Carl P. Paladino is a New York Republican who has virtually announced that he is running for Governor this year. He seems to have little support at the Republican Party upcoming state endorsements convention, so he will need to collect 15,000 signatures of registered Republicans to get on the primary ballot. The other two prominent Republicans running for Governor, Rick Lazio and Steve Levy, do have substantial support at the state convention, so they may not need to circulate any primary petitions to be on the primary ballot.
Paladino also says that he will circulate general election petitions under the “Tea Party” label. See this article. The article does not make it clear if Paladino will create the Tea Party line even if he doesn’t get the Republican nomination.
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The biggest headache the GOP will have between now and Election Day will be the Tea Party. By this late point it must be obvious to even the casual observer that this is an organization comprised of morons. It was formed as a protest movement against high taxes – immediately after President Obama passed the largest middle class tax cut in American history. There’s no denying it, these are not the brightest people on the planet. Their overt racism notwithstanding, they sure are funny! One self identified Tea Partier called into C-SPAN’s Washington Journal the other day asking the moderator where she could write to her congressman. When host Greta Brawner asked this idiotic woman what her congressman’s name was, she replied (I assume with a straight face) “He’s a Democrat. I don’t know his name.” Ya gotta love ’em! You just gotta!
Look toward the top of the circus tent, boys and girls! Watch that elephant attempt to walk the tightrope! It’s hard not to feel just a smidgen of sympathy for the “party of Lincoln” (Doesn’t that title just tickle the hell out of you?) Embracing the Tea Party last year was akin to kissing a viper. Watching them desperately trying to distance themselves from this bunch is – “amusing” shall we say? On the one hand they don’t dare give these knuckleheads even a token role in putting their platform together at the 2012 convention for fear of further alienating the moderates. On the other hand they run the risk having them bolt the party, launching a series of third party uprisings. It’s already happening in Nevada. Two months ago I dismissed Harry Reid’s chances in November as hopeless. All bets are off. As I write these words, the Republican party in that state is working overtime trying to keep a renegade Tea Partier off the ticket in November. If they’re unsuccessful Reid will have more-than-a fighting chance.
Are you having half as much fun as I watching the utter implosion of that party? I’m gonna miss them when they’re gone – I really am!
http://www.tomdegan.blogspot.com
Tom Degan
Goshen NY
Tom,
This is why the old reliable clunker in the backyard will do just fine.
Libertarians will have a Tea Party like guy on the ticket who’s also the smartest guy in the room. Warren Redlich has enough savy, smarts and real experience to be a better light of liberty than an angry mob. The Libertarians have the political experience and national wherewithal to manage a ballot drive.
Libertarians have had a conscious and coherent philosophical approach that the party of Lincoln and Van Buren can’t deal with. Sure guns and pot matter, but who reads the Austrians ?