61 thoughts on “Political Junkies

  1. ____

    Unfortunately politicians are deluded enough to think they’re more important to their constituents than pizza delivery.

  2. Sheila

    I would tweet them the pic, explaining this is one of the many reason you will not be voting for them… assuming you are not going to vote for them of course :)

  3. Farty McCarthy

    One man’s junk mail is another man’s public information material. Hot off the Dail printing press.

  4. BA BARACUS

    The last time there was a General Election I had a stand up blazing row in my garden with Fine Gael’s Eoghan Murphy about this same issue.

    Clear sign on the door saying “Posted letters only”, and after two requests to stop, himself and his cronies were still shoving their poo through the door.

    He maintained that his campaign lit was far more important than pizza menus, and could not be likened to junk mail. I explained that this attitude, whereby he arrogantly ignored my wishes concerning what comes through my own door summed up perfectly why I wouldn’t vote for him, and why him and others connected to his party are such giant bottomholes. So full of his own importance. Yuck.

    1. Nice Jung Man

      I completely agree BA

      I don’t tend to get as angry about it as you do because I use the literature as kindling in my fire but if some of these saps were in fact to call physically to my door when I’m at home and shove this stuff there I will literally shove it back where the sun don’t shine.

    2. Gah!

      Eoghan Murphy is particularly arrogant about this. Had an e-mail row with him/his constituency office. They had the temerity to try re-define the terms “unsolicited mail” and “junk mail”. A Fianna Fail candidate did the same but backed down when I told him he was as bad as Eoghan Murphy! If they can’t even respect your postbox, they certainly are not going to respect anything else.

    3. DT

      I disagree.

      Not about Murphy being a self important arrogant twunt – that’s self evident.

      But I do feel campaign literature is different to pizza menus, etc. It concerns the future direction of the country and important decisions that effect us all. If you don;t like it just put it in your green bin. And it’s not just an Eoghan Murphy/FG/Government issue. All parties do this and for this very reason too.

      1. LW

        I would like to see any campaign literature that actually has any useful information. Most of it is just soundbites in text form. I got one from a local FG politician where he just listed some of the local roads and roundabouts, many of which were in place long before this government, and haven’t changed since. There was no clear meaning to it, unless he was showing off his knowledge of local geography. But there was nothing in it that could be classified as important, by any stretch

      2. BA BARACUS

        Yeah, I’d agree with you if you were right! But it’s never anything to do with “the future direction of the country and important decisions that effect us all”.

        It’s self serving, unimportant, arrogant spam. Just rubbish. Printed soundbites. Pure horse poop.

        If they don’t respect you wishes regarding what comes into YOUR house, then they don’t respect YOU. And it’s super obvious that they don’t respect anyone. Other than those who can further their careers in some way.

        1. shane

          Just be specific “No political material” or be specific – “No Renua/Sinn Fein” and whatever.

          You have one doorway, they’ll have 20,000 if they respected your desires in this there’d be 7,000 households on polling day who’d be thinking that no one even asked them for a vote.

          Elections are literally a numbers game. Annoying a small minority – whom EVERYBODY ELSE – is also annoying vs. the missed opportunity in the rest of the “No Junk Mail” households is the decision the candidate is making.

          When you come out onto your drive giving out about stuff coming through the door, they’ll immediately think that you’re not a supporter and they were never going to get your vote (the vast majority are never going to vote for you anyway).

          This is how the candidates think.
          I’d recommend sticking up a “No political leaflets” sign, your current set up seems to be costing you a lot of emotional energy

  5. Smashmouth

    When i was a wee snapper delivering flyers i would always ensure that those who had “no junk mail” signs received twice the standard amount

    1. sǝɯǝɯʇɐpɐq

      You and me both brother.
      I did it to get off with the blondy niece of a government minister.
      That didn’t go very well.

      What’s your excuse?

  6. shane

    I’ve never met a candidate who ever paid those signs any heed.
    I’ve knocked on many doors with those signs and when the door is opened you’d find that the resident has a nice neat pile of leaflets from all the candidates piled together to go through them closer to the election.

    If you didn’t ignore the sign you’d miss those people and potentially their votes, however the same anti-politician ludramans that whine about receiving election literature probably won’t go to the polling booth, so they exclude themselves from consideration

    Leaflets work, posters work, canvassing works. If you choose not to do that stuff you won’t get elected, anyone who rages about pols doing the necessary needs to take a break and go for a walk with the dog.

    PS almost none of the stuff in that letter box (which has probably been dropped over the last two months) was printed in the Dáil print office

    1. Neilo

      Agreed. Canvassing is necessary, as is the distribution of printed material. I have issues with every political party but I’d never be snide to politically-engaged volunteers.

    2. Sheikh Yabooti

      Wrong and wrong, Shane. I vote. And this was all received since Monday. I read several news sources daily, and feel I’m sufficiently well informed on the policies of my local candidates to decide, without reference to a fluffy summary in my letterbox. That they don’t respect my request for no junk mail informs my choice also.

      1. shane

        look about a third of doors have those signs, you’re not special. If you don’t want political stuff put through the door, put up a note and say that. Otherwise you are requiring them to share your opinion that their stuff is “junk” which they are unlikely to do.

        putting a not up on the door specifically requesting that you don’t want political stuff will be far more effective than anonymously posting on Broadsheet.

        Also Averil is still dropping calendars this close to an election, after the trouble they caused her in the media? That seems very unlikely

        1. BA BARACUS

          Nice one Shane, very smooth. “you’re not special”. But by implication the TD whose campaign spam is being out through my door is??

          Because he/she is obviously SO special that my wishes need not be respected.

          Horsepoop. Just **don’t** disrespect people’s wishes regarding their own dwelling place and what comes through the door. Super easy. If in doubt, stay away from that letterbox. That’s the EASIEST way to sort this out.

        2. MoyestWithExcitement

          “look about a third of doors have those signs, you’re not special. If you don’t want political stuff put through the door, put up a note and say that. Otherwise you are requiring them to share your opinion that their stuff is “junk” which they are unlikely to do.”

          There really is a strong whiff of ‘we know better’ off that paragraph, consistent with Vardkar’s ‘Referendums are undemocratic’ and Joan’s ‘People protesting unfair financial burdens are dishonest if they have enough disposable income for a smartphone’ lines. This is why they need to go.

          1. shane

            no it’s not. Leafleting has been a significant part of campaigning since the 19th century.
            Getting stuff through the door is part of the election process.

            you can expect about one election every 2-3 years in Ireland. You might have a particular candidate come to your door twice or three times in that period. The postman will be there about 600 times over that timescale. Commercial leaflet droppers will pass your door about 1000 times.

            You know there’s an election coming up, so be specific and say you don’t want election leaflets. It’s not physically possible for a candidate to be at your door very frequently, all you got to do is let them know that you include them amongst the hundreds of other people who walk up your driveway

    3. Nice Jung Man

      Complete and utter tosh.

      I read the papers and other media and I know exactly where my candidates stand on several issues.

      The printed papers etc go in the fire.

      Further, I fully intend to vote

      Yours, LU Draman

    4. LW

      I can’t see how ignoring someone’s desire not to get unsolicited mail – which campaign literature unquestionably is – is going to make them vote for you. I’d also like to see some scientific analysis of whether or not posters work. There was a study a few years ago concluding that a proliferation of road signs made it harder for drivers to absorb information. If it’s a problem trying to process road signs, how likely is it someone is going to be taking in information from the dozens of posters you can expect to see on poles every few metres? I could see how the pre-election “community meeting” posters might be effective, not having as much competition, but the current crop are just so much white noise. I’m not sure if the posters work, or if they’ve just always been used by everyone running for election, and successful candidates are a subset of those running for election

      1. shane

        because about a third of houses have those notices. Talk to the green party, they did the analysis on the posters, initially they didn’t use them for environmental reasons, and had to accept that the strategy doesn’t work

    5. Rowsdower

      Spam, phising attacks and malware all “work” also. Doesn’t mean they aren’t unsolicited junk mail.

    6. Bobby

      You are what’s wrong with this country. It’s absolutely moronic and insulting to say people should just accept whatever is forced upon them. Shame on you.

      1. shane

        If you don’t want politicians dropping or knocking, be specific. It’s only a small minority that get butthurt about leaflets

  7. Murtles

    I have a no canvassing sign on my door. It’s satisfying to watch the feckers walk up the driveway, notice it, then turn on their heels. One bunch actually had already rang the doorbell then proceeded to run away as if it were Halloween.

  8. newsjustin

    People have very different views on what junk mail means.

    Also, people with “No Junk Mail” signs on their doors are a lot like people who make and display “No Parking” signs outside their doors on public streets.

    Just recycle what you don’t want. Problem solved. Stop whining like your letter box and correspondance time needs to be kept free for letters from Ban Ki-moon and Pope Francis.

    1. sǝɯǝɯʇɐpɐq

      People have very different views on what junk mail means.

      That’s not true.
      Everybody knows that it’s unsolicited mail.
      …and needs no further definition beyond that.

      Junk doesn’t have categories or a hierarchy.
      Junk is junk.

      1. newsjustin

        “Unsolicited mail”

        That’s nonsense. Loads of (important and desireable) mail is unsolicited.

        Perhaps you mean unaddressed mail. Which might be more accurate.

        1. Gah!

          No, unsolicited mail is the correct term. Post you did not ask for. I am fascinated to know what important and desirable unsolicited mail you get! You live in a much more interesting area than I do. And I’m not being smart here, I’m genuinely curious!

          1. meadowlark

            Other than a new take-away menu I can’t see what it could be.

            I have a ‘no junk mail’ sign up, and I’ve been receiving election nonsense, but I didn’t mind much (they were only a page or two maybe) until I received FFs election BROCHURE, a glossy brochure. They haven’t a clue.

    2. Sheikh Yabooti

      Ha! Good one justin, pigeonholing me as a curtaintwitcher. Yep, they’re all recycled, just it seems like such a waste of time, effort, and money for both of us.

    3. Bobby

      Can you give us your address so that we can post the most horrific porn, into you? I’d you don’t like it, you can just pop it in the recycle bin. Remember to thank us for thinking of you, though.

  9. sǝɯǝɯʇɐpɐq

    shane, I’d bet that you never met a home-owner who appreciated your concern for their lack of knowledge and need for leaflets.
    Sure half of them probably don’t even know what ‘No Junk Mail’ means.
    Like duhhh…

    Keep it up pal.
    UR doing a gr8 job.

    1. shane

      If you’re doing something and it doesn’t have the required effect, try something different. Maybe one in fifty houses have a “no political leaflets” sign up, they work. It’d take you less time to do that than to put up a stupid comment on Broadsheet.

      And in my experience I have had people talk about the election literature in a positive way on a subsequent pass through an area despite having “No junk mail” signs up. And maybe three people give out about it.

  10. DubLoony

    Serious question – is engaging in a democratic process, in trying to reach out to voters, junk?

    We’ve knocked on doors and asked people about their signs and some say that it covers pizza delivery stuff but they do want the election literature. Others don’t want anything.

    There are people in apartments who complain that no-one ever tries to get in touch with them. But no-one can get in to those places.

    You can’t win, so the signs are disregarded.
    Expect those that explicitly state they don’t any any f****ing political sh**e. We tend to leave those alone.

    1. sǝɯǝɯʇɐpɐq

      But no-one can get in to those places.

      I feel your pain.
      I wonder how you sleep, knowing that the Polish grandmother you just frightened the living bejayzus out of probably doesn’t even read English and might not get your important message before polling-day passes her by and she slips on some wet discarded flyers on the stairs because the lift doesn’t work…

  11. Joe835

    Surely those signs can be ignored with no consequences? I see them all around my estate but honestly, who in their right mind would say to themselves “All these leaflets I have printed up here are junk mail, I better do what that sign says and not drop one into this house!”

    It’s just part of having a letterbox, you’ll get crap in the door and it’s great for lining whatever you keep your glass recycling in.

  12. BA BARACUS

    Arrogant bottomholes. “I’m very important, and I want a career as a politician, and I’m going to shove my poop through your door whether you like it or not”.

    I will definitely vote, and the arrogance on display from some of these people has already steered my choice.

    They say we get the politics/politicians we deserve, so I’m going to try do my tiny little bit to lessen the likelihood of getting yet another arrogant, self important, superior, and deluded bottomhole representing my area.

      1. BA BARACUS

        A candidate should knock on the door, have a chat. They should not merely have someone else dump some leaflets. They should not condescend to me that they know better than I what should come through my door. They should not go on like an arrogant twunt, presuming that people like me are just oddballs who can’t handle a bit of junk mail.

        And I also massively dislike the notion that because this ‘strategy’ works, then it’s legitimate and unavoidable, and must be pursued by everybody. That’ll keep the status quo right where it is. We need a new approach to all this stuff in this country. Not more people propping up the views and tactics of career bottomhole politicians in FF/FG/LAB etc. Looking at you Shane.

        1. shane

          I agree, I don’t think I’ve ever done a drop without a candidate. You knock on the door, wait about 30 seconds and if no one answers you drop a leaflet an move on.

          I’ve never been with a candidate who wasn’t trying to stop and have a chat. in the morning/early afternoon you go to older areas and council areas. In the late afternoon you go to newer housing estates where young families are, in the evening you go to settled housing estates where most people are working during the day.

          As a candidate doing that you’ll hit about three hundred houses a day. And actually get to talk to maybe thirty or forty people.

          If you’ve a team of five you’ll knock and drop at about 600 houses, talk to maybe thirty or forty and your canvassers will talk to another hundred or so.

          Unfortunately if you live in dublin bay south, you are among a population of 100k, an electorate of 65k with about 22k houses. The chances that you happen to be home on the one occasion during the election campaign that it might be possible for a particular candidate to be in your area is slim. All they can do is drop a leaflet to say they were around.

          If you’re a new candidate it’s even harder, because you’re taking months off work to run the campaign whereas the incumbents have had a soft rolling canvass going on during the previous three years.

          If you’re a new candidate, they might only have one opportunity to ever knock on your door

          If you are different to the other 65K voters let them know by leaving a specific note for them

    1. BA BARACUS

      I see precious little difference between campaign lit and excrement, Neilo!

      I’m not exploding with rage here or anything, I just think it’s not very sound to go against the clear wishes of a householder.

      Sure, I could just “relax” and chuck it in the recycling, but by the same token, they could just “not” put it through my letterbox. Sauce, geese, ganders.

      It’s not surprising though, since most candidates, certainly around my way, are self-serving, career politician bottomholes, who don’t care one whit about anyone else. Change is coming, however slowly…

  13. nellyb

    Note there is no purple in that bunch. C.O’Callaghan (SD DBN) asked canvassing supporters to deposit leaflets only if a) no answer at the door & b) through post boxes with no signs. I agree with that, probably because I like the SDs :-)
    I like reading AAA/PBP/Indo leaflets, little more passion by comparison to S.Haughy’s content or FG gender quota runners. Feels like FF & FG recycle their leaflets from 50 years ago.
    Greyhound must be cursing the elections.

  14. Frilly Keane

    Richard Bruton seems to the biggest litter bug there

    must have a loaded campaign chest that he needs to empty out

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