Fitzjameshorse is back.
He retired from blogging some time ago but has reconsidered. In his usual style there has been no announcement or fanfare. Just wanted to let those of you with an interest in contemporary Jacobean politics know.
Fitzjameshorse, needless to say, drives me mad sometimes as I’m sure he does to the SDLP party in general. (And I’m no SDLP’er)
The British Labour party had their Anthony Wedgwood Benn, The Tories have Boris, Fianna Fail had their differences with Neil Blaney and as for the UUP…Well, that’s a developing story.
I always thought that his contribution was worthwhile and his experience worth listening to. Perhaps his “retirement” was a fit of pique, I don’t know but he is back.
If I may say something directly. ” Please don’t leave the field without good reason”
"We in coming days may be" 
Sure you need a bit of competition, dub. Glad to hear your sparring-partner is back 😉
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Best news I’ve heard all week.
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On the welcome return of FJH I am reminded of this:
“Once during a fierce battle, the Irish Brigade charged several times against an entrenched Confederate line. A Confederate officer, looking through binoculars at the Battle of Malvern Hill July 1, 1862, saw that the Brigade was reforming for another charge. “Here comes that damned green flag again.”” 😉
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Mr Dub…you need to change that pic….I am a Jacobite (1745) turned Jacobin (1798).
A fit of pique…to some extent…yes…but the FJH brand has actually been going much longer than the Czar of Russia blog. I have never taken the whole Citizen Journalist thing seriously. ….and I am talking for an entire decade.
The Original posts on Slugger were as much pan nationalist as pro SDLP. Defence of SDLP came about by default.
I like the folks in SDLP but SDLP as no real belief in Slugger O’Toole ( they never respond…there is no sock puppet there, based in the SDLP Press Office). I am a member but have had absolutely no direction or steer. In a way thats a good thing in a way because they have never tried to edit me , except on one minor occasion by proxy.
But it has a negative aspect too because I get absolutely no feedback. That might change.
The problem with not taking blogging seriously is that I cant “control” how others feel about the blog….so that after the Flegs Dispute, the Czar just got bigger and bigger. In June 2013….I had almost 21,000 views…in ONE month. So rather than doing it all for a laugh …I felt a sense of ….almost responsibility …to the readers and the “brand”.
I acknowledge the good wishes but frankly you may not like the “new” Czar.
We are now almost on an Election Footing….local government, Europe (2014), Westminster (2015), Assembly (2016)……there is absolutely no indication that SDLP will “use” me better. They might well have difficulty with my unqualified hostility to letsgetalongerism …but my blog is a source for advancing SDLP ideas …and in the past, nobody has seen that.
Can a blog be “attached” to a Party be credible.
Has my blog only been credible because of its quirky, independent nature?
Ive never had any difficulty with any SDLP politician….but I have a strange non-relationship with the SDLP professional staff.
I dont know. Let’s give it six months.
If they want to use me as part of the Election Campaign/s….Im available.
If they dont….then….thats a different story.
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“Ive never had any difficulty with any SDLP politician….but I have a strange non-relationship with the SDLP professional staff.”
I’ve heard that phrase oft-repeated in unionist circles, FJH. As much as we moan about elected reps, it’s the nameless, faceless watchers that you have to be careful about.
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I think the professional staff in political parties are a bit like the Civil Service in Govrrnment and I can understand that.
But there is something curious.
We tend to think of people in political parties as equal. The majority are content enough to knock on doors, write envelopes etc…and the politicians appreciate that. if you want to do more…then thats encouraged but only up to the point where you become a “threat”.
If a DEA or constituency has 1.5 quotas and there is a single sitting councillor or MLA, then the second name on the ballot paper can be seen as a threat. And I can certainly understand that in the cases of MLAs who DONT earn a fortune and the Assembly is their livelihood.
And I think this makes the Alliance Party a pack of ferrets. The actual opportunity to be MLA, Special Advisor, Press and Staffer is limited.
All parties have a certain jockeying for position. We saw that most recently in SDLP in South Belfast. Limited opportunity and timing is everything.
For me, some SDLP MLAs have been extremely encouraging. But most only vaguely know me as “yer man who does the blogging”.
Again the membership…the general rule is that older people tend to appreciate what I do but dont necessarily see it as important. The Youth “get it” and the fact so many are on Executive is good…I definitely have friends there who might want to see the online profile raised.
But the Staff are non-committal.
By the way this year, I asked for and got a Press Pass which pissed off some journalists.
But as a SDLP member….with or without a blog….I dont like the briefing that Staff can treat journos….even those hostile to SDLP …..as having more rights than….me.
I dont really approve the. Professional Political Class in any political party….especially as they go to great lengths to keep me out. LOL
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Are you going to do a comeback tour, fitz? 😉
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Yes…..The Bus Pass Tour 🙂
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I do hope you’ll play You’re so Vain (you even think this thread is about you) 😉
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FJH – a few historical ones would be interesting. Irish military leaders? I missed the BBC program on Castlereagh – thon was some boy.
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The NI political class must be some size for 1.8 million people.
18 MPs
108 MLAs
580+ councillors
Plus the NI office
Shocked that FJH’s blog got 21,000 hits a month.
Here’s me thinking only about half a dozen geeks like me read it.
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That was June. That was the most hits I ever had in a month. Its been incremental. It got a big boost in March 2012, then another in July 2012 and then December 2012 was when it really took off. Got a lot of new American readers after Feb 2013 and June 2013 was the best. Theres a point where it becomes a full time job and eats into “family time”.
You underestimate the Political Class….Special Advisors, Staff, Press Officers, Lobbyists, Journlaists, Pollsters, Academics, Bloggers, Hangers On.
The Elected Politicians are the tip of the iceberg.
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So a figure of say 3000+ are directly making a full-time living out of politics in NI.
I’d guess that if one side wins out during the next few decades that number will go down.
The completely over the top politician to voters ratio is caused by division.
No division then no need for the number of politicos.
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