As Slugger O’Toole ponders the voting intentions of golfer, Rory McIlroy…I ponder the voting intentions of Slugger O’Toole. Idle speculation on my part of course. It is a private matter. But for the record, I am voting SDLP and the contributors to Slugger O’Toole wont mind if I speculate about them.
Mick Fealty….resident in England. I wont speculate.
Alan Meban…well resident in Lagan Valley, I would assume. It cant be easy being aBlogger on first name terms with politicians from a wide range of parties. Mrs Meban is actually a minister of religion and close to LetsGetAlongerism. There are nine candidates in Lagan Valley and while I usually consider Alan close to NI21 (not standing) I would think the only rivals for Alan’s vote would be Alex Redpath (UUP) and Trevor Lunn (Alliance). Ironically Lunn is not overly liberal but into all that ecumenical stuff. Maybe Jonny Orr, the Independent is running on a specific local issue, dear to Alan.
David McCann….North Belfast. Seems to have a soft spot for SDLP but told a canvasser he didnt like the candidate. David has a background in Fianna Fáil but has been sucked into the metrotextual world of so-called “progressive” politics. Yet Alban Magenniss individual position on Equal Marriage might push David to Gerry Kelly (SF) or Jason O’Neill (Alliance). David always seems more concerned with individual politicians rather than political parties.
Chris Donnelly…straight forward Sinn Féin.
David Dimbleby Walker…resident in England. Conservative.
Pete “Sheldon” Baker….I am told SDLP background but he is now resident on Deep Space 9. Wants manifestos published in Klingon. Will probably vote for the Federation of Planets.
Brian O’Neill and Gladys Ganiel…resident in North Belfast (?) Brian leans more to secular liberal unionism and Gladys to LetsGetAlongerism. Brian is an “our wee country” kinda guy and vitriolic about Sinn Féin and dismissive of SDLP. I can see Brian holding his nose to vote for Nigel Dodds (DUP) to keep Gerry Kelly out. But maybe Brian will spoil his vote as there seems no perfect fit…such as NI21 or a “moderate” UUP. Gladys? …now that would be an ecumenical matter.
Keeping An Eye On the Czar of Russia 
I have contributed to slugger on occasion, why am I not included?
Ha ….the likes of you and me will never be in the Slugger “core” team.
Is that why we have our own small spaces on the interweb? or is it because our thoughts are perhaps, somewhat off message with the slugger narrative?
Both.
I think we both started blogs to allow us to speak more freely without the tyrany of Sluggers strange yellow and red cards.
Paradoxically Slugger likes our views to give them an air of “balance”.
But we are kidding ourselves if we think they would let us into the inner circle.
Somewhere….there is a Mr Big behind the scenes. Probably a James Bond type villain who is stroking a white cat.
mark my words!
Personally I have always favoured the shocking idea that journalists (or bloggerists) working for a specific media entity should make public their voting intentions, as a matter of public interest. I’ve done so on ASF because I thought it was important that people knew where I was coming from when discussing political affairs. Why not journos with newspapers, etc?
I would make a distinction betweeen journalists (columnists) and reporters.
Does that distinction exist any more? But yes, I see how you could argue that a “reporter” could be categorised as separate from a columnist/opinion writer in terms of registering their political affiliations or voting record. The thing is, I just don’t buy into the “neutrality” of journalism, not in the digital age when most journos have their own social media presences (and voices) quite separate from their employers.
Certainly in England, columnists are more open…Polly Toynbe, Quintin Letts etc.
And even the Daily Express had a tradition of hiring Labour figures like Tom Driberg.
I dont think it matters that the junior reporter in Dungannon Courthouse votes or doesnt.
But I think Weshould know about Suzanne Breen, Malachi O’Doherty, Henry McDonald etc.
We are especially entitled when joirnos have political pasts.
Mrs Michael Gove (Susan Vine) is a journo and it is actuallly quite common in England. That Allegra WhatsHerName from Newsnight dated Ed Miliband.
Is it relevant? I think so.
One of the first “run ins” I had with Mick Fealty on Slugger was back in 2010 and he had quoted a journo….I forget which one….and I pointed out the journos politics.
Mick deleted my comment as “not relevant”.
I think…without going into conspiracy territory….there is a place for pointing out “connexions”.
Surely its basic stuff….certainly for a “History Man”.
Who/What is theSource…..
Am actually on a Dublin train now and Internet is a bit “iffy” …we had to change trains in Dundalk.
So thoughts a bit disjointed here.
I have actually a draft blog on the SDLP Manifesto Launch. Not so much about Policy as the “ritual” or “protocol” of a launch….including journalist etiquette.
During a Q and A, a well known journo asked a question which was simply stupid and got a one word answer which had SDLP members laughing and finger pointing as the journo went “red” with embarassment. Significantly I saw a lot of annoyance in other journos. They did not see the funny side at all.
Pete has an SDLP background? What?
Family….yes.
Ah right.
Out of interest how do you guys vote, for the party or candidate who best matches your views regardless of whether they can win, or tactically for the least worst?
I suppose it depends on the individual voter.
As a member of SDLP, I would not vote for anyone on a tactical basis.
I have at times voted Sinn Féin but I always vote FOR a Party rather than AGAINST Party. It is how I have always been but of course people think differently.
I would have been the same before I moved to east Belfast, at Westminster the nationalist candidates are not strong, and I’m not a huge fan of alliance. Justified Naomi because of the leafleting but it’s a weak case
So I am told.
Personally Id never vote for Naomi Long.
In a sense DUP is an enemy of SDLP.
But Alliance and Sinn Féin are rivals of SDLP.
Naomi is doing the “just lend me your vote” thing to Greens, SDLP and SF.
But there is no such thing as a “loaned” vote. If she wins, she might mention that she is grateful but within 24 hours her Party will be claiming a stunning victory and saying SDLP is finished.
Likewise I would not “lend” a vote to Gerry Kelly who is making the same appeal in North Belfast.
There are places…Upper Bann where SF is claiming that they can win the seat.
It is certainly possible and more than llikely that some SDLP voters will lend SF the vote.
But again SF will claim SDLP vote has collapsed.
And there are plenty of so called independent analysts on Slugger O’Toole who will use this as further “evidence” of SDLP decline.
I think Mick Fealty in the past was quite a strong Labour supporter.
The interesting thing about this election is that Mick Fealty has come out strongly against Sinn Fein. The (poorly concealed) façade of impartiality has gone. So much of mick’s work is defined by confirmation bias, absolute cynicism towards republicanism and a strange openness, verging on support toward Unionism. I don’t know his motives, i used to think it was financial (managing the Slugger ‘product’) but now I reckon we’re seeing his true opinions emerge and its anti-republican. Someone mentioned earlier this week on one of his threads that a column in the Indpendant awaits…. I’d happily wager a tender on that.
I think it has always been anti-republican and anti-nationalist. AAnd very hostile to Adams of course.
But this is also election season and all our prejudices are heightened. My own membership of SDLP is rarely an issue for most readers of the blog….in part its easy for me because I declare my membership.
But with six days to Polling Day, that does vgive me a problem.
As always with Slugger, you need to look between the lines.
Today in a response to me Mick said something about no wind blowing Nationalism forward. Whether this is true or not, there is an element of dismissing nationalism as “in the past”.
The most intriguing thing is his assertion that SF will squeeze SDLP and the “small but growing Alliance vote in North Belfast”.
Think about that for a minute, it makes no sense.
A SDLP voter is a nationalist.
An Alliance voter isnt.
One might be persuaded to vote SF. One wont.
This means the SDLP and Alliance totals will be closer than usual.
This means Slugger can say “SDLP in decline” “Alliance on the rise”