Ahhhh.... Rob Ford the crack fiend....

[groggy]

Have you stopped molesting your sister yet..... You get the idea.

If I was a politician and the scandal was of this size, I would make a statement; 'I have never molested ......'
Ford hasn't done that yet.

Ford's career with the Catholic Board is over, he's been canned as a coach and banned for life, despite having tried to funnel extra cash to that one program over all others.
Fired from a volunteer job.
Too bad we can't do that to him as mayor.

 

[Polaris]

Every election is different and we don't know who will be running in the next one. With all the baggage Ford has accumulated, things will probably be very different next time round.

You're right, that's a lot of baggage.

However, Ford Nation will remember the positives.

1. Garbage gets up picked and those unions won't dare to strike again.

2. That car tax refund.

That car tax refund gave Ford instant credibility to anyone who received a refund. Since when did government give something back to our pocket? Like never! Only Rob Ford was able to have the political courage to do that.

Rob Ford is your friend. And the city is not going to hell in a hand basket.

These attacks against Ford would have more credibility if they came from the right. But since they always come from the left, I think the public views it all as politics that do not affect them.

What affects them, the public, is garbage pick up and taxes.

Ford Nation believes, and still will believe in Ford.

 

[groggy]

You're right, that's a lot of baggage.

However, Ford Nation will remember the positives.
...
What affects them, the public, is garbage pick up and taxes.

Ford Nation believes, and still will believe in Ford.

They may also remember the Gardner falling to pieces, subways not getting built and a host of ridiculous GIF's of the big guy.
And crack, sadly the Ford name may now always be linked with crack.

 

[slowpoke]

The respect for the taxpayer message really hit, especially to those lower income families in the outskirts of Etobicoke and Scarborough who are living paycheck to paycheck. I still think he'd win most of these voters, along with the 20-25% conservative voters in Toronto. Not saying he'd win another election but he'd have a fair share of the vote.

I live in Toronto and I haven't noticed any reduction in my taxes. What I have noticed is a very large increase in service fees. A 6-month parking permit has gone from $68 to $95. I also had the misfortune of needing to go to the committee of adjustment to get a building permit. The COA cost alone was $1400 and I was informed that this cost had jumped from something like $750 in April 2012. I'm sure many other fees have increased in a similar fashion.

I'm told that most paycheque to paycheque Torontonians don't pay that much attention to politics, except for the brief period leading up to an election. So they probably aren't paying any attention now. They will, however, be acutely aware of these other increases since they've recently been required to pay them. So where is the respect for taxpayers when they haven't saved a dime, despite Ford's rhetoric about saving them money?

 

[Senshihawk]

I live in Toronto and I haven't noticed any reduction in my taxes. What I have noticed is a very large increase in service fees. A 6-month parking permit has gone from $68 to $95. I also had the misfortune of needing to go to the committee of adjustment to get a building permit. The COA cost alone was $1400 and I was informed that this cost had jumped from something like $750 in April 2012. I'm sure many other fees have increased in a similar fashion.

I'm told that most paycheque to paycheque Torontonians don't pay that much attention to politics, except for the brief period leading up to an election. So they probably aren't paying any attention now. They will, however, be acutely aware of these other increases since they've recently been required to pay them. So where is the respect for taxpayers when they haven't saved a dime, despite Ford's rhetoric about saving them money?

The right wing is a cult of stupidity.

They are vehemently anti intellectual.

Witness the execrable Margaret Wente's "With KeyStone it's Harvard versus the Heartland" article.

Witness Newt Gingrich using the fact that Mitt Romney speaks French as an attack point.

Witness Sarah Palin, or "Joe the Plumber" or Glenn Beck or Sue Ann Levy or Don Cherry.

Witness the "Tea Party".

Witness "Ford Nation".

The right wing archetype was designed by it's architects to take pride in a sort of stoic ignorance. They are trained to feel acrimony for anyone with a post secondary education. They are trained to despise the "latte sipping elite", etc. Those that spoon feed them their "ideology" exploit their fears and prejudices, and offer them respite in cognitive dissonance.

 

[avxl1003]

You're right, that's a lot of baggage.

However, Ford Nation will remember the positives.

1. Garbage gets up picked and those unions won't dare to strike again.

2. That car tax refund.

So 2 things in 3 years is all it takes to impress you?

What about all of his failures as Mayor? For example:
- His total inability to handle the Subway file (a result of his total lack of ability to work with council)?
- His promise to cut taxes WITHOUT cutting services?
- The promise to scrap the land transfer tax (and how easy it would be to do it)?
- His failure to rally council around expanding woodbine slots (instead spending all his time insisting promoting a downtown casino which the majority of Torontonians opposed)

And then there's the constant moronic escapades such as:
- quitting his own weight loss challenge half way through
- allegedly attacking a Toronto Star reporter
- calling the police on a comedian for showing up at his house to interview him
- personally calling in city workers to fix the road in front of his business
- personally calling in a city bus for high school football players so they don't have to walk a couple km home in the rain
(And the scores of other moronic things this blow hard has done while in office..)

I think Toronto needs a conservative mayor, but a conservative mayor with a brain would be a nice change of pace.

 

[slowpoke]

You're right, that's a lot of baggage.

However, Ford Nation will remember the positives.

1. Garbage gets up picked and those unions won't dare to strike again.

2. That car tax refund.

That car tax refund gave Ford instant credibility to anyone who received a refund. Since when did government give something back to our pocket? Like never! Only Rob Ford was able to have the political courage to do that.

Rob Ford is your friend. And the city is not going to hell in a hand basket.

These attacks against Ford would have more credibility if they came from the right. But since they always come from the left, I think the public views it all as politics that do not affect them.

What affects them, the public, is garbage pick up and taxes.

Ford Nation believes, and still will believe in Ford.

Apart from the period when our sanitation workers were on strike, our garbage has always been picked up regularly. Yes, Ford arguably took a bite out of the garbage union and avoided another strike. Between that and the car tax refund, he probably garnered an early measure of cred but that was quite a while ago and voters have short memories. If Ford was more or less living up to expectations for the first few months of his term, he's clearly been a horrific fuckup ever since. He's shown himself to be a one-trick pony, a liar and a fool.

Even if the crack smoking incident goes away, Ford's opponents in the next election will have tons of ammunition to use against him. And we could easily see be a credible centre / right candidate who can talk about respecting the taxpayer, reducing gridlock and investing in necessary infrastructure etc - without all the bullshit and bluster that Ford has become famous for. The public is aware of things that affect them but those things include constant traffic jams, crumbling roads, potholes etc. After Ford's laughable promises about getting more subways, people will be looking for more realistic promises from more trustworthy candidates.

 

[Possum Trot]

Even if the crack smoking incident goes away, Ford's opponents in the next election will have tons of ammunition to use against him. .

They had tons of ammunition the last time, he was dumb back then too. The vote for Ford was really more of a protest against the previous administration and the provincial Liberals ( Smitherman).

The best way to get rid of Ford is to field another centre or centre right candidate who won't bend over and spread'em for the municipal worker unions like Miller did.

 

[mandrill]

Lawsuits aren't generally filed the next day in case you weren't aware. Not saying the story isn't true but just that this is a poor criteria to decide validity within this time frame.

Umm, they usually are when it's a high profile political libel case. Is there any suggestion that Robbo doesn't know who to sue here? I mean, there's no denial that he knows the Somali drug dealers who allegedly took the video. And he knows the Toronto Star. And he has a lawyer.

So just what IS the hold-up re the libellous Star article and libellous video.

Even if he doesn't collect a dime in damages, at least he strikes back and challenges the allegations.

 

[groggy]

Ford just fired his chief of staff, though apparently it had more to do with Ford's football team then city hall.
Weirder and weirder.

 

[onthebottom]

Video yet?

 

[wigglee]

You're right, that's a lot of baggage.

However, Ford Nation will remember the positives.

1. Garbage gets up picked and those unions won't dare to strike again.

2. That car tax refund.

That car tax refund gave Ford instant credibility to anyone who received a refund. Since when did government give something back to our pocket? Like never! Only Rob Ford was able to have the political courage to do that.

Rob Ford is your friend. And the city is not going to hell in a hand basket.

These attacks against Ford would have more credibility if they came from the right. But since they always come from the left, I think the public views it all as politics that do not affect them.

What affects them, the public, is garbage pick up and taxes.

Ford Nation believes, and still will believe in Ford.

and OJ is innocent too!

 

[groggy]

Video yet?

Nope.
Crackstarter is now at $160k.
Someone donated $10k just a bit after Ford fired his chief of staff, the 'reward' for the large donation is supposed to be the phone that shot the video, if they get it.

 

[larry]

with no team to coach, will that guy he hired to help out with the team also get the boot?

 

[Moviefan-2]

with no team to coach, will that guy he hired to help out with the team also get the boot?

He may become the next chief of staff.

 

[groggy]

Crackstarter can't get in touch with the Somali crack dealers with the video, so is pausing the campaign.
Its really hard to find reliable crack dealers these days.
Speaking of which, CBC now reports that Ford fired his chief over the crack business, that he wanted Ford to go for rehab.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2013/05/23/toronto-ford-towhey.html

 

[Senshihawk]

Crackstarter can't get in touch with the Somali crack dealers with the video, so is pausing the campaign.
Its really hard to find reliable crack dealers these days.
Speaking of which, CBC now reports that Ford fired his chief over the crack business, that he wanted Ford to go for rehab.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2013/05/23/toronto-ford-towhey.html

The article on Gawker http://gawker.com/rob-ford-crackstarter-update-509596078 indicates that John Cook never had direct contact with the alleged drug dealers, just a contact person.

I myself am curious as to why those with the video have disappeared. Unlike some, I don't doubt the veracity of the Star's story, or John Cooks account of what he viewed in the video.

 

[groggy]

The article on Gawker http://gawker.com/rob-ford-crackstarter-update-509596078 indicates that John Cook never had direct contact with the alleged drug dealers, just a contact person.

I myself am curious as to why those with the video have disappeared. Unlike some, I don't doubt the veracity of the Star's story, or John Cooks account of what he viewed in the video.

They are probably a little skittish with amount of attention the story has been receiving.
There was an article out saying the RCMP was watching the gawker site to see if any laws are being broken.
If I were them, I'd be trying to be pretty quiet and careful right now as well.

 

[avxl1003]

I think this quote sums up why Ford's career as mayor is pretty much over (unless he pulls off something wild and fantastic)....

It isn’t the Rob Ford on that unauthenticated tape, the one hardly anybody has seen, that is so repellent.
It’s the contemptuous and cowardly Rob Ford that we’ve all seen this past week.

Ford's supporters are all out there saying "Fuck 'em Rob, let's show them who's boss!" but this moron-of-a-mayor appears to be just sitting in his office pouting about how everybody's really mean to him all the time.

If he doesn't do something soon a lot of his supporters are gonna throw in the towel. Not because he's a drug addict, but because he appears to have lost his edge.

 

[dirk076]

The right wing is a cult of stupidity.

They are vehemently anti intellectual.

Witness the execrable Margaret Wente's "With KeyStone it's Harvard versus the Heartland" article.

Witness Newt Gingrich using the fact that Mitt Romney speaks French as an attack point.

Witness Sarah Palin, or "Joe the Plumber" or Glenn Beck or Sue Ann Levy or Don Cherry.

Witness the "Tea Party".

Witness "Ford Nation".

The right wing archetype was designed by it's architects to take pride in a sort of stoic ignorance. They are trained to feel acrimony for anyone with a post secondary education. They are trained to despise the "latte sipping elite", etc. Those that spoon feed them their "ideology" exploit their fears and prejudices, and offer them respite in cognitive dissonance.

What a ridiculous post. I am right wing and have a doctoral degree.

I'm right wing because I believe socialism reduces everyone to the lowest common denominator. I am right wing because I believe the left kills productivity, ingenuity and individuality. I am right wing because I believe in giving people a hand up and not a hand out. I'm right wing because I don't believe government should ever be a growth industry. I'm right wing because I believe people should be able to keep the majority of the fruit of their labour rather than giving it to irresponsible governments who squander, boondoggle and steal it.

I'm right wing because I believe socialists are leaches and hemerhoids on the ass of the earth. Clear enough for you, you pompous latte sipping twit?