Whatever happens, I want him and any faith people placed in him thoroughly discredited. Otherwise, he'll get a show on Talk Radio or a ghostwritten column in the Sun, other Fords will run for government and their poison of division, blame, negativity, simple solutions and lies will drag on the city for years. He's a celebrity now - not going to go away unless he and his family are fully disgraced.
All very true, but the stakes here are bigger than the ultimate fate of just one corrupt clan of hillbilly small-time bullshit artists. In retrospect, the most shocking thing about the entire sorry situation is just how open to abuse our system was...and still is.
It's obvious with 20/20 hindsight (rather painfully so, in fact), but the thing that's so genuienly surprising here - and the one that's truly gob-smacked observers from other countries, as we've seen - is just how ripe for the plucking Toronto was for the first Rush Limbaugh-style demagogue to come sliming along. And moreover, one whose subsequent behavior would have gotten him the boot a dozen times over in any number of other settings. Here in Toronto, though, he simply, stubbornly refuses to leave, and he's allowed to not only get away with it, but to do whatever the hell he damn well pleases in the meantime. It's mind-boggling. Especially, as the man under discussion is such a crass, boorish, ignorant-and-proud-of-it, out-and-out
moron. He was indulged far longer and far later than he should have been, and even now, he's being treated with kid gloves to a large extent. It's infuriating, but it's also a train-wreck of epic proportions. Little wonder that so many people are riveted by the spectacle. I never expected to see such a thing in this city, and I feel foolish as all get out for such naivete; knowing what I do now, it actually seems inevitable that something like this would have happened sooner or later.
Since he slithered into the Mayor's office, the so-called 'opposition' to Ford has absolutely sickened me with its weakness, cowardice and unwillingness to take the harsh steps necessary to combat such a man. As anyone who's ever gone to grade school could tell you, the only response creatures like Rob and Doug Ford understand is pushback. But the situation is now well beyond the two scumbags. If Ford is allowed to get away with all the shit he's pulled, then I suspect the floodgates will be well and truly open: Any nut, any self-serving liar, any political extremist, any snake oil salesman or grifter, or just plain old vindictive crank who can get their talons on sufficient funds to run for office will feel empowered to do so. This could just be the beginning.
So, yeah, Slob and Thug need to be taken down, and taken down hard.