Rob Ford's Toronto

[Forty Fs]

To give you maximum benefit of the doubt, I hope you're trying to criticize those who would vote for RoFo because they're closed-mindedly creeped out by LGBT people the same way he is.

It certainly isn't unheard of for people to get confused about what level of government does what, and for politicians to exploit that ignorance. Ford already has at least once before, when he made that racist remark about changing immigration laws to keep gun criminals out of Toronto.

But as you said, municipal government has a lot of ways of making people's day-to-day lives difficult. What zoning applications are approved, what local health initiatives are funded, where police and other resources are directed...

 

[Expatriot]

Remember: "embarrassed" is but a nice, save way of saying "fearful of consequences".

Y'know, someone who killed someone and claims he didn't do it might also claim he lied out of embarrassment.

Well actually no, embarrassed doesn't really mean that. But I think in The Mayor's case it was a combination of embarrassment and fear of getting caught.

Unlike some others here, I think him saying he lied because he was embarrassed actually fits nicely into his narrative of being "human". I would hazard to guess all of us can relate to the message even though the particular circumstances in his case are quite beyond the pale. I think to the people he is trying to reach, the excuse will play well. I'm still of the opinion he will eventually self-destruct, but I personally didn't find the excuse that cringeworthy.

 

[evvabeing]

B.C. mayor compares Rob Ford to Dennis Rodman

http://video.theloop.ca/home/watch/bc-mayor-compares-rob-ford-to-dennis-rodman/3184030064001

this video has that elusive 'guys in suits drinking out of a flask' footage.

 

[evvabeing]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rob-Ford-To...161609?pt=US_Mens_Tshirts&hash=item4d18b78309

 

[evvabeing]

[video=youtube;vxI7PTVRfhQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxI7PTVRfhQ[/video]

 

[VoicesCarry]

B.C. mayor compares Rob Ford to Dennis Rodman

http://video.theloop.ca/home/watch/bc-mayor-compares-rob-ford-to-dennis-rodman/3184030064001

this video has that elusive 'guys in suits drinking out of a flask' footage.

"...although that might not be a nice thing to say about Dennis Rodman."

LMAO

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

That said, the Mayor is an authority figure, that has a direct or indirect influence over what people, and businesses do on a day to day basis. Hence, this is why mayors CAN have an influence over businesses creating jobs in the market.

His "flag flap" on Friday sure influenced a lot of people. I don't know about anyone else but the pure hate that popped up in "comment sections" on news sites was more than stunning to me, it upset me to my core. I know there are haters out there and I know there are many others who just disagree with equal rights however some of the comments I read had me more upset than I've been about anything in a very long time. I saw the story hit CNN just once, I wonder what people who are (were) planning to come to Toronto for World Pride think about traveling here now thus affecting one event, and the economic benefits that come from that? How many other ways has he negatively affected business and the economy of the city?

Also, the Doug Ford description a page or two back absolutely nailed it.

 

[DeathSilver]

B.C. mayor compares Rob Ford to Dennis Rodman

http://video.theloop.ca/home/watch/bc-mayor-compares-rob-ford-to-dennis-rodman/3184030064001

this video has that elusive 'guys in suits drinking out of a flask' footage.

I've come across quite a few drunks in my life and not once I have seen them drink outside a funeral home, which is what I am assuming is going on there. The people Rob Ford hangs out with are just ridiculously sad.

 

[Conrad Black]

And the crazy story continues.

 

[voxpopulicosmicum]

Anyone here ever heard rumours of the Fords laundering money through Deco?

Does uninformed, blue-sky speculation on UT count as "rumours"? If so, then absolutely.

In any event, please *go on* ...

 

[Jatt]

Because otherwise, WTF? Yeah, same-sex marriage laws, etc., get decided in the Supreme Court and House of Commons, but how welcome and safe a citizen feels walking down the street she or he lives on is most definitely affected by the attitude of municipal politicians, especially mayors.

If RoFo were (a) not an idiot and (b) not abusing substances to the verge of 24/7 unconsciousness, I would accuse him of using an evil and destructive strategy for his selfish electoral benefit.

It's just reverting back to a strategy they used in the 2010 election by saying Toronto had 'too many immigrants'. So did that mean under Ford Toronto was going to setup border patrol at the Gardiner, DVP, and anything coming south of Steeles? No, but the mouth-breathers heard him say that on CP24 during the debate, nodded their heads in agreement and went to the voting stations.

 

[eastcoastanddown]

I don't really have anything to go on about. Just wondering if anyone's heard anything that might be credible on the topic.

I found the whole 'Lisi loading a truck full of building supplies from Deco' thing king of odd. If anything, the way it was written in the ITO seemed to reflect more than just a passing observation. Of the many jobs that Lisi seemed to 'assist' with, that was the first thing that crossed the line in to Deco itself.

 

[the lemur]

At this point, Ford has a very narrow campaign strategy....keep as much of his base as possible and hope for the best. The people most likely to vote for Ford, are also probably the people most likely to have the strongest bigoted views against the LGBT community. So it is probably to his advantage to actually take an obvious anti-gay stance to appeal as much as possible to his base.

I don't think the media should let him off on the homophobia, but should concentrate on his shoddy job as mayor (especially the poor fiscal record) to eat away at the base that still buys his BS about watching their tax dollars. Ford isn't going to lose any votes for being a homophobe.

True, but it's weird that Ford gets support from people like Sue-Ann Levy, who has nothing to gain from being governed by someone bigoted against her. Same deal with the 'ethnic vote': there's this deranged Iraqi woman in Barrie on Twitter who keeps talking about how the entire 50,000-strong Middle Eastern community in Toronto will vote for Ford (or at least her relatives whom she will personally drive to the polling stations ...). Ford doesn't care about Middle Easterners except the ones he personally deals with on his personal time.

 

[the lemur]

His "flag flap" on Friday sure influenced a lot of people. I don't know about anyone else but the pure hate that popped up in "comment sections" on news sites was more than stunning to me, it upset me to my core. I know there are haters out there and I know there are many others who just disagree with equal rights however some of the comments I read had me more upset than I've been about anything in a very long time.

And ironically, Ford's gesture of taping a flag up in his office window was a breach of flag etiquette and offended veterans.

 

[eastcoastanddown]

True, but it's weird that Ford gets support from people like Sue-Ann Levy, who has nothing to gain from being governed by someone bigoted against her...

...there's this deranged Iraqi woman in Barrie on Twitter who keeps talking about how the entire 50,000-strong Middle Eastern community in Toronto will vote for Ford (or at least her relatives whom she will personally drive to the polling stations....

I think you hit the nail on the head there. Some of Rob Ford's most fervent supporters just so happen to also be a bit nuts. In the era of Strat-Comm, someone figured out how to play to certain types of somewhat-more-impressionable demographics.