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Syndicate
Geez, when I saw those Rossi posters I thought it was a hoax. They reminded me of The Guardian's April Fools gag last year, in which they claimed that Gordon Brown was attempting to toughen up his image by leaning on his working-class Glaswegian roots:
Apparently this Rossi character is serious. Well, in his own mind at least.
Well that's the thing. It's so far over the top that it is clearly pop-art satire. So he gets mileage for playing with his image in a half-comic way and doesn't have to take full responsibility for it. And for good or ill there is a reason why that kind of propaganda is effective - a certain segment of the population will fall for it.
(edit)
Interesting that both posters use the Nazi red-black-white colour scheme. Time to go back and read J.G. Ballard's essay about the eternally-vital and youthful imagery of fascism.
Maybe union members will vote for Ford to stop Smitherman. The way i see it the main difference between them is that Ford's anti-union policies will collapse in chaos and never see the light of day - while Smitherman would probably actually find a way to implement is ultra rightwing policies. Choose your poison.
Interestings so you are suggesting if Pantalone can't win ...union members vote Ford.....Interesting indeed!
A political, what do you think Ford would be able to do as mayor that would be unfathomable to the decent, reasonable Smitherman (sic)?
That a depends on what kind of day Smitherman is having. It's what he doe's not say what he will do bothers me. We know what Ford will try to do.
I just got a "call" from George Smitherman. He said he would freeze taxes, spending and hiring...and stop Rob Ford!
A political, what do you think Ford would be able to do as mayor that would be unfathomable to the decent, reasonable Smitherman (sic)?
Holy crap, do you not know this guy's history? He's been arrested a few times, has been drunk in public at Leafs games and lashed out at other fans, his wife called the police on him at one point. The guy is serious trouble, and an extreme right wing agenda to boot. There are threads about his past behaviour on rabble. And he'll be representing us as mayor? I'll take Smitherman any day.
Shaking hands with Hells Angels and talking about getting boiled in a pot will look good compared to what Ford will say and do in four yars. But heck I will believe anything now that Stockholm suggests union members might vote Ford to stop Smitherman. I am sure my husband and three sons all union members will give that some thought...NOT
Smitherman is a former coke head Queen street party animal, who has had contact with the mafia that is hooked up with Colombian drug cartels. Heh. Exageration? No. All coke heads are hooked up to the Colombian drug cartels. Moreso, he has never come clean on the fact that he was supposed to set up an Ehealth database when he was Minister of Health, and failed miserably. His failed program became Ehealth, and it is his contact and consultants who blew our billion dollars doing nothing.
Ehealth did alot. They gave themselves great dinners. They even charged for the time they spent planning the dinners and the coffee and muffins they had while they planned those expensive banquets.
Then Smitherman layed off staff and closed health units. The consultants still are working.
Yes. Indeed, he made the point that after scamming millions they were put on the government payroll since then. Nice, now they can collect government pensions as well.
I think you all missed the point...I not a Smitherman fan and frankly I don't give damn if he is elected from a personal point of view...but heck I am beginning to think maybe a vote for Ford makes sense. Maybe the cabal of crazies down at city hall will get the message that thumbing your nose at the electorate is a dangerous game. That's what gave us Mike Harris and maybe now Ford.
Geez what am I thinking those loons won't get it..they never do.
That poll did say a lot of NDP voters are voting Ford. I guess that includes union members and people on this board. Hope you enjoy him!
False presumption is that most people reject Miller, and that there is some kind of backlash. As was pointed out before, three weeks ago, if the poll was held Miller would have won the election. The premise that there is some kind of backlash is entirely a media creation, one largely fronted by the Toronto Star that tried to promote Smitherman as the antidote to Miller. What they didn't forsee was Ford (a genuine right wing radical) riding on the storm in a tea pot that the Star and the Sun have largely created.
And presenting Smitherman as anything other than a soft-sell Harris Tory is also false, since, as we see a number of Harris era cabinet ministers are backing him, since he can "get the job done". Even Ontario Tories are afraid of Ford because he is no ones creature.
You, as a member of the electorate can choose to let the media set the agenda against your interests, or you can reclaim the agenda. It's up to you.
Sounds like Miller might be coming out for Pantalone.
http://www.openfile.ca/blog/topics/toronto-votes/2010/mayor-backs-beauli...
Miller actually did a lot for the voters of North York/Scarborough/Etobicoke. Apparently he's a lot more fathomable there than Smitherman.
And what the Smitherman campaign proves is that you are never going to be able to appease that faction, no matter how much right wing talk you use. There will always be people around who are stupid enough not to see that the reason they are stuck behind a streetcar is because the streetcar is stuck behind a car. All they see is the streetcar.
What the campaign has needed is a solid centerist to truly polarize the election, so that people have an option. The left lost Adam Giambrone early, and has had trouble putting a focussed campaign together. Now it has behind Pantalone, who really is no radical at all,
But Smitherman's dithering attempts to be a right wing moron are not going to wash with the right wing morons. And the left is not going to vote for a soft-sell Harrisite either. They would rather stay home. So he is done like dinner, and the only alternative is Pantalone.
A new site: http://www.torontocannotafford.com/
(Please note white, black and red graphic treatment!)
Toronto muncipal politics is so fascinating for those of us who live outside. It is pure entertainment. I know it is serious for those who live there, but a buffon like Smitherman or Ford would be left in the dust in most other places in Ontario.
ETA - I am not being a smart ass. I really find it fascinating. It is unlike anywhere else in Ontario for sure. Can't speak to other large cities like Vancouver. Montreal and so on.
Long thread, closing for length.