From top: Leo Varadka at the Dublin Pride festival last month; Eamonn Kelly
After Enda Kenny became Taoiseach, the liberal left immediately launched into a social media campaign of ridicule and invective against him, using memes and comments and so on, and not holding back in the least in terms of insult.
In contrast, there has barely been a whisper of dissent against Varadkar.
It occurs to me that people may be afraid to criticise him for fear of their criticism being misconstrued as closet homophobia. (Either that or the liberal left are all for the right-wing Taoiseach).
I was accused of homophobia in a comment on one of the JobPath articles in Broadsheet. It took me a while to figure out where on Earth the person had drawn such a conclusion from, and I went over the text with the proverbial fine-tooth comb, but could find nothing incriminating.
Then I remembered that the Taoiseach was gay. I responded with something like, ‘Oh, I get it, the Taoiseach is gay, and I’m criticising him, so therefore…’
This response was then seized upon by a third party who said something like, ‘Thanks for reminding us of the Taoiseach’s sexuality. Makes me wonder what your agenda is…’
This is a classic lose-lose situation.
It seems that the election of a rabidly right-wing but forgiveably gay Taoiseach has had the effect of hoisting the liberal left by its own petard. I’m sure Fianna Fáil must be taking careful note of this puzzling turn of events.
Eamonn Kelly is a freelance writer.
Rollingnews
Previously: JobPath And Class Discrimination
JobPath And The Reality Of Employment Activation
JobPath: The Great Social Proetection Swindle
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When Policies become Personalities.
I did notice that Micheál Martin has started being a lot more expressive with his hands during speeches.
Dunno if that is accurate
https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/varadkar-s-pride-blinding-him-to-bigger-issues-1.3187645?mode=amp
Varadkar’s Pride Blinding Him to Bigger Issues
– Emer O’Kelly critical
There’s been loads of dissent(?)
NO, THERE HASN’T!
Leo isn’t “rabidly right-wing”.
Going to have to stop you there.
Stop.
He absolutely is.
I’m afraid you’re wrong there.
right wing left wing almost meaningless around here imo
“Rabidly right wing”???? You need a reality check buddy.
well he wants to prosecute people for claiming the dole, so I believe he is.
Yes, that’s what he wants to do.
He also wants to lock up the homeless, and p|ss on the toilet seat riiiight before you use it.
Apparently anyone right of left is “rabidly right” these days
Apparently anyone left of right is hard right these days.
Or hard left even. Anyway, keep crying. It’s *quite* funny.
And apparently anyone on the left is “hard” left or a snowflake or a SJW, it’s a two way street Clampers.
Any movement or idea that operates with known regressive consequences is hard of either side.
Correct. He also spoke out against gay rights in the Dail. He’s about as right wing as you can get.
…yep…checked again…rabidly right wing
This is a very good point. Just shows most people don’t actually look at policy.
It’s time for
* drum roll *
WHO DUNNIT FRIDAY ?!
This week, we ask on the show – Who accused EK of homophobia ? !
It’s like a mash up of Countdown and Cluedo… i think… I’m still making it up!
.
.
.
.
Was it Clamps in Karl’s Den with a Lenovo Yoga?
Or… Nigel in the Tower with an iPhone 7?
Or… Maybe Mildred so pure, in Bodgers’ …em, private place, I dunno… with a Samsung Galaxy S7 !
Or… den-den-dennnnnn?
Can anyone who knows him in real life please check in on this guy?
there’s nowt as queer as folk.
Lol
Mildred so pure?
Not our Mildred.
Can we have a repeat of EK’s Congo joke please?
Eh? Did the bad man tell a bad joke?
I have that same t-shirt. Penneys. €8.
He hasn’t done anything yet, Every new leader has a honeymoon period, add in the sumer break and we are are where are.
Let’s see how he copes with a winter of discontent between the Gardai, the rental crisis, waiting lists and homelessness there are multiple banana skins.
Give it time.. but who is the collective “Liberal Left”.. are we talking twitterati, broadsheet readers.. Irish Time readers even?
Are Labour voters liberal left or only Social Democrats?
Are the Shinners, Socialists and SWP “liberal Left” too..or do they use the term to attack Soc Dems and Labour.
Who are the “LIBERAL LEFT” and who ran their “social media campaign” against Enda Kenny?
In fairness, that Eamonn Kelly is a racist.
Sure half the Nazi Party leadership were gay.
Leo hasn’t done anything yet but he is the most right wing Taoiseach since Cosgrave.
if you see him on the beach avoiding poo, you’ll know why.
I’m coming out so please be sympathetic & understanding. I’ve been denying it for years. ” I’m straight”
“rabidly right wing”………really?
Considering his political hero is Margaret Thatcher how can you be surprised?
if only there was some classic of a multiple choice quiz on pertinent issues so you’d know
There has been criticism of him. There is not a whole lot at the moment what with zero happening and him being away a lot. This article seems to stem from the author seething about someone on the internet catching him out.
+1 vote rep
There has been nothing BUT dissent from the same quarters that would have produced “memes and comments and so on” against Kenny.
Yet again, it’s a broadsheet columnist making stuff up to support their argument.
the poster is of course correct.
however the correct answer from a rhetorical point of view would be,
“i don’t understand why you’re attacking me. could you please spell out your position in extreme detail so clearly that it cannot be misunderstood?”
Is Leo a homosexual?
He is our first gay Taoiseach. He is also the son of an immigrant. This is all a sign of how modern, tolerant and inclusive we have become as a country. We were also the first people to ban plastic bags.
Hey don’t forget the smoking ban.
Anyway, bloody foreigners coming over here stealing our jobs and our men.
Loads of criticism on:
1. Broadsheet
2. Rabble
3. Twitter and Facebook from the usual suspects on the Irish left.
Again with this Rabble?? You are totally obsessed. Get help – you know it makes sense. :-)
It shouldn’t matter a hoot as to whether he is gay or not. , and it shouldn’t even be up for discussion. If as political leader he wants to head off to gay parades,do it in his own time., in a private capacity. Its like asking Charlie Flanagan his favourite sexual position…..its private, personal life and leave it at that for ALL politicians.
Jesus… where do you find them broadsheet!
but keep finding them :-)
Agreed
This guy’s pieces are consistently engaging, entertaining and interesting even if I only agree with approx 2% of them
Who are you talking about, worm?
Eamon
And you can call me Book
right left wide narrow gay straight trans pink yellow whatever…
He’s a fupping shiny suited pvc window salesman sillyman and bats for a very select few which I can almost 100% guarantee none of ye on the broadsheet are or even probably related to
How about that?
Yeah, but he is the gay son of an immigrant. And we were the first with a tobacco ban.
and a big hoorah for us – courtesy of Micky Martin. I’ll never forgive the hoor.
Phony Leo is phony.
99.9% of the country cudnae care less about his sexuality. Do your fkn’job and run the country, build social & affordable housing yesterday, prosecute white collar crime & SPV tax loopholes, sort out the disaster that is the health system. Stop working with your PR team on how to distract from this issues while courting online social & news media via journal .ie shills etc.. while pandering to the dumbed down middle class.
He won’t do any of that. He’s many things but a grafter he is not. All style, no substance.
Interesting Jimmy. The left shout the loudest about white collar crime (primarily because they hate the middle class professional classes) but aren’t always too vocal about violent crime and the issue of suspended and light sentencing for such offences.
Your right pete, that march by the residents of cowper downs against martin cahill cat crawling on their garden walls was better attended than the Concerned Parents Against Drugs march in St.Teresa’s Gardens.
Scottser and Jimmy, dead on. What are the odds of anything along those lines happening? I really hate to say it, but it very much looks as if a second (Easter) Rising is the only way forward.
are you feckin serious!?
I think you need to look at things in perspective, what you’re advocating is the overthrow of democracy to replace with what? what’s better than democracy?
Cream Buns? I love cream Buns.
haha
I’ve just seen CNN praise Trump over his Afghanistan expansion and criticize him over his pardoning of Sheriff Arpaio…all while everyone else was covering the hurricane. So there’s a lot of confusion on the left.
because CNN is “the left”.
and because one can’t critique an action, only a person.
I enjoyed some of Eamonn’s previous pieces on BS but this reads as a bizarre little diatribe.
Leo has enjoyed plenty of justified criticism since becoming Taoiseach. Yes, there has been an obvious push presumably by FG spin doctors to dominate the narrative surrounding him by constantly circulating stories about his sexuality and background but this hasn’t been nearly as effective as they would hope.
The term ‘liberal left’ does not make sense and reads like a pejorative from the author, strange considering his previous objection of supposed job activation schemes. The left has been very active in its criticism of Leo. ‘Liberal’ centrists and right wing types have preferred to handwring about his personal details and shut down dissent.
Stick to writing about items you have a modicum of understanding about in future.