Oct 19 2010 08:10 AM
Re: "The Rent Is Too... Damn... High." (NY Gov Race 2010)
After seeing this all over the News last night I'm mad I missed it.....the Snooze has it all over the paper today. Interesting that Paladino by some accounts finished way behind some of these candidates according to some watchers.
Andrew Cuomo, Carl Paladino and zany band of gubernatorial candidates trade barbs in debate
| Andrew Cuomo kept his cool and played the role of gubernatorial front-runner - and let his debate rivals come across like vaudeville acts. Cuomo stayed above the fray Monday night, and GOP foe Carl Paladino holstered his famous bombast and tried to tackle substantive issues. The five minor-party candidates sharing the stage were the stars of the show, with a string of out-there proposals and oddball behavior. Jimmy McMillan of the Rent Is Too Damn High Party wore black gloves, which he later pinned on Agent Orange, and sported a throwback mustache and beard. "It all boils down to one thing, rent, it's too damn high," he insisted. At one point, Cuomo quipped: "I'm with Jimmy, the rent is too damn high." McMillan then placed his gloved hands on an uneasy Cuomo's shoulders. McMillan promised to create up to 3 million jobs by lowering rent. On the issue of gay marriage, he said, "If you want to marry a shoe, I'll marry you." Former madam Kristin Davis, running on the Anti-Prohibition Party line, called career politicians the "biggest whores." She declared she might be the only one "with the right experience to deal with them." In discussing the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, she noted that "the key difference between the MTA and my former escort agency is that I operated one set of books and my former agency delivered on-time and reliable service." Davis, who was flanked on stage by Green Party candidate Howie Hawkins, called for the legalization of marijuana. She also got in one of the best zingers of the night, saying that if business taxes are raised, companies will flee "quicker than Carl Paladino at a gay bar." The Daily News revealed last week that Paladino was the landlord of two Buffalo gay clubs, even though he ranted that kids shouldn't be "brainwashed" into accepting a gay lifestyle. Warren Redlich of the Libertarian Party described himself as an atypical New York politician. "I've never been caught with a prostitute, my dad wasn't governor, and I've never been convicted of a crime," he quipped. Paladino, who has generated a string of controversies in recent weeks, didn't even try to challenge Cuomo. The only shot he threw came during the closing statement, when, without mentioning Cuomo by name, Paladino noted that "I'm not the candidate who is up to his neck in special interest campaign contributions." "My critics want to say I'm angry; no, I'm passionate about saving New York," he said. Despite attracting almost all of the attention on the campaign trail, Cuomo and Paladino each spoke for only about 12 minutes in the 90-minute debate at Hofstra University because of the format. Paladino, a political novice, seemed nervous at times. He focused heavily on the need to cut Medicaid and his plan to "dismember the New York Education Department." While Paladino passed on firing at Cuomo, Redlich and City Councilman and Freedom Party candidate Charles Barron were happy to take aim. "Cuomo will be the king of layoffs," Barron charged. Responded Cuomo: "If they go with you Charles, they'd have no jobs." Barron also accused Cuomo, as attorney general, of going easy on embattled Assemblyman Vito Lopez, the powerful Brooklyn Democratic Party chairman. "I've put people in jail," Cuomo countered. Redlich questioned a $50,000 donation Cuomo got from an unidentified parking lot owner. Except for his one shot at Barron, Cuomo ignored the attacks. In his closing argument, Cuomo recognized the anger the public has for state government. "We're going to make this state the Empire State again, don't you think twice about that - and go, Yankees," he said. Going in, Cuomo's camp wanted to make sure he kept his cool if attacked and focused on his performance as attorney general and his plans as governor. Cuomo appeared to be the most polished and relaxed candidate on stage. "I thought he handled himself superbly," his running mate, Robert Duffy, the mayor of upstate Rochester, crowed afterward. Paladino's team wanted to recapture its earlier momentum by avoiding controversial statements and personal attacks. "I think Carl got his message across; he was clearly, at the very beginning of this debate, uncomfortable up there on the stage on this format," said his campaign manager, Michael Caputo. "I think after a little bit of time, he loosened up and he was able to speak his mind." klovett@nydailynews.com Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/201 ... z12oVkFyrZ |