Rob Ford's Toronto

[krbcan]

"So, I’d just like to welcome Cave from the Trailer Park Boys and Ben to city hall," Ford said.

"And I’m excited to have them on our campaign team and we’re going to do a few events and I want to thank them for their support."

Ford was vague when asked what the two men would do for his campaign.

"Everybody is going to help out in every, you know, way possible," Ford said. "And they want to come out to events and they want, you know, to get votes.

"They know I have a proven track record and they know everything about me."


It's like they hit one of those Z-List autograph conventions with celebrities that don't have a career any more, and tried to recruit any one who was desperate enough to join their "campaign".

 

[FraudNation]

I think the phrase "low information voters" is helpful here. We've talked about the "hatred of elites" vote, and that may be a factor, but it's probably a small one compared to the "don't really know what's going on, but Ford seems like a down to earth guy" vote. That's the one we need to worry about.

That makes sense thinking about Dug's always informative 3 talking points and Rab's 6 catch phrases. Don't get too complicated, just say the same lie as many times as possible...and bam! Just a master course on Mellonville politics.

 

[ndawgg]

After he made the comments she came to City Hall to stand by her man (and therefore his comments) and get paraded through the journalists. She's fair game. It's ridiculous to say that rumours (i.e. her being a raging alky) are okay, but a stupid joke about her vagina (thanks to Rob) is way over the line.

Re: civility and Renata

Stick with the facts and rumors, stay away from the personal judgements please - she got into the discussion because of what Ford said about her, not because she chose to be a subject of said discussion.

MoD

 

[Lucinda]

Except that #1 Ford Fluffer Neil Flagg seems to have avoided posting *anything* about it on either his @letfordbe twitter account or on the I Hate the War on Mayor Rob Ford Facebook page. He tends to ignore stuff that can't be spun into a boon for Ford. Worse yet, no other person has posted to the page about it. This tells me it's something FordNation wants to sweep under the rug. But hey, I could be wrong …

I noticed this as well. In a way, it's remarkable that this of all things would be something that ford nation would try to sweep under the rug. Wasted at Steak Queen and acting like a buffoon? Personal time. Making a spectacle of himself at the game, acting like a buffoon, and ditching his council ally to make an inexplicable trip to his office and then hitting a nightclub? He's a man of the people. Ben Johnson offers his endorsement? <crickets>

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

After he made the comments she came to City Hall to stand by her man (and therefore his comments) and get paraded through the journalists. She's fair game. It's ridiculous to say that rumours (i.e. her being a raging alky) are okay, but a stupid joke about her vagina (thanks to Rob) is way over the line.

No offense, you are on a moderated forum. We aren't putting the matter to a vote.

MoD

 

[zang]

After he made the comments she came to City Hall to stand by her man (and therefore his comments) and get paraded through the journalists. She's fair game. It's ridiculous to say that rumours (i.e. her being a raging alky) are okay, but a stupid joke about her vagina (thanks to Rob) is way over the line.

Her body language during that whole thing says it wasn't her choice to be there. She didn't talk to reporters, nor do much of anything other than look at her shoes.

 

[ndawgg]

I didn't realize you were actually a Moderator. I thought MoD was an acronym for something, so you're right. Mods can delete whatever they want.

No offense, you are on a moderated forum. We aren't putting the matter to a vote.

MoD

 

[casita]

"Oh, a fire truck just drove by me in Etobicoke! There's a possibility they're rushing to put out a fire in Doug Ford's pants!

I've always believed the only real sure thing in this town is that the firemen come when you pull the handle on that red box.

Last night was a false alarm, but it was not malicious. I suspect it will not be the last.

 

[sno man]

Except that #1 Ford Fluffer Neil Flagg seems to have avoided posting *anything* about it on either his @letfordbe twitter account or on the I Hate the War on Mayor Rob Ford Facebook page. He tends to ignore stuff that can't be spun into a boon for Ford. Worse yet, no other person has posted to the page about it. This tells me it's something FordNation wants to sweep under the rug. But hey, I could be wrong …

Unless he is Doug's lapdog, not Rob's. Rob was fine with Ben being part of the team, Doug was pretty aggressive in his distancing / diminishing any relationship to/with Ben.

 

[James_D]

Don't worry Ford Nation will spin the Ben Johnson thing as "I thought the lefties were about a tolerance it's sickening that they are demonstrating their hidden racism.....cookie jar.....second chances....blzzlzlzlll"

 

[newearthling]

No offense, you are on a moderated forum. We aren't putting the matter to a vote.

MoD

I am glad you are back.

 

[dforthandbview]

When cops do a search warrant, they usually have in mind what they're looking for, no? I don't think they go in blindly hoping to find anything incriminating. So maybe the reason the warrant hasn't been issued yet is because they don't know what to look for? Of course they'll seize computers, maybe there's something in there. But what else could they be hoping for? A shipment of drugs in the DECO warehouse? One would think that they (Rob, Doug, Lisi, whoever) would have cleaned up their act once they knew the cops were interested in them.

 

[saskganesh]

It's like they hit one of those Z-List autograph conventions with celebrities that don't have a career any more, and tried to recruit any one who was desperate enough to join their "campaign".

My thinking is that they could've just been paid to be there How much for a personal appearance? $500?

Both of them were "no comment" to the media afterwards ... there's no sign they have much skin in this circus. It's just a gig.

 

[anne]

The Ben Johnson appointment is rather brilliant in many ways actually. Ford's base will go for him.

Where is this Ford Nation base we keep hearing about? Other than the 1 or 2 same names I see in newspaper messages boards (HUNN & aquafier at the Star for example) most everyone else appears to be m.i.a. It's one thing to defend an individual but to actually vote for them is quite another. The overwhelming majority of people who comment on a Ford story are aghast at his behaviour. 4 years ago the message boards were full of support for this man.

I am convinced at this point that Ford is unelectable. He's tainted himself so badly that an overwhelming majority of people recognize that he is not fit to govern. Even those who don't care about his behaviour recognise that he has not been able to work with others.
I see the occasional tweet these days that says something like "My ____ (dad, buddy, co-worker, uncle) just said he likes Rob Ford" which indicates to me that the author is incredulous that anybody would. Ford has become the fringe candidate and there is months left to fall from there.

The people who tend to think Ford is fit to lead now, at least in my world, are not Toronto voters. Those nightclubs and arenas he likes to visit are full of tourists and teens. They are his receptive audience. The fame seekers and the meme followers. I still think there has to be a vigilance in making sure Ford does not gain converts, but he's done in Toronto.

Are any of you convinced of the opposite?

 

[Bob But Not Doug]

That's not what he said.



It's a total guess. "Oh, a fire truck just drove by me in Etobicoke! There's a possibility they're rushing to put out a fire in Doug Ford's pants! There's a possibility the fire truck is driven by Batman and Robin, with Penguin manning the pumps!" The word possibility means there's a chance greater than zero, and doesn't imply likelihood or solid intel in any way.

This. MetroMan is just Some Guy On The Internet at this point. If and when anything happens, I'm going to hear about it from legit news sources, not from Some Guy With "SOURCES."