The last provincial election was tough for me. The Liberals deserved to be booted. The NDP didn't deserve to govern, but I really don't like Doug Ford. He strikes me as ham-fisted and thoughtless. He thinks he's like his brother, but he isn't. Whatever you thought of Rob Ford, he helped people. He was in the job for two reasons -- to be liked and to be of service. He was well liked by those he served, and he made an effort to serve everyone who asked.
When Patrick Brown was first accused of sexual misconduct, and summarily excised from the PC leadership, I wondered if the Liberals had something to do with it. Now I wonder if it was an internal thing -- or external, but from the right.
Ford's election as PC leader was an astonishing reversal from the *expected*. Comparisons to Trump ring true to me, not just on the surface level, where both men are bombastic and boorish and rather stupid, but also in the manner to which they came to power. Few within the kingmaker class would have predicted either outcome. I'm not suggesting that democracy was thwarted in any way, or that their victories were invalid, simply that a series of unforeseen events shaped the races in ways no one could imagine.
I'm not a fan of how Ford operates, in what seems to be a very autocratic way. He has smart people around him, a couple of whom might have been more deserving of the leadership than he, but everyone seems to defer to Doug. I concede that this is pretty much always the case in politics -- Trudeau, Harper, Trump .... so maybe Ford is just following precedent. What bothers me I suppose, is that while I feel like the PCs are my 'side', with him as their leader, they aren't. It's like being in a political wilderness. I suppose anti-Trump Republicans feel this way.
Even if you agree with everything Ford is doing, his manner creates distrust and apprehension, even from people who are onside -- because although he was voted in on the promise of change, people want change as a process - not some bullish demolition, but a gradual dismantling and renewal. Sometimes, radical change is required, but some things - autism funding, libraries, public health, endangered species et al - are not necessary all at once. Rapid change requires thoughtful and thorough communication. Change for the sake of change serves no one. And reversals and tweaks to proclamations just prove you haven't thought things out before you've spouted off.
Doug Ford was no more ready to run a province than Justin Trudeau was to run the country. Just because he's 'conservative' doesn't mean I can support him. Even when I think they're doing something right, Doug's manner of handling every policy, every idea, makes it feel suspect.
Ford has become the PC brand. To buy-in, you have to take him and I don't. And what bothers me about the small-minded, blustery way he governs, is that he appears to be speaking for conservatives and I fear that will be used to our great disadvantage come federal election time. He comes off as mean-spirited and dumb. I think he is a real liability to the CPC. So long as Doug keeps talking, the 905 is very much in play. Before the provincial election, Doug was a novelty. Now he's the reality and I think a lot of people are second-guessing that decision - doesn't matter that the Liberals were truly a worse option. That's not going to factor in when people are at the voting booth in October. Enough Canadians like to see themselves as liberal anyway, that Doug Ford's exhibition of 'conservatism' could mitigate all of Trudeau's disasters.
canadianna
When Patrick Brown was first accused of sexual misconduct, and summarily excised from the PC leadership, I wondered if the Liberals had something to do with it. Now I wonder if it was an internal thing -- or external, but from the right.
Ford's election as PC leader was an astonishing reversal from the *expected*. Comparisons to Trump ring true to me, not just on the surface level, where both men are bombastic and boorish and rather stupid, but also in the manner to which they came to power. Few within the kingmaker class would have predicted either outcome. I'm not suggesting that democracy was thwarted in any way, or that their victories were invalid, simply that a series of unforeseen events shaped the races in ways no one could imagine.
I'm not a fan of how Ford operates, in what seems to be a very autocratic way. He has smart people around him, a couple of whom might have been more deserving of the leadership than he, but everyone seems to defer to Doug. I concede that this is pretty much always the case in politics -- Trudeau, Harper, Trump .... so maybe Ford is just following precedent. What bothers me I suppose, is that while I feel like the PCs are my 'side', with him as their leader, they aren't. It's like being in a political wilderness. I suppose anti-Trump Republicans feel this way.
Even if you agree with everything Ford is doing, his manner creates distrust and apprehension, even from people who are onside -- because although he was voted in on the promise of change, people want change as a process - not some bullish demolition, but a gradual dismantling and renewal. Sometimes, radical change is required, but some things - autism funding, libraries, public health, endangered species et al - are not necessary all at once. Rapid change requires thoughtful and thorough communication. Change for the sake of change serves no one. And reversals and tweaks to proclamations just prove you haven't thought things out before you've spouted off.
Doug Ford was no more ready to run a province than Justin Trudeau was to run the country. Just because he's 'conservative' doesn't mean I can support him. Even when I think they're doing something right, Doug's manner of handling every policy, every idea, makes it feel suspect.
Ford has become the PC brand. To buy-in, you have to take him and I don't. And what bothers me about the small-minded, blustery way he governs, is that he appears to be speaking for conservatives and I fear that will be used to our great disadvantage come federal election time. He comes off as mean-spirited and dumb. I think he is a real liability to the CPC. So long as Doug keeps talking, the 905 is very much in play. Before the provincial election, Doug was a novelty. Now he's the reality and I think a lot of people are second-guessing that decision - doesn't matter that the Liberals were truly a worse option. That's not going to factor in when people are at the voting booth in October. Enough Canadians like to see themselves as liberal anyway, that Doug Ford's exhibition of 'conservatism' could mitigate all of Trudeau's disasters.
canadianna
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