GEORGE LEE: THEY DID NOT RESPECT MY AUTHORITAH!
Feb 9th, 2010 by Conor McCabe
What the fuck did he expect? Richard Bruton to step aside and let Lee take his cabinet seat? Leo Varadkar to grow a heart and lose a spine? Enda Kenny to make shrewd and calculating choices?
It’s hard to know which is funnier: that George Lee thought Fine Gael knew (or cared) about the economy, or that the people of South Dublin (well, 27,768 of them) thought George Lee had the answers.
George said yesterday that:
It has been a very difficult decision, but it is one that I have taken after a great deal of reflection on my position and on the role that I have been playing in Fine Gael since I joined that Party in May last year.The nine months since then have been a period of enormous economic upheaval. Throughout that period I have done my best to play a positive role in contributing to the national debate and to efforts to find a solution for many of the country’s economic problems.
The reality, however, is that despite my best efforts I have had virtually no influence or input into shaping Fine Gael’s economic policies at this most critical time.
The role I have been playing within the party has been very limited and I have found this to be personally unfulfilling.
When I entered politics last May I made it clear that I was doing so because I wanted to try to play a new role contributing to economic policy formulation. After nine months of trying within the political system it is now my considered view that the role available to me within Fine Gael is not a role I am happy to play…
I do not believe I would be serving the electorate honestly if I were to continue allowing my efforts and mandate to be used to promote and market economic policies into which I have had no input.”
Well, I tell you one thing, George, to walk away from a loveless relationship is never easy.
Keep the chin up.
This is for you.
Yesterday in work someone rushed over to tell me the exciting news. A half hour later I was driving in the car listening to him defend his decision in a very terse way on Joe Duffy. He was on Six One news I believe, and later on Frontline for three quarters of an hour and then on Vincent Browne. This morning it is fair to say that the topic dominated Morning Ireland, and when I got into work I met someone who was listening to him talking on Newstalk.
Again and again and again he reiterated why he left after 8 short months. He wasn’t able to influence Fine Gael policy. Yet, which all the access to the media he has had in the last 24 hours he has not stated anything at all about what policy he would have wanted to implement. He had not said what he would do to turn the economy around that was different to what Fine Gael are already proposing.
It’s like some kind of secret. He couldn’t influence policy in Fine Gael yet now he has a platform to discuss exactly what he thinks needs to be done, and what has he said: Nothing.
He’s right-wing. The government is right-wing and Fine Gael are right-wing. He had nothing to say that was any different to what is being implemented at the moment. He knows it and that is why he left. He was surplus to needs. No doubt he will return to journalism where he will, once again, simply make stuff up.
Conor, I recall our discussion of George Lee some time ago - questioning his ability to engage in a profound and illuminating negation, to redraw the lines of engagement and self-exploration. It is, as I suspected - George has yet to become water.
http://dublinopinion.com/2009/05/07/george-lee-enter-the-bandwagon/
Conor,
I know you don’t read the Irish Times, so you’ll have missed this letter to the editor:
Madam, – George Lee: gone but not forgotten. Enda Kenny: forgotten but not gone. – Yours,etc,
JOHN ROONEY,
Castle Park,
Belfast 15
It took George Lee to tell the Irish people that Fine Gael were a bunch of spoofers !!!!
And still Denis O’Brien’s radio stations want to prevent people joining all the dots.
Is it not obvious that the system is wrong? Party politics wears down all of them except the bad guys. those of you roasting george lee and deirdre de burca ask yourself isnt it about time someone tried to destabilise a system that missed a glorious opportunity to use all the tax money to build us a paradise of supergood infrastructure and education etc.
the electorate cant do it - cowards that we are.
no-one respects our elected politicians, not bankers, not civil servants, not trade unionists, not church because it is perceived rightly in most cases not all that THEIR HANDS ARE DIRTY and had to be dirtied to get to where they are.
[…] covering Gorgeous George Lee’s political suicide, fun as it was, because it had already been done so well elsewhere. But what do you know, here comes a resignation letter from Green Party Senator […]
George was a voice crying in the wilderness. What’s needed is another Party comprised of the trusted media personalities who rely on logic for their analysis. I believe that F Gael would be successful if they had the opportunity, for a coalition with another select thinking alternative who supported the middle income majority. This particular group of people would need small funding for their election campaign. Instead of writing books get off the fence. Awful choices need to be made, but these choices must be just and implicated, with discussion and consideration of consequence. Too many pressure groups shouting the odds, will create a breakdown of society. Is this the intention? Then where are all the sheep going to be? When the worker bees are taken out of the system, there is no supporting substance, just rich and poverty-stricken. Government and slaves and the ones in the middle, who implement their wishes.
Thanks for your comment. It’s clear that the crisis precipitated by a TV pundit like George Lee stabbing his party in the back and leaving the Dail after 9 months, and reciprocal to that, but to a much lesser degree the trifling matter of the current crisis in the government’s finances, has brought about widespread confusion. Its very disorientating to be sure. Which way is up, which way is down? Did I put my trousers on this morning? I can’t tell because George Lee is on the radio again, telling me that we can’t go on the way we are, so because of that he said that he can’t go on. I can’t go on, but I will go on, he can’t go on, but he still goes on.
Donagh - a straight red card and an automatic 3 month suspension for bringing up an association of Beckett and George Lee in my mind.
As my own retaliation - here’s the song for the hour (apologies to Nick Cave for tethering such a great performance to such a tawdry petty event) :
Well now, if I’m on suspension I can’t tell you this. Your reference to that very fine Nick Cave song reminded me of a great article I read on 3QuarksDaily about two years ago, which talked about how the Stagger Lee story was used by various musicians, including the Isley Brothers over the years. The article says Cave’s version is the best, but it also provides this interesting snippet of information:
.
It seems that since it was published there is more on the web, because I was able to find out that Two-Time Slim is a song on an album of ‘blue’ Blues songs called Snatch & The Poontangs. It was recorded in 1969 by Johnny Otis. All details are in Wikipedia of course:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snatch_and_the_Poontangs
And the song itself is on YouTube. But Seán before you listen to it make sure you have the headphones on, or the kids are out of the room - it’s pretty rude stuff.
Donagh - you’re only suspended from the Dublin Opinioners Insufferable Over-40s 3-a-side football team. You can still post and link to blogs by race-angst ridden Yanks.
Horrible association of ideas thanks to ye though, nonetheless.
That Johnny Otis track is just a wee bit ruder than Richie Kavanagh alright. Good job the kids have their headphones on listening to Gainsbourg in the corner
Funny you should mention Gainsbourg. Otis has a J’taime style track on the album that Two-Time Slim is on. Definitely X-rated, of course. I blushed when I heard it.