We Shall Overcome

Not surprisingly a thread on Slugger went off topic fairly quickly. Surprisingly the off topic discussion was (for the most part) fairly engaging and interesting, at least more so than the original post.

In the absence of anything resembling movement that might indicate new life for the SDLP the persistent FF/SDLP merger came up and was kicked around. Most admitted this was a non-starter for multiple reasons. But I think it's at least worth looking at (for entertainment reasons at least).

The first and most glaring reason for not merging is the fact that FF are a party of power, not principal. They were able encompass the working class, small farmer vote and then move on to become comfortably middle-class while retaining their core constituency (and lets face it, breakfast roll man still came through for them this last time out). The SDLP never were working class. One of their few enclaves was well and truly lost when Fitt decided to jump in bed with Thatcher over the hunger strikes. I'm sorry, I don't care what your roots are (and Fitt's were impeccable) but when you refuse accept the political root of the the Troubles and join the House of Lords then you can't expect the working class to take the "L" in SDLP seriously. Though to be honest I don't really think the SDLP ever did either.

As for the FF franchise moving north, I just don't see it happening. After the elections in the ROI, Malcolm and I were reflecting on what happened and he noted how the tri-colour motif run by SF doesn't really fly in Dublin Central (which we all have to acknowledge now). Conversely I don't believe that the slogan "The Republican Party" would cut it in Ballymurphy, Bogside or Tyrone. Indeed any hope a Northern FF have would be in the rural border counties. So considering that SF saw off the Gerry McGeough in Fermanagh & South Tyrone, Sharon Haughey and Davy Hyland in Newry Armagh and all three SDLP candidates in West Tyrone I would be curious at who the Soldiers of Destiny would have man the frontier? Foyle, while having the largest "dissident" vote (if you can really call the combined forces of Peggy O' Hara and Eamon McCann that) still returned its quota of Shinners and Stoops. Though I would like to see Attwood try that slogan in the Falls, just once.


(Update: Slugger is down right now so bear with me on paraphrases instead of quotes)


Though almost all agreed that a merger was a non-starter they also agreed that a reorganization towards a more "professional" SDLP was a welcomed stance. I feel this is an erroneous assessment. If anything the SDLP need to become more amateurish in their approach to politics (think GAA vs. David Beckham). I'm sorry but hiring consulting firms (as Durkan did in his last bid for Foyle) is pathetic. Yes he won the seat, and evening convincingly so but it shows that the voters are simply a product. I don't question the conviction of certain activists, but as noted in other places, I do question their common sense. Too often have I purused Slugger and P.ie and watched as Stoops blasted PSF for being SDLP lite or SDLP 2.0. Then when the election results came in they were shocked that such campaigning failed to win back the electorate. They consoled themselves that the electorate had opted for tribal politics, conveniently forgetting their own affiliations. Wait, in fairness I must confess that the SDLP, in a valiant attempt to break down the sectarian boundaries campaigned in the Shankhill and Waterside during certain elections. But considering that their slogan was, "vote SDLP to stick it to SF" the votes they were loaned can hardly make up for the votes lost within the nationalist community. Putting aside the bullshit for just moment, SF have the people on the ground to make a difference on the constituency level. The SDLP don't and didn't have until the SF brand appeared on the market.

Oddly enough as I was putting this together Splintered Sunrise posted a piece about Neil Blaney and IFF. His final thoughts on the Blaney machine are worth repeating and are applicable to our course of thought.

At root, though, the secret of the Blaney machine lay not in Neil’s technical proficiency as a politician, great though that was, but in the political spirit animating his soldiers. For the Blaneyites, who would take part in elections in Derry as easily as in Donegal, politics never ceased to be a national crusade. And there’s a lesson here – political parties are voluntary organisations, and no matter how draconian the regime the worst penalty you can inflict on someone is to tell them they can’t come to meetings or pay dues any more. A really effective machine comes into being where the men and women at the grass roots are inspired to follow a great political cause. People who think that electoral success is an end in itself can’t really comprehend the mindset that sees it as a mere by-product of a bigger struggle.

This is the battle that the SDLP lost, not the ballot box versus the armalite.