Ireland Stands Alone

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Ireland Stands Alone

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The European Union consists of 27 member states and a population of about 500 million people with a land area about the size of the United States east of the Mississippi.  The population of Ireland is less than one-percent of this total and because we are being asked to make changes to our Constitution, in deference to a pan-European reform treaty, we will be going to the polls next week to vote on the Lisbon Treaty.  Why is this of interest?

The first version of this New European Constitution was rejected a few years ago by the Dutch and the French.  It has now been re-written with all the same elements that were contained in the initial document only this time the Dutch and the French people are not being allowed to vote.  Their governments, along with 24 others, instead will ratify this treaty by a consensus of politicians without letting a democratic due-process, the rights of the people, get in the way.  The right to self-determination is in jeopardy in Europe and only Ireland will allow it's people a say in this referendum.

Imagine that the people of the city of Phoenix alone will be the only ones allowed a vote in a drastic change to the US Constitution and you can get an idea of what is happening here.  In the polls released today, one week before the election, it shows that the YES campaign has lost significant ground and for the first time the NO side is out ahead by five percentage points.  This leaves the most current count at 35% NO, 30% YES, and 35% Undecided.  Most pundits are remarking that the high Undecided numbers are due to the fact that the document is "un-readable", which is not going to change in six days, and that the Irish government has not made it available to the voters.  Is this a sign of things to come?

More...

British to challenge unDemocratic process of ratification.

Wall Street Journal opinion.

French Foreign Minister threatens Irish voters.

Germany joins France in bullying Ireland.