ManicDDaily

New York A Mess, The MTA Worse--Holding Breath?

I got to watch (I should say, I made myself watch) the last half of the New York gubernatorial debate tonight.  Some of the “little” (i.e. lesser known) candidates were surprisingly interesting, including Jimmy McMillan who had by far the best facial hair (white mutton chops extending to mustache and beard), gloves, and party name: “The Rent Is Too Damn High Party”.   Kristin Davis, an ex-madam representing the Anti-Prohibition Party, was another favorite.   (She may have had the best line of the evening, calling career politicians, “the biggest whores in the State,” as she claimed that she was “the only person on the stage with the right experience to deal with them.”)

Charles Barron (of the Freedom Party), who appeared to be more of a professional pol than McMillan or Davis, seemed mainly there to needle Cuomo while not supporting Paladino.  Howie Hawkins (the Green Party) and Warren Redlich (Libertarian) came off as wonky but sincere and irritated with everyone.

Cuomo’s most memorable line (to me at least) was “Go Yankees!”, and Paladino’s (when asked to give a yes or no answer as to whether he believed in gay marriage) was:  “Gay marriage is an issue; it’s very important to the people….”

What was reassuring was that there was, at least from the lesser known candidates, a bit of candor, difference, eccentricity. ( This is New York, after all, a place where even middle class people traditionally have openly collectws their furniture from used stuff set out upon the street–it’s awful to think that it’s gone completely slick. )  The lines of the lesser known candidates were practiced–Ms. Davis seemed tied to a pad, Mr. McMillan a litany–but not their positions.  Davis and McMillan, like the Libertarian Redlich and the Green Party Hawkins, seemed to try to convince the audience of the rightness of their views, but not to camouflauge them as universally appealing.

Cuomo was, as leader, painfully careful–even the references to New York’s glorious political past (presumably when his father was in office) seemed calculated to gain points while also maintaining absolute deniability.

Paladino was a bit more willing to be himself, but his self is, well… worrisome.

What was heartening (in a way) is that everyone agreed that New York was a mess right now: that corruption had to end; the schools improved; the MTA, specifically, disemboweled.

We’ll see what happens.   (I won’t hold my breath.)