05.06.2014 02:23 PM

Get ready

No, it’s not Photoshopped. He sat in his brother’s chair, and his idiot buddy did the sign.

It’s sort-of entertaining, of course, but I can tell you that the Fords (a) have indeed strategized about DoFo stepping in for RoFo, if rehab is no, no, no (b) know they could not win with Doug, but would (at that point) simply be interested in rehabilitating their name with Conservative mucky-mucks.

16 Comments

  1. MississaugaPeter says:

    I think they are playing you, WK, and everyone else. Otherwise, they are extremely stupid. In both cases, I think it is time to just forget about them and ignore them.

    Although it is not something anyone wants to admit, but almost every one of us knows someone who has in the past been a Ford Nation backer.

    I know a few, middle class, white, Etobicoke residents who have been diehard Ford apologists for years. Every one of them would never vote for Ford again. The latest episode put eggs on their faces. Will they vote for Olivia? Nope. Will they vote for Tory? Probably not. Will they vote at all? Probably not.

    The polls will only get lower and lower for the Fords. There will be no resurrection. Rob Ford is toast in too many ways. Reading the comments on this website when referencing Ford’s addiction, revealed to me what I thought myself, he has a serious illness that he may never actually recover from in his life, let alone next few months.

    Also, he has no team around him. And those around him, he can’t even trust anymore. Imagine you bringing someone into your family’s home and they backstabbing you when there. The fact that someone had the guts to do what they did, which many of us believe resulted in death with the first video, reveals that the Fords are no longer protected.

    • Warren says:

      If they stay at home, that’s their democratic right, I guess. Shame.

      • Reality.Bites says:

        Anyone who ever voted for Ford has already demonstrated they don’t have the brains to make an intelligent decision.

        He was a walking disaster LONG before he ever ran for mayor. Anyone who voted for him knowingly supported a violent, bigoted idiot.

    • Coelocanth_Jones says:

      I myself know a guy who was a ford apologist for three years, and is now an unenthusiastic member of the Tory campaign. He too predicts ford nation will stay home in the event of Rob’s absence, and, as an otherwise intelligent man, is very visibly embarassed if the fords are referenced in any contenxt

    • Ken in Toronto says:

      Reading the comments on this website when referencing Ford’s addiction, revealed to me what I thought myself, he has a serious illness that he may never actually recover from in his life, let alone next few months. – See more at: http://warrenkinsella.com/2014/05/get-ready/#comments.

      Sorry, who’s being played now?

      RoFo is a high-functioning “addictive” type (for some low, barely measurable level of function). If he’d just stayed a city councilor, or the figurehead for the family sticker business, he could probably maintain his lifestyle indefinitely, til some accident or brush with mortality scared him straight, and his antics would have remained just some water-cooler chat at the city. Just another rich party-boy. Instead, the Conservatives strapped a jet booster pack to his initial campaign for mayor and he got into a job that was way beyond his competence, and a 24/7 media spotlight. Of course he screws up.

      If you and others fall for this “poor, sick man” story, you’ll be suckers if he somehow pulls off a comeback, appears ‘clean’ and a bit more self-regulated, and his security detail remembers to frisk his friends for phones and cameras when he goes on another bender.

      Never mind the Fords, sink the Hudak. Best chance – goad him into unscripted speaking in public.

  2. Paul Brennan says:

    weird stuff happens though ..see Warrens post from a few week back on Marion Barrie

  3. Joel Parkes says:

    If Ford drops out I really can’t see his brother coming into the race in a serious way. Even for them it will look ridiculous. I think that Chow will march to victory at that point. I really can’t see Ford Nation rallying to the Tory camp. He’s way too settled and normal for them. They’ll probably stay home and watch the wrestling channel that night instead.

    • !o! says:

      This is a good point.

      I’ve evolved a bit from thinking ‘Tory will benefit’ to being a tad more nuanced… My thinking is that the Fords’ strategy (probably luck) has been to tap into those extremely disaffected with the political process. This is pretty similar to the Reform demographic, the hardcore libertarian demographic in the states (Ron Paul camp etc), to an extent the Tea Party demographic etc. I think the fact that all of these tend to be economically on the right wing is completely incidental and has nothing to do with the needs/wants/views of the people that end up supporting these movements. The strategists of the economic right have simply been able to construct a narrative that suits their economic agenda while recruiting people that are disaffected. It’s no coincidence that all of these movements market their leaders as outsiders, connected with the ‘ordinary’, ‘little folk’, and their movements as grassroots etc. The demographic is large and growing, I remember at the recent Manning Networking Conference, their State of the Conservative Movement had some interesting stats on peoples’ trust in the political process/politicians etc.

      The supporters aren’t necessarily economically ideologically right-wing (at least not initially, I’m sure they get a lot of converts eventually since they saturate the communication to their base with that economic drivel), and, especially in Ford’s case, since the whole campaign has been this cynical substance-free sugar-water made up of nothing but disconnected slogans, they won’t end up supporting Tory in great numbers. He’s the prototypical elite.

  4. Brian says:

    Is this stunt by Gdoug Ford illegal? If Rob Ford is on leave shouldn’t Norm Kelly be the official mayor?

    • Matt says:

      Kelly is the acting Mayor now.

      When Rob took his leave of absence the duties he had left after council stripped him of some earlier and whatever staff he had were transfered to Kelly.

      Doug was sitting in the Mayor’s chair and councillor Mammoliti stuck the piece of tape with Doug written on it over Rob on the plaque.

      Warren is referring to rumours that Doug may enter the mayors race if Rob can’t continue.

  5. Ridiculosity says:

    DoFo as Mayor? I’d be happier with Ed the Sock Puppet.

    Let’s pray this notion is a NoGo and that when the election is held FordNation is a NoShow.

  6. .. the medium is the massage .. `good old Marshall McLuhan
    quixotic, poetic & illuminating .. the gravitational pull of mayor Ford
    pulls Harper et al to the flat n nasty edge of grooming & deceit

    the blogs and tweets r the real moderne media @ true north strong n free..
    & well.. You cannot catch or ride the wind unless u are the wind

    conservative trogs n scary beasts must plod in trail to the tailings ponds
    of their mighty Chinese Destiny Tar Pits..
    .. the din of their own partisan braying has deafened them to reason

    c’est la vie

    while they plot & scheme our demise.. we observe theirs ..

    What absolute losers

  7. Greg from Calgary says:

    Rob Ford, though an idiot, is a sad, sick and broken man. He has serious addiction issues and is ill. Yes he has screwed up but as a person who is so into his addictions he can no longer see straight he also deserves pity.

    But Doug Ford is evil. You can’t tell me he didn’t know about his brothers addictions issues. But the DOFO MO is to admit nothing, deny everything and make counter accusations. And at what cost? The people of Toronto pay by having his bozo of a brother at the helm. And Rob Ford pays because he is clearly a sick man who needs help and intervention not being thrust into the spotlight in order to fulfill whatever political plans his older brother has. I believe that Doug Ford’s constant enabling of his younger brother is not helping Rob but maybe even shortening Rob’s life. Some older brother. Power is more important to Doug than the health of Rob.

    • Coelocanth_Jones says:

      Same could be said for the rest of the clan. When Rob mentioned “the support of [his] family” in the statement acknowledging his alcoholism, i knew he was in trouble regarding his latest venture

  8. Agreeing with Greg, though I doubt RF is in rehab. If he’s using his cellphone to contact constituents, then the location will presumably included in the ongoing police investigation of him and his ilk. Not sure how long the FOI requests take, but who knows, maybe we’ll know the truth at some point before October.

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