NY-Gov: Libs Continue the Smack Down on Crazy Carl

Redlich and Paladino Continue Battle of Wits Before Big Debate

(Cross-posted on The Albany Project)

Is everybody excited for the big gubernatorial debate coming up on Monday? I know I am, because I have a weird affinity for third party candidates. As the Wall Street Journal observed earlier this week (ew, I hate linking to that paper) all the third-party candidates have been invited at Crazy Carl Paladino's insistence.

And probably to his detriment. His borderline insanity becoming more apparent with each passing day, he's apparently too foolish to concede defeat in the battle of wits currently being instigated by Libertarian candidate Warren Redlich. Last week, Redlich went for the jugular with this YouTube parody of Paladino's infamous encounter with New York Post reporter Fred Dicker. It was the funniest thing I've seen all season.

Could the debate on Monday be even funnier? If Paladino continues taking the bait the way he did in the Journal...

Mr. Redlich said he is "the only real choice for anyone who is toward the right of center," asserting that Mr. Paladino "has made himself difficult to vote for." (A spokesman for Mr. Paladino, Michael Caputo, said Mr. Redlich is "so busy leering at teen girls and pushing for legalized narcotics that Carl wouldn't want his vote anyway.")

...which gave Redlich the in to release this response today...

Mr. Redlich admits to reading Mr. Paladino's e-mails. However, he does not "leer" at them and more importantly, he doesn't forward them.

On the drug issue, Mr. Paladino should be among the first to recognize the problems with our current policy. It failed to prevent his own son Patrick from "struggling with an addiction to drugs and alcohol," as reported by the New York Times.

Mr. Paladino might want to learn that well-known saying: "People who own taxpayer-funded glass office buildings shouldn't throw stones."

...then we could have quite the LIB vs. GOP smack-down on Monday.

This is what I like about Warren Redlich. He knows how to deal with Paladino in a way Cuomo doesn't want to. Redlich's strategy appears to be to instigate Crazy Carl into even more public mudslinging, and so far it's working. The Paladino campaign is bleeding votes thanks to it's candidates lunacy, and Redlich's libertarianism is probably the most attractive alternative.

How does this help the Democratic Party? By syphoning votes away from the Paladino Party (or whatever he's calling his new for-sale party line), Redlich is giving us some extra help by making sure the Tea Party dies a quick death in New York State. If Redlich's campaign ends up leaving Carl's for-sale Tea Party line short of the 50,000 votes it needs to rear it's ugly head again, he will have done much better by us Democrats than most of us are currently giving him credit for.

Put that in your pipe and smoke it. And stay tuned to see if anything like this goes down at the debate.

NY-Gov: Libertarians Make A Laughing Stock of Paladino

Libertarian Gubernatorial CandidateUses Dino-Dicker Confrontation to Hilariously Frame His Issues

Remember a few weeks ago when Carl Paladino flew off the handle in a confrontation with New York Post political guru Fred Dicker? And do you recall the observations earlier this week that it might be the Libertarian's year thanks to the alienation of 'Dino supporters as a result?

Libertarian Gubernatorial candidate Warren Redlich has just posted what I consider to be the most hilarious political satire video of the year to take advantage of the fallout.



Just for the record, that's not really Fred Dicker in the video. Redlich confirmed that it's a fellow LP activist. But I still think this is a classy dig at Paladino.

Even more classier, Redlich did what Paladino should have done in real life by issueing a public "apology" to Mr. Dicker for the fictitious indcident:

In light of the recent confrontation between journalist Fred Dicker and Governor candidate Warren Redlich, the Redlich campaign today issued the following statement:

We regret that the incident turned ugly. "I apologize for losing my temper, and for my colorful language," Mr. Redlich said.

Honestly, I was laughing my ass off. Finally, I thought, a candidate willing to stick it to Paladino the way it should be done: with humor. Paladino is not worth taking seriously, and many of his antics, while patently offensive, are also laugh-out-loud stich-worthy.

I also like the way Redlich uses the dig to frame his two main sticking points agianst his two strongest opponents, Paladino himself and our guy, Andrew Cuomo. I had the pleasure of eating lunch with Mr. Redlich earlier this week. My main intention was to simply get face time with another Albany area attorney who might need my services as a paralegal. But he's glad enough to have a firm that's shrinking, and was even more proud to say, and I quote: "I'm the only candidate who's not full of crap."

I like how he ran with this so much, that I'm even going to give you the rest of the release below the fold; he ties the joke into some serious questions for both major party candidates.

(Cross Posted on The Albany Project)

Despite the negative nature of the moment, the Redlich campaign continues to support its statements about Andrew Cuomo and Carl Paladino.

Andrew Cuomo has received over $51 million in special interest contributions over the course of his political career. In this election cycle Cuomo has taken nearly 900 separate contributions of $10,000 or more. This includes a $55K contribution from a small parking lot at 318 West 37th Street in Manhattan. The parking lot is owned by West 37th Street Parking LLC, a Delaware corporation of unknown ownership. If Mr. Cuomo really wants to promote transparency in campaign finance, he should start by telling the voters of New York who's behind the parking lot.

The evidence is available at:
http://www.elections.state.ny.us/ContributionSearchA.html

Meanwhile, the supposedly conservative Carl Paladino has given thousands of dollars to liberals including Al Gore, John Kerry, and David Paterson.

When the 2008 presidential primary season was heating up, when Warren Redlich was giving money to conservative Ron Paul, and when other conservatives were supporting Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney, Carl Paladino gave the maximum contribution to that well-known conservative, Hillary Rodham Clinton.

When the health care debate was brewing, Carl Paladino gave $1000 to another well-known conservative, Chuck Schumer, five days after Schumer announced his support for "public option."

The evidence is available at:
http://fec.gov/finance/disclosure/norindsea.shtml

Finally, we have the evidence that Warren Redlich is the only candidate in the Governor's race who is not full of "it".

Feel free to confirm or deny any Mr. Redlich's accusations in the comments. Personally, I was leaning towards Cuomo...but I'm now probably voting for Warren. I'm a weirdo, here: I always split my ticket. But only if it doesn't hurt my own party. I don't see Cuomo really needing my help this year. I am confident he will not noly be the next Governor, but that he will be one of the best the state has ever seen.

But I also care about the health of third parties in New York, and while I'm a Democrat I do feel that the Green and the Libertarian parties both have better stances on a few of my pet issues better than the more centrist-dominated Democratic party does. This year, I think it's Redlich who needs my help. With Paladino bleeding support from the very people apt to support Redlich as well, this could be the year that the Libertarian Party gets some clout in New York. And for me, that's a good thing.

To get the same reasoning right from Redlich's mouth, check out his candid interview earlier this week on Captiol Tonight. And then, stay tuned...I've a hunch the Redlich is going to do something this year, and the lead-up is already interesting and entertaining thanks to his good humor. Enjoy!