Toronto Star and the City Elite Go to War against Rob Ford

(An argument for Rob Ford)
By Gary Morton, 2010

   If Rob Ford isn’t punch drunk, he should be. The attacks on him are daily and often on the front page of the Toronto Star. Everyone from well-heeled Star columnists to Toronto’s elite Liberals and even some influential Conservatives have declared war on him.

   The reason: Ford entered the race and came out at the top of the polls, creating a nightmare scenario for the elite – a man of the people and ordinary voters might get elected mayor of Toronto. And their hand-picked man, George Smitherman could be out.

   Nearly all the attacks on Ford have been idiotic and haven’t much worked. They went from a scandal a day in the Star to a new softer approach like today's feature story about 50 elite Harris era Tories signing in support of George Smitherman. Considering how much Torontonians hated the Mike Harris years of cuts, the endorsement sure won't hurt Rob Ford and his grassroots campaign.

   The media practically had Smitherman anointed to be Toronto’s first gay mayor. He took a free trip to China as though he already was mayor. Then Ford entered the race, and guess what, like many of the rest of us he doesn’t support city funding for the Pride Parade and has dared to say so.

   Then Ford dared to speak out on the refugee issue when it was in the news. Saying Toronto can’t handle a large influx of new immigrants. A statement that resonates especially well with low income working citizens who see their jobs being grabbed by immigrant workers that take jobs and lower wages. That has in fact happened in the Toronto restaurant and service industry. Of course the Liberal elite don’t see it that way. They all came out to brand Ford a racist. And why wouldn’t they: they hand all the plum jobs to one another, spend tax dollars with abandon and really have no reason to care if those at the bottom lose their jobs or the welfare roles skyrocket. On social policy issues Liberals really only talk to government oriented unions, and groups representing those on welfare or ODSP  – people that don’t work at all or elite poverty activists that see themselves as defenders of the poor. The ordinary working person has no voice that they ever hear. Other candidates like Rocco Rossi and George Smitherman want to brand Ford as anti immigrant, yet they can't do the math. With Toronto unemployment running at near 10 percent a large influx of immigrants simply means more unemployed. Even when it comes to skilled jobs Canadian employers will not train out of work Canadians as long as they can bring in immigrants.

   Most citizens hate dirt diggers and people who invade privacy. And for that reason most of them don’t care much for or believe in sensational media that wants to dig up a minor charge Ford faced eleven years ago or even more minor stuff about his work as a football coach. Most of us know a media hit when we see it. They've turned Ford into the new Big Foot and a household name.

   It’s the same with Red Tape. We all hate it but the media wants to make a huge story of the fact that Ford used his city letterhead in an attempt to fundraise for a football charity. The big guns are coming out on this one – Ford actually spoke out against Red Tape and the one way to get city hall and the elite after you is to do that. Look for lots of coverage as other councillors denounce Ford at meetings over this. Yet it's all posturing; they all know that Ford could not have been bought by someone making a small donation to his football charity.

  Now the Liberals are so desperate that Premier Dalton McGuinty’s people are distributing pamphlets to 75,000 Liberal voters. These brochures show Smitherman surrounded by past and present Liberal MPPs and MPs, as well as former Tory MPP and cabinet minister Dan Newman.

   Insanely, the pamphlet says e-health scandal George will stop the waste and make city hall work for you. And his supporters keep saying that a guy who wasted money as health minister is the best man to run Toronto as a 10 billion dollar corporation.

   With Smitherman travelling to China and along with Rocco Rossi and Sarah Thompson calling to farm out services, and sell off things like Toronto Hydro many of us worry about corruption and back room deals as city services are sold off. Will everything be made in China; will the few large corporations that can bid on services be paying bribe money? In Toronto's history, corruption has taken shape as the selling of city contracts. And with the exception of Rob Ford the front running candidates all want to create situations where corruption and payoffs are sure to breed. Smitherman already sold off our wind assets in secret when he was an MPP. Who could possibly want  him in as mayor. It looks like the integrity commissioner will have much more to do than chase Rob Ford around over his football charity.

   So like I said at the beginning, if Ford isn’t punch drunk he should be with nearly the entire establishment against him. Still, it’s up to the voters and  many ordinary people across the political spectrum have never shared in the largess of the elite. A lot of people don’t like government that only has taxation as a solution, and whether right or left, enjoy Ford’s vigilante style.

   He’s crude and rude. Want city money to parade around at Pride – sorry, no deal.

   Want to give away city contracts in in-camera deals – sorry, but Ford will go public.

   Want to open the city to an influx of even more immigrants – sorry, but Ford will oppose that.

   Want to tax, tax, tax – Ford is against you. But he does say he will spend to look after the citizens of Toronto in affordable ways.

   It’s ordinary people rich and poor and right to left that might decide to line up behind Ford and defeat what they see as a power core of elite Liberals and fat cats.

   All they have to do is carry him, bruised and battered, across the finish line. And once in power he’ll likely mellow out some and try to do the job he promised.

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