Lisbon - Were You Canvassed?

This arises out of comments made on other threads. If you have anything to add about canvassing, leaflet drops, posters etc, please make them here.

I was never canvassed, nobody came to the door from any organisation urging any particular position on the Lisbon Treaty.

I wasn't canvassed at all, nor did I receive anything through my letterbox from either side.

We live a couple of miles outside the town, but that may or may not have been a factor; we've always been canvassed in a GE.

A Tullamore man who was at the count with me yesterday complained to a FF supporter that the first time he had seen the FF leaflet headed "Confused?" (yeah, I know...) was on a table at the count yesterday.

FF posters have only been put up in the last 10-14 days in Laois-Offaly. I didn't see any billboards in this constituency from any side. IBEC and Libertas and the chambers of Commerce had large numbers of posters (particularly Libertas at roundabouts at the motorway in Portlaoise - scores of them), there are a number of Eamon Gilmore looking pensive and plenty of scowling Avril Doyle- smiling Máiread McGuinness, usually side by side.

Lots of monkeys and No posters of various hues and shades of anonymity.

I was given one leaflet by Máiread McGuinness when I met her recently through work and because I asked for it. Likewise one from Brian Cowen.

The RefCom stuff came, as did the material from the local returning officer. There is nothing else.

Kate P wrote:

I wasn't canvassed at all, nor did I receive anything through my letterbox from either side.

We receive an awful lot from the Workers' Party(I think we're on their mailing list or something), I read their Look Left newspaper for the craic and a laugh.

They sent their Lisbon leaflet to us, my Dad got a Cóir leaflet handed to him when he was out in the pub, Libertas sent two leaflets to us and FF sent one in the letteerbox.

We did not get one from Alliance for Europe, People before Profit, Sinn Féin or our local Greens or anyone else.

If my house was canvassed I can't really remember so much junk mail comes in. I am on a local FG TD's mailing list and even he didn't send me something about the Lisburn Treaty.

He does, however, send me a birthday card every month saying 'Sorry I missed your birthday last month, belated wishes this month. Don't forget to give us a mark on the locals now '

edit
Sinn Fein were giving out leaflets on a few occasions around Ennis, I just remembered.

It was People before Profit - on the street. It was Mr. Crotty's daughter, or granddaughter, I'm not sure which.

Was nobody canvassed by us? Surely I bothered one of you on the street?

cookiemonster wrote:

Was nobody canvassed by us? Surely I bothered one of you on the street?

Libertas is a stranger to my door. I feel unloved.

Ard-Taoiseach wrote:

cookiemonster wrote:

Was nobody canvassed by us? Surely I bothered one of you on the street?

Libertas is a stranger to my door. I feel unloved.

You don't really want the CIA to know where you live, do you? I think most of the Door to Door stuff was around the more rural areas, whereas the Dublin campaign was more focused on areas of mass people such as Henry Street and Grafton Street etc. 

cookiemonster wrote:

Ard-Taoiseach wrote:

cookiemonster wrote:

Was nobody canvassed by us? Surely I bothered one of you on the street?

Libertas is a stranger to my door. I feel unloved.

You don't really want the CIA to know where you live, do you?

Well, I have 7 State Residences, so that's not really an issue.

Quote :

I think most of the Door to Door stuff was around the more rural areas, whereas the Dublin campaign was more focused on areas of mass people such as Henry Street and Grafton Street etc. 

I suppose that's just as well. It's more appropriate to focus on Henry/Grafton St in Dublin. I'm amazed none of the local TDanna came around to call. I feel unloved.

cookiemonster wrote:

Was nobody canvassed by us? Surely I bothered one of you on the street?

I wasn't. However I found their posters to be very noticable. Possibly the absence of someones big mugg and a pleasing colour / font scheme made them more noticable, compared to the rest. Although, maybe that was just me.

EvotingMachine0197 wrote:

cookiemonster wrote:

Was nobody canvassed by us? Surely I bothered one of you on the street?

I wasn't. However I found their posters to be very noticable. Possibly the absence of someones big mugg and a pleasing colour / font scheme made them more noticable, compared to the rest. Although, maybe that was just me.

Aye, I think they looked good and they didn't have the bright alarming colours of the Coir (red) or Alliance ) yellow) ones. It was a snappy image. Helped of course by a sexy beast like me being involved!  

cookiemonster wrote:

EvotingMachine0197 wrote:

cookiemonster wrote:

Was nobody canvassed by us? Surely I bothered one of you on the street?

I wasn't. However I found their posters to be very noticable. Possibly the absence of someones big mugg and a pleasing colour / font scheme made them more noticable, compared to the rest. Although, maybe that was just me.

Aye, I think they looked good and they didn't have the bright alarming colours of the Coir (red) or Alliance ) yellow) ones. It was a snappy image. Helped of course by a sexy beast like me being involved!  

I'm thinking, since blue is basically the corporate colour of Libertas, it could dovetail nicely with your online soubriquet. You could be your bright and blue furry self while handing out local elections' leaflets for Libertas!

Ard-Taoiseach wrote:

cookiemonster wrote:

EvotingMachine0197 wrote:

cookiemonster wrote:

Was nobody canvassed by us? Surely I bothered one of you on the street?

I wasn't. However I found their posters to be very noticable. Possibly the absence of someones big mugg and a pleasing colour / font scheme made them more noticable, compared to the rest. Although, maybe that was just me.

Aye, I think they looked good and they didn't have the bright alarming colours of the Coir (red) or Alliance ) yellow) ones. It was a snappy image. Helped of course by a sexy beast like me being involved!  

I'm thinking, since blue is basically the corporate colour of Libertas, it could dovetail nicely with your online soubriquet. You could be your bright and blue furry self while handing out local elections' leaflets for Libertas!

Well I'd have tweenie pesterpower in the bag. "Mammy, Mammy, vote for Cookiemonster".My slogan could be "C is for Commission, Commission is for me".

Some leaflets came in the post, but no-one came to my house or talked about it on the street (maybe they were avoiding me).

There's no way the Government did sweet feck all of an effort to get this treaty passed; there's a thread over on Boards theorising that FF and maybe FG too but definitely FF didn't want this treaty to pass (on the first occasion perhaps ?) There's no way anyone pressed flesh anywhere as far as I know. The No vote advocates were very prevalent alright and now they are getting a bit of a blasting for it by the press - Libertas, Coir and Joe Higgins are all almost getting vilified.

But is was their right to canvass any way they wanted .. ! It's a weird democracy we live in, in fact it isn't really democracy at all is it ? We live in a system where justice is administered fairly equally - debatable I know - but other than that Europe is not really a democracy at all is it ?

Auditor #9 wrote:

There's no way the Government did sweet feck all of an effort to get this treaty passed; there's a thread over on Boards theorising that FF and maybe FG too but definitely FF didn't want this treaty to pass (on the first occasion perhaps ?) There's no way anyone pressed flesh anywhere as far as I know. The No vote advocates were very prevalent alright and now they are getting a bit of a blasting for it by the press - Libertas, Coir and Joe Higgins are all almost getting vilified.

But is was their right to canvass any way they wanted .. ! It's a weird democracy we live in, in fact it isn't really democracy at all is it ? We live in a system where justice is administered fairly equally - debatable I know - but other than that Europe is not really a democracy at all is it ?

A democracy adulterated with elements of plutocracy, oligarchy? With nepotism and tribalism thrown in and increasingly with important competences held by the EU, which is a very weak democracy. I think we do have a democracy and we would notice it if it went.

There is a theory that if democracy worked properly, it would be banned.

I wondered if FF had a bit of an agenda to let the Treaty fail - I think they really are quite close to the ground and would have known it was unpopular and reluctant to campaign too hard. They didn't go door to door. A lot of FF people obviously voted No.

I don't think it was a conspiracy, just their normal cuteness and political expertise. Where I think they were completely caught on the hop was with the sharp slap on the hand they got from their Masters in the EU.
There seems to be a growing admission that Cowen is out of his depth. I thought he was a disaster in Finance and failed to manage the boom at all and has left us in about as bad a position as was possible.

The press is now desperately touting Martin as an alternative. It is hard to see how he could be any worse and his statement on Lisbon is closer to what should have been said on day One.

No canvassers at the door thank God. Received one leaflet each from SF and FF. Binned both, unread.

Strangely, I have never in my life been canvassed, nor have I ever had Jehovah's Witnesses at the door. Maybe the house looks particularly anarchic and irreligious.

TheBear wrote:

Strangely, I have never in my life been canvassed, nor have I ever had Jehovah's Witnesses at the door. Maybe the house looks particularly anarchic and irreligious.

Any houses for sale in your area?

God's stormtroopers are regular callers to Chez Lestat.

What's perhaps more interesting is that there were information meetings of every hue in most decent sized towns - yet the turnout (apart from the already aligned) was fairly low.

It will be very, very interesting to see what lengths are gone to to judge the views of people.

Has anyone been canvassed on whether or why they voted yes or no? Apart from the day of the count, I haven't been.

By the way, re God's Stormtroopers, my brother invites them in and offers to make them tea. Then he frightens the shit out of them with some off-the-wall beliefs of his own. They're usually gone before the tea has drawn...

No - and the longer they leave it, the less valid the result will be. Anything we do know about why people voted they way they did will be less fresh than the IT and eurobarometer polls.

Perhaps what would be more useful would be to find out what people want to change about the EU and what they would like to see in a Treaty.

Kate P wrote:

By the way, re God's Stormtroopers, my brother invites them in and offers to make them tea. Then he frightens the shit out of them with some off-the-wall beliefs of his own. They're usually gone before the tea has drawn...

Ooh...nice idea. Perhaps I can combine the tea with my role as Defender of the Tealogical faith. I will regale them with the Most Hallowed Scripture of Lyon verses 11-19 and they'll scarper back to their dungeon.

You'll need to wear your scary apron for that one, A-T.