Wednesday, August 01, 2018

Out Of The Past




The Ontario Legislature descended into the maelstrom yesterday. The Ford government accused the opposition of mocking the dialect of one of its East Asian members. It then promptly refused to answer questions until it got an apology. The opposition claimed its house leader had not mocked anyone. "That's disgusting," quoth Doug Ford.

Opposition leader Andrea Horwath fired back, "So are you." Welcome to the Ford Years.

Michael Harris writes that there will be no turning back from Fordian abuse:

Clearly, Ontario’s Tiny Trump is determined to give Canada another one-man band on the political stage — despite Stephen Harper’s ringing failure on that score. And notwithstanding Donald Trump’s disastrous impersonation of Il Duce south of the border.
No one should be surprised though. The signs were everywhere that Ford would rush to join the spate of “strongman” leaders tainting “democracies” around the world, including the U.S., Russia, the Philippines, Turkey, Hungary and Italy. And yes, that’s Boris Johnson sneaking up behind Theresa May, ready to join the club. People are afraid, and they want Big Daddy, if not Big Brother. Note: Timorous citizens usually do not end up living in democracies.
One early hint about the kind of leader Ford would be, besides his disgraceful performance as a city councillor?
During the campaign that made him premier, he showed what he thought of the free press. He had his own people reporting on his campaign, using social media to post phoney news clips.
The fake reporter for most of the “news” videos was his own executive assistant, Lyndsey Vanstone. Voters seem not to have noticed the impersonation — or if they did, not cared about it.
It was Harper and “24 Seven” all over again. Fake news and press restrictions were the hallmark of the Harper years. Ominously, Ford spoke during the election about doing something about media “attacks.”

And one should not forget that, in his earlier life, Ford called Trump, "a man of moral fibre."

Yesterday, the Fordians announced that, instead of increasing social assistance payments by 3%, they were limiting the increase to 1.5%. Like the Harrisites, they are coming for those on social assistance first. And they cancelled the Guaranteed Income Pilot Project in three Ontario cities -- something Ford specifically pledged during the campaign he would not do.

The future is beginning to look a lot like the Ugly Past.

Image: The Toronto Star

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ford's campaign was ruin by former Harper and Harris people, so I'm not surprised to see more of the same cruelty and contempt. Besides, a rehash of the past is the hallmark of conservative governments, which is why they appeal so strongly to old white folks and religious nutters.

Cap

Deacon Jester said...

Welcome to Dogpatch.

Owen Gray said...

And Ford is Jubilation T. Cornpone, Deacon.

Owen Gray said...

They cling to the past like old Southern Belles, Cap, waiting for gentlemen callers who never show up

Lorne said...

Add to that, the government is now using our tax dollars to fund "Ontario News Now," Dougie's very own propaganda channel. Verily, Owen, he is for the sheeple.

Rural said...

As I attempt to assemble a synopsis of recent events in our new Fordanian empire for my Sunday commentary I find that things are moving so fast its hard to keep up, is this by design I wonder? We live in very scary times, Owen, as we helplessly watch this oligarch take over our democracy.

Owen Gray said...

It's all about "alternative facts," Lorne. Apparently, Dougie gets to chose his own -- and have someone else pay for them.

Owen Gray said...

It's all about sowing confusion, Rural. And the best way to do that is to do it quickly.

the salamander said...

.. into a void something always flows.. Pale Horse coming into view..

No barn cat(s) mice migrate into the granary.. then come the rats..

Ford flowed into a perfect void.. Wynne toast, Patrick Brown imploded, then he de-imploded briefly.. but intrepid journos were seeking wait staff and bartenders who recall him, and Rick Dykstra.. and the youngish female table guests enjoying bottle service at 'Conservative' VIP tables whether in Brampton, Ottawa, Hull, Wasaga Beach, Barrie etc. It reminds of 'Ride Me Wilfred' & James Moore's descent from a choice cabinet post, to sudden departure to 'spend more time with family' - Or Helen Guergis, the convenient whipping girl to parachute Dr. Kristinn Kellie Leitch into a 'safe' riding north of Toronto.. she had the red stamp of approval from her mentor the late Saint Jim Flaherty.. and Guergis is still embroiled in her lawsuits against Harper et al. That was fun.. purportedly she was snorting cocaine off exotic naked dancers chests. If there aint a void.. well dammit, fabricate one

Trump is Exhibit One for plunging through a void. The other candidates were laughable.. and Hillary (the emails!) was sandbagged & blindsided by Comey & Democratic presumption.. and also.. what does appear to be a Russion enterprise with enthusiastic buy-in from various losers, including the idiot Trump clone brothers. So yes.. a gaping void, Trump waltzed in.. & here we are. Its obvious via Paul Manafort & zgeneral Flynn just how corrupt Trump associates and country club friends are.. so much liquid $ coming their way.. they need dump trucks, million $ real estate or offshore secret accounts to stash the moolah so they can launder it

Surely there are many many examples of void = opportunity.. and huge dollops of cronyism are lubrication to enact the heist

On the plus side.. history has a funny way of pinning this stuff down. We know who Benedict Arnold is.. as we know about John Wiles Booth.. We know about My Lai & Lt. William Calley Jr, General George Custer etc.. as they are historical, hysterical, heretical examples.. just as Richard Nixon was. Trump is a classic folk lore villain.. and Doug Ford is just revving his engines.. four years to go.

Welcome to the Void, fellow droogs .. we are all complicit in North America.. and we will be made to pay.. no ifs, no buts.. get ready for 'natural consequences' .. they hang out with Murphy's Law

Owen Gray said...

Power abhors a vacuum, sal. And those who seek it -- particularly the most foolish -- sometimes luck out. And luck sometimes shows up as complicity among the stupid.