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Controversial gay candidate continues to top Irish presidential poll

CATHAL DERVAN,

IrishCentral.com Staff Writer

Published Sunday, July 3, 2011, 8:21 AM

Updated Sunday, July 3, 2011, 8:21 AM

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Senator David Norris

A new opinion poll has claimed that Senator David Norris is still the favorite to win the Presidential election despite a recent controversy over his alleged views on pedophilia.

The latest Sunday Independent/Quantum Research poll backs Norris as the people’s choice to succeed Mary McAleese despite public outrage at comments made by Norris in old interviews which have resurfaced.

A number of County Councils have refused to back Norris in the wake of his reported views on pedophilia and sexuality.

The Independent Senator has claimed however that he is the victim of a smear campaign and will take heart from the results of the Sunday Independent poll.

The paper claims that Norris currently enjoys 37 percent support amongst those polled and is three times more popular than any other potential candidate.

He commands a significant lead over his closest rivals Michael D. Higgins of the Labor Party and Pat Cox, yet to secure the Fine Gael nomination.

Higgins is now on 13 percent and has gained only one percentage point since he won the right to represent the Labor Party – even though his two opponents in that poll had nine percent support between them.

Cox, believed to be the preferred candidate of Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny, also enjoys 13 percent support from the new opinion poll

His main rivals for the Fine Gael nomination – Gay Mitchell and Mairead McGuinness – are both on nine percent support but Avril Doyle is well down on just five percent.

Mitchell has dropped two percentage points since the last poll, conducted at the start of June.

Nster.com

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8 Comments

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seanomelbourne | Jul 04, 2011, 10:30 PM EDT

PolinDeb you can add to your list people who do not think him capable regardless of his sexual orientation.He's a numbskull who wants us to rejoin the commonwealth insulting the founders of the Irish state.He should wrap himself in the union jack for the traitor that he is.

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stanJames | Jul 04, 2011, 12:36 AM EDT

Thrilling what is happening in Ireland. 5 of 6 catholic seminaries have closed. Hundreds of millions of $$$ have been dragged out of the catholic church re the endless hidden molestation of children. Civil unions for our gay friends and neighbors are a reality, and the majority of people - about 70% support changing CUs to civil marriage. And now maybe a gay president. the catholic church of the endless hidden molestation of children, the church that gave the still UNexcommunicated mass murderer hitler the hatred of the Jews , which hitler leveraged to gain power, aND 55 Million died. THAT church will go to its grave, unwept, dishonored and Unsung. Good riddance to the longest lasting criminal enterprise in history. Currently run by a man whose earliest lessons were growing up in NAzi germany

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PolinDeB | Jul 03, 2011, 08:09 PM EDT

you guys do know that David Norris is eminently respectable. It is only foreigners and extreme catholic homophobes that actually took any credence in the allegations of this seriously sad woman... Everyone else is.. it's David Norris, he's well known, liked and despite his quirkiness respected... Pat Cox is a member of the Spinelli Group, named for one of the founders of the EU, states as its aim "to make a network of those who choose the European interest above their national interest" Given that the Irish people are being made pay for the investment mistakes of major European banks in Anglo Irish so that European banks don't take a hit... I don't think this will be too popular.. David Norris has the credentials as an independent voice and a long association with standing up for the Irish people, exactly what we need as our President.. I think perhaps they played the "all gays are pedophiles" card too soon...after all the catholic church has a much greater percentage of pedophiles in their rank than the gay community. And Irish people know it...

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MontRoyalle | Jul 03, 2011, 03:04 PM EDT

At Seamus Mor: The last time I looked Brazaville was in the Belgian Congo, later Zaire, later Republic of Congo. That's a long way from South Africa

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Towngate | Jul 03, 2011, 11:21 AM EDT

The real fun will begin when his rivals and their supporters realise the more mud the sling at David Norris - the stronger his position becomes! What will they do then? ~ ~ ~ The only thing you can be sure of is that the Electorate will make yet another apalling choice and slip the country further into the green slimy mor-ass!

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LoyalCitizen | Jul 03, 2011, 10:48 AM EDT

Most likely Pat Cox will win. He is the best of the bunch with the most international credentials. Poor Gay Mitchell got the kiss of death from John Bruton the traitor who falsified the Irish Constitution to introduce opinions in law in 1996. Only IC wants Norris to win.

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hollabackgurl | Jul 03, 2011, 09:59 AM EDT

He's the frontrunner, sill. Despite the politically motivated smear campaign they unleashed against him. Perhaps he's still the frontrunner because the Irish don't like having their prejudices blatantly appealed to by Irish politicians. He'll be the candidate to beat in November, I expect.

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WalterEllis | Jul 03, 2011, 08:39 AM EDT

An independent candidate making the running for President! Doesn't he know how impossible it will be for him to win?

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