When the Circus Came to Town

Last night was New York's gubernatorial debate, and boy did it live up to its expectation of being entertaining, to say the least. There was no heated debate between the Republican and Democratic hopefuls Carl Paladino and Andrew Cuomo, but there were some characters among the other five candidates.

Representing the Anti-Prohibition Party was Kristin Davis, otherwise known as the 'Manhattan Madam'. Davis served time on Riker's Island for her involvement with the Emperors Club VIP, the escort service that provided a prostitute for Eliot Spitzer (his show on CNN sucks by the way, no pun intended). Davis is running on the platform of legalizing prostitution and marijuana, which she believes will help improve the economy of this state. Surprisingly, this silicon tatted blonde was once the vice president of a hedge fund firm and knows a thing or two about business. When asked about Carl Paladino she said that if he is elected "business will leave this state faster than Carl Paladino at a gay bar."

Then there was Jimmy McMillan of 'The Rent is too Damn High' Party. Yes, it's a real party. However, if you were to turn on the debate while he was speaking you may have mistaken it for a Saturday Night Live sketch. Let's start with the mysterious black gloves. You know what, words will not do justice so just watch the video below.

The three other candidates include Charles Barran of the Freedom Party, Warren Redlich of the Libertarian Party, and Howie Hawkins of the Green Party. Barran is a former Black Panther member who believes increasing taxes on the wealthy will solve our economic crisis. He is quoted as saying "we already cut to the bones, it's time for us to get the wealthy." Hawkins has a similar ideology, and he too would like to see taxes increased on the wealthy. Redlich believes that cutting big bureaucratic salaries will allow us to save about 3 billion dollars a year.

As with most political races in America, none of these minor party candidates stand a real chance to win in a two-party system, some of them for good reason. It is quite upsetting that these seven candidates are all that New York has to offer. Carl Paladino is a loose cannon who is not connected with reality, while Andrew Cuomo doesn't seem to have a solid plan to get this state back on track. With only 14 days to go until election day, Cuomo maintains a considerable lead in the race to become New York's 56th governor.