The CLOWNING of Jerry Agar:
John Moore quips that "Agar" will likely run-down his guests who were sitting with John to discuss cycling safety...
Bullard makes outright mocking jabs at Jerry's expense.
Ryan Doyle, in a creepy SWF kind of way, is apparently trying to wear Jerry Agar's skin...
...and Jerry himself is becoming a characature of himself, taking increasingly extreme Right Wing stands on any number of issues. Day after day raging, ranting and moving further and further out to the Right end of the spectrum; one must wonder if this is somekind of schtick or if Jerry truly is as volitle and reactive as his on-air character.
Recently a listener wrote a version of A Christmas Carol in the comments of Jerry's blog and painted a picture of a wierd volitile neo-con out-of-touch with reality and concerned only with gut reactions and unconsidered episodes of rash action. It was actually vaguely amusing.
However, it is concerning to note that Jerry appears to be falling into the same pattern as one of his American Political Heros - Gov. Mitt Romney.
An intelligent man of business. Successful, likeable (appearance-wise anyway) and possibly extremely capable for the office he sought to win. Sadly Mr. Romney felt he had to dance out to far RIGHT end of the branch his particular Political Party had staked-out as their own. He did this, I believe, as do many others in the political/business world. because he had little choice otherwise. If he hadn't run to the extreme Right it was questionable if the GOP would have given him the nomination he needed to run for President. Indeed if you'll recall even after running Right Mr. Romney struggled to the wire to win his Party's endorsement.
In Ontario, as Mr. Tory may privately confess, our own PC Party suffered from a similar fate. In 2009 the Party met and Mr. Tory (a man of great integrity & a true PROGRESSIVE cONSERVATIVE) was forced out -not without a few knives in his back- in favour of Mr. Hudak.
Mr. Hudak, a jr back bencher in Mr. Harris' day, had not the support to win his Party's nod...so he moved right (the degree to which is unclear as Mr. Hudak has never really stated or shown anyone where he himself actually stands philosophically, preferring rather to defer to his trusted inner-circle's instincts; politics as usual). Mr. Hudak came to some kind of agreement with Mr. Hillier and some of the more extreme Right elements of the party and now we have 'Paths to Prosperity' - though Paul Ryan's update of the 1990's "Contract with America" oddly named 'Path to Prosperity' is a far more interesting read - and looming Right to Work proposals which will doubtlessly carry the NCP (Neo-Conservative Pary, I refuse to allow Mr. Hudak the privilidge of using the name Progressive Conservative being a life long supporter of that once proud political organization myself).
The trend is disturbing and has apparently continued on down to poor Mr. Agar, who takes glancing blows at issues of his choosing, but lingers not long enough on any one thing less the absurd nature of many of his hard-right arguments be exposed as little more than spur-of-the-moment gut reactions. Mr. Agar has made himself into a clown of sorts, and even the other hosts are teeing him up to serve as an angry foil for so many of their own points.
Sadly Mr. Agar is not unintelligent (the jury is still out on Mr. Hudak who still appears to be more a actor than a politician, let alone a leader). Jerry Agar has shown himself over the last number of years here in Toronto to be thoughtful and even flexible at times. Of late though his act isn't so riviting as social commentary as it is a train-wreck waiting to happen. Indeed, before the Christmas break he even looked as though he might cross into Nacy Grace Territory; possibly becoming a concern for CRTC regulators. The question is why? To what is Mr. Agar plying to? Mr. Hudak had not the charisma to win a party's leadership, Mr. Romney had no other choice if he was to even 'get-in-the-game'. Bur Mr. Agar is a talk radio host...his dance towards far right absurdity makes little sense.
There can be little to look forward to in this New Year from Mr. Agar, for it is feared that he has positioned himself so far right that his commentary has become the stuff of bad humour. This is unfortunate.
At least the other hosts now have an angry clown to play off of I suppose.

Though not a Conservative supporter at any time in my life, this comment is the closest thing to 'truth' I've ever seen on this site and really does point out that the old notions of left v right, Lib v Con have been so twisted, so perverted that we are witnessing the bastardization of the core political values that made Canada great.
@WalcottThompson is completely correct about the back stabbing mutation that has gripped the former Progressive Conservative Party - I like the NCP idea, Timmy should run with it (if his wife lets him of course).
I'd go further to say that the Liberal Party is similarly twisted and bankrupt given all we've seen in the last few months.
As far as Jerry Agar I could care less what a loud mouthed am talkshow host has to say, they're all clowns to some degree, but finally something on 1010 is speaking about the disgraceful decline we're all allowing to occurr in Ontario's (&Canada's) Government.
Bravo Walcott. Bravo.

Jerry Agar is not a clown. He is not unintelligent & he is not blinded with rage. Jerry knows exactly what he's saying & says it with intent. If anything Jerry is a modern-day herald, and that is what should be concerning.
There is a great race to the bottom going on in Canada and North America which has seen the ruin of the United States of America where the economic collapse of 08 brought on by greedy corp bankers, corrupt Gov't officals manipulating the ppl and Armed Forces of that Nation into two Wars with no clear objective and ridden like a whore by the Rhetoric spouting "Tea Party" movement; who've stalled recovery and quashed real political dialogue with vehement reactive extreme RIGHT politicing.
@Walcot T is correct to point out the neo-CONSERVATIVE love affair with what passes for the 'Republican' party in the U.S. and is closer to truth about the Ont PCs than he may know.
BUT he is wrong about Jerry Agar. No clown. Jerry is what in the pornography industry would be called a "Fluffer" preparing the masses for what's to come. You all are to accept that we can no longer afford living wages, you are to accept that you need 2 maybe 3 McJobs to make ends meet, you are to be happy when you hear that a political party or gov't has stripped rights from workers, raided pension plans (private and public) sold off public assets at cut-rate prices and quietly all the while voted themselves pay raises and under-the-table perks.
Jerry works on raw emotion, gut-reactions, unthinking first-instincts. Get angry, get so angry you're raging and then Jerry, or someone like him will put a pen and ballot in your hand and while you're still blind with rage cast your ballot and "show 'em all".
Ontario, Canada is one of (some would say is #1) the best places in the world to live.
Why?
Because we have the rule of law. We have the freedom to speak our minds, practice religion, work for an honest living and expect to sleep at night without fear of police actions, tribal warfare, political unrest, starvation, disease or any number of the ills which plague so much of the world.
There is a growing awareness of a Social Justice which the neo-Cons and Tea Party seem to whish to stamp-out.
Let the Market rule is a common refrain from the likes of Agar, O'Leary, Tory, Hudak, Ryan, Romney, Bush...but the fact is if we simply embraced the "market" we'd find quite fast that India, China, S. East Asia, Mexico...command the labour the "market" dictates.
The issue? A Canadian, or American, working-class/middle-class citizen CAN NOT compete on a dollar for dollar basis with their third-world counterparts and live a life above the "poverty line" (a line the Neo-Cons et. al. are quietly trying to lower).
The result? A North America where the constructs of our accepted Western Standards of Living are dramatically curtailed, our expectations lowered, our common-futures dimmed and somewhat cleaner, somewhat healthier version Mexico now exists where the so-called %1 live quite well and the rest of us strive to be working-class.
@Walcot brushes this only slightly, but he's right that Tim Hudak would like to be Paul Ryan...yes the PC's "white papers" really are just Republican Policies which have been kicked around the neo-con think-tanks for the last 25 years (many of them helped "W" and Wall Street run the US into the ground; BUT made Billionaires out of Millionaires, so there's that).
Jerry Agar heralds the great rush to the bottom.
He cheers you on as you grow angry that a unionized worker (public servant or not) is paid a living-wage and you are not.
He cheers you on as you support Gov'ts as they strip rights from Teachers, AirLine employees, Postal Workers, Jail guards, Police, Fire Fighters, Nurses because that Gov't can't pay them and the bloated bureaucracy that leaches off each of these essential elements. Bureaucrats who hold all the secrets all the politicans amass on their way to "power".
Jerry wants you to be angry, not thoughtful.
He's thoughtful. He knows what he's doing. That's what makes Jerry dangerous. He thinks that he's backing the winning side in all of this. At the end of the day he will be sure to be paid, and right or wrong that is the bottom line. And the bottom line is all that matters.
Human Rights? A Living Wage? Personal Rights to the Rule of Law?
All of that is expendable when the Bottom Line is what counts.

No Mr. Agar, you are not a clown.

Don't like Jerry?? That's OK, as I suspect he'll manage to get over the scorn.

The real question for listeners..........does he make you think?? If he does, then he's doing his job.

About 10 years ago I was enjoying a beer with an industry colleague from Delaware USA. We were comparing Canadian and American approaches to government. This gentleman thought for a moment, then observed "I suppose when you peel away the outer layers of the onion, that our political systems are not functionally different. However, in the US, there is one fundamental right that we have never taken lightly or dared to eliminate, and that is the right to tell our government to go to hell !!"

The older I've get, the less likely I am to want elected officials to do all my thinking for me. Notwithstanding the fact that Jerry is well to the right of Attila the Hun (and the rest of 1010am's capable on-air staff covers the rest of the political spectrum), my take is that he's trying to provoke Canadians to think for themselves. If we don't do the legwork on thinking issues through, then we will not be able to voice alternatives that any politician might take seriously........and we'll be deservedly stuck with what we get !

-David

PS: On the lighter side, if I ever find out that Jerry is a Toronto Maple-Leafs fan, I probably will tune him out. Admiration has its limits !!

The option to tune-out is there for you.
I turned 1010 off nearly 2 years ago.
Still use the site for news/weather etc. but couldn't handle to garbage any longer.