Tanaiste Leo Varadkar
I have made no public comment on the Brian Stanley tweets but listening to Mary Lou McDonald this morning equivocating & justifying glorification of violence, latent homophobia & internal party intimidation is truly nauseating. This is not the kind of change Ireland needs, ever.
— Leo Varadkar (@LeoVaradkar) December 7, 2020
Earlier.
Tanaiste Leo Varadkar responds to Claire Byrne’s interrogation interview with Mary Lou McDonald where the Sinn Féin President addressed the Brian Stanley tweet controversy.
Meanwhile
As a gay man I’m ashamed of the toxicity you’ve brought to Irish politics. How you exploit homophobia for political advantage has a real life damaging effect on the lives of LGBTQI+ people. When you tried to oppress us from the safety of your closet, that was homophobia. #resign
— Dublin Rental Watch (@DubRentWatch) December 7, 2020
Safety of the closet, eh?
Previously: We Only Have To be Sorry Once
Sigh. A very Bodgy “leave the Shinners” alone post. Any mention of a senior SF party member turning up at Christine O’Mahony’s door to tell her to stop posting criticism of Sinn Fein?
This is Leo the leak speaking against the 2009 Civil Partnerships Bill.
“Two men cannot have a child, two women cannot have a child… That is a fact, nobody can deny otherwise. Every child has a right to a mother and father, and as much as possible, the State should try and vindicate that right, and that the right of a child to have a mother and father is much more important than the right of two men, or two women, to have a family.”
Two wrongs don’t make a right though. The spectre of Senator Fintan Warfield sheepishly and tellingly repeating “I have no comment to make” when asked about Stanley’s tweet on Drivetime but at the same time refusing to endorse or explain it, is a bit worrying. Then there is this Christine O’Mahony business and the barrage of SF troll accounts on Twitter who don’t think twice about using a homophobic slur.
I don’t vote FG and have my issues with them but SF scare me. I do think if public opinion turned against LGBT people, they’d be the first to jettison support. I simply don’t trust them.
… imagine someone’s opinions changing over the course of 10 years (particularly when starting out as a closeted man living in the public eye, to becoming an out gay man able to accept who and what he is).
Of course, the real victims here are not the person who the homophobic tweet was aimed at, or the activist that SF tried to bully into silence, but of course it’s Mary Lou, who was “interrogated” by the nasty journalist – well done to Bodger for taking this courageous editorial line.
He’s using the sexuality he denied to score political points.
He denied it – 10 years ago, when he was still in the closet; two years ago he brought his partner to the white house.
SF are the ones that seem hell-bent on on bringing up his sexuality
Varadkar was 14 when homosexuality was decriminalised. In the intervening 22 years until he came out he could have chosen to support gay rights. He did the opposite.
Sorry Bodger. I don’t recall the Sinn Fein of yore being any great friends of gay people until the heavy lifting was done by others. They are as hypocritical as Leo as even more likely to turn against gay people if public opinion swung against them.
Well, it’s a wonder that every gay schoolboy in the country didn’t go out and buy a rainbow flag in 1993 the minute the bill was passed, such was the universal attitude of tolerance at the time…
Varadkar helped foster the intolerance he would later blame for delaying his decision to come out.
But if he’d supported gay rights, then people would call him ‘woke,’ which is apparently a terrible insult for some reason.
The closet is an extremely complex thing. I’m not going to get into the specifics of LV and his views – but it seems like you’re invoking a little bit of good old cancel culture (which I thought was a bad word around here) ideology to deny him opportunity to change.
Another thing is that here we have (yet again) a straight media type using a person in public interest’s homosexuality against them. Your homosexuality includes the path to engaging in that part of your life. Nobody arrives fully formed. Seems cynical when you’re trying to present as if it’s being done in a “I care about the gay community” way.
Much as i would hate to run the risk of being labelled a shinner bot defender, one detail that seems to be getting missed from a lot of this is in relation to the activist resigning story, is that she says herself she only found it “weird” that a neighbour she knew called around to her house to talk to her about her tweets. She didnt feel bullied into silence. (Obviously since then I’ve no doubt she’s getting the full force of the faceless wonders of the internet)
I get your point; I was in fact referring to what I had seen on Christine Mahony’s Twitter – genuinely vicious stuff from (named) grown men, apparently paid-up members of SF
The internet man, should never have been invented!
Hardly – is it really too much to expect Sinn Féin members not to bully people that they disagree with? It doesn’t really seem to be a such problem for any of the other parties
I think you really need to go on the internet more if you think that.
Where the wind blows, Varadkar goes. Or as some apologists would say “he listened to the people, isn’t that what a TD should do?”
He must have struck it lucky with his new tranche of recruits https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/politics/fine-gael-research-candidates-asked-how-to-attack-sinn-fein-39736985.html
Varadkar is smarting after his hopes of some international posting was knocked on the head. He knows that this is his last term as a TD, so doing his best to disintegrate this country. Leaving Confidential State documents. Appointing party cronies to Judges posts. Partying half naked in the Phoenix Park (after a house party which has questions marks over it as regards Covid distancing and visitor rules) Hanging colleagues like Harris and McEntee out to dry because of his actions.
Lol. Look at those appointment to EU institutions. Usually a dumping ground for political liabilities. I don’t think Leo is remotely worried about this but I doubt he wants to leave the national stage just yet. But God I yearn for an end to the FG SF all-out social media war. Drives me potty
International doesn’t solely mean EU. He’s made a right hames of his plans – and for what? – to serve up goodies for his buddies.. He will be leaving the national stage come next election.
His made his ‘don’t trust me’ bed.
Wishful thinking I fear.
Go on Shrill – get out there running. What about your former comrade Christine O’Mahony. Sorry I forgot, you can only comment on Leo or our leader, of our country. Who pays you, the Queen or the republic?
MLAL raises his empty, devoid of intelligence, head once again.
Ah go on Goo or Fart or Toby, reply?
I agree with Dublin Rental Watch.
Just a pity we have no idea who is behind Dublin Rental Watch. Have the boop boops to put your name behind it.
Is ‘bitnboxy’ on you birth cert too? I don’t see how you or I knowing his identity would improve his work and his work is commendable as far as I can see,whomever they are.
Because to me I just see Shinnerbot in this FG SF social media “fight to the death / rally the base” crap. A plague on both their houses..
They really could have use anyone but Leo to convey this message.
I don’t think so.Leo is the government’s ‘only gay the village’.He likes it that way and has used it to his advantage.It is how he became taoiseach after all.If you’ve got it flaunt it.
Jaysus. Nice bit of d’aul latent homophobia.
Are you gay?
Fine Gael weaponing the sexuality of the Tanaiste and the pregnancy of the Justice Minister to deflect. Why anyone would take them seriously is beyond me.
“New Politics”
SF weaponing anything that can be used to intimidate political opponents and quiten internal disputes.
spot on Toby
but lemme tell ya
Mary Lou has far better things to be doing than dealing with that rubbish
She should have said she’s far to busy being the defacto leader of the Opposition and running her Constituency office that do these scatty interviews about what lads say on the internet
As well as that, Mary Lou needs to get serious about being leader of Sinn Fein
She needs to knock some manners into her own party members, up and down the Country
She needs to remind them they’re on the cusp of serious political power now
They are Parliamentarians, and need to act like it
not some fringe activists knocking around Local Parents Against Drugs groups or singing rebel songs and Up da Ra‘ing
Mary Lou needs to build up a Parliamentary Party that has more more Martin Kenny’s and less of this eejit Stanley
And Sinn Fein HQ should let her and enable her, instead of turning a blind eye local hardchaw Shinners ie. South Dublin and their nominating Paddy Holohan for Mayor run amok like tis 1994
Time for ALL Sinn Fein members to act like grown ups
Good point V, she would have been better staying off.
Perfectly put V aka Frilly.
Eoin O’Brion, to be fair, is one of those in SF who has copped-on to this. Shinnerbots are a liability and feeding a compelling narrative to their political nemises about SF being “shadowy”, “dodgy” and not a normal political party. Indeed, some political wags have joked that Mary Lou’s first response to the whole Stanley debacle was likely “who the fupp is Brian Stanley?!”. This encapsulates the problem, no point having Mary Lou, Pearse and Eoin to the fore if you have an army of morons ready, willing and able to undo all your good work. Violet Anne in Clare is only a hop, skip and jump away from a damaging headline.
It is indeed time for SF to grow up and rein-in the “up for a brawl” brigade.
– how is it FG who are weaponising the sexuality of the Tánaiste when its SF politicians (first Holohan, and now Stanley) who are the ones that keep bringing it up?
Because it is the Tanaiste weaponising his own sexuality. Literally. Thats why.
… he is literally responding to SF attacks on him relating to his sexuality; it’s SF that keeps ‘weaponising’ it (though you think they would stop, it does not seem to be going terribly well for them).
He did it in 2017 then?
… and earlier this year Cllr Holohan also decided to have a go (though that time it was homophobic AND racist).
Links to Varadkar responding in 2017?
Ah yes homosexuality, that terribly oppressive force in society.
constantly looking to sully SF hasn’t worked yet. I hope he continues to not learn from his mistakes, and then next election he’ll do just as bad or worse than the last one.
Is this the first public comment he’s made on it? I seem to remember back in November you said he’d never stop going on about it.
Bertie: he sent Coveney and Harris out to bat for him. Obviously the message started to sink in that he’s been seen ragging on SF too much and it’s not playing well. BUT.. he still retweeted them commenting on it. Couldn’t bite his lip. then today, totally gave the game away, and tweeted. He just couldn’t resist. And his tweet started with “I haven’t commented on the Brian Stanley tweet” .. pointing it out. Because he can’t see the merit of JUST staying quite on it. He had to boast that he stayed quite on it. He really tried his best, but just couldn’t. He’s too ego driven to ever change his ways. I do wonder why you like him as a politician. What acts does he do to sway you?
Exactly. The media are at this since Section 31, and SF popularity going up steadily since. Folk aint dumb
Varadkar has had enough. His dreams of stardom have been blown away by his own penchant of being the big guy. He knows it. A supposed Leader of a country passing Confidential State documents to his mateys, has been the pinnacle of his lackluster career.
Worse than an internet scammer.
In his process of bowing out of politics, he will try take anyone and every one down with him…..including McEntee and Harris. Rats are more dangerous when cornered.
Lol. You sound like a Shinner social media warrior. I’m not sure the events of the recent past have had quite the resonance you think. And I’m not even a FG supporter but worse a “floating voter”! A plague on both your Sinn Fein and FG. There is a third way.
Well, you weren’t around this time last year when my reading of FGs election possibilities was spot on. What resounded then was the projected rejection of the grassroots of Varadkar, and all that he was doing in destroying the party. I was correct then because I listened to grassroots opinion, as I do now.
And…like you, i’m also a floating voter. I’ve voted all parties, and normally vote independent. Sorry if that doesn’t fit in with your pigeon-holing.
No thagann ciall roimh aois.
I’m sorry but you ain’t no floating voter! NO WAY. Every post you make is some OTT diatribe against Leo V or FG. Public opinion is fickle. You just reason with your heart’s desire. Spare me the I got it “spot on” – you wouldn’t be a daily BS commenter if you were that good. The tragedy of our politics is that we now have FG at 33% and SF 30% – and you’re partly responsible (for the FG figure not the SF figure).
The distraction Leo and RTE have been praying for.
I’ve decided to treat a person’s sexuality and gender
the same as I treat religion
Ignore
like, I’ve often said if all mention of religion was removed from all public discourse, things would be a lot simpler
the same now applies to Sexuality, Gender and all that stuff
keep it for your own private lives
and help everyone else to mind their own business by keeping your own behind your own front door
Just tell me the name you want me to call you, and how you would like to be addressed; happy to oblige
ta, V
once again , for the slow-learners: SF seem to be ones hell-bent on discussing Leo’s sexual orientation.
Easy for the straights to keep it under wraps. Not so easy for the gays. Different standards invariably and sadly apply.
I’m not asking for anyone to be shy or keep stuff under wraps
I just don’t think its a matter for public discussion with strangers about who you are as a private citizen
how you do your job yeah
what you do behind your own front door in your own time – none of my business
who you pray to or not – none of my business
how you want to live your life and how you want to be recognised – just tell me, I don’t need to know anything else
if you had genuine equality
nobody would care
and it wouldn’t a spin issue or something to use as leverage in a debate
or an election or in the www of public opinion
or how the handicapper weighs you in in the polls
But you think a minster should not be pregnant?
ya wha?
how the eff did you contrive that
this is a prochoice country
anyone can be pregnant
or not
and full maternity care is a Statutory Right
So there is no discrimination on any form of Pre natal, Maternity Obstetrics, Post Natal care
even if you want your midwife to you Mick
Don’t put intolerant words like that into my mouth
find someone else to target and dox with your bot tripe
“If you had genuine equality”…
Yes, but we don’t. Hence my comment.
V – This kind of social order just enhances the social / economical / political position of majority groups. There is an understood implication with majority groups that your position is advertised without it needing to be said. This does not carry for minority groups. There’s an old gay joke that goes along the lines of “Oh I’m fine with straight people but I just don’t want to see them holding hands on the street!| *laughts*” which gives you an idea of the positioning of majority v minority groups and how their presence is understood to have superiority in public life.
Gay people wouldn’t have marriage equality if we hadn’t announced our existence to the world. And it demands reminding. We are still not equal in protections or rights in many ways, and it’s disappointing to see people harkening back for a time when it was kept secret – which lead to deep unhappiness for many. But I get how that bothers you.
I never liked Leo because he was a crappy Taoiseach. And he sat on his hands throughout the housing crisis. A useless leader.
Excellent to see the rotisserie taoiseach yet again attacking the Shinners…the end result will be an increased fall in the polls for Fine Gael :)
Nah. It’s rally the base nonsense. FGers and SF are caught in a spiral of social media war, each presenting the other as the bogeyman, to shore up their own support. They are actually opposite sides of the same coin, each needing a warped version of the other than they care to admit. Same with SF and DUP in the North.
Rally the base?
Nope – he’s already given two fingers to the base by being the leader the base didn’t want, but was forced on them.
In my limited experience- which is about 1920 to present- latent homosexuals are great shags and, you can hand them back when you are finished.
Yours,
The gay version of Anne Doyle.