Comments (5)

“Never pick a fight with people who buy ink by the barrel,” Mark Twain of course said, although, in the modern era, that aphorism could be easily amended to avoiding fisticuffs with multinationals possessing converged media platforms.

To Twain’s dictum we should add another: “Don’t pick fights with people who have badges, guns and the ability to toss you in the slammer.”

Rob Ford should reflect on that one, perhaps.

Ford is the classless, world-class fool who, for the time being, is Toronto’s mayor. For months, he has denied a video existed of him appearing to smoke crack cocaine.

Last week, Toronto’s police chief said the video exists, and he has entered it into evidence in a prosecution of Ford’s occasional chauffeur.

Everyone, including conservatives, want him to step aside, get help, or both. He won’t.

He is a pig-headed yob, and he thinks he can lie and elbow his way past the train wreck that is his reputation.

That’s not all: On the weekly radio program where he and his addled councillor brother Doug regularly receive screened calls from the undereducated and overly opinionated, Ford dared the police to produce the crack video, knowing full well they presently can’t, it being evidence in a criminal trial. He thinks his dare to the police is a smart strategy.

Rob Ford, meet Gary Hart.

In May 1987, when he was seeking the Democratic presidential nomination for the second time, rumours were rampant that the handsome former Colorado senator was a philanderer and was following his little soldier into battle too often.

The New York Times asked him about the rumours. Said Hart, “Follow me around. I don’t care. I’m serious. If anybody wants to put a tail on me, go ahead.

“They’ll be bored.”

Gary was many things. Boring was not one of them.

Coincidentally, reporters from the Miami Herald were already tailing Hart, and they had staked out his Washington, D.C., townhouse.

In the wee hours of the very day Hart had dared folks to tail him, the reporters spotted a pretty young woman named Donna Rice slipping out a side door at night.

Ms. Donna Rice was not Mrs. Gary Hart.

A couple days later, the Herald received photos of Hart on a boat with Ms. Rice on his lap. The boat was called — this is the best part — Monkey Business. (You can’t make this stuff up, folks).

Hart gave a celebrated press conference in which he attacked everyone, which was almost as dumb as daring them to follow him around in the first place.

A few days later, he pulled out of the race. He now practises law, and he probably reflects — every now and then — on if it all could have been different.

Well, yes, Gary. It could have been quite different, if only (a) you had stayed away from leggy former models and yachts, and (b) you hadn’t issued a dare for people to come after you.

Rob Ford and his idiotic (and shrinking) inner circle probably think they can weather the raging storm. They think they can brazen it out by daring the cops to come up with evidence of a crime.

They should ask Gary Hart about that strategy.

Comments (20)

A couple days ago, I posted quotage from John Tory saying that all of us had a “responsibility” to “get onboard” and help Rob Ford.  Around the same time, it was revealed, John was considering an offer to “play a role” in Ford’s regime.

One commenter told me the quote was too old.  Maybe John’s views have changed, he said.  I pointed out that John has never repudiated the “get onboard” sentiment, but fair enough.

So, here, a more-recent quote.  It comes to us this morning, which I would call fairly recent.  Here it is:

“(Ford) has done a lot of good things. He has also done what he said he would do.”

Really? That so?

Anyway. I like John very much, but on this subject, he is out of his mind.  Coming to the defence of a lying, lazy lunkhead – a dissembling drunk and and a druggie – is Yet Another Reason why John Tory will lose (badly) if he runs for mayor.

But if he wants to, go right ahead.  The more candidates there are on the Right side of the spectrum, the happier I will be. And then we can rid ourselves of the Ford pestilence once and for all.

Comments (9)

Last week, it was Stephen Harper going after his much-respected former Chief of Staff.  Yesterday, it was Rob Ford going after the cops.

Are these Conservative fishing buddies crazy?

Well, yes they are, actually.  As I (hopefully) explained in yesterday’s Sun – now finally online, here – Harper risks open revolt in the Tory ranks by defaming someone as revered as Nigel Wright.  And, as I will (hopefully) explain in tomorrow’s Sun, Rob Ford risks jail time by taunting the Toronto police force he, the law and order fetishist, used to regularly defend.

[Ed.: Spot political quiz! Who was the last well-known politician to dare the police/media to follow him around?]

Anyway.  Here’s my take on Harper, as memorialized in today’s Hill Times.  I mean every word.

“They [top political aides] know where the bodies are buried. If Nigel strikes back, Harper will regret it,” Warren Kinsella, former top federal Liberal strategist who worked with former prime minister Jean Chrétien closely said in an interview with Sun TV on Wednesday.

Mr. Kinsella added that Mr. Wright is not “an average Conservative” as not only was he the well-liked former chief of staff to the Prime Minister, but he also played a key role over the years in the success of the Conservative Party in fundraising, policy development and organization at the highest level. Mr. Kinsella said that Prime Minister lost his message discipline, last week, for which he’s well known.

“He looked like a monkey with a machine gun, shooting at everything that moves. Think back 10 years ago. How did Stephen Harper achieve power? He had message discipline. He kicked out the loose cannons from his caucus and imposed message discipline,” said Mr. Kinsella.

Comments (13)

Dear Conservative Party delegates:

We hope you enjoyed your convention in Calgary!

We would recommend where to get the best pizza (Michael’s, on Tenth Ave.), or the best burgers (Peter’s, on Sixteenth Ave.). But, after the Parliamentary session you’ve had, we suspect none of you are in the mood for a festive meal.

You’ve seen your party slip in the polls. You’ve seen caucus members openly castigating each other. You’ve seen your former luminaries – Mike Duffy, Pamela Wallin and Patrick Brazeau, who your party rewarded with Senate appointments – round on your party, and spill lots of Tory blood.

Most notably, you’ve seen your leader turn like a cornered, wounded dog on his former Chief of Staff, Nigel Wright. Five months ago, Stephen Harper – your leader, not mine – defended Wright in the then-embryonic Senate scandal.

On Tuesday, Harper was a changed man, and it was ugly. When asked about the $90,000 Wright gave to Duffy to cover questionable expenses and protect his leader, Harper was vicious. “One person [is] responsible for this deception that person is Mr. Wright. It is Mr. Wright by his own admission!” Harper thundered.

It was an extraordinary spectacle, and not merely because Harper knows that his authority is slipping away. It was extraordinary because Nigel Wright is no ordinary Conservative.

Full disclosure: my ex-wife was Wright’s partner for many years. They met in the office of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney.

Wright and I didn’t socialize, me being a hardcore Alberta Liberal, and him being a hardcore Ontario Conservative. We weren’t friends.

I didn’t ask my wife-to-be much about him. But, eventually, I learned a few things. A picture emerged.

Nigel Wright was adopted and brought up in a loving, good family. His parents were not wealthy, and Wright worked hard for everything that he got. He was a deeply religious Anglican who, for a time, contemplated the priesthood.

He devoted himself to his studies, and charitable causes, his faith and – almost as much – the Conservative Party.

Wright conquered on Bay Street as a lawyer and a deal-maker, to be sure, becoming a millionaire at a very young age. But blue Tory blood ran through his veins – and there are only a handful of unelected people in this country who gave as much to conservative causes. Fundraising, policy, organization: Nigel Wright did it all.

On Tuesday, while Stephen Harper cast him as a liar and a wrong-doer in the privileged confines of the House of Commons, Nigel Wright maintained a stoic silence, as he has throughout this sordid affair. While the most powerful man in Canada attempted to destroy his reputation, Wright said nothing.

Unable to believe what I was witnessing, I tweeted that he needed to fight back. Part of my motivation for doing so was empathy: during the federal Liberal civil wars, some of Paul Martin’s thugs had attempted to destroy the reputations of those of us who remained loyal to Jean Chretien. I knew a little of what Wright must be feeling.

But, mostly, I could not believe that this was happening – of all people – to Nigel Wright. If there is anyone of my generation who has devoted themselves more selflessly to the Conservative Party, I do not know who it is.

It goes without saying: I don’t know the full facts in the Senate scandal, which has become a cancer on the government. But I do know that blaming Nigel Wright for all of it is not merely dishonest – it is disgusting.

That man who you cheered and applauded in Calgary, this weekend, Tory faithful? He’s not the formerly young Conservative aide from Calgary. He’s a career Ottawa politician, and all he cares about is his survival.

He doesn’t care about anything else, Conservative delegates. Take my word for it: if he could turn on Nigel Wright, he could turn on someone else, too.

You, for example.

Sincerely,

Warren.

Comments (39)

Here:

I saw your last show at the Echoplex and noticed you had a special guest. I know you’ve often covered the Hot Nasties, but how did Warren Kinsella end up performing with you guys?

We met him through Nardwuar when we went to Canada, and he interviewed us. Then he came and saw us in LA, and we told him “Now that you’re here, you do realize you have to play with us.” He didn’t have a choice; we just told him to shut up and do it.

That must have been a surreal experience, to have someone you looked up to and covered playing on stage with you.

Yeah, it was; you always dream about that as a kid. You hear a song that you think is so cool, and you can only imagine that one day you could play this, and then lo and behold, he was right there on stage with us at the Echoplex show. It was a lot of fun.

Comments (1)

Now, how do I keep and protect her all winter?

Comments (8)

From her Facebook page. Boy oh boy, it is so refreshing to hear from someone who conducts herself like a leader should, eh?

Dear friends,

I believe in restorative justice. Which is the idea that we need to look for ways to help people who make serious mistakes in their lives — as and when they take responsibility for their actions, and accept accountability.

Like all Torontonians, I was very disappointed to learn yesterday from Chief Bill Blair that Mayor Rob Ford has not been telling the people of Toronto the truth about the video widely reported in the media in recent months. Many of yesterday’s revelations about Mayor Ford’s closest associates, activities and personal problems are also deeply troubling.

Mayor Ford obviously faces some serious challenges in his life. I hope he finds help soon.

I also believe that as our Mayor — head of our city administration and Toronto’s representative to the province, the country, and the world — he must take responsibility for his actions. A good place to start would be for him to now face up to the truth, and to tell it.

Our city deserves better.

Olivia

Comments (27)

…his high-priced legal mouthpiece, no less, has decided to play a game of high-stakes chicken.  Release the video, he says. Right here.

He may be saying it because (a) he knows the video showing Rob Ford smoking crack cocaine is central to the Lisi extortion prosecution, and the Crown would therefore never agree to release it until trial.  Or, he may be saying it because (b) he is suddenly somehow indifferent to what happens to his client.

Me, I think alternative (a) is most likely.  It’s a clever little P.R. stunt.  Look like you have nothing to hide, etc. etc.

So, here’s my alternative suggestion: as I posted yesterday, there is a second video.  It, too, shows the Mayor of Toronto getting fried with the same folks.  It isn’t evidence in the Lisi prosecution.

Call Ford’s lawyer’s bluff, Toronto cops: ask him if he’d agree to the release of that video, right here, right now.

He won’t say yes. And his little P.R. stunt will be revealed to be just that.

Comments (13)

Wow.

Oh, and check this out: a drunk named “Ian” calls a right-wing radio host. It’s Rob Ford. Listen.

Comments (21)