NY Gov Race : "Mad" candidate crashes governor's race

[Just Jack]

"Mad" candidate crashes governor's race

 

ALBANY (AP) — Rick Lazio, a former congressman, has the backing of just about every county Republican leader in his run to be New York’s next governor. He’s got the essential Conservative Party endorsement and already fended off two better-financed challengers at the Republican convention, one of whom was backed by the state chairman.

 

So why is he looking over his shoulder, when Democratic candidate Andrew Cuomo is already plenty to worry about in front of him?

 

Carl Paladino.

 

The unconventional and politically uncouth Buffalo millionaire last week forced a Republican primary in September through the difficult petition route. Now it’s Paladino who is flooding talk radio with ads, saying he’s “mad as hell.” He says what many New Yorkers think: That the only promises politicians keep are those to special interests.

 

In a year in which all candidates want to look as mad as hell, it’s Paladino who is firing up the rhetoric and making the other comments seem tepid by comparison.

 

Last week, while Lazio tried to force Cuomo, the attorney general, to investigate how a $100 million mosque planned for a couple blocks from ground zero will be funded and Cuomo defended freedom of religion, Paladino said: “It’s no different than Japan asking to build a memorial to kamikaze pilots next to the USS Arizona in Pearl Harbor.”

 

I don't care for Lazio ever since his Senate run in 2000, and I don't think he has a chance against Cuomo, but Paladino may put up a better fight for Cuomo.

[PearlHowardman]

The Republican party in New York State just absolutely SUCKS!

 

But since we're on the subject of "crashing", it looks like a criminal essentially crashed the White House! AGAIN!

 

http://www.newsplex.com/home/headlines/99497354.html

 

UPDATE: White House Reacts to Guest's Criminal Past

 

President Barack Obama posed with a Charlottesville resident at a White House event on July 19. Court records show she's been found guilty of two crimes and now the White House says she wouldn't have been invited if officials had known about her past.

 

July 29, 2010

 

(CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA) -- In his daily press briefing Thursday afternoon, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said the White House would have never invited Leslie Macko to pose with President Obama had they known about her criminal past. "Had that type of information been made available," said Gibbs. "She would not have participated in the event here."

 

Macko, a Charlottesville resident, stood next to President Obama as his example of the need to extend jobless benefits.

 

"We need to extend unemployment compensation benefits for women like Leslie Macko, who lost her job at a fitness center last year, and has been looking for work ever since. Because she's eligible for only a few more weeks of unemployment, she's doing what she never thought she'd have to do. Not at this point, anyway. She's turning to her father for financial support," Obama said in his speech at the White House on July 19th.

 

Macko was once employed at ACAC Fitness and Wellness Center in the Albemarle Square Shopping Center. However, in April 2009, a month after being found guilty of prescription drug fraud, she lost her job as an aesthetician in the spa at ACAC.

 

ACAC CEO Greg Wells told the Newsplex that Macko was not terminated nor discharged because of any illegal activity, but Wells would not comment on the condition of her termination.

 

CBS19 also learned Thursday that Macko has had more than one run-in with the law. In June of 2007, Macko was charged with grand larceny. The charge was reduced in court to petit larceny, and she was sentenced to two years probation.

 

Press Secretary Gibbs was also asked if the White House performed a background check on Macko before her appearance with the President.

 

"I don't know the specifics," Gibbs said. 'But it's safe to say, had we known [about the charges against her] she wouldn't have been here."

 

In a written statement to Fox News, a Secret Service spokesman says, "We do not comment or confirm the existence of anyone's criminal history or lack thereof. Anyone who is granted access to the White House or any venue that we protect does so only after an assessment of dangerousness is made."

 

The Legal Aid Justice Center, which represented Leslie Macko in her claim for unemployment benefits, released this statement to the Newsplex Thursday evening:

 

"Between March 2005 and April 2009, Ms. Macko was employed as an aesthetician by ACAC. When she was terminated in April 2009, Ms. Macko applied for unemployment benefits. On June 15, 2009, Ms. Macko was determined to be qualified for unemployment benefits. ACAC appealed that determination. After a hearing on the merits of Ms. Macko's case, the original determination was affirmed on September 14, 2009.

 

Ms. Macko was convicted of two unrelated misdemeanors. Throughout the unemployment proceedings, ACAC never alleged that Ms. Macko's termination was related to those cases."

 

CBS19 contacted Leslie Macko about the conviction, and she declined to comment until she speaks with her attorney.