Disgusting Ford flag rant actually electioneering

Rob Ford was outraged over the Canadian flag at Toronto’s city hall being replaced with the rainbow flag to support gay athletes at the Sochi Winter Olympic games. Of course, Ford knew that wasn’t what actually happened. The Pride flag was put up on the “courtesy poll” which the City of Toronto flag usually flies on.

Ford puts up a Canadian flag in his office window to fake protest the Pride flag temporarily replacing the City of Toronto flag.

So why the fake mix up? It actually has to do with our corrupt and antiquated voting system, First-Past-the-Post.

Ford is beating the war drum to get right-leaning “Ford Nation” supporters fired up for the fall election. He may only need 35 to 40% to win, so the objective is to unite the voting block and ensure they show up to vote.

Andrew Coyne explains the strategy:

When a candidate needs only a small slice of the electorate to win he has little incentive to make himself less obnoxious to the rest; indeed, he has every incentive to amp up the us-and-them rhetoric, the better to lock down his support.

If we had ranked ballot voting — which would require that Ford earn support from a majority of voters — he would be sunk. All his disgusting rhetoric would unite the vast majority against him, removing all chances of him getting reelected.

Conclusion

It’s absurd to put politicians and governments in power the vast majority doesn’t want and didn’t vote for. That is the very opposite of democracy.

Frankly, I hope Ford wins in 2014. As he thumbs his nose at voters and makes a bigger ass of himself on the world stage, maybe we will come to our senses and realize how important a democratic voting system is to a democracy.

(BTW, keep an eye out for Harper using the very same tactics as the 2015 election draws nearer.)