Imposed Labour Canndidate Causes Walkout at Candidate Vote
laois |
politics / elections |
news report 
Tuesday December 14, 2010 11:35
by Eóin Breathnach
F.F. sympathiser being brought onboard ?
John Whelan imposed in Laois/Offaly by Labour after party walkout on voting.
Labour have announced John Whelan, formerly news editor of the Leinster Express, to be the candidate for Laois/Offaly in the coming general election despite it not being voted on by the labour party organisation in the said constituency.
There was a walk out by approx 2/3 of the Labour party organisation at the propsed candidate vote by the party in the Heritage Hotel, Portlaoise, on 10/12/2010 where the ballot box was removed & legitimate vote not conducted.
Reason for the walkout is clear in that the party on the ground have not been afforded due process to challenge this candidate who is clearly, from his history as a reporter, a F.F. sympathiser with countless stories reifforcing F.F. & taking shots at Labour during his years in the Leinster Express, clearly not alligned to left politics.
One Quote from John Whelan,
"The perception is peddled that Brian Cowen is wildly different to Bertie Ahern, while he actually shares much of Ahern’s common sense, common touch and conservatism. "
This was written just as Ahern was leaving office for his 'financial irregularitys' & Cowen was entering as Taoiseach, anyone that could hold up Ahern as a role model in these terms after all the revelations around his dealings cannot rightly portray themselves as a true Labour/Left man.
Comments (13 of 13)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13Beware FF submarine candidates. They lurk in the water all around.
All candidates taking public office should submit to a "psych" evaluation and if they demonstrate a lack of empathy, sociopathic tendencies, or below 120 IQ then they should not get the job. Most jobs do a psych test and they work for us so why not?
There's massive internal discord at the way candidates are being selected.
Hoards of paper members, who have no involvement with the party, have been ordered to stuff branch meetings to support certain candidates.Party activists aren't taking this too well.
There's also a large section of the party fuming that Gilmore is supporting water charges, despite winning a motion at National Conference to oppose them in all forms. The anti-charges side haven't said anything public though, as they're afraid of publicly criticising Gilmore before the election.
Why does this all look familiar,well packing branches with new members and disenfranchising old members in order to attain power and abandon principle is exactly what this gang tried to do in an attempt to take over the Workers Party,they lost that battle but nearly destroyed that Party.Then they moved to Labour and have all but destroyed their credibility on the Left,I still respect some old Labour but my patience is running out.If this gang were to lead Labour into coalition you can say good bye to Labour in the near future
This story is almost identical to what happened in Sligo, right down to the fact that the parachute candidate works for the fourth estate. Maybe there's a bigger picture here that we just can't see yet!!!
In any event it would be an absolute outrage if the Labour Party is going to become a bolt hole for FF politicians who are trying to escape the sinking ship. In the interest of the country these guys must be kept as far away from the affairs of this state as possible.
...comes from Hibernians nil, versus Politicos Allshades mega
that the need is not for a change of personnel.
Huston, we got SYSTEMIC problems.
I understand that former PD TD Mae Sexton has become a late convert to Cde, Gilmore's version of Socialism!!!!!!
The PDs were ever liberal in method and agenda. They dont discriminate like ordinary mortals. They are totally impartial as to whom they subvert, suborn and piggy-back to power on. Thats why they always returned to the parental FFing fold they delighted in pretending to reform with their mouldy brokerage. Neo-cons dont do reflection, but if they did it would be with a snow-white mirror.
This is crazy and will no doubt come back to haunt Labour! John Whelan, is regarded by many as honestly a leftie, a decent guy and does hold many views aligned to the party however the problem is his long standing ties with FF. Apparently he counts Brian Cowen among his friends and according to sources was in line for a PR role for Cowen in 2008. In fact, when the Labour heads originally approached him back then as a possible future candidate he stalled them for his answer to see if the FF role materialised (which it obviously did'nt).
He was great friends with FF's John Maloney also and had campaigned for him in the past. The relationship turned sour though after
a much publicised spat between them over an article that Whelan wrote which contained qoutes from Maloney that were made 'apparently' off the record at a private dinner. Whelan claimed that Maloney had been openly critical of Brian Cowen's leadership at the dinner, Maloney's denials were weak at best and focused more on not on what he said but that Whelan had reported on a private conversation. The article appeared in the Sunday Indo and they then went head to head on Marian Finucanes RTE1 program. All the transcripts and audio are available via google. Many said that Whelan was correct in what he did but some others said that it was sour grapes at not getting into FF's backroom crew that drove him to do this.
For what its worth and despite the above i'd be happy if Whelan was representing me in the Dail. People who know him say he is a decent and honest guy, has his finger on the mood of the nation and is a strong defender of the little guy but to add some balance they also say he's a bit of a commie at heart, a hippie (see his debut novel) and can have anarchic views at times.
Best of luck to him when the election comes around. I hope he gets in!!
During the selection convention of the labour party in laois/offaly on 10/12/2010 @ the heritage hotel in portlaoise, it became apparent that other candidates that were put forward to HQ for consideration were going to be completley ignored & that John Whelan was the only candidate being proposed.
Approx 15 mins into the proceedings at least 3/4 of the constituency council members walked out in protest at the undemoratic manner the selection convention was conducted.
During the time between the 10/12/2010 & the meeting of the 11/01/2011 there was no effort by eamon gilmore to establish with any of the constituency council memebrs that walked as to why they felt they could not support the candidate.
There was a meeting that was held in the heritage hotel on the 11/01/2011 to establish who out of the members that walked out were willing to form a new left wing movement to offer a real principled democratic alternative to the establishment parties & join with the united left alliance for the forthcoming election.
While not all the members that walked out of the selection convention joined the new movement, the ones that did not stated again that they will not vote for or canvass for the labour selected candidate & some even offered to canvass for the new candidate running despite not joining.
Joe higgins of the Socialist party/United Left Alliance adressed the meeting & congratulated the members for doing what is right & not supporting a party that circumvents democracy by imposing a candidate that the majority of the constituency do not support.
Also in attendance who subsequently adressed the meeting after Joe higgins was Seamus Healy of the South Tipp Unemployed action group & Conor macliam who is standing for the Socialist party in Carlow/Kilkenny in the coming general election.
Eoin - can you please explain what has changed in the political thinking of the group of people who met on 11/1 in the Herirtage Hotel? A month earlier they were willing to support and canvass for the Labour party - if their preferred candidate was selected. Now they are described as "willing to form a new left wing movement to offer a real principled democratic alternative to the establishment parties & join with the united left alliance for the forthcoming election"
How do their policies differ from those they were willing to support and canvass for a month ago?
The poeple who left the convention could not stomach a candidate who was not a real committed socialist, this was only the last straw from the Labour party that the members have seen compromise now all of its principles in order to get into power.
A lot of members would have most likely supported one of the councillors that put their name forward as they have proven their committment to socialism over the years, however the course of action the labour party has taken in aggreeing to bind itself into the deadlines of the EU & now recently facilitating the passage of the finance bill that cuts the minimum wage among other things, i feel would have had the same effect has their been no selection convention row.
Labour has been slowly inching away from its identity of socialism for many years now & that has been eating away at a lot of members, the last 6 months have been such an acceleration away from socialism i doubt the majority of members could have stomached it anyway.
The truth is that a lot of socialists feel uncomfortable within labour but are willing to try & bring a socialist influence from within the party, the members that have now left feel almost liberated as they can push forward without barriers for a real force of socialist influence and change with the ULA.
Won't be within an asses roar of a seat. Labour were regarded as a joke there and after that crowd split from the Labour the first thing on the agenda was another split with Dumpleton now running as an indo and Fitzpatrick getting the trots seal of approval.
Maybe , perhaps , possible , more than likely , obviously , because we're worth it , i suppose ,
as me ma onst sed , The Smoke Salmon has gotten hold of Labour's Pallats , and they aint goin
back, ever again, to Burdocks , thats only for gluttons , as me ma wud say .
Me Vote for Labour ??? Nein .
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