Right, I’m kinda tired hearing about this bloody treaty and its bugging me for a few other reasons as well.
Ever since I turned 18 or whatever it was I’ve loved voting and exercising my obvious power and influence! In the time since then I’ve only missed 1 vote/election and that was only because I happened to have booked a holiday to Nerja in Spain on the same date as some election around 2000/2001. Even then I remember ringing some department before I left for Spain and asking if I could vote beforehand or vote by proxy but they wouldn’t let me and I was devastated!
Now you can’t always understand politics or really know enough about who or what you’re voting for, unless its an obvious one like yes or no to divorce or abortion, to go out and vote but you do it anyway because you like to think you can make a difference and you feel guilty if you don’t.
I’m feeling very guilty right now because for the first time, I’m not going to vote. Yes you heard me I’m NOT voting. First of all, I made a woopsy and forgot to get on the register. We’ve moved house 4 times in the last 5 years and you just forget sometimes and its too late to get on now apparently. Secondly, I didn’t make that much effort to remember to get on the register because I don’t have the foggiest notion what I’d be voting for.
I’d thought of just voting Yes because they were the only posters up for ages or Yes because its what the government want and surely they know whats best for us since they rule us or Yes because I’m a yes man. If you say No all the time then no-one ever gets anywhere! I read all the stuff that came in the door and seen a few news reports and heard a few radio shows but I must be stupid because the penny just wont drop on what this is all about and what it means for me. So in the end I’ve reluctantly decided that its better to not vote at all if you don’t have a clue what you’re voting for.
I’m a great believer in simplifying things, breaking them down into bite sized chunks and spelling them out. I always try to keep my life simple and efficient and the ole touch of OCD I have helps but I believe that every single thing can be broken down and understood if enough effort is made and thats why I’m pissed off at the government and at Europe or whoever the hell brought all this upon us.
The very fact that none of them can explain it well enough to the common man and woman in the street is enough reason to not vote and hopefully not give them the Yes they crave.
Sue me..
Leon.
Reverb Studios Design 
I am definately voting NO. I have read both sides and it is a bad deal for Ireland. Taxes, jobs, voting rights in EU parliament, Irish neutrality, Nuclear power (as a GREEN ENERGY choice!)… It has to be NO. Ireland is the ONLY member state having the referendum. France, UK and various other countries were left off, because, as you guys have said, their governments expected voters to overwhelmingly vote no. Even the authors of the treaty knew that they would have to obfuscate it in unclear wording to pass it through. In the words of Valéry Giscard d’Estaing:
“Public opinion will be led to adopt, without knowing it, the proposals that we dare not present to them directly” … “All the earlier proposals will be in the new text, but will be hidden and disguised in some way.”
Still unsure? Check out http://www.libertas.org/
The big question is, what do our politicians who are so rabidly backing the treaty getting out of it, if not kickbacks?
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According to Liveline & Joe Duffy today, its the same deal with France – they weren’t allowed vote either cause they might have voted no.
Ben Dunne said “If you don’t know what to vote vote NO!” but surely if you don’t know what to vote you shouldn’t be influencing the outcome either way!?
Can anyone tell me if we are the only ones voting and if so why!?
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it looks like the EU constitution in a different form! england/britain (who have backed Lisbon) didnt get the people to vote on it as the british government apparently thought the people would vote NO or so im told by more than 1 brtish person ive met recently!!
with neutrality threatened, losing EU comissioners for 5 years, halved voting power (remember germanys voting power is doubled), and of course all the scare-mongering by our government—-ill be voting NO
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