10.12.2010 05:44 PM

Questions

1. How can you “quit” something which you haven’t been part of – quite literally – for weeks? Or from which you were fired? How, exactly?

2. What kind of “friend” are you when you stab a friend in the back in public – without a head’s up, without even the courtesy of a phone call? Is that not what cowards do?

3. Does it suck when someone you trusted turns out to be untrustworthy? Sure it sucks. But it says a lot more about them than you, usually, doesn’t it?

UPDATE: Read this.

27 Comments

  1. Andrew says:

    Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer. – Sun-tzu

  2. Paul R. Martin says:

    Not a very effective Judas was he! It sure doesn’t as if he was ever strongly committed to Rossi. He seems to be an opportunist.

  3. Anthony says:

    dude. Look, this is the nature of many ventures in life…business, friendship and politics. I’m sorry, sir. I support Rob Ford with all my heart…but this kind of opportunism is pathetic. Sorry guy. By the way, your guy is my second choice. I’m not trying to be funny…he is. He seems like a decent man. But…I’m in a throw-the-bums out mood.

  4. James Curran says:

    I f#cking warned you! He’s a piece of shit and it’s why I couldn’t support your guy. Now I can’t even support my own. So, I’m out.

    http://www.thestar.com/news/elections/article/874245–rossi-s-ex-campaign-manager-defects-to-smitherman

    • Why does it matter if you don’t live in Toronto?

      • James Curran says:

        You don’t either. Shoo fly.

        Oh, and some of us get offered sums of money for our expertise. Others get nothing.

        • So you’ve been paid by the Smitherman camaign and you are now returning every cent because you don’t like some of their last-minute campaign additions? Or are you just quitting the same way they did?

          • James Curran says:

            F#ck off Jason. As i’ve made quite clear…I am not on the Smitherman campaign. Unlike your buddy Sachin, I can’t quit something I’m not a part of…especially at the expense of a so called good friend. Not that I could give a standup guy like you any advice on friendship.

            And yes I make money on campaigns. Sorry that pains you. Not that I owe YOU any anwers. So, as I said, shoo fly.

          • Sorry, Jim. I assumed that your comment about being “out”, mixed with your boast that “some of us get offered sums of money for our expertise” actually had some meaning. I should have known better.

  5. David says:

    That’s politics;

    Especially within Canadian parties.

    Political parties are an incestuous lot that would eat their own young if it meant winning.It is usually about power more than about the common good.

    They “bailed” because they believe Rossi has no chance. They are probably right.

    They want to be associated with the winner (even though Smitherman won’t). It is better for their egos and wallets.

    It is one of the reasons why I’d never donate to any party.

  6. bigcitylib says:

    Rossi has to bail. Otherwise he’ll be the man best known for handing the keys to T.O. to Rob Ford.

    He should have run for council first.

    • Paul R. Martin says:

      Curious George should bail. His mistakes while in Cabinet have seriously damaged the Provincial Liberal brand. He would be worse than Ford. By the way, if elected, Ford would have difficulty getting a lot of his agenda through Council.

      • James Curran says:

        As opposed to which Cabinet Minister? Wilkinson? Duncan? Caplan? They’ve all had issues. Ford will have the other Ford at the table wheeling and dealing at council. You get a 2fer this election.

        • Tired of it All says:

          *ahem* we are talking about politicians, aren’t we? Was there ever a time that the best ran for office? It is clearly not the case now for 2/3 of the mayoral candidates. Buuuuut, people want one or the other. I don’t know anything about Rossi, other than what our magnificent WK tells us. If he’s good, more’s the pity he may not win. Rob Ford or Smitherman would be unparalleled disasters. If you want to see the kind of damage a no-platform “populist” can do to a place, see O’Brien, Larry. On a grander scale: Harper, Stephen J.

      • Leon says:

        I fully agree with you. Ford would change a mindset/culture at City Hall but his full agenda will not go through. I have some faith in city council and the belief Ford will be a one term mayor.

    • Cath says:

      Rossi would make a great choice to replace McGuinty!

  7. James Bow says:

    Bigcitylib, did you catch the latest National Post poll? Ford 28, Rossi 22, Smitherman 18.

    This could be the big move and a game changer. Ford’s looking mortal and Rossi has momentum. Will those who called for Rossi’s concession to Smitherman to stop Ford now give the same advice to Smitherman?

    • James Bow says:

      Okay, looking further, I can see that it’s not exactly the most scientific poll, so oh well. However, I think it would be a mistake to think that Rossi dropping out of the race would hurt Ford. The most recent scientific poll shows Smitherman beating Ford in a two horse race, yes, but it also shows Ford’s numbers increasing under such a scenario. Where do you think those numbers came from? Not from Pantalone, surely.

  8. JStanton says:

    … no question, you guys in Toronto have trouble. Even if you win, you lose, and that is looking extremely unlikely. It looks like a world of pain, and there is absolutely nothing that can be done about it.

    In our jurisdiction, every morning I await the news, to see if either of the contenders has been outed by the gutter press – one for running while gay, the other for his predilection for Las Vegas hookers. So far so good.

    At least your bums are exposed for who they are; ours are still covered up… for now.

  9. John says:

    I’m confused. Was he fired, or was he asked to stay on? : http://warrenkinsella.com/2010/08/questioning-political-bits-and-pieces/

  10. John says:

    Ah never mind. Different guy.

  11. Sean says:

    2 things:

    1. Rossi is going to look pretty good four years from now…

    2. That guy who jumped the campaign should look himself in the mirror and realise that it is people like him who cause voters to stay at home…

  12. Jeff P says:

    It’s days like this when I would love to start my own insider’s blog. No one’s ever heard of me, but man the crap I’ve seen.

    You can’t put all of these guys in one basket. AL and SA are two totally different cats. I’ve worked with both. AL is a decent and honourable guy who fell on his sword when he really didn’t need to. SA was given far too much responsibility far too young, and is probably the worst judge of talent I’ve ever seen in anyone in a managerial position.

    I don’t think anyone has cluelessly fired more talented people in Canadian political history than SA.

  13. Paul R. Martin says:

    The big news this week is coming from Chile. It is swamping all other news. In the big scheme of things, nobody cares if someone has decided to support Curious George, and very few voters care a hoot about the Security Council.

  14. Tobin –> Rock –> Manley –> Copps –> Ignatieff —> Rossi –> Smitherman…

  15. Timothy O'Malley says:

    @Jason:

    Could you expand on this stream, please? I’m curious…

  16. Marc-Andre Chiasson says:

    Sorry to see that Mr. Rossi has dropped out. He seems like a very decent, honest and concerned person. Send him to the Maritimes. The provincial Liberal party here in New Brunswick sure could use a good leader like him. Too bad that your city now gets stuck with either tweedle dee or tweedle dum (or should I say “tweedle dumb”) for the next four years. On to another good battle Warren…don’t despair.

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