Carl Paladino: Just another opportunist

Well another wolf in sheep's clothing has been exposed. Tea Party Candidate for New York Governor Carl Paladino isn't the a savior he and his supporters are painting him out to be. Buffalo News had shed some light on his donations in New York elections in recent years;

Paladino has given to such Democratic stalwarts as presidential contenders Hillary Rodham Clinton, Richard Gephardt, John Kerry and Al Gore, a favorite “tea party” whipping boy. Besides $4,600 to Clinton’s presidential campaign, Paladino gave $5,100 to her Senate bankroll, and he gave Sen. Charles E. Schumer $1,000 last June.

When did Clinton, Kerry and Gore become bastions of liberty? Did I miss the memo? All three of these politicians support wealth redistribution, in addition Kerry and Clinton supported the Patriot Act and endless warmongering. I would think that a business owner like Paladino would understand that giving money to economy crushing Democrats is a bad thing. Which only means that Paladino didn't get what he wanted from Clinton, Schumer and former Governor Eliot Spitzer (who he also donated money to). So surprise when political donor doesn't get what he or she wants, they run against the politician that they donated to.

Of course a few questions remain in the light of this latest news;

1. Will the Conservative Party still endorse him?

The Conservative Party of New York bills themselves as the Conservative alternative when the Republicans nominate a candidate that is too Liberal in their eyes. Their most recent nomination was Neocon Doug Hoffman for the special election in New York's 23rd Congressional District in which he lost to 24 hour flip flopper Bill Ownes. In the past they also threw their support for gun grabber Rick Lazio (who is also running for the Republican nomination for Governor) when he was a member of the House. Will the Conservative Party be most interested in winning or principal? Only time will tell.

2. Will the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association support him?

Currently they have yet to put out a public endorsement for any of the current candidates but in an personal email exchange I had with Tom King the organizations President, he was very enthusiastic over Paladino. When I asked him why Paladino over Warren Redlich and Kristen Davis, King cited that while he has known Redlich for years, Paladino is using much of his personal money for his campaign. Of course again this was a personal exchange between me and him so things can change.

So currently if no one else steps up to the plate Warren Redlich and Kristen Davis are the only two who are fully pro-liberty candidates. Redlich is running for both Republican and Libertarian lines, while Davis is also running for the Libertarian line but will run as a Personal Freedom Party if she does not get the nomination for the LP.