressive Democrats party offices being ransacked by a group of Deputy Gormley's type of people."

Mr Gormley said the remark was out of line, but Mr McDowell insisted that what he had seen made interesting viewing. "We downloaded it and sent it to the Garda for investigation."

by green watch Fri Mar 10, 2006 13:35

http://indymedia.ie/attachments/feb2006/placards.jpg

by pat c Fri Mar 10, 2006 12:10

the article you reference requires a paid subscription. would you please publish the text here?

must say i didnt see very many anoraks about which is what you'd exprct GPers to wear.

by eeekkkk Fri Mar 10, 2006 12:06

"The Minister replied: "I am not acquainted with the websites that Deputy Gormley stares at in the early hours of the morning, but one of them, www.indymedia.ie, has in the past produced interesting footage. On this occasion, it produced footage from outside of the Progressive Democrats party offices being ransacked by a group of Deputy Gormley's type of people."

Mr Gormley said the remark was out of line, but Mr McDowell insisted that what he had seen made interesting viewing. "We downloaded it and sent it to the Garda for investigation."

by reader Thu Mar 09, 2006 23:30

every little bit helps

by lol Thu Mar 09, 2006 22:48

That's funny! The smashing of that window looked like the only thing that happened which could possibly be 'good'.