Pubdate: Tue, 28 May 2013
Source: Toronto Sun (CN ON)
Copyright: 2013 Canoe Limited Partnership
Contact:  http://torontosun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/457
Author: Sue-Ann Levy

DISGRACEFUL HYPOCRISY FROM LEFT IN ROB FORD MEDIA CIRCUS

TORONTO - It was his 44th birthday Tuesday and because, or in spite, 
of that Mayor Rob Ford essentially told his media and other 
detractors to "eat cake."

As the media circus continued to swirl around him, the vultures 
gossiped and the (treasure) hunt for the alleged crack-cocaine video 
continued, Ford continued on with "business as usual" as if it was 
just another day.

In fact, at a mini-birthday celebration after executive committee 
broke for lunch - I was the only media person there - he joked about 
only being able to eat one slice of cake (because of the waist line) 
before walking out of his office to offer the media standing there a 
few slices of the sugary cake.

I didn't have any. I went to wish the mayor a "Happy Birthday" and to 
see how his staff were faring following the departure of his two 
communications staffers Monday. Despite the pressure cooker under 
which they are operating, they seemed to be doing fine.

Ford got through executive committee - sitting respectfully as he 
spent the morning listening to dozens of speakers for and against the 
presence of the hateful group Queers Against Israeli Apartheid 
(QuAIA) in this year's Gay Pride parade.

Ironically, many of those who came to bully city staff into giving 
Pride their grant this year - despite Pride's mishandling of this 
file and their own acceptance of this hateful agenda dressed in the 
guise of free speech - are the same cast of characters who bully Ford 
on Twitter and in council.

Let's see now. There was Kristyn Wong-Tam (who actually paid for 
QuAIA's website for 18 months until she realized she better stop if 
she wanted to win the 2010 election), Adam Vaughan and Janet Davis. 
The usual suspects.

If we listen to the media pirahnas and the Twitterati dish the dirt 
with almost a delicious zeal, Ford is one step from being put out to 
pasture. It is only a matter of time. (Hey whatever happened to all 
those champions of anti-bullying campaigns? Are they selective about 
who should not be bullied? Are chubby, sweaty mayors a rightful target?)

Perhaps they're right. Perhaps they're not. Perhaps it is all just 
wishful thinking by my left-wing media colleagues and the vocal 
public teat-suckers who will not rest, I'm convinced, until they 
force the mayor out on a stretcher.

They even torqued Deputy Mayor Doug Holyday's comments about the 
video, so desperate are they to prove that Ford is a crack-cocaine addict.

Holyday told me he believes that the Toronto Star reporters saw a 
video BUT, and this is a big BUT, he's still unsure if the video is 
authentic. Full stop.

Nevertheless, judging from the activities of Tuesday, I would say the 
rumours of Ford's demise are grossly exaggerated.

I would also say, judging from the Forum poll we ran in our newspaper 
Tuesday, his approval rating is still around 42%, just slightly down 
from the 44% he had earlier this month. That is despite the fact that 
51% polled thought the video was authentic.

The latter finding was particularly interesting - namely that even if 
the mayor is proven to have some dealings with crack cocaine, there 
are people in this city who are prepared to cut him some slack and 
not have their perspective on the matter dictated by the Toronto Star.

I'm amazed, in fact, that the very leftists who are out to crucify 
him for a possible addiction (and I'm not suggesting he has an 
addiction to crack cocaine) are the ones pushing harm-reduction and 
publicly-funded safe crack kits for their special interest groups.

I guess an addiction is only acceptable if one is a Lib-left addict.

The hypocrisy on all of this has been incredibly disgraceful.

You'd think from the behaviour of the media hordes that there isn't a 
whole world out there.

Councillor Michael Thompson perhaps said it best when he spoke about 
the mayor meeting with a bunch of Upper Canada College students Tuesday.

One reporter asked him breathlessly if he felt "comfortable" exposing 
the mayor to the students.

"You should have seen how the students reacted to him ... he was like 
a rock star with the students," Thompson responded.

"We will continue introducing students to the mayor ... there is a 
world outside City Hall."

It was too funny. The poor reporter didn't know what to do, or say.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom