The Daily Politics
by Celeste Katz
September 27, 2010
By Celeste Katz

Here's some of the reaction I've compiled to Rick Lazio's decision to withdraw from the governor's race... We do have some third-party reax in here, but it's clear Democrat Andrew Cuomo and Republican Carl Paladino now see this race as a "Just The Two Of Us" thing:

Just the two of us?

ANDREW CUOMO: "Today's decision by Rick Lazio and the Conservative Party means that the choice in this election is now more clear and more stark than ever. The spotlight is now on the choice between the tea party extremism of Carl Paladino or Andrew Cuomo's record of fighting corruption, standing up for a woman's right to choose, and his detailed plans to create jobs for New Yorkers.” - Spokesman Josh Vlasto

CARL PALADINO: "Carl has the highest respect for Rick Lazio as a person and a public official and we all wish him well in his future endeavors. Carl is seeking Conservative Party support which is a decision for the Party leadership in the days ahead." - Campaign Manager Michael Caputo

NYS DEMS CHAIRMAN JAY JACOBS: "Carl Paladino got the Conservative Party to dump Rick Lazio the old fashioned way: he paid the Party off. With Rick Lazio presenting a problem for Paladino's extreme tea party candidacy, Paladino hired a campaign chair who steered more than $1 billion in bond business to the current treasurer of the Conservative Party. Then, less than a week later, the Conservative Party let Lazio back out of his commitment to stay in the race through November. For Paladino, it's an all-too predictable backroom deal, given that he got rich off of cynical, pay-to-play dealings just like it in Albany and elsewhere. Paladino has given New Yorkers yet another reason to be 'Mad as Hell' at him for a career spent gaming the political system."

NYS GOP: "By deciding not to run on the Conservative Party line, Rick Lazio showed the type of loyalty to the Republican Party that helped bring him our party's designation at the State Convention. We thank Rick for all that he has done to help forward the Republican cause. Republicans hope that Rick will continue to demonstrate that loyalty and respect for the will of the voters by endorsing Carl Paladino. Republican voters, with record turnout, have voiced their support for Carl, and they deserve Rick's support for their decision."

CONSERVATIVE PARTY CHAIRMAN MIKE LONG: Read full item here.

SARAH PALIN (VIA TWITTER): "Rick Lazio: u r Commonsense Conservatives (& other freedom-loving NY'rs) hero today. Thanks 4 selfless act 2 allow your great state 2 thrive"

WARREN REDLICH, LIBERTARIAN PARTY: "Governor candidate Warren Redlich wished Rick Lazio well today after Lazio exited the Governor's race. "You have to appreciate the amount of time and effort Rick put in," Redlich said. "People don't realize how hard it is to be a candidate... When the Quinnipiac poll came out, people said it was inappropriate because it didn't include Lazio. Some said he should be included in debates. ... HELLO! ... He stopped running two weeks ago. Candidates like Howie Hawkins (Green) and myself (Libertarian) have been campaigning for months without stopping. We actually talk about real issues. We may have a significant impact on the outcome, and we are both likely to create new ballot lines, changing NY politics for the next four years."

HOWIE HAWKINS, GREEN PARTY: "Mr. Lazio must have realized that weren't many voters between the far right positions of Paladino and the center-right position of Andy Cuomo, especially on economic issues. It just highlights the need to open the Gubernatorial debate up to all the ballot qualified candidates. Right now the issues supported by a majority of New Yorkers are not being represented by the conservative-leaning candidates of the so-called major parties. Hopefully between now and election day the media will help inform the voters of where the candidates stand on issues such as jobs, health care, schools, and the budget deficit," said Hawkins. "The Democrats and Republicans use the election law as a club to beat down third party and independent challenges to the status quo. But when it serves their interest, the major parties are given loophole after loophole to move their chosen candidates on and off the ballot," said Hawkins.