Friday, December 30, 2011

When you realize you voted for the wrong guy

"Instead of giving a politician the keys to the city, it might be better to change the locks."
Doug Larson
I live in a medium-sized burg about a two-hour drive away from the largest city in the country. I've vented plenty of bile about our leadership over the years, but our elected civic officials are seemingly godlike when compared to the folks currently running the show in Toronto.

Mayor Rob Ford, who ran for office on an oft-repeated promise to "stop the gravy train" has turned the city into something of a laughingstock. He's declared war on the Toronto Star, called the cops on one of Canada's top comediennes, been spotted driving (at least twice) with his handset (a no no in our parts) and has been accused of giving the finger to a passing motorist. No one admits ever having voted for the guy, yet there he sits, making a supposedly world class city seem decidedly less so.

The latest: cops being called multiple times to his house to deal with an ongoing series of domestic disputes (story here). I don't want to pile it on at a time when he and his wife, Renata, are clearly dealing with some very serious issues. But I am forced to question whether this kind of leadership is in the citizens' best interests, and whether it might make more sense for him to step aside so he can deal with more important issues, at home, than finding gravy and flipping the bird.

Your turn: Politicians who suck. Please discuss.

2 comments:

Kalei's Best Friend said...

Carmi, you are opening up a can of worms.. lol.. All I can say is that a bad politician is = to a bad relationship....I've learned, always go w/your gut... There are few 'good and honest guys' out there... and its rare to find them, that being said, if you find you have come across one, do your homework and make sure they are who they are before committing.. :-) even if that means running a D&B on them..

CorvusCorax12 said...

when we had our last federal and provincial elections my in-laws told me they always voted conservative and will continue too....that is the mentality we are dealing with. No research in the candidates or the platforms. I know most of us lean one way or another, but what frustrates me the most that some don't read up even a little, they listen to sound bites and attack adds. As for Ford's predicament, I wouldn't want to be the police chief :S