I note that Mick Fealty begins one of his posts with
“Say what you like about Brian Feeney”, the nationalist minded journalist.
I think Mr Fealty is being ironic. I was tempted to reply “can I say what I like about Eoghan Harris?”
But I probably can’t.
Say what you like about Mick Fealty but he is consistent. Or maybe he is not consistent.
Keeping An Eye On the Czar of Russia 
Mick Fealty ……
EDIT……….This comment is deleted as the person making the comment is an Alliance Party activist.
Isnt…..EDIT
Comment deleted as the person making the comment was made by an Alliance Party activist..
Mick Fealty …
EDIT As this is a comment from an Alliance Party activist, it has been deleted.
I think the reason Mr Fealty is losing the run of himself is the time for choosing in the North is getting closer every day. And those who claim to be the in the middle of the road standing between two warring tribes are going to have to jump one way or the other. It’s getting better every day. The British Amnesty for everybody who took part in military operations has just thrown everything in the air. Of course the British Amnesty is to cover up the War crimes of its soldiers and policemen. And stopping the public just knowing how dirty the dirty war in the North really got.
Yes its totally pathetic.
But pathetic in a hilarious way.
I signed up to Slugger at the start of 2010. It was I always thought a “letsgetalongerist” site.
But it has actually changed a little.
Pete the Baker might well be planning a trip to space. Gerry Lynch has disappeared. Parsley is not around and Alan Meban has gone to ground.
The Man from the Beeb looks dated.
Even the redoubtable Granni Trixi seems to be in hiding.
Mick has lost control of the narrative.
Because the reality has changed. Brexit. Protocol. Border Poll and Mick Fealty seems actually stuck for new ways to criticise Sinn Féin.
His lieutenants that are still around …Seaan and Brian O’Neill are reasonable.
But a message board founded on ” they are all as bad as each other except Alliance who are saints and SDLP are in terminal decline, no longer cuts the mustard.
People like Colin Harvey have moved the centre of gravity and the younger SDLP are getting a lot of things right. I am never convinced about young politicos.
Frankly one side (in the 21st century) is not as bad as the other. Mick Fealty can no longer convince with that. Especially as Alliance, a party that always put “stability” ahead of “unhelpful” things like Justice now look to have been rumbled.
The tsunami of unionist/loyalist collapse might have started in the DUP but it is creating waves in Alliance.
Its amusing to watch.
Mick Fealty runs ..
.EDIT. Comment deleted as made by an Alliance Party activist.
New Lucid Talk Poll For the Belfast Telegraph :
🔷DUP 13% (-3 from May)
🔷SF 25% (no change)
🔷UUP 16% (+2)
🔷TUV 14% (+3)
🔷Alliance 13% (-3)
🔷SDLP 13% (+1)
I am on the Lucid Talk panel but did not take part in this. I keep thinking “these participants are nerds like me”.
Or “Rubbish In…Rubbish Out”
Even if DUP are 1% behind TUV, it is difficult to see how TUV could translate this into Assembly seats. There could of course be defections from MLAs like Jim Wells or maybe even MPs like Wilson, Campbell and Paisley making trouble.
Maybe some people will think in terms of an election pact.
UUP thats a good show.
Sinn Féin very good. If its to believed they have picked up from Alliance.
Likewise SDLP would be happy enough.
Alliance…..very poor. As I have said a few times on Slugger, they have peaked.
Sluggers experts may not mention that.
I am sceptical of LucidTalk. They actually do a call on Twitter to get people to do their poll. Twitter! Twitter is not real life!
The main man Bill is I think UUP. I have always found him to be very fair.it is slightly odd to be on their panel as it seems that the panel must be nerds.
I am not sceptical of Lucid Talk but I am sceptical of the organisations who commission polls…Belfast Telegraph, Queens etc and of course how the results are used and followed up on my least favourite political message board.
I always think that no question is ever asked without the answer being known.
Eg..8 out of 10cats prefer Whiskas or….do you believe in Integrated Education.
There was also a survey by the unlamented Platform for Change which discovered it had very few members West of the Bann..if I recall correctly no members at all in one of the 18 constituencies.
I suspect the membership of my least favourite message board would be heavily slanted to within 10 miles of Stormont.
The key thing about any opinion poll is that if 1000 people are asked “do you wash your hands after using the bathroom?” 99% would say yes but people working in public health and anecdotal evidence at train stations would say that is not correct.
So if asked what political party do you support….I think the respectable answer is Alliance
Do you think SDLP have chances in Foyle and West Belfast to add a seat?
SDLP is a coalition.
When it is divided it looks bad.
When it is together, it looks good.
Colum is the nationalist and his influence will be worth a lot o votes west of the Bann and in south Down and Newry-Armagh but unlikely to translate into seats. except in Fermanagh-South Tyrone and maybe in Antrim. Maybe Strangford.
I am not a big fan of Claires letsgetalongerist wing but same problem that increased vote share wont translate into seatsm maybe Strangford and Antrim. Holding Lagan Valley would be hard.
I assume that Paul Doherty will be the runner in West Belfast, a good tactic as he is known as a community activist like Paul NcCusker in North Belfast.
As far as I know Nichola lives in Crumlin so I suggest that its a reasonable risk to let her run in South Antrim and allow Paul McCusker or Heather to run in North Belfast.
Likewise Mathew O’Toole has links to South Down and might be a good fit for Strangford. And South Belfast would be held by just anyone. The return of Conall????
Candidates. There are names who must be worth 1,500 votes….GAA people, TV weather presenters.
There might even be somebody in North Down, East Antrim, East Belfast who are “celebs” who are under the radar.