The Bad and the Ugly. . .

Let's face it, Rob Ford is a bad guy. And the level of support that he receives from a certain bloc of rightwing voters is a clear sign that many on the right have absolutely no problem with bad people. In fact, there is every reason to believe that they actually like nasty, mean-spirited people. It reinforces their hateful view of the world. For all their talk and bluster, the people of the Ford phenomenon demonstrate that many on the right don't care about family values, about drug abuse, about racism, sexism, homophobia, civil behaviour, respect. What the rightwing care about is money and their perceived handling of that money. And I very consciously use the word "perceived" because even a superficial examination of politics and fiscal responsibility will demonstrate that the right is no more responsible with public money than anyone else. In fact, a pretty good argument can be made that the right is significantly less responsible in the long and the short term.

Rob Ford is clearly a crack-head. The release of the ranting video of yesterday shows that. Ford was not drunk. Anyone who has any experience with cocaine knows that that was a crack rage. Ok, so he is a crack-head. We all falter. If he really is addicted to crack he will need help getting off it. But what is significantly more important than his substance abuse is that Ford is a bad man. He is a mean, bullying, sexist, homophobic, abusive, narcissistic, liar. These are the things that should preclude him from being mayor. And the fact that I continually hear so-called "Ford-Nation" supporters on the radio and the internet saying what a "likeable" guy he is, is a clear demonstration of what they find likeable. Furthermore, the so-called "gravy-train" that Ford ran in opposition to was a creation of his own imagination.

On the national stage we have a similar situation, in spirit if not in detail. Harper is not a crack-head. But he possesses the same kind of mean-spirited, lying soul that haunts Rob Fords. Harper would step on anyone, break any law, rape the spirit of democracy, abuse the power of office, to further his agenda. And that agenda is to maintain himself in power and divert the nation's wealth from average people to the rich and the corporations. It is clear to anyone with half a brain that Harper himself orchestrated an extortion and bribery of Mike Duffy. Of course, HarperCon supporters will say there is no evidence, that their guy is honest and upright. But secretly they know and are actually proud that their leader is a lawbreaking liar, because they like the idea of having a bad man abusing the law to support their twisted cause. In the House of Commons they make lots of noise concerning the innocence of their leader, but they smirk slyly in the knowledge that they are part of an outlaw cabal screwing the people of the nation, destroying the environment, and selling our children's future to foreign corporations. Why? You ask. Because they are bad people, it is as simple as that.