Slugger O'Toole

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Latest comments from Charlie Sheens PR guru (see all)

Charlie Sheens PR guru has commented 218 times (0 in the last month).

1. Comment on What does the Irish flag mean to you?
   on 2 April 2013 at 2:03 pm

   Its a flag that has very little relevance to me when I’m in Ireland, but takes on a new mantel when I live abroad.

   Its probably a sign that I have been conditioned to hate flags here because they are generally used by those with less than genuine motives. However, having been asked to lead a St. Patrick’s day parade in Japan it symbols something positive and engaging and is an enormous sense of pride.

   Politically, its meaningless.

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2. Comment on No surprises in Mid Ulster as Molloy wins; turnout dips down from 91.5% in 1969 by-election to just 55.7%
   on 9 March 2013 at 2:19 am

   “A unity candidate may make sense in WB in the STV Assembly election, if it encourages turnout and prevents leakage of transfers.”

   Charles Gould, let’s just say you’re right and the unity candidate does prevent enough transfer leakage etc.. to return a candidate. It seems a unionist obsession to eak out every last vote from the process to completely miss the politics. Its extremely naive to lecture the local unionist electorate on candidates considering an STV election gives them the right to vote 2nd, 3rd or not at all as they see fit. This eternal obsession with unity and pacts etc.. looks bad and ultimately results in a circling of the wagons that means that unionists end up effectively shoring up a smaller portion of the electorate. If unionists are currently getting 11.7% in WB, a unity candidate may shore up 11% for example.

   If it was actually good politics, nationalists would have done it by now in say, Strangford. But its not.

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3. Comment on No surprises in Mid Ulster as Molloy wins; turnout dips down from 91.5% in 1969 by-election to just 55.7%
   on 8 March 2013 at 1:48 am

   Interesting how the nationalist areas around east tyrone etc. showed a low turnout.

   Could it be that the number of republicans disillusioned with SF has grown. Especially given they are now threatening him over his condemnation over the mortars in Derry. That’s on top of the queen handshake etc.. Then again, it could be that it was just a foregone conclusion and people stayed at home.

   Very interesting repercussions if this is the start of joint unionist candidates as the norm… that said, unionists cannot expect this kind of low turnout at a general election…

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4. Comment on Mid Ulster by election: Reassuringly boring and predictable…
   on 7 March 2013 at 1:19 am

   The last unity candidate in Mid Ulster was Willie McCrea and his platform with Billy Wright. Most nationalists have never forgotten that.

   What’s your point?

   The difference is, nationalist parties at least have the pretence of bread and butter politics by offering their electorates a choice. The same can’t be said of Nigel ‘No policies’ Lutton

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5. Comment on Mid Ulster by election: Reassuringly boring and predictable…
   on 6 March 2013 at 9:35 pm

   DR,

   If you’re genuinely that naive to think that Nigel Lutton, is anything other than pan-prod candidate then bless, I think that’s adorable.

   If like me, you reside in the real world, then you read real newspapers with publications like this from the orange order and apprentice boys then you realise that the only overtly sectarian organisations that exist know who exactly who their horse is, and want their members to see it that way too.

   http://www.midulstermail.co.uk/news/local/loyal-orders-urge-members-to-vote-lutton-1-4824796

   Of course if you’re about to show us an example of a loyal order backed catholic ….

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6. Comment on Unionist voters exercising performance-based accountability while nationalists vote along ethno-national indicators
   on 14 February 2013 at 10:36 pm

   That analysis sounds even stupider on the day that unionists present a ‘unity’ candidate:

   http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-21462044

   You couldn’t make it up..

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7. Comment on “This vote now draws a line under this issue…”
   on 30 January 2013 at 3:44 am

   Ardoyneunionist,

   The areas you mentioned were suggested boundary proposals. The point is ALL boundary changes are scrapped and kicked into the long grass. So Dodds doesn’t get to enjoy the benefits of three wholly unionist wards beefing up his lead.

   GEF,

   You’re not comparing like with like. Between 2005 and 2010 there was a large boundary change as all the Belfast seats were just too small. N. Belfast took in densely populated parts of south and east Antrim to bring the electorate up from what was <50000 to ~65000. The fact that <1000 more people voted for him is the remarkable part. Besides, in the same period Gerry Kelly went from ~8700 to 125000 so relative to the share Kelly's vote went up, Dodds vote is shinking.

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8. Comment on David Ford: Ideological differences not being handled inside the SDLP…
   on 28 January 2013 at 6:17 pm

   Ulster Press Centre,

   Its your problem if you can’t see the difference between catholics and republicans.

   W. Belfast is indeed the most republican constituency as well as the most catholic.

   S. Belfast however, with the fastest growing catholic population has seen SF more or less remain static at 12/13 %. Alliance vote has shot up, and the largest share of their surplus ended up either directly, or via greens, at the SDLP.

   in north belfast an elimination or surplus is not possible at assembly, but in the castle ward of the council, the alliance party’s candidate’s elimination led to a 4-1 split in favour of of the remaining nationalists over the UUP.

   That number of transfers from the euro elections, if the alliance still go out before the main parties, would probably favour nationalists next time. Go figure.

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9. Comment on Loyalist Flag Protests: Meet the Leadership
   on 6 January 2013 at 2:35 am

   Obtuse?? They’re different jobs! What’s the matter with you??

   You don’t measure take home pay by the danger involved! Otherwise bankers would have to pay to have their job!

   I work with invisible UV class 4 lasers and a lab with nasty solvents like Chloroform and HF, should I ask for a pay rise?

   Don’t try and tell me there is no verification just because you’ve talked down. I didn’t get a call so that I could maybe answer an obtuse remark from a slugger blogger 9 hours later.

   Once verified tomorrow, I’ll expect you to be on here and acknowledge as such.

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10. Comment on Loyalist Flag Protests: Meet the Leadership
    on 6 January 2013 at 2:12 am

    BJ,

    No one else but you brought army into it as a meaningless comparison about payscales. Well guess what? Police don’t shoot back so you’re comparison is already off.

    It shouldn’t take a slugger contributor like myself to announce that my family member’s unit were shot on at and now I’m still awake at 2am until I hear that they’ve cleared the area for you to stop picking holes in what they are doing. NONE of them wanted to be there tonight. Lesser still to know that loyalists are now armed and treating them as legitimate targets.

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