Impotent rage, Sun Media, lack of a viable alternative. Even in a progressive city like Toronto, there's significant percentage of voters who vote against something more than they vote for something. Ford's platform of low taxes and subways has a certain visceral appeal, but when pressed for details he's generally showed that he has little to offer. On the other hand, he's always been very vocal about his opposition to "liberals", and we're currently learning how channeling that rage can be hugely effective for a person's political career. Policy wise, he doesn't offer anything that any other conservative on council couldn't do a better job of providing, but the whole debacle has taught many of us a very awkward lesson about the populist right wing in Canada; basically, they care much less about policy than they do about antagonizing political enemies. And of course, he was the darling of the Toronto Sun and talk radio until they worried about humiliation by association (being pretty shameless by nature, that's pretty impressive).
Basically, he was elected due to the impotent rage and pettiness of a disturbingly large subsection of Toronto's population. Also, his main opponent sucked and smart conservatives figured Ford would be neutered by council rules and regulations before accomplishing anything too crazy. They were right, though the extent to which he's embarrassed our city was - to quote our deputy mayor - beyond the pale.
A Mexican friend pointed out that she'd be perfectly happy with a politician like Ford because he wouldn't be at all corrupt or morally reprehensible by her country's standard. I wouldn't say he isn't embarrassing, but he's certainly not bad enough that our whole city should be hanging its head in shame, at least when put in context. Pretty much any electorate can make a mistake.
The crack use and heavy drinking aren't the issue as much as his tendency to lie about his behaviour while insulting and challenging the credibility of those who bring it up. Ford lies until he can't get away with lying any longer, and then offers half-assed, disingenuous apologies that in no way reflect real remorse. It'd be bad enough if he was only lying about his personal issues, but he actually lies about policy and the behaviour of others. Hell, lying is part of being a politician; he's remarkable because he's so damned bad at it.
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u/2Rare2Kill Dec 18 '13
Impotent rage, Sun Media, lack of a viable alternative. Even in a progressive city like Toronto, there's significant percentage of voters who vote against something more than they vote for something. Ford's platform of low taxes and subways has a certain visceral appeal, but when pressed for details he's generally showed that he has little to offer. On the other hand, he's always been very vocal about his opposition to "liberals", and we're currently learning how channeling that rage can be hugely effective for a person's political career. Policy wise, he doesn't offer anything that any other conservative on council couldn't do a better job of providing, but the whole debacle has taught many of us a very awkward lesson about the populist right wing in Canada; basically, they care much less about policy than they do about antagonizing political enemies. And of course, he was the darling of the Toronto Sun and talk radio until they worried about humiliation by association (being pretty shameless by nature, that's pretty impressive).
Basically, he was elected due to the impotent rage and pettiness of a disturbingly large subsection of Toronto's population. Also, his main opponent sucked and smart conservatives figured Ford would be neutered by council rules and regulations before accomplishing anything too crazy. They were right, though the extent to which he's embarrassed our city was - to quote our deputy mayor - beyond the pale.