Carl Paladino ended his first run for office the same way he came in: unapologetic and unpredictable.

CARL BAT

In his concession speech this evening, Paladino thanked his supporters, including members of the Tea Party movement, who inspired him to take on the Republican establishment and make it to the finish line in the general election.

“Last year with the unexpected and remarkable ascent of the tea party we saw the passion of regular people spill into the streets,” said Paladino.

“I shared their feelings; we’re frustrated with big government, we’re tired of our politicians spending like drunken sailors and giving us weak elected representatives, we’re tired of backroom deals and contempt for the people of the people…and yes i joined the tea party movement for the same reason I joined the united states army because I love my country and I’m passionate about new york state and saving it.”

Paladino’s entire speech is after the jump:

Paladino also conceded that the campaign trail was a bumpy road and intense scrutiny was sometimes difficult to stomach.

“We’ve had some casualties,” said Paladino. Let me tell you a lesson I learned on this campaign. You don’t want the media noticing you. It ain’t pretty and it sure ain’t fair. Luckily the New York Times was able to confirm duke’s dog license at city hall.”

Paladino said he called Andrew Cuomo to congratulate him and offer his best wishes while promising not to be dejected by tonight’s results. Instead, he said it’s important to build on the foundation his campaign has built, but vowed you have not heard the last of Carl Paladino.

“I promised to bring a baseball bat to Albany…my baseball bat is a metaphor for the people who want to take our government bat…as our next governor [Cuomo] can grab this handle and bring the people with you to Albany or you can leave it untouched and run the risk of having it wielding it against you.”

Part 1:

Part 2:

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