Rob Ford the Neo-McCarthyist

[The Intransigent Faction]

http://www.thestar.com/news/city_hall/toronto2014election/2014/08/14/senior_rob_ford_campaign_official_says_antiford_pr otesters_are_communists.html

Ford, his staff and some of his supporters in Council have repeatedly called a number of critics "communists". Their lack of credibility, of course, means almost nobody takes these claims seriously.

Here's a semi-serious question: Just what might happen, and what might be reported, if one of them were to say "Yeah, I am a communist. What of it?" :grin:

[Trap Queen Voxxy]

I like it. Bring back memories of the good ole' Cold War days. Haha.

[M-L-C-F]

As if what a crackhead says matters. I don't know much about the guy, beyond the scandal stuff. But he's obviously a piece of shit, and he can just fuck off.

[The Garbage Disposal Unit]

As if what a crackhead says matters.

Hey smarten the fuck up!
What many "crackheads" have to say matters a great deal. What Rob Ford said doesn't matter because he's a rich bigot. Unfortunately, every time some arsehole rich liberal shits on Rob Ford's relatable history of substance abuse it just makes Ford look better: At least he's not a pompous liberal!
Let's get at what really makes Ford vile, and not play the game of bourgeois respectability politics!

[M-L-C-F]

What Rob Ford said doesn't matter because he's a rich bigot.

Well, that's a much better reason anyways. :p

[Anglo-Saxon Philistine]

I think the comparison is pretty misguided, to be honest. HUAC and McCarthy's committee targeted actual radicals, communists, trade-unionists, black radicals, gay people etc., and they didn't just call people communists, they destroyed their careers and lives. This is... a couple of liberals got called commies by a rich twit.

[Slavic]

I think the comparison is pretty misguided, to be honest. HUAC and McCarthy's committee targeted actual radicals, communists, trade-unionists, black radicals, gay people etc., and they didn't just call people communists, they destroyed their careers and lives. This is... a couple of liberals got called commies by a rich twit.


True, at least here in the States the slurs "socialist" and "communist" are used to insult liberals; not being used in its correct context.

[The Intransigent Faction]

I think the comparison is pretty misguided, to be honest. HUAC and McCarthy's committee targeted actual radicals, communists, trade-unionists, black radicals, gay people etc., and they didn't just call people communists, they destroyed their careers and lives. This is... a couple of liberals got called commies by a rich twit.

Yeah, fair enough. It's heavily exaggerated, but it's not the first time Ford or his supporters in council have said this kind of thing. That, and unless I'm mistaken not *every* target of the HUAC was "actually radical". There was an element of falsely branding people as radicals as well.

Call it fear-mongering, or whatever you want. It's just peculiar in that politicians up here usually don't go around calling people "communists". The usual boogeyman nowadays is "terrorist sympathizer", or something along those lines.