Rob Ford, mayor of Toronto UPDATES

[OftenWrong]

 

You do realize Rob Ford associates with known criminals, hires known criminals and truly is a stupid person?

No I hadn't heard that. I have heard that he is a stupid person though.

[guyser]

  No I hadn't heard that. I have heard that he is a stupid person though.

Seriously?

His driver? His football coaching assistant?

[Black Dog]

Great...I agree! Rob Ford should be out of office.

But there is contradiction in favoring the legalization of hard drugs and criticizing and condemning Ford for his drug problems (ie. - addiction).

And who is doing that, exactly?

[On Guard for Thee]

I see today RoFo has challenged Blair to arrest him. Careful what you wish for Rob!

[Spiderfish]

No one is criticizing Ford for his drug use per se.

Its the distraction from his job, the missed days, the cavorting w slimeballs in underground garages or in schoolyards smoking up and pounding back 40 lb'ers that is the condemnation.

So in other words...his drug and alcohol abuse.

[Spiderfish]

And who is doing that, exactly?

See above.

[Black Dog]

See above.

So you believe that criticzing Ford's actions and character = "criticizing and condemning Ford for his drug problems".

That seems to suggest to me that you think Ford's actions are a result of his drug problems. I would put to you that it's the other way around. Ford's not a screwup because of his drug problems; he's got drug problems because he's a screwup.

[Rue]

{ Cautipn: typos may induce seizures particularly in trendy leftists-proceed at your own caution when reading}

No one is criticizing Ford's drug use per se? I am.

I criticize his drug use period, no semantics, no qualifications.

He is supposed to be the Chief Magistrate. If he does not agree with the laws, step down. No you don't break the laws you asked people to elect you to uphold. His decision to openly flaunt laws by using illegal drugs, driving when drunk and then repeatedly appearing in public drunk shows a lack of competency and judgement and it matters little whether he was an idiot first, drunk second, or drunk first, idiot second.

Ford set the bar.. he excused his drunk driving by saying everyone does it. He chose on public display in the city assembly to make a fool of himself mimicking another city rep. for being drunk in front of the wheel. It was a blatant display of a man who is past stupid but is dangerously flaunting a contempt for the law and public safety,

So I criticize him for that and his drug use is necessarily attached to that.

I also criticize anyone with a drug or substance abuse problem. Yes. I do not want them to kill themselves or others. If they want to kill themselves in public don't drag everyone else down with you which is what the Fords are doing.

Doug Ford is as sick if not sicker than his brother. He slams a police chief for doing his job. He slams a police chief as being political because precisely because the Police Chief refused to be political and look the other way with Ford and investigated him.

Doug Ford is a classic enabler. Rather than admit his brother is sick, attacks the Police Chief. Talk about denial. He portrays his brother as a victim?

His brother is drunk in public calling the Police Chief a c...ck sucker and his brother is the victim?

Not just a few weeks ago Rob Ford said he stopped drinking. Now he drinks just not a lot he says.

Right.

At one point I thought Ford would be able to syphon sufficient votes to prevent Tory from getting in.

Now I am beginning to think even his own voters won't support him when push comes to shove. This latest attempt to call himself blue collar v.s. blue blood is a joke. This is someone who raves and rants how lazy the poor are and now he wants to act as if he is blue collar? Someone who openly calls unions a joke? Right. He is a coward. He will jump on any divisive message he thinks portrays him as a victim. He cherishes the role of underdog victim only its back firing. Every time his brother opens his mouth his own supporters see what is wrong.

The Police Chief is an honourable man in a horrible job. To be attacked as he has by this baboon is inexcusable.

This election is coming down to Chow and Tory and how well Tory can convince all the other candidates to the centre and right to rally around him and not let Chow use the split to get in. If Tory can't get all the people to the centre and right to his side, its Chow's to lose.

I do not like Chow's politics but I met her. She is a very honourable and decent person. It comes across when she shakes your hand and she knew everyone in the riding where I lived and she was the rep. Her caring for her constituents was genuine. I don't agree with her politics but she is a good person as is Tory. They are two decent, caring people and that is what this city deserves, people who run for office because they care about others.

Edited February 28, 2014 by Rue

[GostHacked]

He is mayor and you are not ,so who is stupid. LOL

Anyone who voted for him.

[PIK]

Anyone who voted for him.

So the smart people would have voted Goe Smithermen, thank god ford won, or TO would be crushed under the weight of debt and corruption.

[Big Guy]

I believe that going after Chief Blair may be the straw that breaks the campaign back.

Anyone on the right is foolish to attack "law and order" and still maintain their philosophical support - especially if they are running for the position of Chief Magistrate.

[Black Dog]

So the smart people would have voted Goe Smithermen, thank god ford won, or TO would be crushed under the weight of debt and corruption.

Because Ford has been a model of fiscal prudence and sterling professional conduct.

I'd love to know what it is you're huffing.

[PIK]

And geo's drug problems gets a free ride. He would have been a disaster for TO, just like he destroyed ONT.

[Black Dog]

And geo's drug problems gets a free ride. He would have been a disaster for TO, just like he destroyed ONT.

Smitherman admitted to having a drug problem before he entered politics and sought treatment. Ford used (uses?) drugs in office and continues to deny having any kind of issue with drugs or alcohol

I could go on, but let's get real: resorting to absurd hypotheticals about someone who hasn't held public office for four years to defend your hero is pretty pathetic. Smitherman didn't win. Deal with the disaster we have.

[BubberMiley]

And geo's drug problems gets a free ride.

It was hardly a free ride---it was widely reported on in the media. How else would you know about it? But the difference is he was honest and upfront and didn't lie. He also wasn't involved in any extortion attempts to hide the truth, didn't fire people for telling him to seek help, and didn't blame the police chief for his own criminal activity.

I guess there's a lesson for you and your fellow right-wingers to learn from this. Don't shy away from taking personal responsibility for your actions and don't blame others for your mistakes. When you do something wrong, don't try to distract people from that by pointing out that other people have done wrong too. It's a bad look.

Edited February 28, 2014 by BubberMiley

[PIK]

Still look at his record and what he did to this province, his finger prints are all over the boondoggles and missing billions in the health care and green energy. Just imagine what he could have done to Toronto. I think most people would take ford over simtherson, oh wait they did. lol

[g_bambino]

Just imagine what he could have done to Toronto.

Imagine.... Why? We don't have to imagine what Ford's done to Toronto.

[BubberMiley]

I think most people would take ford over simtherson, oh wait they did. lol

I have a feeling some people are regretting that choice now. lol

But I agree with you that Ford is a fine example of a 21st-century right-wing politician. I can see why Harper and his government still defend him.

[Rue]

The only federal Tory who supported Ford is Flaherty and even he won't discuss him now. All the other Tories distanced themselves from him on the provincial or federal or municipal levels.

This attempt to suggest he is a typical right wing politician is also interesting. Typical compared to who?

Who is typical of the right wing in the 21st century? I certainly don't see right wingers like Harper, Mit Romney or Tory referring to themselves as battling blue bloods. I don't see them attacking the police or laughing at the law.

If anything is typical of the right wing , it's that they support law and order and moral values.

Are you saying a typical right winger is an alcoholic/ Maybe Mike Harris but I don't think Harper is or Romney or Tory are boozers.

My point is its pointless to try stereotype him or anyone else as a stereotype right winger or left winger. I would be loath to say its typical of leftists to like taxes anymore than its typical of right wingers to hate taxes. everyone hates taxes.

Right now I would argue Ford is trying to be Hugo Chavez, some populist mythical folk hero engaging in a revolutionary campaign against right and left and he sure as hell is not in the centre.

This guy came to office complaining about municipal gov. spending and taxes. I woudl argue that is a very narrow, populist sentiment that avoids both enunciating right wing or left wing ideology. He has none. His only message is don't spend. That message allows him to say no to everything no matter what it is. Typical right wingers are not afraid to say what they want. They don't simply say no. Romney never hid his agenda. Neither did Tory. Neither did Harris or Harper. They all were quite clear what they were proposing-they did not just say no. All Ford does is say no. He offers nothing else and that is because he can't grasp any issues other than saying no.

He learned to say no when he was 2 as most infants do and has never evolved past that stage of emotional development.

His ideology is to have tantrums and carry on like a 2 year old when he can't get people to agree with him.

Edited February 28, 2014 by Rue

[OftenWrong]

Will be interesting to see if he gets re-elected, what all these "sensible" people will have to say about it. His odds still look pretty good. The more people jumping into the mayoral race, the better it will be for Rob Ford.

[g_bambino]

I can see why Harper and his government still defend him.

?

[On Guard for Thee]

I guess one thing that would worry me about having Ford as my mayor would be worrying about how soon is it going to be when he can't show up for work, not because he is hungover, but because he is in jail. He has certainly provoked the chief of police and a balck cadillac suv weaving down the street wouldn't be so hard to pick off.

[GostHacked]

I have a feeling some people are regretting that choice now. lol

But I agree with you that Ford is a fine example of a 21st-century right-wing politician. I can see why Harper and his government still defend him.

Only because Ford is stealing the spotlight from other high level scandals. Harper LOVES the fact people pay more attention to Ford than himself. Ford provides a nice comical distraction from some of the other bigger problems.

[Boges]

I hear he's going to the Oscars. I wonder if he'll walk the Red carpet.

[Big Guy]

"On Friday night, a Mardi Gras parade float featuring a larger-than-life replica of Mr. Ford smoking a crack pipe drew attention as it rolled through the streets of New Orleans on Friday.

The float, which also featured caricatures of singer Justin Bieber and actress Pamela Anderson, took part in the annual Krewe d’Etat parade.

The parade is meant to take a satirical look at current events. This year's theme was “DUI: D’Etat Under the Influence” and featured 22 floats.

The “Canadian Club” float poked fun at Mr. Ford for his admitted drug use. It featured mock headlines that said “Mayor Ford: ‘So I smoked a little crack“’ and “I was in a drunken stupor.”"

An interesting campaign strategy!