How to lose a vote.

Ireland has long been one of the most pro-EU countries in the EU but this will change. It is not the Lisbon Treaty that will cause this to change it is the rest of the EU will cause this to change. A second treaty on Lisbon could have passed. With a massive information campaign and a few small changes simple. But now that scare mongering is ratcheted up to silly portions we are seeing in Ireland a rise in something we have not seen in Ireland ever. Eurosceptism.

At the moment the move of choice of the main yes side is blackmail. We are being told that there would be dire consequences if we vote no a second time. That we will be thrown out of the EU. We have twits like Shane Coleman tell us.

The implications of a ‘no’ vote make it inevitable, political sources say, that ‘Lisbon II’ will boil down to: “Are we in, or are we out?”

“It’s virtually inevitable that the referendum will be fought along those lines,” said one senior political source.

One senior political source told me “Dustin the Turkey had a sordid affair with a TD”. Is that true? Did I make that up? Did the political source make it up? Is it just the political sources opinion? Do you believe me? If the senior political source is not willing to put their name to it then it really is not worth the paper it is written on. And considering that the paper it is written on is the Tribune……

If they want Lisbon 2 to pass they have to start the public relations now. The French and Germans need to shut up (see how the xenophobia will be an issue in the next vote as well. Not against immigrants but the Germans and the French. With much been made of Napoleon and Hitler.). It is interesting that the Government seem so against economic doomsayers but Lisbon doomsayers are welcome. The doomsayers need to shut up as well. The treaty needs to be explained, expanded upon. Nothing negative should be mentioned at all. Just to repeat if Brian Cowne is reading. NOTHING NEGATIVE. And they need to get new clauses as well something to sell. The EU’s main tacit seems to be “scare the bejesus out of Ireland”, making us scared, then guilt tripping us saying Croatia can’t join if we don’t say yes. But this will backfire stupendously

Anyway lets just presume that this senior political source is as dumb as they seem to be, and as Senior as Shane Coleman tell us they are. A second vote is not going to be a vote on the Lisbon Treaty, it is not going to be a vote on in or out of the EU, it is going to be a vote on whether or not you think that Ireland is being bullied. And that answer is clear. If this is how the yes campaign is going to conduct itself then the EU might as well deal with the fallout of a second no vote.