Carl Paladino's Letter to Andrew Cuomo

sweet tea wrote: it's hard for me to understand why anyone who wanted to be taken seriously by a majority of the electorate would persist in forwarding racist emails.

Why is it racist?

I believe the question is now "why vote him?"

Bloomberg endorses Cuomo.

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/09/22/2010-09-22_andrew_cuomo_endorsed_by_new_york_mayor_mike_bloomberg_for_governor_in_statement.html

Pala- who?

indeed! Why vote for Paladino. Then again, why vote for Cuomo? Besides being the AG of NYS, what has he done for us? It seems to me he let the Dem machine go way out of control, especially in NYC, with these states sponsored charities, which turned out to be nothing more than piggy banks for said political sponsor. I don't think he even moved on them until the Daily News exposed the whole thing. He certainly hasn't done anything about Atlantic Yards in terms of its legality and loop-holes. I really don't see any difference between Cuomo and Paladino, except for Paladino's being vocal. Kind of suck that Spitzer ha to leave.

Position of privilege being? As far as the gay and lesbian community goes, I predict that no matter which of the two get in nothing will change. Just because one candidate is open about his bigotry and the other one manages to keep his quiet, it doesn't mean Cuomo will be successful in championing any laws and rights (which btw, I feel are way overdue), if he decides to pursue them at all.

idlewild, i have no idea what positions of privilege you may occupy. certainly i occupy a few (race comes to mind), so i don't mean to suggest that doing so makes a person "bad," only that doing so does allow a person to be more sanguine in some matters.

i do think it matters what an executive believes should be legal, even though obviously the legislature has a lot of power in our system. for instance: thanks to paterson, the state of new york recognizes my marriage, since it was legal in the jurisdiction where it was performed. that was an executive order, not an act of the legislature. had someone else been governor, it wouldn't have happened, and it matters a great deal to me.

i am not entirely sure of the law, but my guess is that a new executive order could rescind that one. i am reasonably sure cuomo, whether or not he champions marriage equality, won't do that, since it would piss off a lot of people who might vote for him. i think it is likely that paladino would (assuming someone explains the law to him -- he seems to believe NY currently has civil unions), since doing so would please people likely to vote for him.

well, in this case, cuomo supports it and paladino doesn't.

you're right that no presidential candidate with any chance of winning has supported it, but that's not the same as "no candidate for any office."

your principles expressed above are very fine but are also pretty much exactly what i meant about not having to be pragmatic about an issue that doesn't concern you directly.

but it doesn't concern you enough that you consider a difference on that topic significant enough to be a difference between two candidates, i surmise because you have the luxury of knowing your principle is right and your life won't change much if the law does or doesn't change.

that's what i mean by a position of privilege. being in one doesn't mean you're awful or something, but you are in one. heck, i'm in plenty myself. for instance, i have my views and principles about how we should deal with immigration laws, but since i'm not directly affected by them -- except in large-scale ways that are hard to predict -- i can afford to be less pragmatic on the subject.

back to paladino: he believes abortion should be illegal even in cases of rape. anyone know where he falls on early pre-eclampsia? i'm guessing it's not good news for folks with uteri and those who love them.

I'm writing in Spitzer.

I do love the notion that a politician or preacher can sin, ask God for forgiveness, and then actually come out ahead by proclaiming their faith in God's ability to forgive them to voters. (sarcasm)

Idlewild wrote: Suppose the hooker's a Republican? Does she get ostracized because she accepted money to fuck a Dem, or does she get a Palin Tea Party endorsement for....fucking a Democrat and taking his money?

These are good questions

I've thought about becoming born again to be able to live my life in this way.

Sweet!

....but, can I be a non-proselytizing one?

I find them less annoying, and I don't have a car to put a fish on.