— Musings —07.16.2012 06:22 AM
The kiss of death
The Flying Dutchman of Toronto Politics has made his choice: his choice is accordingly doomed.
Listen to Lasch. But Globians, by all means put it on the front page.
— Musings —07.16.2012 06:22 AM
The Flying Dutchman of Toronto Politics has made his choice: his choice is accordingly doomed.
Listen to Lasch. But Globians, by all means put it on the front page.
Considering the failed candidates this guy backed, I’d say we have nothing to worry about.
Dear Warren,
Please try and become the chief campaign strategist for whoever ends up being the front runner to oppose Rob Ford
during the 2014 Toronto mayoral election. I personally hope that John Tory runs as a candidate, but like with George
Smitherman, the idea of someone coming from outside of Toronto City Council can be both positive and negative.
Smitherman was attacked over both the e-health scandal as well as his not having had any previous experience at
Toronto City Council. Rob Ford and Joe Pantalone both agreed that this was a liability during the last televised
debate back in 2010. John Tory also has some baggage too, such as having run for Mayor of Toronto once before
and lost back in 2003. Also, this leadership of the Ontario PC Party which lost the 2007 Ontario provincial election.
I believe the best candidates to run against Rob Ford in 2014 are Karen Stintz and Adam Vaughn. I would strongly
encourage you to get involved in the campaign of whoever has the best chance at defeating Rob Ford.
It is also very important that the anti-Ford is not split again too, as it was in 2010 between Smitherman and Pantalone.
Adam Vaughn being the centre-left candidate, Karen Stintz being the centre/centre-right candidate and Rob Ford
being the right-wing candidate would be a disaster and would split the anti-Ford vote. We need one strong centrist
candidate who NDP, Liberal and moderate Conservatives can all back.
Adam and I are great friends. Don’t know Ms. Stintz.
But I, too, want Ford beaten. Stay tuned.
Thank you for your reply, Warren.
It would be wonderful if Adam Vaughn ran for Mayor!.
I would personally much prefer a centre-left candidate like Adam, however, I would even be willing to back a Conservative
such as Stintz, if it was the only way to get rid of Ford. I personally know many people who voted for Ford who are deeply put off by his style of governing and antics. Furthermore, during the 2010 mayoral election, Ford won 45% of the vote, based on a turnout of 15% of all eligible voters. I personally believe that Ford’s bullying and dictatorial ways of governing, coupled with his personal behaviour which seems to make headlines every 6 to 8 weeks, will motivate many people who
did not vote last time, to turnout with an “Anyone But Ford” agenda. However, we can never underestimate Ford and his
ability to rally his grassroots base. He will not doubt run on his record of abolishing the vehicle tax, property tax freezes,
firing of civil servants, ect; but I do not believe what he has “accomplished” even remotely outweighs the sort of damage and division he has caused.
As much as I am personally on the left-wing of the political spectrum, any candidate opposing Ford, will need to make a commitment to fiscal restraint and balanced budgets. If Mr Vaughn ran on a platform of being fiscally prudent, socially responsible and environmentally aware, I think he would have an excellent chance at winning. Of course, the redneck
base of Ford Nation will regard Vaughn or for that matter even moderate Conservatives such as Karen Stintz and
John Tory to be “Pinko”. Much like Ernie Eves was attacked last year by a right-wing pundit as a “Pinko” for not backing
Tim Hudak. Its amazing how far to the right people like Ford and Hudak have dragged the Canadian Conservative movement, as is the case stateside. Ronald Reagan would be considered a liberal now by the Sarah Palin/Joe the Plumber types.
As much as I will most likely be pulled over the coals for saying this now, I think progressives in both Canada and the
USA need to start getting down into the gutter and launching their own culture war. For starters, as much as Conservatives
in Canada and the USA attack “wine and cheese liberals”, “ivory tower elites”, “downtown pinkos”, ect; its time for progressives to get vocal about “white privilege”, “ignorant trailer trash” and “redneck white trash”.
Just my opinion, but while I do appreciate civility and honour in politics, and while there is something to be said for not
going down to the level of your opponents, I honestly believe that the Ford, Hudak and Palin ilks really need to be fought
in an equally nasty and aggressive manner. The racist, sexist, misogynistic, homophobic, anti-immigrant, ignorant, uneducated, crass, uncouth, tactless legions of rednecks who are at the heart of this sort of recklessly populist and mindlessly slash and burn Conservatism which scapegoats women, visible minorities, immigrant, homeless, ect; really
need to be taken on and exposed for the human sewage they truly are, complete with a health dose of insults and character assassinations!.
For example, when Don Cherry during Ford’s inauguration, set the tone, by ranking and raving in front of Toronto City Council about “Pinkos” and so forth, instead of the centre-left councillors shaking their heads and sitting there, they should have interrupted him and shouted back at him, asking what even qualifies him to discuss comparative politics. The left-wing in North America are actually far too timid, as compared to that in Europe. People like Ford and Cherry would be the ones being accosted and confronted with a torrent of verbal abuse if they spoke and acted that way in Europe, as opposed to it being the other way around.
Former London Mayor Ken “Red Ken” Livingston is an example of such a European leftist. No demure, tree hugging
there!. I pity loud mouthed right-wing talk radio host in the USA such as Limbaugh, Beck or O’Reilly if they got into a
debate with Ken Livingston or George Galloway!. The problem with the left-wing in North America is that it not nasty
and guttural enough if you ask me!.
Just look at Ed Kennedy from Free Dominion. How can you deal with a right-winger of that ilk in a civilized manner?.
Only a G 8 European anarchist type would be suited to confront the likes of Mr Kennedy. The bullying nature of the
Brothers Ford likewise needs people who will be just as nasty, aggressive, crass and vulgar in turn.
Adam Vaughan is not known in the ‘burbs and is viewed as a “tax and spend” politician and the ‘burbs won’t vote for him. Why risk an easy to win council seat?
Hear, hear!! Being meek and mild is part of the explanation of the defeat of decent people like Mr. Dion and Mr. Ignatieff. The so-called high road leads straight to perdition, and the nasties win in the end. I am with all with you and with anyone willing to fight fire with fire.
I notice that you know Paul Begala and that your new book will be available in the USA.
It would be great if you could perhaps do some work with the British Liberal Democrats.
I know that their popularity has dropped since being part of the governing coalition
with the British Conservative Party.
The German Free Democrats also badly need help!.
The British Liberal Democrats, German Free Democrats and the Liberal Party of Canada
are all members of the Liberal International.
Will your new book be sold in the UK and/or Germany?.
@Inge
Yes you are quite right. Its not that I or any progressive (Liberal, NDP, Green) support getting down into the gutter,
and if the Conservative Party of Canada still had polite, gentlemanly, couth, tactful, refined, posh, upper crust
Red Tories such as Robert Stanfield, Joe Clark, Kim Campbell and Jean Charest for leaders, it would be a moot
point. Likewise, if the Ontario PC Party still had aristocratic, posh, upper class leaders such as John Robarts,
Bill Davis, Larry Grossman, Ernie Eves and John Tory, it would likewise be a moot point at the provincial level.
At the municipal level, if Red Tories such as John Sewell and June Rowlands were still mayor, it would also be
a moot point. I dearly wish for the return of the Isabelle Bassett and Galen Weston ilk of Red Tory.
Sadly, we progressives must now fight fire with fire, as we face a new breed of Conservative. Gone are the days
when the average card carrying member of the PC Party of Canada or the Ontario PC Party was an intelligent,
well educated, refined, couth, posh, tactful, upper crust, upper middle class urban/suburban type, often a
doctor or lawyer who drove a BWM. Since roughly the mid-1990’s, Canadian Conservatism has been dominated
by ignorant, common, low class, blue collar, uncouth, unrefined, tactless, vulgar, crude, undisciplined, uneducated
REDNECK WHITE TRASH who are deeply anti-intellectual and seethe with hated and contempt for things such as
progressive taxation, gun control, hate crimes laws, women’s rights, gay rights, abortion rights, immigration,
multiculturalism, bilingualism, Quebec, cosmopolitanism, urbanism, and globalism. While many of these trailer
trash types claim to be free market libertarians, they are in actuality paleo-conservative Luddites who live in
fear of a globalized world and knowledge economy rendering their blue collar skills redundant. They also fear
socio-economic, demographic and technological change. They fear women, visible minorities, immigrants
and gays/lesbians being in positions of power and influence in society.
Most of these types also tend to be obese, unsightly, slovenly dressed, unshaved scum who drive pickup trucks
and sport “little tough guy goatees” and tattoos. Back in the 1980’s, these cretins would have been laughed out
of most Canadian Conservative meetings and would have also been denied entry due to lack of conformity with
the dress code. If they did vote at all, these people were the unionized blue collar NDP types of old, who lost
their jobs through free trade, outsourcing, off shoring, down sizing, ect; and then became independent contractors
doing plumbing, paining, carpet laying, drywall hanging, ect…and then became BLUE COLLAR CONSERVATIVES.
Mike Harris, Rob Ford, Preston Manning, Stockwell Day, Jack MacLaren and Randy Hillier have all roused and
lead these legions of REDNECK WHITE TRASH to hijack the Canadian Conservative movement and purge the
Red Tories.
We progressives need to start fighting dirty and tossing around the phrases “ground beef conservative” as often
as they do “wine and cheese liberal”. When one of these Conservatives tell you “pull your head out of your
ivory tower liberal ass”, you reply with “WHAT PICKUP TRUCK DID YOU JUST STEP OUT OF WHITE TRASH?”.
The last time a Conservative spoke up hear me, it was in a bank, an middle aged fat WHITE MALE who was dressed
like a pig. He was deliberately talking loud in line, at a bank branch which is most visible minority tellers and clients
and saying to his friend “these immigrants all vote for welfare”…”do not give immigrants the vote until they work
and pay taxes”. So I marched over to him and asked “how does your grade 8 education qualify you to discuss
politics”, to which he retorted “I am just telling the truth lady”, to which I replied, a commoner worker doing manual
labour would know his place in a bank back in my country (India). Now don’t you stop embarrassing yourself with your
uneducated pedestrian level opinions and get back to your mindless blue collar job when you have finished your banking”.
I also told him that a proper gentleman wears a suit and tie into a bank, and does not dress like a piggish slob complete
with unkempt hair and a loud voice.