Republican Paladino's a different kind of loose cannon
Gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino addresses his supporters in the lobby of the Ellicott Square Building Tuesday night, Sept. 14, 2010, after his primary victory. Credit: Buffalo News / Derek Gee
A major-party contest between Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and Republican real-estate developer Carl Paladino puts the Democratic front-runner up against a controversy-stirring man with millions, instead of ex-Congressman Rick Lazio, who was starved of cash and static in polls.
Paladino likes to tell people he's "mad as hell." Now it will be Cuomo's task to try to convince the electorate that this would mean "mad," as in "nuts." Expect some wild verbal histrionics, if Paladino's past is prologue.
Before President Barack Obama's swearing-in ceremony, Paladino e-mailed to friends a joke video titled "Obama Inauguration Rehearsal." It showed an African tribal dance. This was just one sample; Paladino forwarded jokes with ethnic slurs and images of bestiality and porn. A spokesman called them "off-color" and "politically incorrect" - but not indicative of his opinions.
Other candidacies have been blown to pieces early on for less.
The Buffalo real-estate baron - who's had lucrative business dealings with the state - never held elected office. After declaring for governor, other Republicans noted having contributed to such Democrats as Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Sen. Charles Schumer and Gov. David A. Paterson. Now he is a critic of "liberal" policies.
This sort of thing is not unheard of. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg switched from Democrat to Republican, too. He drew fire in 2001 for off-color and sexual jokes - even a one-liner putting down Queens! A very wealthy businessman, he also funded his own race.
But Paladino cuts a different kind of loose-cannon profile in this year of "tea party" reaction. At the Republican convention in June, Paladino drew a paltry share of the state committee vote. He petitioned his name onto the primary ballot, and his Taxpayer Party line onto the November ballot as well.
The rhetoric of a primary is different from the rhetoric of a general election. Consider:
When interviewed by an upstate newspaper, he said Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver "fit the bill" of the anti-Christ or "a Hitler."
When Democratic candidate Andrew Cuomo indicated Sunday he'd accept the Working Families Party endorsement - with party leaders hinting of union sacrifices - Paladino said: "Just because the pig lifts its snout from the trough and says 'I'm full' doesn't mean it won't get hungry again."
On health-care legislation, Paladino said, "I fear the results of Obamacare will be so horrific that it will kill more Americans through deteriorating health care than were lost on 9/11."
Paladino reflects a mood. In a different year, his run might have been dismissed as trivial. This season, he makes it into the finals.
