Ford: A real "cracker"?

[Xelebes]

Originally Posted by Chadillaccc

Which premier is that? I'm new here, not entirely familiar with Alberta history.

Um. . . Klein?

Redford - prim, lady lawyer
Stelmach - humble, fumble farmer
Klein - ribald lush and charismatic reporter
Getty - football player, fumbler
Lougheed - charismatic lawyer
Strome - humble, fumble farmer
Manning - charismatic preacher-student
Aberhart - charismatic preacher-teacher
Reid - humble, fumble dentist
Brownlee - charismatic lawyer
Greenfield - humble, fumble farmer
Stewart - charismatic but disinteresting farmer
Sifton - Relenting populist lawyer
Rutherford - Risky, tricky lawyer

[Chadillaccc]

I thought people loved Klein? and Stelmach.

[Xelebes]

Originally Posted by Chadillaccc

I thought people loved Klein? and Stelmach.

Klein was very popular but by the end he was losing his grip.

Stelmach enjoyed some popularity, especially in the north, but enraged the southern urban vote. The PCs know their power was in the urban centres, so they went with Redford instead.

[niwell]

Originally Posted by craneSpotter

Maybe some people in TO like Ford because he is doing a good job as mayor, despite his transgressions? He is right wing so the lefties already hate him, plus according to his detractors he tends to go with his 'gut' and use 'common sense' (a la Ralph) instead of listening to 'experts' and 'studies'. So the self proclaimed 'experts' hate him too, which there seem to many of those these days

Thing is he's not doing a good job as mayor from almost any perspective. He had some early wins, but they were things that just about any other candidate who won would have done right away as well. And had council's support to do them.

He's not particularly right-wing in reality, but simply a populist. Him and his brother have no problem twisting the facts to make it appear as though they are doing an excellent job. They don't talk down to people in the same way as some politicians, but keep it simple to saying "I saved the city $1 billon!", or "I got a subway to Scarborough". Now neither of these things are particularly true, but supporters who don't care about the details latch on to it. They also neglect to mention the money wasted in cancelled contracts, how much more the subway option cost, or on a somewhat useless audit done by KPMG etc.

Many (most?) of the wealthy conservative voters are disappointed in Ford. They gave him a chance knowing he was an idiot but hoping he would stick to the agenda. That didn't happen.

[rbt]

Originally Posted by Chadillaccc

I am completely dumbfounded at the possibility that his popularity is rising.

ThreeHundredEight did a brief analysis on that and believes the media in general interpreted a recent poll results incorrectly.

http://www.threehundredeight.com/2013/11/ford-now-that-i-have-your-attention.html

[Chadillaccc]

I really hope Olivia runs and wins!

[The_Architect]

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2013/11/07/rob_ford_amid_the_chaos_mayor_hires_new_staffer.html

Holy —, I know this girl. She's — batshit insane and stalked my girlfriend and friend a bit ago...

[esquire]

Originally Posted by The_Architect

Holy —, I know this girl. She's — batshit insane and stalked my girlfriend and friend a bit ago...

That is quite the flattering picture of her that The Star used...

[freeweed]

There are leaders who manage to do a good job despite their personal shortcomings. This country had one as a founding father, some of you might remember him from history classes. And then there are leaders who do a terrible job, often because of their personal shortcomings.

Sorry, but any comparison of Ford to Klein is laughable at best. Only my teetotaler grandmother would look at someone with a drinking problem, and seriously compare them with someone who smokes crack cocaine and outright lies constantly.

Everyone in Alberta knew about Ralph's drinking, how he acted in public, and what he said behind closed doors - because he'd say the exact same things in public. Often from the mayor's chair. It was only towards the very end that it was actually a problem, and that's when he was removed from office.

Ford's been acting like a — lunatic from before day one, and only now are people seeing it. The 2 situations couldn't be more different. Literally the only thing they have in common is that both men ingest a wee bit too much of a mind-altering substance. Only MADD and their ilk would be stupid enough to conflate the two.

[MolsonExport]

Originally Posted by esquire

From today's Toronto Sun:



This guy is really like a fictional character come to life. It's hard to believe he does the things he does.

Cocaine
Crack
Alcohol
Food
Violent outbursts
etc.

The guy clearly has more than one giant monkey on his back.

[Chadillaccc]

http://thechronicleherald.ca/editorial-cartoon/2013-11-07-editorial-cartoon#.UnwPSPmJ0gM.facebook

[subdude]

Everyone may do well to take in the following from Paul Graham's Hierarchy of Disagreement:



I Hate The War on Mayor Rob Ford:
https://www.facebook.com/LetFordBe

1) We created this page because of The Toronto Star and most of the Toronto media, who were indulging in the politics of personal destruction against a man whose election they tried but could not stop. 2) The mayor is a man with great attributes and great weaknesses. He is doing a great job as Mayor and he has a lot of work to do on his personal life. The Toronto Star has zero moral standing in condemning him for drug use, as it endorsed admitted cocaine addict George Smitherman for Mayor in 2010. And The Toronto Star has zero moral standing to condemn Ford for lying about his personal life, as you support politicians like Kathleen Wynne who have lied about abusing the public trust, and God knows what else. 3) There is no reason for him to step down at this time. Vote against him next year if you don't like him. We do not believe Torontonians are being hurt in any way by allowing our democratically elected representative to stay in office.

[freeweed]

Originally Posted by subdude

The Toronto Star has zero moral standing in condemning him for drug use, as it endorsed admitted cocaine addict George Smitherman for Mayor in 2010.

Speaking of proper argumentation and refutation of things - perhaps these folks could look up the word "strawman" and figure out exactly where the outrage is stemming from.

Hint: the drug use itself really isn't the issue here.

[MolsonExport]

He is doing a great job as Mayor

Explain.

[eternallyme]

What true conservative options are there for Toronto in 2014, i.e. politically in line with Rob Ford yet a much smarter and calmer guy or gal?

[Tony]

Originally Posted by The_Architect

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2013/11/07/rob_ford_amid_the_chaos_mayor_hires_new_staffer.html

Holy —, I know this girl. She's — batshit insane and stalked my girlfriend and friend a bit ago...

Wait wait... the article says she works / has work colleagues at Historica.. this is the same agency that produced those Heritage Moment commercials which have recently been parodied:


http://i.imgur.com/kVFwQTR.jpg no idea what the source is.

[Cyro]

This is a thread that gives and gives, it's like "free parking" in monopoly.

[MrOilers]

Originally Posted by freeweed

Sorry, but any comparison of Ford to Klein is laughable at best.

Absolutely. Even though their politics have a lot in common, Ralph Klein was a jolly, personable guy you could drink and have a few laughs with, and you'd be happy to meet him again for a beer (or many) in a heartbeat.

Rob Ford is an inconsiderate — that everyone wants to punch in the face - the type of guy where you know things will get ugly if you drank with him.

[Gresto]

Originally Posted by The_Architect

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2013/11/07/rob_ford_amid_the_chaos_mayor_hires_new_staffer.html

Holy —, I know this girl. She's — batshit insane and stalked my girlfriend and friend a bit ago...

She does look mentally handicapped in that pic, with those dull eyes and slack jaw, and anyone who would voluntarily sign on to work for Ford at this juncture must either be awfully committed to a dubious, iceberg-nearing venture, a devoted family member, or not the brightest bulb on the shelf.

Originally Posted by niwell

He's not particularly right-wing in reality, but simply a populist.

I agree. He's not some far-right wingnut, but rather a centre-right...erm... wingnut. His brother is, by most accounts, far more conservative. One can sense the mayor's ambivalence about his uber-conservative reputation based on past drunken utterances. For instance, the confrontation at the hockey game 7 or 8 years ago, when he yelled at bystanders the illogical, "You r-r-right-wing c-c-c-commie bastards!". Or the more recent recording (I don't recall which one, specifically), when he mused, "They expect me to be right-wing..."

[niwell]

Originally Posted by MrOilers

Absolutely. Even though their politics have a lot in common, Ralph Klein was a jolly, personable guy you could drink and have a few laughs with, and you'd be happy to meet him again for a beer (or many) in a heartbeat.

Rob Ford is an inconsiderate — that everyone wants to punch in the face - the type of guy where you know things will get ugly if you drank with him.

Yeah exactly. Supporters of Rob Ford often talk about how he seems like a down to earth guy who you'd want to have a beer with but that seems way off base. I imagine drinking with him to be a harrowing experience where you constantly have to be on your toes lest things go down in a bad way.