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2010 Gov Race
Paladino vs. D’Amato
Sep 16th - 1:16 pm
During a CapTon interview last night, I asked GOP gubernatorial nominee Carl Paladino for his reaction to the “Wise Guys” open letter that deemed him “simply not fit to lead this great state” and the practicer of “a destructive brand of politics that will divide our state.”
Paladino didn’t seem at all perturbed. Actually, he smiled and then took a swipe at one of the trio – his fellow Republican, former US Sen. Alfonse D’Amato.
“Well, Alfonse has finally come out of the closet? Alfonse has finally declared himself a Democrat now? That’s wonderful. I’m really proud of him.”
“I think he should have done it a few months ago. He should have told people, yes, he is in Cuomo’s pocket. Yes, he is supprting Lazio. He sent Finkelstein over there to run the Lazio campaign and he failed. Now all of a sudden he’s open and he’s joining Koch? Interesting.”
And now there’s a formal – and very lengthy – statement from Paladino’s campaign manager Michael Caputo, which starts thusly:
“The Cuomo campaign rolled out three pathetic political insiders to attack Carl Paladino because they know he will destroy the status quo in Albany and throw the bums out.”
The rest of the statement appears in full after the jump.
Cuomo’s Anti-Paladino Surrogates
Sep 16th - 12:51 pm
Democratic gubernatorial frontrunner Andrew Cuomo’s campaign is so far staying in the background when it comes to engaging with his newly-minted GOP opponent, Carl Paladino, but that doesn’t mean the AG is ignoring the Buffalo businessman – far from it, in fact.
The Cuomo camp has deployed a parade of surrogates to attack Paladino, starting with its first line of defense, state Democratic Party Chairman Jay Jacobs, who called the Republican nominee a “wacko” and questioned his ties to state government (through lucratice real estate leases) at a time when “Albany” is the dirtiest word in politics.
Also piling on Paladino was NARAL Pro-Choice NY and Planned Parenthood Advocates of New York, whose Tracy Brooks called the candidate “offensive” (due to his opposition to abortion – even in cases of rape and incest) and “unqualified”
“New York is a progressive, pro-choice state. Polls and elections have proved this time and time again,” Brooks said in a statement yesterday.
“This state has a long tradition of a political climate that does not support anti-choice candidates. Carl Paladino is offensive and unqualified. His views are extreme and not acceptable in a decent society.”
Also yesterday, the NY1 “Wise Guys” – former NYC Mayor Ed Koch, former state Comptroller H. Carl McCall and former US Sen. Alfonse D’Amato – Cuomo supporters all, sent out an open letter deeming Paladino unfit and unqualified.
McCall is getting two bites at this surrogate apple, as his name is also on a letter sent by African American Democratic leaders that called Paladino “extreme” and “polarizing” and said he “has represented a greater threat to New York’s longstanding commitment to tolerance and equality” than any major party candidate “in recent memory.”
Here’s the list of signers and the statement:
Paterson’s Parting Gift: Layoffs (Updated)
Sep 16th - 11:27 am
Gov. David Paterson, who has been hinting for some time that he will likely move up the start date of public employee layoffs from the January 2011 plan he initially proposed (in other words, not on his watch), said today he will likely be forced to fire state workers before his term ends on midnight Dec. 31.
“We’re going to have to,” the governor said (as per the NYT’s Sam Roberts) at a WSJ forum this morning in which he shared a stage with two of his predecessors – former governors Eliot Spitzer and George Pataki.
UPDATE: NY1′s Grace Rauh was on the scene and sent this extended quote:
“We will lay off workers before the end of the year. We are going to have to because out early retirement incentives is not adding up to the $250 million.”
“…The individuals involved should hang their heads in shame because the reality is that the unions in the fiscal crisis of the mid-70s pitched in. They curtailed themselves and that’s how New York City escaped bankruptcy in the mid-70s.”
“The difference now is demonstrable in the fact that for some reason these individuals think they are more special than the special interests…They will blame the layoffs on me. But in their hearts they know their failure to come to the table and give the slightest bit of concession is the reason we are in the situation we are in now.”
Edwards’ Choice
Sep 16th - 9:12 am
Here’s a rather bemused Chautauqua County Executive Greg Edwards yesterday discussing the fact that he’s now the running mate of BOTH Carl Paladino (on the GOP line) and Rick Lazio (on the Conservative line) – an only-in-New York sort of conundrum from which he hasn’t yet decided how best to extricate himself.
It’s also worth noting that Paladino’s preferred LG running mate, former NYC Council Minority Leader Tom Ognibene, is still on the ballot, too. He petitioned his way onto the independent Taxpayers Party line along with Paladino.
I don’t believe it’s possible to combine the votes you receive on multiple lines unless you’re running with the same person. (Election law experts, weigh in, please).
“Right now there’s so much, I’ll call it, dust in the air. So many issues,” Edwards told reporters.
“Only New York State could have this convoluted an election system that we could find ourselves here in this time and place having to make some difficult decisions about what to do next….It was a bittersweet evening, because my choice was to run with Rick Lazio, and I’m continuing to sift through the details now, following last night’s vote.”
Edwards said the campaigns need to make decisions “collectively,” and he’s interested in doing whatever is best for all New Yorkers.
Lazio Changes His Debate Tune (Updated)
Sep 16th - 9:02 am
I just got off the phone with state Conservative Party Chairman Mike Long, who told me he spoke to his gubernatorial candidate, Rick Lazio, late last night (yes, he’s still in the race, just taking some time off to regroup and be with his family), and the former congressman expressed a concern that he might be left out of the general election debates.
Say what?
Yes, you read that correctly.
The man who disdained debating back when he was the perceived frontrunner of the GOP gubernatorial primary – even when dogged by a woman (as it turns out) in a duck suit and heckled by Carl Paladino supporters – is now anxious to go mano-a-mano-a-mano with the Buffalo businessman and the Democratic frontrunner, AG Andrew Cuomo.
When I pointed out the hypocrisy of this sentiment, Long admitted in retrospect that it was “absolutely” a mistake for Lazio to eschew debates with Paladino prior to Tuesday’s primary contest. But he also insisted he hadn’t been involved in the decision-making process at that point.
That’s going to change now that Lazio is only running on the Conservative line, Long said. The two have also already had a discussion about reining in Lazio’s campaign spending – much of which was going to consultants, particularly Arthur Finkelstein, best known as former Gov. George Pataki’s political mastermind.
So, now, basically, what Long wants to know is if Cuomo is going to “pull a Lazio” and ignore both his GOP and Conservative Party opponents from now until the November elections.
That’s a good question.
I have yet to even get an official response from the Cuomo campaign about Paladino’s win, even though I’ve been asking for one since early yesterday morning.
It’s clear the Democrats are planning some form of general election engagement, (witness the statement released yesterday by state Party Chairman Jay Jacobs, who also did a round of media interviews – including on CapTon – to surrogate for the AG).
But it’s possible the AG himself is going to shy away as much as possible from direct involvement with the dirty work of campaigning, and it’s not even clear to me that they still consider Lazio much of a factor in the wake of his big loss to Paladino.
As Cuomo campaign spokesman Phil Singer told the Times: The best spokesperson to win votes for Andrew Cuomo is Carl Paladino. Our strategy is to just let him talk.”
UPDATE: Here’s the Cuomo campaign’s statement on debates, from spokesman Josh Vlasto: “We are open to debating and the campaigns will have to discuss the usual details.”
Colbert On Paladino’s Hope Of ‘Grover Cleveland Fever’
Sep 16th - 8:12 am
Stephen Colbert on Carl Paladino…The clip speaks for itself. (Look for the YNN cameo! Helllllloooo Hollywood!)
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Marist Outlines The Road Ahead
Sep 15th - 3:03 pm
Dr. Lee Miringoff, Director of The Marist College Institute for Public Opinion, passed along some insight as to what me might see in the general election match up between Carl Paladino and Andrew Cuomo.
“Carl Paladino’s come from behind thrashing of Rick Lazio may have been just as much about dissension within the GOP then a tidal wave of discontent rushing down the Erie Canal to Albany,” Miringoff wrote in his blog today.
Here’s a link to Miringoff’s outlook on the gubernatorial election as well as what could happen in the battle for control of the state Senate.
Hold Up. Paladino For Governor Or President?
Sep 15th - 1:29 pm
This came from the Paladino campaign this morning:
“The Last NY Governor from Buffalo became President of the United States. Grover Cleveland was sworn in as Governor on January 1, 1883.
Will Carl Paladino be sworn in on January 1, 2011?
Carl Paladino and his family send their sincere and heartfelt thanks to the Republicans of New York for voting so strongly and giving Carl a mandate for fundamental change. On to November! Thank you everyone.”
Already Beating The Debate Drum
Sep 15th - 1:25 pm
Carl Paladino wasted no time in his victory speech Tuesday challenging Andrew Cuomo to a series of debates. Today, he followed up.
“If a smooth career politician like Andrew Cuomo doesn’t have the courage to debate a businessman from Buffalo, how will he have the courage to take on the entrenched special interests in Albany,” Paladino said in a statement.
Paladino says Cuomo’s silence is “deafening” after ignoring his challenge for nearly 24 hours (it’s been more like 12, but who’s counting).
Paladino Win Ignites New Battle In Senate (Updated)
Sep 15th - 1:17 pm
Shortly after Carl Paladino handily won the Republican nomination in the race for governor Tuesday, Senate Minority Leader Dean Skelos congratulated Paladino and welcomed him to the general election fight–and Senate Democrats were quick to pounce.
Senate Deputy Majority Leader and DSCC Chair, Jeff Klein, released a statement today on what he calls the “Paladino-Skelos partnership.”
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