Election 2020. A quiet break from US Politics at least

[Dartz]

They've always been historically a left-wing party - Nationalism in Ireland has always been left-wing, since the days of Connolly and Larkin. Sinn Fein in a lot of ways is the party from which all other parties decended, Fine Gael and Fianna Fail began is the pro- and anti-treaty sides of the Civil War-era Sinn Fein, with the Party itself sort of lurching along in the North as part of the Civil Rights movement, which then led to the Troubles.

Anyway, parties coming in from the cold is a bit of an odd tradition of Ireland. 9 years after the Civil War ended, Fianna Fail - who'd just effectively lost the war against the State - were then subsequently elected to power and power was handed over peacefully. And DeValera fucked us for decades, the arrogant prick.

The problem with Sinn Fein, I found, was that some of the posts and memes floating around had a very 'Trumpist' air to them. The same sort of people were voting for them as were voting for Trump in a lot of ways. There was that same 'Fuck the Establishment' anger.

There's still a bit of the rattle of the Armalite about them - with a hum of links to the remnants of the IRA. Even if that element of the party is steadily dying off, it's not quite gone away. I've always voted Leftwards, but never them.

Labour is the other 'old ' Left-Wing party and have had a torrid time lately - mostly due to being the junior party in coalitions and 'betraying' their values. Usually due to the compromises of coalition government.

Anyway, I've never voted all the way down the ballot. It's rare for there to be more than 6 or 7 counts as it is and, really, on the off-chance that that 10th 'Alright, if someone has to get it we'll do him' position gets counted I didn't want to risk it. There has to be a 'Fuck no, never this twat' option.