Paladino's Running with Class for NY Governor

Labor Day morning, I tuned into NY1 and saw Carl Paladino, candidate for NY State Governor, explaining a comment he had made on his campaign trail. The comment was:

"That leaves Manhattan, the Bronx and Brooklyn, and they can have them."

I thought, "Hmm...that's not very nice, or wise, either; there's quite a few votes in Manhattan, the Bronx, and Brooklyn. No politician would say something like that and risk alienating so many voters. It doesn't make sense."

Paladino explained on my TV screen that he was referring to traffic. He likes Staten Island and Queens because they are like Upstate New York when it comes to traveling. It's tough to get around in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and the Bronx.

Then I thought, "Well, now, that makes sense. His comment was taken out of context --- Politics as usual."

Today, I checked NY1's website and discovered a September 4^th article that quotes Paladino as saying:

"I'm talking about the ruling elite, that's where they're from. This ruling class of people, no matter what the party, are all from Manhattan," said Paladino. "They're smug, they're elitist, they're wealthy, they have guilt for the wealth they have accumulated and they want the downtrodden, they want them taken care of, but not on their nickel."

At first, I thought, "Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" (Peter from Family Guy is a bad influence on me). We have people living from paycheck to paycheck in Manhattan. Roommates share apartments, and sometimes rooms, because it's so hard to make the rent. And low-income housing projects pepper Manhattan's landscape.

However, Paladino is not saying ALL Manhattanites are elitists. He's saying ALL elitists live in Manhattan. " This ruling class of people, no matter what the party, are all from Manhattan."

I have two problems with this statement.

First, I find it hard to believe that there are no elitists anywhere in New York State except Manhattan. Wealthy people own expensive homes throughout New York, take Long Island for instance. How does Paladino know they're not elitists, smug, and guilt-ridden about their wealth? Do they want to help the downtrodden on their nickel?

Secondly, it is dangerous to lump people into groups and stereotype them. Some white men can jump. We slide down a slippery slope when we say all anyone are anything.

This leads me to question Paladino's judgment.

When I do, I realize that he is trying to wage a class war as a campaign strategy. He's pitting the wealthy against everyone else. The wealthy are the minority of the population, about 10%. That leaves the other 90%, voters, up for Paladino's grab.

He said of Manhattan, Brooklyn, and the Bronx "they can have them." He's aiming his sights on the non-wealthy voters' votes and saying, "I can have them."

It's not a bad plan, this class war, but will it work? Obama and many other politicians have used it. It worked for them.

The problem with many of these down with the rich up with everyone else campaign strategies is that when the candidates get in office, they switch sides and it's up with the rich. Let's not forget, Paladino is a businessman.

Paladino's comments on NY1, along with all the other candidates' comments, everywhere, are affecting my, and all New Yorkers' votes, as they speak. Let's keep listening. We may not hear perfection, but we will be able to decipher what we each think is best for New York.

Sources:

NY1News, "Paladino's Campaign Defends Candidate's Comments On NYC,", NY1