All seven ballot-qualified candidates for New York Governor appeared Monday evening at the Hofstra Gubernatorial Debate in Hempstead, Long Island, New York. The third party candidates in the race are: Charles Barron (Freedom Party); Kristin Davis (Anti-Prohibition Party); Howie Hawkins (Green Party); Jimmy McMillan (Rent is too Damn High Party); and Warren Redlich (Libertarian Party)
Below are two good write-ups about the debate:
Press Connects/Greater Binghamton published a story on October 18, 2010 titled, “Debate: Minor-party candidates steal show from Cuomo, Paladino”
A quote from the article, “The debate also provided plenty of entertainment, with several of the minor-party candidates aiming barbs at the Republican and Democratic candidates who, in turn, largely ignored them…”
The second piece was highlighted at Ballot Access News:
The New Republic published the story “NY Gubernatorial Debate: More Fringe Candidates, Please!” on October 18, 2010.
A quote from the article, “…Against all odds, this may have been the most informative, high-minded political debate of the cycle…”
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Video of the full debate: Thanks to Long Island politico Chris Garvey who hunted down this link to video of the full debate.
pathetic. truely pathetic.
If you didn’t hear about Warren Redlich before, you’ll be hearing more from him and the Libertarians over the next two weeks!!!!
RUN WARREN RUN!!!!!
LOL! What may be feeding that is the fact that McMillan went viral on the net. Most people probably onyl saw the opening statement and were down with “The Rent is Too Damned High” and his “if you want to marry a shoe” line.
In the world of the sound bite, bluntness is appreciated. Substance matters, but if you can tell it like it is in a line or two, it helps! 🙂
LOL!! In the Daily News poll about who won the Hofstra Governor’s debate, Jimmy McMillan is now in second place. McMillan is ahead of Carl Paladino, and within 2 points of Cuomo.
This is great theatre, I say!
Poll Results
Who fared best during Monday night’s debate?
Andrew Cuomo 29%
Carl Paladino 16%
Jimmy McMillan 27%
Kristin Davis 5%
Warren Redlich 6%
Charles Barron 1%
Howie Hawkins 1%
I didn’t watch 14%
Paladino is a nut and his time is up; he wil go away after he loses this election. It is the Republican Cuomo that we have to worry about.
I thought McMillan & Davis both sucked.
I like having all seven of them on statge.
They should have talked about the Mosque.
They should have talked to each other.
If Paladino wants to be a leader he will stage more debates on his own dollar – and not invite Cuomo.
Understood Kimberly. I wasn’t chastising you, I am saying this about the folks who are complaining about Jimmy. But Jimmy was one of seven and all of them had equal time.
As I said, it was that opening statement that did it. He seems like a nice man with a great heart, but some of his positions did not make sense, like blowing up mountains. Still: I would take McMillan, Barron, hawkins, and even the Libertarian over Cuomo or Paladino any day.
We all know about Paladino, but Cuomo? He is just another neo-liberal dem/moderate Republican like Bill Clinton or Barack Obama. Who would want him?
To Joe-Bob,
I just wanted to clarify, not sure if you misunderstood me.
I think it was only fair to have all the candidates debate the first time. And, I still think that in fairness, all of the candidates should debate again, and any time there is a debate all of the candidates could be included.
Though, if someone wants to use Jimmy McMillan as an excuse that things were too silly or too one-sided, then I think that those people should confess that McMillan simply won the debate, give him his due, and then see if there is a compromise position such as giving him the political/ideological favor he asked for and deserved, and letting him make one, good, victors speech at the next debate.
McMillan did NOT keep the other candidates from making their points in any way whatsoever, so I do not see how his presence was “unfair”. It is unfair to exclude him just because he went viral.
He had a strong opening with a great Populist message. He stuck up for the poor and for families. Though he erroneously offered “free market” solutions for the problems (i.e. cut taxes so that people will have more money) he also offered to cut rent though he did not say how.
It was that strong opening statement that did it and maybe the other candidates should take notes instead of complaining about him.
It appears from an article at Christian Science Monitor, that some people are using the theatrics of Jimmy McMillan as an excuse not to hold another fair, all-inclusive, NY Governor debate. Some folks want to use the excuse of the fun and merriment at the debate, to ask for a debate with only the Democratic candidate and Republican candidate.
Below is my answer, and my creative solution, to having a debate where everyone feels heard:
While I admit some of the minor party candidates were entertaining in their appearance or method of speaking, their messages were as serious and valid as any other on that stage.
To summarize the below, Warren Redlich stole the show in context of actually answering questions completely, intelligently, and in time. He’s earned my vote!
I had never heard of most of those candidates until last night, but it was refreshing to hear some real discussion.
I had hopes for Paladino, but he failed to deliver by stuttering and messing up his words the entire night, not to mention he failed in almost every attempt to answer a question anywhere near completion in the time allowed. And of course, he is anti-gay marriage.
McMillan, or the Rent is Too Damn High guy, made a valid argument. Our taxes are TOO DAMN HIGH. All the other candidates were saying the same thing, but simply used other words, except Cuomo who quoted Jimmie saying “I agree with Jimmie, the rent IS too damn high.” McMillan made a good point and if looking a little different gets him noticed so that people become aware of a problem and actually discuss it, then more power to him.
Cuomo was a joke for most of it. He sat there with a smug look as if to say in body language, “I’ve already won this. I’m just here to laugh at the other characters and smile so you know my name and face.” He continually tip-toed around answering questions by rattling off statistics and making claims about how bad things are, but rarely did he introduce details about what he would do to fix things. The best answer I recall him making was with regards to corruption in government and how he would hold people accountable for breaking the law. The rest was vague answers like saying that he would cut spending… but now WHAT he would cut.
Barron I think was a little too focused on “giving back” to the black community. While I am not in a position to say whether his message had substance, I can only imagine that it did or he wouldn’t have as many supporters as he does. He got a lot of applause during the debate. I think his downfall was that he came short when talking about other issues.
Howie Hawkins was a true possibility. He addressed every question with a complete answer. Notably, he repeated his support of a progressive tax system which surmounts to taxing the wealthy more to alleviate the taxes of the poor. I need to learn more about Howie, though I don’t think I’ll be voting for him this time around. I expect him to be a contender in the future, however.
Kristin Davis, history aside, was straight and to the point. Her clear plan to raise revenue (which would help cut taxes) was to do the obvious no-brainer and legalize marijuana (a 100% non-violent crime) and legalize gambling. I forget exactly how much money she said it would raise, but I think her figure was somewhere around $3,000,000,000. That’s a lot of zeros!
And last but not least is Warren Redlich. This man coming out of nowhere presented a complete plan and supports gay marriage! He will not only cut spending and lower taxes, but he told us HOW he will do it. In short, he’s going to end the thruway tolls which were set up to pay for the thruway which has long been finished paying for. He’s also going to eliminate a large percentage of wasteful and redundant government agencies. And, in his answer to the very first question, he said he will cap beurocrat salaries and pensions at $100k and $75k respectively, as there are something like 110,000 beurocrats in NY earning over $100k/year, and something like 50,000 making over $200k/year. Other minor party candidates agree with Warren’s plan, but neither Cuomo nor Paladino commented on it, nor did either say what they would do instead. Warren’s plan can be put into action today and we’ll start saving close to 5 Billion dollars instantly! I think Cuomo mentioned something about a plan to investigate agencies over the next 5 years to see which ones could be cut. 5 YEARS!!! Is he serious? NY needs a plan NOW.
After last night’s debate, I think it’s clear who I’ll be voting for. You can learn more about Warren Redlich, the Libertarian candidate for governor on his campaign website wredlich.com/ny/ or check out his Facebook page to see all of us former Paladino or Cuomo supporters who have after last night’s debate done a 180 and now support Redlich fulheartedly!
If we were voting on personality and heart, Jimmy M. wins easily. I don’t know what to make of Redlich’s claim that there are “110,000 bureaucrats who make more than $100,000 per year” in New York State. Who’s being counted in? Or was it some other number and I didn’t hear it right? And Barron and Hawkins sounded an awful lot alike, and they sounded an awful lot like Social Democrats.
The Rent-Is-Too-Damn-High candidate, Jimmy McMillon, has created some buzz…
(We should probably learn from his performance!)
The Jimmy McMillan at the debate story is a big, photo, feature story on the front page of Yahoo!With a link to video of highlights of his personal performance!
http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_upshot/20101019/el_yblog_upshot/jimmy-mcmillan-stands-out-in-n-y-gov-debate
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/18/live-blogging-the-debate-for-governor/?partner=rss&emc=rss
Selected quotes:
…Mr. Cuomo appeared to emerge relatively intact from this encounter. He sat comfortably in his seat and spoke with a commanding tone, showcasing a demeanor that seemed above and more gubernatorial than the other candidates onstage. Only Mr. Redlich, the Libertarian, rivaled him in confidence, although Ms. Davis seemed to win fans with her well-rehearsed responses and well-timed comparisons of government to a whorehouse…..
……………
What will the candidates do about mass transit, and the higher fares and service cuts enacted this year by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority?
Ms. Davis starts off with a killer: “The key difference between the M.T.A. and my former escort agency is I operated one set of books, and I offered on-time and reliable service.” Huge laughter and applause from the audience. (For the record, the M.T.A. has never been proved to have two sets of books.)
….
Mr. Barron tells viewers not to be scared of voting for a candidate other than Mr. Cuomo, lest Mr. Paladino take the lead. “That boogie man is played out.” he says.
……….
A lightning-round question on gay marriage. Mr. Paladino starts to give a longer answer — “Gay marriage is an issue, it’s very important to the people” — until he is interrupted by the moderator.
Moderator: “I need a five-second answer. I apologize.”
Paladino: “What?”
Moderator: “A yes or no answer, please?”
Paladino: “I do not support gay marriage.”
Cuomo says ‘yes’ to gay marriage.
Mr. McMillan: “The Rent Is Too Damn High Party feels if you want to marry a shoe, I’ll marry you.”
………
Warren Redlich, the Libertarian candidate, has offered the most articulate responses, throwing in a few jabs at Mr. Cuomo and Mr. Paladino and adding a populist touch by citing names of New Yorkers who could benefit from overhauled spending policies.
There is speculation that Kristin Davis may be reading her responses from a script. Her cadence has a rehearsed quality, something akin to a student council candidate addressing the high school gym.
………
Ms. Davis gets in the first personal dig of the night, saying that if Albany passes a stock transfer tax, “Businesses will leave the state faster than Carl Paladino at a gay bar.” Big laughter from the audience.
…………
Cutetitle.
None will steal the election, though.
And see the article that it is linked to.
Unfortunately, it makes the case for exclusionary debates, but it makes a few good observations:
….Kristin Davis of the Anti-Prohibition Party, who pointed out that she alone, of all the candidates on stage, had the requisite skills to manage the “whores” in the Legislature.
…..
New Yorkers deserve better. Before Election Day, they need a one-on-one showdown between the two most serious candidates.
Cuomo and Redlich, that is.
Kimberly also mailed this out, looks like to a list:
NY Daily News poll on who won the NY Governor’s debate…
Link to vote:
http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/columnists/hammond/index.html#ixzz12oFSr8xp
I thought some third party folks might want to weigh in and support their candidates. Please spread the word…
-KW
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As of about 9:20am
Poll Results
Who fared best during Monday night’s debate?
Andrew Cuomo 30%
Carl Paladino 22%
Jimmy McMillan 12%
Kristin Davis 6%
Warren Redlich 8%
Charles Barron 2%
Howie Hawkins 2%
I didn’t watch 18%
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Is video of the entire debate posted anywhere?
“No Administrator Left Behind”
I have to say that Warren Redlich had one of the great quotes of the night. He was speaking about how in his local school district, they laid off teachers, but no administrators. It’s the “no administrator left behind” policy!
Very telling and true.
I am not sure if Redlich would agree with my longstanding solution to that problem. I believe that school districts should be required to have “menu item” budgets, where the voters choose more than just “yes” and “no”, they either have a choice between several budgets, and/or vote on separate items such as “Vote Yes or No to increase salaries” “Vote Yes or No to increase allotment for books”, etc.
http://tv.gawker.com/5667182/crazy-rent-is-too-damn-high-candidate-steals-the-show-at-ny-gov-debate