Would it be going out on a limb to predict Rob Ford's re-election?
Rob Ford: The Mirror...er...Cracked...
Mon, 2013-11-04 09:11
#52
Mon, 2013-11-04 09:15
#53
must have missed my post #27. See http://tcnorris.blogspot.ca/2013/11/how-popular-is-rob-ford-update.htmlThe panel on CBC 3 to watch all agree. The more the calls intesify for Ford to step aside, the higher his poll numbers will climb. Because Ford Nation and other supports see these calls as bullying. Proof is that his poll numbers went up 5%
btw Lisi can release the video, because his lawyer has it. So instead of asking Blair to release, he should ask Lisi to release it.
I hope a reporter asks him that direct question. But then Ford will probably ignore that question, and just repeat that Blair should release it.
The CBC 3 to watch panel all agreed on another aspect. The media is not playing up the criminal activity fact. And for Ford supporters that fact is too complicated for them to register or see.
The media needs to frame the narrative in the simplest way about Ford dealing with criminals.
Otherwise the public just sees this as bullying, which makes his poll number climb even higher.
The more he gets calls to step aside, the higher his support climbs. It is that simple.
To again repeat this MSM narrative that his polling is rising when the poll on Halloween was a problem and that people need time to digest is to ignore that in fact Ford's popularity is dropping and has been. The trend line shows that.
Mon, 2013-11-04 09:16
#54
yes b/c he's so damaged.Would it be going out on a limb to predict Rob Ford's re-election?
Mon, 2013-11-04 09:19
#55
I lost my bet on Laurent Blanchard resigning before yesterday, so the only thing left to do is double down. 300 quatloos on His Forditude.
Mon, 2013-11-04 09:27
#56
No Terry, you are as misguided about the law as you are in your constant advocacy of all things Liberal.
When a defence lawyer receives disclosure (such s a video) from the Crown he does so under an impaired undertaking that he uses it only for purposes of defending his client on the criminal charge. He cannot use it for example in a related civil case. You might want to look at a decision from the Ontario Court of Appeal called Wagg in this regard.
Dennis Morris, Ford's lawyer, will surely know this. Therefore Ford can posture all he likes about wantingto make the video made public in full knowledge that it is unlikely ever to surface unless entered as an exhibit at Lisi's trial.
I wish there were some way of calling Ford's bluff but, if there is, it is legally elusive. This bluff will allow him to :
1. Pretend the elites are out to get him by hiding a video he pretends will exonerate him (remember Dennis Morris has suggested it will show him smoking tobacco)
2. Allow him to continue to use the disingenuous shield: "I cannot comment on a video I have never seen."
Mon, 2013-11-04 09:36
#57
No Terry, you are as misguided about the law as you are in your constant advocacy of all things Liberal.
I was just repeating what CTV's legal analyst Steven Skurka said on Canada AM this AM.
He said the only two people who could release the video was the Crown and Lisi lawyer.
So if you disagree with that, go challenege lawyer Steven Skurka on that fact. Here is his twitter. Go ask him
https://twitter.com/legalanalyst
Mon, 2013-11-04 09:42
#58
2. Allow him to continue to use the disingenuous shield: "I cannot comment on a video I have never seen."
"I cannot comment on a video I have never seen." and since I was so blasted at the time, I just can't remember the incident without seeing the video.
Mon, 2013-11-04 10:24
#59
In addition to all the above I am appalled by his violence. He pushed a staffer into the wall, the throws things at people and laughs at racist and homophobic slurs. I am also appalled that his acholic binges recieve more critical attention than the reports of domestic violence.
Mon, 2013-11-04 11:06
#60
Ok - I guess for some strange reason we've switched our commentary over to this new thread. Fine.
At last, this rabble reprint raises (and correctly answers, IMHO) some of the questions I've been trying to raise here for, well, a year or so:
[url=http://rabble.ca/news/2013/11/bye-bye-ford-and-harper-would-their-depart... bye Ford and Harper: Would their departure have any benefit for Canada's Left?[/url]
There is the sound of champagne corks being popped and cheers in the streets. Everyone smiles at each other and winks, knowing that soon it will all be over. The hated burgermeister is falling and no one, except perhaps his family, will be sad to see him go. And he has been felled by none other than that champion of democracy, Toronto Police Chief William Blair.Oh, wait a second. Bill Blair? The same Bill Blair who led the cops in their assault on G20 protesters a couple of years ago? The same Bill Blair who wheeled out props -- a la the "Miami model" of protest disruption -- and used "kettling" to corral not only peaceful demonstrators but unlucky passersby for hours without food or water? The same Bill Blair whose cops shot a man nine times on a streetcar before tasering him?
Something is rotten in Denmark.
[...]
Does anybody think that it’s an accident that Ford’s legal dossier was leaked now? Does anybody think that it’s odd that the police -- on the basis of a newspaper report with no physical evidence -- put their top investigators on the case to nail Ford? Since when have the police followed a politician to reveal his personal foibles or cared about political corruption?
I mean, they released a report that doesn’t demonstrate any proof of illegal activity on the part of Ford. If they had any proof they would have arrested him. This is about destroying Rob Ford while there is still enough lead-time before the next municipal elections to rebuild the right wing on city council.
This is about giving Karen Stints -- who, coincidentally, announced her candidacy last week -- a clear shot for the mayoralty. Stintz is also a Tory but one who knows how to work with city capitalists and who saved the transit plan from Rob Ford. And she doesn’t get drunk in public.
It's hard to pick short passages from this article - the whole thing is so good - a great wakeup call, both about Ford, and the stupid diversionary Senate scandal which so many well-meaning folks have taken up as the cause of all causes.
Read it all, and pick it apart. I'd love to hear people's opinions.
As for me... Bravo Shawn Whitney, whoever you are!
Mon, 2013-11-04 11:28
#61
Some analysis of the strategy Ford is taking (from this CBC article)
It’s standard political math. You’ve got your core supporters who you need to maintain at any cost; you’ve got those that you’ll never win in a million years, so there’s no sense losing sleep over them; and then there’s the bunch in the middle who might come your way, who might not.
[Sunday] was all about the first group, the Ford Nation supporters, stopping the bleeding, making sure that nobody else leaves the tent and we’ll worry about the swing-voters down the road, it’s a year out to the election, there’s lots of time for that.
Harper similarly is taking the same strategy. Interesting to see if it works. Both are loved by their core-base, but both need to attract more than that to win.
Mon, 2013-11-04 11:35
#62
Would it be going out on a limb to predict Rob Ford's re-election?
What kind of limb are we talking about? An arm? A leg? A vaguely referred-to fantom limb?
I'm sorry, but I do actually feel for Ford and his substance abuse issues. But the crap he's pulled as a Tea Party-type politician has done way more damage than any addiction issues he has.
Mon, 2013-11-04 12:34
#63
I was amazed he got elected. Not much shocks me in electoral politics. With the right vote splits, I could see him getting re-elected.
Mon, 2013-11-04 13:02
#64
Great column from Christopher Hume of the Toronto Star explaining why Ford still has his support.
If a guy — a mayor — has a few drinks or maybe smokes a little crack on his own time, what business is it of ours? Ford’s no role model, certainly no angel, just a man trying to do what he was elected to do — cut taxes and stop the gravy train. That’s all. The media, which hound Ford, mock him and sit in judgment of his every move, would have us believe there’s more. But there isn’t.
If anything, Ford Nation has made fanatics of his detractors, the “elitists,” “bike-riding pinkos” and free-spending lefties offended by Ford’s very being, not to mention his ascendency to the city’s highest office.
Ford Nation couldn’t care less. To hell with them all — the Toronto Star, socialists, smartypants downtowners, police chiefs....
Despite everything, the latest polls say Ford’s popularity has increased. It’s up from 39 to 44 percent, even higher in Scarborough and certainly enough to win re-election next year. The video be damned. In any case, it’s probably been altered. And if it was a crack pipe, how do we know the pipe had crack in it? Besides, now he’s apologized, publicly.
When everything they read or see on TV is a lie, why should this be different?
Even if Rob Ford has made fools of his supporters, he won’t be the first.
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2013/11/04/suburban_outlook_undergirds_f...
Mon, 2013-11-04 13:07
#65
http://www.torontosun.com/2013/11/04/arrest-me-mayor-rob-ford-dares
Article and link to a radio interview this morning with Ford.
Sherman managed to ask Ford about police surveillance photos released last week showing alleged drug dealer Sandro Lisi drop-ping packages into the mayor's vehicle on several occasions.
"No comment," Ford said.
Mon, 2013-11-04 13:21
#66
Ford is now playing the victim card telling John Oakley this AM
“As a matter of fact, I didn’t do my homework when I was in Grade 1 a few times also. So you know what? If you want to go down that road — maybe you’re perfect, Johnny, I’m not perfect,” Ford said.
Mon, 2013-11-04 13:26
#67
Sooner or later this tactic is going to backfire on him:
http://www.torontosun.com/2013/11/02/rob-ford-calls-peel-police-on-trail...
Mon, 2013-11-04 13:37
#68
I just learned of the 640AM interview. Apparently Oakley asks him some tough questions. Listening now...
Mon, 2013-11-04 14:15
#69
The more he gets calls to step aside, the higher his support climbs. It is that simple.
I don't think that was the plan.
The Toronto Sun's greatest fear is a split in the conservative vote, letting a progressive (Olivia Chow?) win.
Here's the sequence of events, as I see them.
1. The police techie finally (it took him two months?) retrieves the famous, but deleted, video.
2. Although this retrieval is not public information, TTC Chair Karen Stintz promptly announces her candidacy.
3. The video is made public. The Toronto Sun spends a huge amount of money to produce an unprecedented evening paper, 24 pages of wall-to-wall Ford drama, distributed free. Will Karen Stintz declare this as a campaign donation? Ford Nation, or at least that part of it that can read, is precisely the Sun's readership. A master stroke to cut Ford Nation out from under him, and leave the way clear for Karen Stintz.
Which has failed to work. So far.
Mon, 2013-11-04 14:42
#70
Even if Ford doesn't run, I'm sure Chow could beat Stintz (or Tory, or whomever). Ford himself is potentially a bigger challenge to beat.
Mon, 2013-11-04 14:48
#71
Wilf - I think [url=http://rabble.ca/news/2013/11/bye-bye-ford-and-harper-would-their-depart... article[/url] reaches the same conclusion about clearing the way for Karen Stintz as you did. What do you think of the article (if you have a moment to read it)?
Mon, 2013-11-04 17:57
#72
I'm sorry, but I do actually feel for Ford and his substance abuse issues. .
Same here. I've never liked Ford or his policies. When he was just an idiot who used to fall down while trying to throw a football, bump into cameras and say stupid stuff, it was fun to laugh at him. It seems pretty clear to everyone now that the man has some very serious problems. I take no joy in seeing another person struggle. As much as I disagree with him on virtually everything, he's a human being with a wife and kids and I'm sure it's been no picnic for them. I've really been disturbed by the level of "shadenfreude" I've been seeing on my Facebook and Twitter feeds about the situation. Alcoholism and drug addictions are illnesses. We wouldn't mock a person who has cancer or who requires a wheelchair and we shouldn't mock someone like Rob Ford who has his own struggles. We can only hpe that they get the help that they need.
Mon, 2013-11-04 18:30
#73
Unionist, I agree I would rather run against Ford than Stintz or Tory because I think he is more beatable. Unfortunately that will entail keeping him in power for another year. Another year to wreck and embarass the city that I, not you, live in.
As for Bill Blair I think Toronto is lucky to have him. We will never have a raving leftist as police chief but Blair is as good as we have ever had. Do you remember Julie Fantino?
I agree that a serious strike against Bill Blair is what happened at the G20. I have heard though that Blair was opposed to many of the riot control measures that others, notably Fantino, imposed on him. Blair was responsible for ensuring tht a number of officers who assaulted protesters were prosecuted.
Mon, 2013-11-04 18:31
#74
Ford will have my sympathy when he faces his problem. Until then, he's the one taki ng thd risk of being mocked for public drunkenness, that's his choice and those are his consequences.
I don't think it'll be long either. Rob's not a stay-at-home drinker. He' likes an entourage to party with. Interesting that he doesn't seem to drink with political supporters/doners/other business people.
Mon, 2013-11-04 18:52
#75
Alcoholism and drug addictions are illnesses. We wouldn't mock a person who has cancer or who requires a wheelchair and we shouldn't mock someone like Rob Ford who has his own struggles.
I don't quite buy the disease model of alcoholism. Is waking up in the morning and pouring a glass of scotch really the same thing as waking up and finding measles on your skin?
And, on a more personal note, when I've got some drunk jerk jabbing his finger into my chest and screaming pointless insults in my face, my first inclination is not to think "Aw gee, the poor man, helpless against a ravaging disease". I honestly don't really care if he gets "help" for his "problem", I just want him to get the fuck away from me.
Mon, 2013-11-04 19:16
#76
I don't quite buy the disease model of alcoholism.
I'm sure people who have suffered abuse, or had loved ones killed by people because of an illness can also be forgiven if the focus more on their inconvenience or loss.
Thing is, whether it is the first thing on your mind or not, research indicates that it is a disease.
(bearing in mind that His Worship hasn't been diagnosed with anything, and that some of the things he has done have little if anything to do with any alleged addiction)
Mon, 2013-11-04 19:24
#77
Mayor's office claims that Ford is uninvited to police chief Bill Blair's gala.
Also, from the same article are these interesting tidbits:
On Monday, the mayor’s lawyer, Dennis Morris, reiterated that the mayor will not be responding to requests from police for an interview. Mr. Morris said it is not in Mr. Ford’s interest to speak with officers investigating a video that allegedly shows him smoking crack cocaine.
“He’s got nothing to say,” Mr. Morris said. “It’s very prudent not to have your client say anything about anything ever to the police because they have investigative techniques that throw overboard anything you wish to say or not to say.”
Detective Sergeant Gary Giroux said on Friday that he had he extended an invitation to Mr. Ford through his chief of staff earlier in the week.
[..]
The mayor, Mr. Morris said, intends to make the video public “whatever way we can.” Mr. Morris said he intended to pursue an application under the Freedom of Information Act. He also raised the possibility of Mr. Lisi’s lawyer consenting to releasing the video.
“I haven’t been in touch with Mr. Lisi’s lawyer, so it’s not something I can tell you about right now,” Mr. Morris said.
Hopefully Morris will get it, and the Mayor will have a big beer fest screening party in Ford Nation.
Mon, 2013-11-04 20:16
#78
A list of Ford follies.
Mon, 2013-11-04 20:52
#79
Toronto's humiliation is internation, I just listened to Howard Stern busting on Rob Ford for like 10 to 20 minutes.
Mon, 2013-11-04 21:43
#80
I was amazed he got elected. Not much shocks me in electoral politics. With the right vote splits, I could see him getting re-elected.
If he lives that long.
Mon, 2013-11-04 23:05
#81
[i] Staff in Ford’s office said Monday that police “retracted” Ford’s invitation to Wednesday’s Chief of Police gala.Toronto Police, however, countered that the mayor wasn’t “uninvited” though they did have a discussion with Earl Provost, the mayor’s chief of staff, about “the optics” of him attending.[/i]Mayor's office claims that Ford is uninvited to police chief Bill Blair's gala.
<p>I wonder if Ford got drunk there last year. lol
Tue, 2013-11-05 01:03
#82
“He’s got nothing to say,” Mr. Morris said. “It’s very prudent not to have your client say anything about anything ever to the police because they have investigative techniques that throw overboard anything you wish to say or not to say.”
While this is very good advice, I wonder if Ford would be willing to repeat it on his radio show. "Citizens of Toronto, don't talk to the cops -- ever."[/quote]
Tue, 2013-11-05 06:27
#83
Maysie
In addition to all the above I am appalled by his violence. He pushed a staffer into the wall, the throws things at people and laughs at racist and homophobic slurs. I am also appalled that his acholic binges recieve more critical attention than the reports of domestic violence.
Yes.
Tue, 2013-11-05 06:31
#84
Maysie
Rob Ford and the truth about privilege
The revealed documents strike at the heart of how and who is given respect, the benefit of the doubt, and a thorough attempt to make sure that no mistakes are made when they are a “suspect” in an investigation. Anyone who pays close attention to urban life and policing would find it difficult to understand why the police had not intervened with Ford earlier given what the documents have thus far revealed. We all know that police constantly stop, question and card young black people and aboriginal people with less evidence of suspicious activity than the warrant documents concerning Ford and Lisi reveal.
....
Looking at the police decision from my vantage point it appears that Ford has been afforded a different measure of policing. It is a measure of policing that most poor and working class people never get.
...
The Ford case points very clearly to differential policing. It appears that some communities and therefore some individuals are fundamentally understood as always already suspicious and therefore criminal, while others are given the benefit of the doubt, and when there is doubt, a full and robust investigation. Such different practices for different people, especially differently racialized people, demonstrate that policing works to serve and protect particular people and communities and to contain other communities and people.
More significantly, the attitude that Chief Blair demonstrated with the Ford investigation is one that strikes much more deeply and broadly across this city and our society. When Chief Blair’s TAVIS (Toronto Anti-Violence Intervention Strategy) makes it raids in mainly poor, black and people of colour communities, all kinds of people are swept up in the arrests because of their proximity at the time of the raids. Were it to end there, one might say such is the nature of policing. However, what is equally disturbing is the manner in which police and media appear to cohere in such events. Police arrive to do their sweep and media arrive to document and report. Indeed entire families are often shown trying to make sense of the raid and its immediate devastating consequences and no one seems to care whether or not those not involved will be damaged by the media coverage and exposure. Such raids clearly demonstrate one moment where the media and the police appear in sync. And it is precisely such moments that further stigmatize communities and re-enforce the idea that crime, criminal behavior and other forms of illegal activities are associated with certain communities and their residents.
Tue, 2013-11-05 08:19
#85
6 out of 10 say he should resign and largely unchanged as before.
Tue, 2013-11-05 08:21
#86
Yes but his approval rating remains virtually unchanged, at 43%. a dip of 1% support. An approval rating that is higher than Obama!
Tue, 2013-11-05 08:24
#87
Meanwhile a new poll taken after Ford's apology shows that his approval rating remains unchanged, though it did dip 1% to 43%.
That is a higher approval rating than Obama!
On CBC Power & Politics yesterday Rob Silver was saying he was on Talk Radio panel about Ford, and 99% of the callers were pro-Ford. So Silver turned the question around. What would it take for you to NOT support Ford. And those callers just hung up.
Doug Ford took to the airwaves this morning calling on Bill Blair the police chief to step down.
Tue, 2013-11-05 08:50
#88
Yes but his approval rating remains virtually unchanged, at 43%. a dip of 1% support. An approval rating that is higher than Obama!
I always think it's suspicious when polls are released almost immediately after a significant event. Some of us are newshounds and follow every tidbit, but most people don't do that. It takes some time for news and thoughts to percolate through the masses. Ford's supporters seem a cocky and defensive bunch, prone to knee-jerk reactions that may change later - much like Ford himself.
I don't think such immediate polls tell the whole story, and I'm not impressed that pollsters don't reference this limitation.
Tue, 2013-11-05 09:23
#89
Councillor Doug Ford unleashed a war of words on Blair Tuesday.
The mayor's brother went on AM640 Tuesday morning blasting Blair, alleging there is "absolutely" a political conspiracy against Rob Ford and calling for a probe by the Toronto Police Services Board into the chief's conduct.
But Councillor Ford dropped the gloves Tuesday morning and started firing shots back at Blair.
"This has turned into politics," Councillor Ford told AM640 host John Oakley.
"I've told the police chief right to his face he's the best politician I've ever met ... he believes that he's the judge, the jury and the executioner.
"He wanted to go out and put a political bullet right between the mayor's eyes and thought that would be the final bullet to knock the mayor off. He showed his cards, he thought he had a Royal Flush and it shows he has a couple of pairs of deuces."
The Etobicoke North (Ward 2) councillor said he has asked police services board chairman Alok Mukherjee for an investigation into the chief's conduct.
"I'd like to have a probe into this," Ford said. "(Blair) needs to step down until the probe is done, there is obviously a bias right now, moving forward in this city, with the police chief against the mayor of this city."
The Fords have maintained throughout the scandal that they still support the city's cops and have come out talking about a budget increase to hire 150 more officers.
"Rob and I love our police," Ford said, specifying they support "frontline officers."
"We differentiate between the police chief and all the rest of the hardworking police officers that put their lives on the line every day for us."
Ford also questioned the release of police surveillance photos last week. The photos were released Thursday following a court fight led by media lawyers. One of the surveillance photos shows Mayor Ford urinating on a tree during a meeting with Lisi.
"Do I agree with that? No," Councillor Ford said. "Is it right? No, it is not right."
He went on to suggest every man has gone to the bathroom outside at some point including the chief.
This latest clash with Toronto Police comes a day after the mayor's office claimed the mayor's invite to the Chief of Police gala this week had been "retracted." Police officials maintain the mayor wasn't "uninvited" but they did speak with Earl Provost, Ford's chief of staff, about the "optics" of him attending.
"We were uninvited," Councillor Ford told AM640 Tuesday. "I guess they don't want us there."
Toronto Police spokesman Mark Pugash didn't fire back at Ford.
"We do not respond to personal attacks," Pugash said in an email Tuesday. "Our job is to investigate without fear or favour."
http://www.torontosun.com/2013/11/05/he-needs-to-step-down-councillor-fo...
Tue, 2013-11-05 09:24
#90
I agree with terrytowel on this one. I think that even if the video came out, he'd still have the same support. People who drive cars, and don't rely on public transit or public services in general (besides wanting clear roads and collected trash and low property taxes) will support him. Liar? Blowing a billion on an unnecessary subway in Scarborough when LRT would better serve everyone? Doesn't matter. LRT may block my car! (it wouldn't, but that doesn't matter -- a subway definitely wouldn't).
Here's an article on recent polling trends. One opinion is that it is too early after Blair's announcement to gauge. But, I think no matter what his support is solid. He'd have to be taken out in cuffs for the city to be rid of him (which does make one wonder why the cops never intervened when Lisi and Ford were exchanging packages in their weirdly clandestine manner).
Tue, 2013-11-05 09:27
#91
Ford Nation is now aiming at Bill Bliar hoping to turn public opinion against Blair!
Meanwhile at the same time a Canadian senator and former solicitor general of Ontario is among several justice system veterans saying Chief Bill Blair may have overstepped his authority by saying he was “disappointed” over the Mayor Rob Ford’s alleged crack video.
Conservative Senator Bob Runciman said he is also concerned about details released from court documents on surveillance that didn’t allow for basic human dignity.
“I can’t recall anything like his (press) conference and his unnecessary comments ... the video and his disappointment,” Runciman said Monday.
Runciman, who was Ontario’s top cop from 1995-99 in the Mike Harris government, said he has no comment on Ford or his alleged activities.
But the chief’s comments, he said, must be addressed.
In Ontario’s Police Services Act, it states when it comes to engaging in “political rights,” a police officer while in uniform must not engage in “political activity that places, or is likely to place, the police officer in a position of conflict of interest.”
The Toronto Police Services Board regulations say an officer on duty is not to “express views on any issue not directly related to the police officer’s responsibilities as a police officer.”
Expressing his disappointment and speaking of a “traumatic issue” for the “reputation of the city,” is what shocked Runciman. He also expressed surprise over the “release of police notes and photo (of) mayor urinating” — the latter was taken by a spy plane.
“The public should know the tax dollars spent on this, plus justification for the same,” he said. “There is a serious issue here of use of scarce police resources and the chief should be required to explain and justify.”
A senior member of Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s caucus said it was “shocking to see a chief of police use that choice of words toward someone who has not been charged but who may be under investigation.”
TPSB Chair Dr. Alok Mukherjee has yet to respond if there would be a probe. Mayor Ford’s lawyer Dennis Morris also declined to comment.
But earlier, the mayor and Councillor Doug Ford alluded to concerns of a political conspiracy and “witch-hunt” to have him removed from office.
Runciman said there are questions even bigger that should be considered.
“If police resources were used for political purposes, that should alarm everyone, including Ford haters,” said the senator.
http://www.torontosun.com/2013/11/04/blair-may-have-overstepped-his-auth...
Tue, 2013-11-05 09:30
#92
Toronto Police spokesman Mark Pugash didn't fire back at Ford."We do not respond to personal attacks," Pugash said in an email Tuesday. "Our job is to investigate without fear or favour."
http://www.torontosun.com/2013/11/05/he-needs-to-step-down-councillor-fo...
My opinion is the police were far too reticent w/ Ford. Why not intervene when he was exchanging the packages? Or about to drive drunk? I hope the police will not be so shy in the future.
Tue, 2013-11-05 09:30
#93
Toronto Police spokesman Mark Pugash didn't fire back at Ford."We do not respond to personal attacks," Pugash said in an email Tuesday. "Our job is to investigate without fear or favour."
http://www.torontosun.com/2013/11/05/he-needs-to-step-down-councillor-fo...
My opinion is the police were far too reticent w/ Ford. Why not intervene when he was exchanging the packages? Or about to drive drunk? I hope the police will not be so shy in the future.
Tue, 2013-11-05 09:30
#94
Toronto Police spokesman Mark Pugash didn't fire back at Ford."We do not respond to personal attacks," Pugash said in an email Tuesday. "Our job is to investigate without fear or favour."
http://www.torontosun.com/2013/11/05/he-needs-to-step-down-councillor-fo...
My opinion is the police were far too reticent w/ Ford. Why not intervene when he was exchanging the packages? Or about to drive drunk? I hope the police will not be so shy in the future.
Tue, 2013-11-05 09:51
#95
I hope Ford gets help. I also hope he apologizes for being racist, homophobic, sexist, verbally and physically abusive, corrupt, a pathological liar and almost incapable of forming a sentence not containing the word "fuck". Not holding my breath for either. Addiction is a disease, but consistently reprehensible behavior is not. Completely disregarding any addiction or substance abuse issues, DUIs, consorting with alleged criminals, etc., the man should never have been allowed anywhere near a position of authority. Well done, Ford enablers.
Tue, 2013-11-05 09:57
#96
My strategy with dealing with Ford would be not to interfere with the grace of his fall. As such, if he wants the video released, release it but drag the process out. The longer the bad press and his opportunities to make a fool of himself persist, the more damage he will do to his own brand name. We can only hope that on the video he cusses out members of the Ford Nation or calls them his mind slaves or some other demeaning tack like that. Maybe he admits that he has a third grade crush on Mike Layton and his supporters go jumping off board. I don't see anything positive for Ford that can come out of releasing that video.
I think the Ford Nation support for him is largely orchestrated from backstage, but those that do support him probably see him as a loveable Family Guy or Homer Simpson like character, an idiot doofus like them or a relative that makes the supporter feel like they too could achieve something (like the mayoralty or wealth) someday. People want to vicariously live through Ford and/or see him as a validation of their own flaws, ignorance, etc. I think though, the vicarious living is the main thing. He reminds me of Italians' love for Berlusconi.
Tue, 2013-11-05 10:02
#97
When Toronto police Chief Bill Blair confirmed to reporters on Thursday that he had seen the controversial video of Mayor Rob Ford, in which the mayor is alleged to be smoking crack cocaine, many observers thought it marked the unofficial end of Ford's political career.
Yet a number of political strategists and public relations specialists say that the beleaguered, scandal-prone mayor has a good chance of winning a second term in 2014.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/toronto-mayor-rob-ford-could-easily-get-re-elected-1.2355481
Tue, 2013-11-05 10:05
#98
Runciman may find himself out of favour with Harper for stepping into the drug-and-booze-and-extortion morass that is Rob Ford.
Tue, 2013-11-05 11:00
#99
Whee! Torontoist has compiled a convenient list of all the late night talk show hosts' mocking of Ford so that interested viewers don't have to go searching for individual installments. Enjoy:
http://torontoist.com/2013/11/watch-jon-stewart-mock-mayor-rob-ford-again/
In the meantime, the article that Maysie linked to is entirely correct: If anything, Ford has been treated with kid gloves by the police, which makes all the caterwauling from him, his brother and his supporters/allies unbelievably repulsive and hypocritical. So Blair went "too far" with his (IMO) rather mild remarks about being "disappointed," did he? Give me a break. It's hardly as if Ford is being railroaded into prison for a crime he didn't commit. Given the no doubt great and gloating approval that Ford, his brother and supporters/allies had over the treatment of Occupy and G8 protesters, the current shrieking about Ford's rights being trampled on would hilarious, if it weren't so contemptible.
My opinion is the police were far too reticent w/ Ford. Why not intervene when he was exchanging the packages? Or about to drive drunk?
This may still be the tip of the iceberg, Mark. The cops might still be readying far more damning charges against Hizzoner. It wouldn't surprise me to learn RoFo (or more likely, his Consigliere, DoFo) instructed their retainer Lisi to assault those people in the notorious Crack House in order to retrieve the video with Mayor Moron's Oscar-winning peformance. And there are several other murders and acts of violence surrounding this sticky situation, if not the video itself. Who's to say how involved the Fords were with any of this?
I agree the cops shouldn't have let Ford drive around blasted out of his mind (or what passes for it) on booze. It's pretty plain now that he has a history of driving while under the influence, and it's a minor miracle he hasn't been responsible for some drunk-fueled tragedy. Not that it might still not happen.
Tue, 2013-11-05 11:35
#100
JR, progressives have been trumpeting the corruption, deceit, racism, homophobia and misogyny of the BroFo machine for years. It's the MSM who choose to focus on his personal issues.
Tue, 2013-11-05 11:41
#101
I'm not at all surprised that Ford's approval numbers have risen, and I won't be surprised if he's re-elected. His core supporters have made it perfectly clear for years that they don't care at all about Ford's drug use, his public drunkennes, or who he associates with. All they care about is that he seems to be consistent in pursuing the policies he was elected to pursue. The more Ford's opponents and the media are seen as gloating over scandals that really have nothing to do with City business, while deriding all Ford supporters as "morons", the more his supporters are convinced that Ford is a man of principle who is hated for those principles, and they rally around their guy. Most voters care much more about a politician's policies than his personal life, believe it or not. If the left rely on bringing right-wing politicians down through personal "scandals" instead of presenting voters with a clear, consistent and principled platform, they'll lose, and they deserve to lose. Even if you bring Ford down, so what? Much more stable and effective right-wingers are waiting to take his place.
I posted something similar to this upthread and several posters described my views as well meaning, but naive. Frankly, I think it's extremely naive to think that you'll ever win a mandate for progressive, principled government by focussing on your opponents' irrelevant personal scandals instead of doing the hard work to build support for real change.
As for Blair's news conference, we all know how the left would react if the Chief of Police held a news conference to announce that he had obtained embarassing video evidence against a progressive politician who had not charged with any crime. It's a shitty thing for the chief to do to anyone. Ford's supporters know it was a shitty thing to do, and the sight of the media and Ford's opponents cheering this move by Blair only strengthens their belief that Ford is an underdog fighting against entrenched elites. The only mystery to me is why the left seems so oblivious to the facts.