Title: Trump And Ford Appeal To The Disenfranchised
Written By: JaredMilne
Date: Thursday, September 29 at 17:59
Donald Trump�s candidacy for the U.S. presidency has attracted a lot of scorn for many of Trump�s supporters. Kevin Williamson and David French wrote contemptuously in the National Review about how the working-class Americans supporting Trump had no one to blame but themselves for their problems. They failed themselves, and they should have known better.
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Good article. Rob Ford's mayoralty was the direct outcome of David Miller and the condescending left-wing Jane Jacobs cultists he surrounded himself with - people who couldn't even make a food truck program work without turning it into a bureaucratic mess and whose contempt for the old municipalities of Scarborough and Etobicoke was plain to see. That's why even when the Ford brand was ultimately rejected, Toronto voters still ensured that the Milleresque candidate placed third. Trump is a slightly different animal, but clearly also represents a middle-finger to establishment figures from both parties and both sides of the political spectrum. His biggest asset in the election is that he gets to play Happy Gilmore to the Shooter McGavin of electoral politics - "I'be worked hard my whole life, paid my dues, and now it's Shooter's turn. And Shooter's not about to let his reign at the top be spoiled by some freak, sideshow, clown."

Well sorry Shooter, I mean Hillary, but the clown is giving you a run for your money. Maybe David Miller can put in a good word for you at the World Wildlife Fund.

   

Just for the record, the food truck/cart fiasco is due to city council, not the mayor's office.

   

The other thing about Trump (which was also somewhat the case with Ford) that drives politicians like Hillary nuts is his ability to get away with saying exactly what he thinks on any topic. Politicians at that level learn to hide their narcissism and lust for power behind a feigned humility and benevolence. Hillary, like Donald, clearly hates vast swaths of the country she's looking to lead. They just hate different swaths. But she can't get away with venting her spleen and openly targeting groups the way he can. She got in trouble for the "basket of deplorables" comment. Similarly, Obama had to hold back on his obvious disdain for suburbanites (an attribute shared by many of Ford's foes) and let his policies do the talking for him in that regard. Trump breaks the rules with impunity, and that has to get under the skin of a candidate who clearly thinks she's smarter and better than all but a select few of the voters in her country.

   

While I don't disagree, I would ask what the difference would be between someone like Ford or Trump and Ezra Levant. I both admit and regret the fact that Levant disgusts me, not so much for what he says (and he's been right on some issues, like the advantages of Canadian oil and the absurdity of the human rights commissions) but he's such an arrogant, pompous jackass that comes across as though he'll hate you for the rest of his life if you dare to so much as breathe a syllable of disagreement.

Whether he's engaged in nonsensical rants about the Trudeau family's sex lives, or writing out temper-tantrum columns after the American voters defy his election predictions, Levant doesn't come across as taking dissent or criticism well. Watching the Ford brothers' appeal fizzle out in the last Toronto election even before Rob got sick, as well as watching Levant become more known for being proven a liar by the very bride whose honour he was supposedly defending than for any legal or political victories, I am left wondering how sustainable the approach is.

My intent in writing this column was to point out to the pundits whose articles I cited just why so many people are going for the Trumps and Fords of politics. Doesn't mean the Trump/Ford approach is necessarily any better, but I fully understand why people support it, and I sure as hell don't consider them all stupid, racist, or what have you for doing it.

   

The difference is that Trump and Ford are/were politicians running for public office. When Trump was simply a real estate hustler with a reality show occasionally spewing conspiracy theories about Obama, that "tape" of him saying degrading things about women wouldn't have had nearly the impact that it did. After he stepped down as president, nobody cared about Bill Clinton'a sexual activities until his wife became a serious contender for the White House. Nobody would have cared about Rob Ford's drug or "eating" habits if he hadn't been mayor of Canada's largest city at the time. We hold elected leaders to a higher standard than commentators like Levant.

That having been said, I agree with you about Ezra. He's the Heather Mallick of the right. Both are arrogant, pompous bullies who spew hatred and then wrap themselves in a cloak of victimhood when they get called on it. And even if I agree with him on many things, I can't condone his behaviour while at the same time condemning Mallick's. A plague on both their houses.

But here's something to take comfort in. Neither would be elected as leaders if they ran.

   

There's clearly a lesson for the Toronto Star editorial staff. Stop sending in Daniel Dale to take down a politician you don't like. It never works out.

   

Another Ford/Trump parallel, Trump was helped as much by people unironically using the term "flyover country" as Ford was by people who use "Scarberia" similarly.

   

As much as I disapprove of Trump, one of things I'm glad about in the result of the US election is the refutation of that well worn union mantra "I've put in my time." Because let's face it, Hillary's claim to the presidency was based on "seniority".

   

Gee, we haven't heard from the gasbag in a while. He must be upset about the last of the Soviet dictators shuffling off his mortal coil. And I'm sure any vindication he must feel about Trump's victory showing just how awful those Americans are is offset by the dread of another wave of Americans crossing the border and bringing their pestilence of liberal individualism with them. But hey Robin, I'm sure Justin would give you a nice eulogy too, if he knew who you were.