Vote Against The Government

by Chris Bond - USI Eastern Area Officer 2009/2010 (personal capcity) Sun May 31, 2009 22:13

Student you are wrong

I Chris Bond am not currently a member of a political party, im an independent who is supporting a policy, that was adopted democratically by the Union of Students in Ireland. As
the incoming eastern area officer i am required to abide by that policy, otherwise i wouldnt be fit to do my job. If you would like to change USI's stance to a pro government policy, or a policy in support of a particular party i suggest you get on to your students union officers tell them to raise it at the next national council of USI.

by Dr Jeckell and Mr Hyde Sun May 31, 2009 19:19

Dr Zhivago,

Labour abolished the fees for third level education back in 1995, so how can you say that they are against free education, Duh!!!

by Doctor Zhivago Sun May 31, 2009 18:03

How is the cause of free education furthered by supporting parties that are agaisnt it, neoliberal parties like the Labour Party, Fine Gael, etc?

by Godot Sun May 31, 2009 10:37

So USI thinks voting for FG is better than voting for FF, despite the fact that both are against free education? Oh lawd, public services like education would probably be worse off under Fine Gael. Calling on people to vote against parties which are against free education isn't exactly so nuanced that people wouldn't get it.

by Chris Bond - USI Eastern Area Officer-2009/2010 (personal capacity) Sun May 31, 2009 03:47

USI is asking students to use their vote against the government, we are not calling on students to support any particular party. We are calling on students to make their vote an anti government vote regardless of how they cast that vote.

The purpose of this campaign is to punish the government electorally because of attacks on our education system such as the registration fee hike, the threat of full fees, a loan system or graduate tax, the inadaquate grants system ,and savage cutbacks to academic and student support services. Regardless of ones opinion on parlimentary style democracy, it is common logic that politicians do respond swiftly to electoral threats. This campaign does not purport to solve all the problems in our education system nor is it meant to replace other methods of tackling cutbacks and increasing costs. The purpose of this campaign is to demonstrate that students are outraged at the governments policy with regard to our education system and that any cutbacks or fee increases will have negative electoral repercussions for the government.

by kb Fri May 29, 2009 08:16

Most of the people in that photograph are campaigning for people standing in the elections. It makes sense for them to call on students to vote for candidates from their parties, regardless of how totally ineffective it will be.

by Godot Fri May 29, 2009 07:49

There are more holes in this than you'd find the plot of a Michaell Bay movie. The Greens were against tuition fees before the last election and subsequently changed their position once they got into government. USI have a short memory - for that election they printed up leaflets giving the Greens 'smiley faces' for their policies on education, now USI are once again leading students down the same cul de sac populated by every other tactically bankrupt campaign in the country. Not that students pay any significant attention to USI.

Vote against the government? Unfortunately that kind of lowest common dominator politics fails to recognise that Fine Gael are also against free education. But never mind, substituting collective action for the isolation of the voting booth is one of the most disempowering acts imaginable.

by old codger - pensioner Thu May 28, 2009 17:01

You will never get rid of the criminal scum that are ruining this country unless you vote them out. They have tremendous power over all the state agencies, media. gaurdai. and judiciary. Other than a civil war there is no other way.
Although the alternative parties may not be much better, they may be marginally better. Fianna Fail have proven their corruption time and time again and while they remain in power they will not get any better .
You young people are the greatest hope for improvement in our country so it is up to you to stand up and fight for truth, honesty, and justice for us all.
VOTE FOR WHO YOU THINK MAY BE HONEST. If you dont vote you are accepting the current crop of gangsters.
DONT WASTE YOUR VOTE , it is your chance to kick them where it hurts.

by pragamatist Thu May 28, 2009 16:59

So you can write " No 3'rd level fees" or " Shell To Hell" or " your all crooks and not worth my vote!!!" what ever you want... it will send a clear message that your not happy with the current state of politics in this country.

I've been at a few counts in my time, and they rarely say much about this, and it doesn't much make the news. I've seen at most, 500 spoiled votes.

To put some sort of shock into the system, the number of spoiled votes would need to be around the same level as the quota, and clearly marked as deliberately spoiled.

The chances of achieving this, by starting to spread the idea a week before polling are slim. (which is my biggest problem with it - hell let's start now for the general election,... probably won't be one until... November...)

Otherwise, the other option is to route the government (and the opposition) by boycotting all the incumbents. There's little point in simply changing enough seats to tip power to the oppositiong. They've done a poor job in opposition as well.

And its better than not voting because it shows that you are willing to come and vote, and you do want to use your vote but that there's no one running that DESERVES YOUR VOTE.

Yeah, don't let them dismiss it as apathy (although given the rotten state of politics in this country who'd blame us?) make sure it's registered as disgust.

by w Wed May 27, 2009 21:07

I suggest if you dont know who to vote for in the upcoming elections, to spoil your vote. Now when counting ballots not only will the percentage of spoiled votes be counted, but also in what way the ballot was spoiled.
So you can write " No 3'rd level fees" or " Shell To Hell" or " your all crooks and not worth my vote!!!" what ever you want... it will send a clear message that your not happy with the current state of politics in this country. Its a much more productive way to use your vote instead of giving it to someone cause you dont know who else to vote for so you pick the "lesser of the evils". And its better than not voting because it shows that you are willing to come and vote, and you do want to use your vote but that there's no one running that DESERVES YOUR VOTE.

by G Wed May 27, 2009 17:40

Do you seriously think that a Fine Gael-led government (or even a Labour-led one ) would do things any differently?

Surely the most important question is not who you elect to government but how governable are you going to be.

Are you going to accept, for example,

"* The proposed reintroduction of third level fees.
* The increase of the registration fee to €1,500 per year.
* The failure, after years of promises to reform the student grant system."

or are you going to attempt to build a serious determined campaign to force your agenda on to whoever might be in government.

And where is that campaign going to come from?