Vote again. Or else. A story of our times.

Imagine if, following the election of Barack Obama by 52.9% of American voters, the Republican party, which got just 45.7% of votes, demanded another election. 

Imagine if the Republicans described Obama's victory as a "triumph of ignorance" – brought about by an "unspeakable" and "ignorant" mass of people who should have been "swatted away by the forces of the establishment" – and insisted on holding a second vote so that, this time, the voters could "get it right". 

There would have been uproar, outrage, widespread disgust at such elite disdain for the democratic process.  

Well it did happen, back in 2008. Back then in Ireland it was just like today in the UK.  The people voted.  And the political class didn’t like it so set about seeking to overturn the vote.  We know that Irish were told to vote again.   And to get the right answer this time.

As Brendan O’Neill wrote in the Guardian on Saturday 13^th December 2008: “EU officials' (met) behind-doors deal to force a second referendum in Ireland reveals their utter contempt for Irish voters, and for democracy itself.  It is an historic sucker punch against the sovereignty of the people.”   

And Mr O'Neill went on:  “It was widely claimed that the Irish simply didnt understand  the treaty, and may have been confused by its "technocratic, near incomprehensible language" (well, they are ignorant Paddies, after all).  Some claimed that the Irish mistakenly, possibly even illegitimately, had used the referendum to register disgruntlement with their own ruling parties.  Margot Wallström, vice-president of the European Commission, said officials should try to "work out what the Irish people had really been voting against".  I would have thought that was obvious: they were handed the Lisbon treaty; they said no to it.”   

It sounds like the EU and the pro EU project people haven’t even bothered to alter or update the script from 2008.  Basically they think that Ireland voted to reject Lisbon and the UK voted to leave the EU because we are stupid.

And the language is the same.  Back when France rejected Lisbon Andrew Duff, Liberal Democrat MEP, labelled the "rejectionists",  as an "odd bunch of racists, xenophobes, nationalists, communists, the disappointed centre left and the generally pissed off".   He even asked whether it was wise to "submit the EU Constitution to a lottery of uncoordinated national plebiscites".   

Plus ça change!