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rfmcdonaldGerry Nicholls' Toronto Star opinion piece makes the sad but plausible argument that the ongoing polarization of Toronto into downtown and suburban camps explains why Rob Ford's popularity hasn't budged.
It’s telling, for instance, that we talk about a “Ford Nation” but never a “Harper Nation” or a “Hudak Nation.”
And “nation” is actually a good word to describe Ford’s support base because in politics tribal instincts run strong.
Stripped to its basic element, politics is really nothing more than a never-ending battle between two warring tribes: “Us” and “Them.”
We vote for a party or for a politician to defend “Us,” the good guys, from “Them,” the bad guys, the outsiders, the people who oppose our interests.
From the Ford Nation’s perspective, “Us” are hard-working, middle class, suburbanites, while “Them” are downtown elites, special interest groups, the media and public sector union bosses.
So what happens when “Them” launches a ferocious attack on Ford Nation’s top man?
The same thing that happens when outsiders attack any nation: its members close ranks and rally around their leader. That’s what Ford Nation is doing now.
