The crowds in Toronto that gathered for
the funeral of former mayor Rob Ford filled the streets. There were
banners and marching bands and people chanting: “Best mayor ever!
Best mayor ever!”
Politicians who would cross town in
order not to be seen near him in life attended church to hear him
praised in death. Insiders saying goodby to just the most recent and
most famous anti-insider their system has produced.
Rob Ford's brother Doug vowed at the
funeral that Ford Nation would carry on — and it will, in various
forms, with some members even winning high office.
This is a portrait of our political
system. This is a system that shrugs and winks at insider influence
masquerading as democratic process. A system that sells its influence
to the highest bidders while preaching restraint to the masses. A
system where the little guy pays twice — once for citizenship, and
once more for the profiteers who benefit from insider status the rest
of us could never afford.
In Alberta, B.C., Ontario — and
probably everywhere else — premiers, party leaders and cabinet
members unashamedly sell private access to secret meetings, to raise
money for their election campaigns.
You want to know what a good price
would be to take over the next government service you'd like
privatized? A few minutes alone with the premier could cost you
$10,000 or more. Industry managers have said (anonymously, of course)
that to decline an invitation to attend one of these intimate
fundraisers with a governing party could result in a fatal delay to
your normal business inquiries.
Appeals for political donations has
morphed into a form of shakedown. That's influence peddling. Perhaps
not according to the strict wording of the law, but certainly in
terms of the law's supposed spirit.
The is not a new or recent invention,
but as the need for large amounts of money has taken over election
campaigns, it has been made more perfect.
If anyone in power is still confused as
to why thousands of people would cram the streets to memorialize a
politician who lied in office, showed up late, left early, bullied
and demonized any opposition, consorted with criminals, imbibed
illegal drugs and was regularly and profanely drunk in public, please
consult a mirror. You helped create him.
We have been warned for a long time now
about how the rising disparity of incomes and opportunities in our
society will lead to instability and rising social unrest.
While the rich and influential minority
has gotten ever richer and ever more influential, cracks in our
social cohesion have grown into niches for populist opportunists who
want to bring the system down. To the people the system has left
behind, that sounds like a perfectly good idea.
A current of anger rises when large
masses of people realize they do not have the same opportunities to upward
mobility that elites say they have. Charismatic leaders come forward
to mobilize that anger, and you get a Toronto Mayor Rob Ford. In
November, we may well get a U.S. President Donald Trump.
There is no moral high ground for
mainstream politicians who benefit from the whiff of corruption.
One's vision for a better, more equal and just society cannot square
with intimate social gatherings to take money from people who do not
generally give money away for free.
You can say that your party's polling
and focus group discussions equate to consulting the people, but who
will believe you? Someone is coming who will convince the people to
damn you all.
The consequences include fascism, and
that is not a good outcome. So why promote it?
We want our leaders to be beacons of
integrity, in what is widely understood to be a dirty game. That's a
hard road. If we are all honest with ourselves, it's sometimes a
duplicitous one.
But it beats the alternatives; it's the
best game we have.
So cancel the intimate expensive
fundraisers with the rich and influential. They will be rich and
influential enough without having to buy favours from you. Where the
laws do not yet demand it, declare political fundraising caps and
election expense limits unilaterally — and live by them.
Make our votes count for more than
dollars. Or face what comes when the next Rob Ford comes along.
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