DICK BRENNAN
I was driving a bunch of teenagers last week when the voice of Jimmy McMillan came on the radio. "The rent is too damn high!" The crew in the car burst into laughter. But then came the surprise.
"That’s the guy with the wild beard," one kid said.
"Yea, and that’s all he ever says," another kid added. "The rent is too damn high!"
This crew, I’m fairly confident, could not pick out Carl Paladino in a lineup, even if he was holding a baseball bat. But a nobody like McMillan was top of mind with a group that had no interest in politics.
McMillan should have run Paladino’s campaign.
The "rent is too damn high" guy might be laughed at by some as a political crackpot.
But McMillan understands the most important essence of a political campaign: Have a message, and repeat it over and over again.
What if Paladino just kept saying, "Taxes are too damn high!" Repeat and repeat and repeat. "Albany is broken, and Andrew Cuomo is Mr. Albany!" Repeat and repeat and repeat.
Paladino did say those things. But he said a lot of other things. He fought on camera with a respected reporter. He seemed to snarl wherever he went.
And then his campaign went completely off the rails when he read somebody else’s script, and bashed gay people.
By comparison, when McMillan was asked about his position on gay marriage he said, "If you want to marry a shoe, I’ll let you." While it sounds nutty, it actually is a very smart answer politically. It signals that, along with his memorable party label, he is focused on one important issue this election – the economy. And that does encompass rent, and jobs, and unemployment and Albany.
Paladino never understood the discipline that is necessary to run an effective campaign. After imploding two weeks ago, he dropped the Angry Carl act, and has become the Calm Carl. Of course, it’s all so ham-handed that now, during interviews, he looks like he was just sedated.
There was nothing really wrong with the Angry Carl, until he started losing his cool on camera and began threatening to "take people out."
In fact, for a brief moment a few weeks ago, there seemed like there just might be a wild possibility that Paladino could pull the upset of the century. Now that has completely faded.
Cuomo is heading for what appears to be a coronation, after a campaign devoid of serious debate. So in the end, it all went perfectly for Cuomo this campaign season. First Paterson imploded. Then Paladino imploded.
And now, barring an unthinkable meltdown, Cuomo heads to Albany. Paladino shuffles off to Buffalo. And McMillan gets a spot in the Youtube political Hall of Fame.
