Lies, Damn Lies, And Crack

Now that the Rob Ford cavalcade has calmed down a bit, people have a chance to look past the buffoonery and look at what he's actually been saying.  And when they do that, they see that he's also told a lot of bald-faced lies that have nothing to do with his troubling addictions and behaviours. He claimed he had a bigger electoral mandate than anyone in Canadian history (that wasn't even close to true - Ford didn't even have the biggest win in merged-Toronto's short history.) He claimed - as he often does - that he got Toronto the lowest tax increase in North America (San Antonio didn't even have an increase, and even economically-pummeled Windsor did better than Toronto.)

That's got me thinking about Ford's supporters and their motivation. Their explanation for standing by him is that whatever his behavior, he's been a good mayor. And their definition of "Good Mayor" revolves around telling-it-like-it-is and saving the taxpayer money. His personal life may be a disaster, but he's forthright and cares about the little guy.

Which makes the above lies seem curious. Yes, it may not be unusual to hear about a politician lying, but this is a guy who portrays himself as the outsider type, someone who's above all that. And yet he doesn't just lie, he makes big, easily-disproven lies, rather than hiding his lies in exaggerations and lies-of-omission like most politicians.

As for his record, he and his followers frequently claim a billion dollars in taxpayer savings. He has done a lot of the work one would expect of a conservative politician, though the billion dollar figure relies on some fishy accounting.  But even if you believe the whole billion dollar claim, that saving will still be swallowed up by the extra cost to implement his transit plans, as compared to the plan he canceled upon taking office. You'd think that conservative voters would see this as more of what they're starting to tire of in conservative politicians: they practice austerity, but blow the savings on pet projects, never actually reducing the size of government.

So if Rob Ford just mediocre as a conservative, and worse-than-average for honesty, why do people love him enough to overlook his shortcomings?  My guess is that he's straightforward.  His lies may be bad, but they're simple.  His claims and his plans - whether good or bad - don't sound politiciany.  It's easy for him to play the outsider role: he may have many of the traits that people hate in politicians, but he still doesn't seem like a politician.