Patrick Smith (politician) career, Smith being said to have shouted across the floor at Dáil Éireann, "They gave us stepping-stones, but they [state forces in 1922] would not walk on them." A play on the same quote by Irish revolutionary, Michael Collins. He entered the Dáil in September 1923, as a Republican candidate. In 1926, Éamon de Valera, the Leader of Anti-Treaty Sinn Fein, approached Smith and persuaded him to join his newly founded political party, Fianna Fáil. Fianna Fail abandoned the abstentionist policy of Anti Treaty Sinn Fein and its elected members took their seats in Dáil Éireann. De Valera and Smith
Bruce Fein Bruce Fein Bruce Fein (born March 12, 1947) is an American lawyer who specializes in constitutional and international law. Fein has written numerous articles on constitutional issues for "The Washington Times", "Slate.com", "The New York Times", "The Huffington Post" and "Legal Times", and is active on civil liberties issues. He has worked for the American Enterprise Institute and the Heritage Foundation, both conservative think tanks, as an analyst and commentator. Fein is a principal in a government affairs and public relations firm, The Lichfield Group, in Washington, D.C.. He is also a resident scholar at the Turkish Coalition of America.