OP - Corrupted NY Gubernatorial Candidate Runs on Extremist Platform

Carl Paladino has unabashedly run as an outsider in his campaign for New York’s governorship.

When the multi-million dollar Buffalo real estate developer only received eight percent of the gubernatorial vote at the state’s Republican convention in June, falling short of the required 25 percent to be listed on the ballot, he pledged a petition campaign. Paladino delivered on his promise, gathering approximately 28,000 signatures, which is 13,000 more than the required 15,000, with the help of nearly one thousand volunteers.

Then, when seeking the Conservative Party of New York’s nomination for the governorship, a highly valued prize in rural upstate politics, he neglected to attend the convention after party chairman Michael Long” only allotted him two minutes to make his case.

Two weeks after defeating Lazio to win the Republican nomination, Paladino continues to surge. His brash style has won him bipartisan support across the state, especially in his home area of Buffalo, where orange “I’m mad as hell, too, Carl” signs line the streets. He is the tea party favorite who has admirably pledged to serve only one four-year term and not collect a salary.

That being said, the renegade businessman certainly has some intriguingly poor ideas that must be addressed, as well as a terribly questionable past.

For one, Paladino applies an extremist approach to abortion, strongly disapproving of the procedure even in cases of rape or incest. Also, he enjoys overstating the effects of legislation in apocalyptic terms, saying, “The day [the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act] was passed will be remembered just as 9-11 was remembered in history.”

Another one of the core ideas of Paladino’s campaign revolves around developing a contemporary version of the New Deal-era Civil Conservation Corps, an organization in which his father participated, called the Dignity Corps—a very mainstream idea that has been similarly proposed by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. However, in Paladino’s Dignity Corps, the mostly younger workers are healthy welfare or unemployment assistance recipients who must work in order to continue to receive their benefits.

Paladino said he envisioned the employees living in closed minimum-security prisons while on duty. Regarding this proposal, he ironically told the Watertown Daily Times, “This is about giving people dignity, self-esteem.”

A wholesale deconstruction of the state’s most economically unfortunate must be a landmark of Paladino’s campaign, as he has also proposed slashing $20 billion from Medicaid, which is nearly 40 percent of its entire worth. He would also force Medicaid and welfare applicants to be fingerprinted and submit to drug tests.

Clearly civil liberties only apply to the economically privileged, as those who fail to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps must be lethargic welfare queens, a term Ronald Reagan frequently used. Paladino must not realize that such benefits are economic necessities and have been proven on multiple occasions to provide excellent stimulus to struggling economies. This, of course, goes without mentioning the collective ethical necessity of helping out a fellow countryman in need.

Then there is Paladino’s staff, which, contrary to political norms, has been unable to avoid the papers. The New York Times published an excellent piece this week, illustrating the unfortunate and, in some cases, criminal pasts of four staff members.

The IRS filed a lien against his campaign manager, Michael Caputo, after he failed to pay almost $53,000 in federal taxes. Paladino’s campaign chairwoman, Nancy Naples, reportedly left a government position after she was accused of funneling $1 billion in public finances to an investment manager. To add fuel to the fire, Paladino’s driver served a jail sentence in Arizona on drunken driving charges, and an adviser has been indicted for allegedly stealing over $1 million from New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s 2009 re-election bid.

Then, to add insult to injury, Paladino himself is not the brightest bulb in the shop. E-mails traced to Paladino have shown President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama dressed as a pimp and prostitute, and another illustrated a group of African tribesmen dancing and was titled “Obama’s Inauguration Rehearsal.” An additional e-mail showed a woman engaged in sexual intercourse with a horse.

This week, Paladino caught a lot of attention by suggesting that the divorced Andrew Cuomo once had an extramarital affair and that he has the necessary proof that will be reduced in due time. Give credit to Paladino for stumping this low, though, especially since the married father fostered a 10-year old love child in an extramarital affair with an ex-employee that he did not inform his wife of until last year.

As a registered voter in New York, I am utterly embarrassed by Carl Paladino’s presence on the gubernatorial ballot for the general election. I love his unapologetic style, yet his political viewpoints are primitive, and his campaign staff is rooted in corruption. New York voters, be sure to keep in mind that these same staffers will be first in line for government jobs if Paladino happens to be elected.

According to a recent Quinnipiac poll, Paladino is only six percentage points behind Cuomo, but this has been mostly discredited.

Do we, New Yorkers, really want Carl Paladino representing our state? Sure, the state’s legislature is a mess, its fiscal problems are outstanding, and Andrew Cuomo may be nothing short of a political insider, but Paladino represents an extremist viewpoint with a sheltered background.