In 2010, strategic-minded New York Republican political consultants wanted to nominate Rick Lazio to run against Andrew Cuomo in the governor’s race, but the actual Republican voters of the Empire State preferred Carl Paladino. This tells you all you need to know about the “moderation” of right-wing rank-and-file New Yorkers. Rick Lazio is a nice-looking, relatively bright Vassar-educated guy who had worked as the executive assistant district attorney for Suffolk County before serving four terms in Congress. He ran a presentable if doomed campaign against Hillary Clinton when she first sought Pat Moynihan’s U.S. Senate seat. Paladino is kind of a cross between Archie Bunker, Sarah Palin, David Duke and Donald Trump. He most resembles Maine’s ridiculous governor, Paul LePage, and he’s most famous for sending racist and raunchy emails to his friends in the construction business. He lost to Cuomo 61%-34%.
Keep this in mind when you read the following:
A stunningly distracted crowd of hundreds of Republicans almost entirely ignored Ted Cruz’s speech at the New York City GOP gala on Thursday night, instead chattering at their dinner tables, standing and taking selfies. Several casually left the dinner altogether.
The crowd’s stark disregard for Cruz’s remarks followed months of controversy over Cruz’s suggestion in January that Donald Trump has “New York values.”
The term spoken derogatorily by Cruz led to skepticism of Cruz’s ability to perform well in Tuesday’s primary on the home turf of Trump, a native New Yorker.
“I mean, [Cruz] blew it when he did the New York Values thing — that was a bad point,” said Ron Shindel, a Republican in attendance who also serves as the New York Police Department’s commanding officer of the World Trade Center. “But this is Trumpville — this is Trump town. I imagined the overwhelming support of Trump.”
Trump is popular with New York Republicans, it’s true, but not with the neoconservative braintrust which finds him repellent and unacceptable in every respect. His appeal is much more Yonkers and Staten Island than Manhattan. For example, take this guy:
This is the kind of attitude that drew Chris Szymanski to support Trump. A Polish immigrant, Szymanski, 62, lives on Staten Island and sells diamonds in midtown Manhattan. He says he wants a strong, almost authoritarian leader. Riding home on the ferry in a suit and tie, flipping through a newspaper, Szymanski compares Trump to Russia’s president.
“There are two men I respect in this world: Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump,” he says. “They are strong leaders with big follow-up. They solve problems. They have a strong mind, resolution, character.”
Szymanski explains what he considers New York values: “Strong, dynamic, confident and patriotic.” He says Trump embodies them all and is the solution to what ails the country.
“He will fix it all,” he says. “Look at what he did in his life. Look at his kids, his empire. Don’t you see a pattern? Quality. Honesty. Resolution. Success.”
While the Crazification Factor has been pegged at 27%, it may run as high as 34% in New York State. The state does attract a certain kind of social striver:
“He’s just the man, right?” says Jimmy Dawson, 20, just back from modeling Givenchy’s new line on a runway in Paris. On the [Staten Island] ferry, Dawson looks incognito, save for his red “Make America Great Again” cap.
“It’s his wealth, his attitude,” he adds. “Look at what he’s done. It’s inspiring. Who wouldn’t want to have that life? Who doesn’t want to be rich? This is New York.”
Trump wouldn’t be where he is in life if there weren’t people like Jimmy Dawson who are willing to buy what he’s selling.
But New York City is not Trump Town, and that will become obvious if he faces off against a Democrat in the general election. The vast majority of New Yorkers roll their eyes at Trump and have been laughing at his tabloid-antics for decades now. And this includes the Republican intelligentsia of the city who tolerate Trump about as well as Ted Knight tolerated Rodney Dangerfield in Caddyshack.
Mr. Szymanski compares Trump to Putin, and Mr. Dawson fawns over Trump because of his wealth and drive.
Well, I grant that Trump has drive and, in his own way, does work hard. But…
I am not as astonished as I used to be, but know-nothing American attitudes are still really depressing. Putin is an Authoritarian and a leader, and so is Trump. But pretty much therein lies about the only commonalities between those two men. Love or hate Putin, he’s so beyond Trump in his accomplishments and abilities that it’s risable to compare the two as if they’re apples to apples. No, it’s more like comparing an apple to square block of wood.
As for Mr. Dawson’s fetishizing Trump for his fortunes… well yeah, nice for Trump who was born with several silver spoons in his mouth. And manages to rescue himself from serial bankruptcies. I could be as rich as Trump – as could Mr. Dawson – if I had been born with his advantages… and probably just by investing in a wiser fashion.
Sigh. I don’t get the appeal, but then again, I live in reality and refuse to indulge in deifying the rich, as if they are better than me. They’re not. Get over it.
I do get the appeal, because I know people like Mr. Szymanski and Mr. Dawson. If you don’t, I’m surprised.
I particularly feel a connection as well as visceral revulsion to people like Mr. Szymanski (and there are many today), precisely because he’s an immigrant from Eastern Europe. My grandfathers and their generation were immigrants from Eastern Europe, and I knew many of them. They had to deal with “allrightniks” like Szymanski. The Szymanskis later used the McCarthy Red scare to settle some scores.
Along with immigrants from other places more like them than unlike, the working-class amounted to millions who helped create much of what is best in New York City. Their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, unless they have forgotten where they come from (and most have not), are the very reason New York is not Trump Town — and don’t even talk to me about Cruz Town.
I sat next to a Russian immigrant on a plane a few months back. He was talking politics with the person on his other side. It was clear from the conversation that he also revered both Putin and Trump. I’m not saying that anecdote is worth a hill of beans, but the appeal of the “strong guy” is interesting.
No, it is worth a hill of beans — because, while there is a wide perspective of views among Russian immigrants, that outlook is well represented.
They grew up in the USSR and were hemmed in and repressed in many ways. Rightly, they see America as the land of opportunity. They work hard and make the best of the opportunities, legal, illegal, grey area, whatever.
Other than that, in terms of basic attitudes, they might as well still be living in Russia. And they are still avid consumers of propaganda from the Russian-language media in America (or that sector of it that supports such attitudes), as well as directly from Russia.
Trump himself is very clued into this because two of his wives come from Eastern Europe – Ivana from Czechoslovakia, and Melania from Slovenia.
With this type of immigrant, most telling is the absolute hatred of “socialism.” “We had socialism in the Soviet Union, blah blah blah. You Americans can never understand the dangers of socialism, blah blah blah.)
They are unaware that socialism in one form or another has been part of the American fabric for 150 years, and are completely oblivious to the advantages they and their families receive from said socialism, particularly social security, Medicare and Medicaid, public education, etc. — other than to make maximal use of it, take it for granted, and want to deny it to everybody else.
Paladino is one of Il Douche Trump’s most prominent supporters in his State. The Donald’s campaign sends Carl out to introduce the absurd man leading the GOP POTUS primary race at his New York campaign events.
Like yesterday’s event in Patchogue, a small town on Long Island:
That’s Paladino at the beginning of the video. He’s reprehensible, but listen to that crowd. Sounds like they’re itching for a cross burning.
Patchogue…that name sounds familiar:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/21/nyregion/21immigrant.html?_r=0
This murder, and the many assaults of Hispanics which preceded it, happened less than six years ago. It makes Reagan’s decision to begin his 1980 general election campaign in Philadelphia, Mississippi look comparatively reasonable. Bad news for Trump and the most reprobate of his followers: there is a big difference between the 2016 and 1980 electorates.
This is funny. Listen to this guy:
http://dailycaller.com/2016/04/14/no-donald-trumps-visit-to-patchogue-is-not-a-dog-whistle/
“I have lived in Patchogue my whole life. The idea that Patchogue is home to bevies of skinheads assaulting anybody who looks brown is simply untrue. If 2008 was a dark year for racial relations in Patchogue, tensions have abated significantly since.”
If that change has taken place, an unsupported claim, how did it come about? Maybe the Justice Department’s investigation, leading to the settlement linked here, had something to do with it:
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/united-states-agrees-comprehensive-settlement-suffolk-county-police-d
epartment-resolve
A summary of DOJ’s investigatory finding, and a link to the 28-page report, are here:
http://www.longislandwins.com/news/detail/analysis_of_doj_letter_on_suffolk_hate_crimes
Somehow our Daily Caller guest columnist failed to mention these things. Nor has the Daily Caller editorial board seen fit to do so. Little Tucker Carlson is running a not-so-quietly racist “news” organization over there.
Now back to our regularly scheduled bashing of President Obama and his Administration.