Rob Ford's Disdain for Democracy

' Get 'Er Done' ... By Any Means Possible

Mayor Rob Ford has become a reclusive, strutting dictator at City Hall.

He hates being asked questions about his policies and seems to be viewing the media the same * as his idol, Don Cherry, as nothing more than a bunch of pinko left wing commie rat kooks just out to get him. Average media scrums tend to last about 3 minutes or less, and journalists have to divine what's behind his 'policies' (I'm being generous, he usually makes things up on the fly without having do research or pay attention to troublesome facts) - by interpreting his 140 character tweets.

 * That is, unless it is his adoring certifiable far right wing fans like Sue Ann Levy or CFRB's Jerry Agar.

Alternatively, his highly Americanized brother Doug Ford often speaks as if he is the Deputy Mayor and not Doug Holyday.

Fun strategy, as Rob can choose to align with or distance himself from bro' Doug's pronouncements after the fact. Example: The Mayor needs a VETO over Council, like the American President. Yes or No? It took a while to find Rob to get his take on that, after much fear and speculation in the press.

However, the bully boy, do whatever it takes, screw procedure, ethics or appearances Rob Ford that we see now should come as no surprise. I followed him for years while he was the lone wolf in the political wilderness, voting NO as many times as possible to ideas and motions (without providing any alternative solutions). Rob Ford was indeed badly treated and often abused by council colleagues, made the butt of jokes and generally trashed as a human being not worth the time or effort to reach out to. (Admission: I often felt sorry for the guy)

Indeed, much of this was due to Rob's peculiar personality which seemed to revel in being the perpetual outsider, always on the losing side of any vote. I'm sure he saw himself as the misunderstood champion of Mike Harris style common sense and everyday working person. If no other quality can be absolutely attributed to Rob Ford, it is perseverance/endurance. I'm sure he felt deep in his core every slight and attack by those on the left.

Now.... He's gonna make 'em all pay! Think Conan the Barbarian who for years suffered as a slave after his family and life was taken away from him. Now he's back... with a vengeance.

I've often thought that there was some common human mechanic involved in people getting power after having been tremendously rejected. Look at former US President, "I Am Not A Crook" Richard Nixon. He started out okay but by the time he got power after 'not having Dick Nixon ro kick around anymore' - he obviously saw ethics and integrity as just impediments to getting the job done.

When you have to pull yourself up by your own bootstraps in a world that has rejected you, you become obsessed at your core level with 'getting even'.

Rob Ford is now 'getting even' with Toronto.
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Update: Marcus Gee 100 Days of Threats, Orders, intimidation "Threatening to fire everyone in your way takes you only so far. Scorning your critics doesn’t help either. Discussing his plans to privatize garbage collection, the mayor joked, “We have enough garbage to deal with at City Hall.” Is that any way to win friends and influence people?"