Most people know that Eliot Spitzer is runnng for Governor of New York State. What most people don’t know is that there is another progressive candidate for the seat: Malachy McCourt, who is running as a Green Party candidate.
Now, the truth of the matter is that Eliot Spitzer is a very popular candidate, who is projected to earn a huge majority of the vote in November’s general election. But, winning the election isn’t the real point of the Malachy McCourt campaign. The point of his campaign is to get 50,000 votes, so that, for the next four years, the Green Party of New York State will have an automatic space on the ballot.
McCourt’s campaign is also a chance for him to talk with a large number of audiences about his political ideas. These include, according to an article by New York Newsday:
Demilitarize the National Guard in New York, make it unavailable for overseas combat and use the manpower and equipment to recycle junked vehicles.
Pay teachers $50,000 more a year to attract the best people, instead of spending $50,000 a year to jail a student because schools failed him. Provide free public transportation, paid for by corporations. Make public college tuition free, which would create a more educated state and bring in more jobs and money to cover the cost. End the death penalty _ “We should be in the business of life and liberty.” End nuclear energy programs. Make a misdemeanor of smoking near children and boost the cost of cigarettes so they become unaffordable.
If you live in New York State, what do you make of Malachy McCourt’s campaign? If you don’t live in New York, what does his candidacy suggest to you about the state of New York State politics?
That suggests to me that I would never vote for him, especially if he misappropriates the term liberty and such related terms for his campaign.
Not to mention, it’s very well known already that none of those ideas would have the intended effect.