by Martha Deed
The first from Buffalo since James Mead in 1946
declares his opponent’s prowess in a non-political arena
shoves his trigger-fingered fist into a reporter’s face and offers to take him out
declares the state assembly speaker a criminal
his campaign guests pay good money to stay in his hotel
rent cars from his car agency
park in his parking lots
and his parking garages
watch commercials made by his employees
read handbills printed by companies that lease space from him
he puts his money in a bank that pays him rent
of the money spent so far – $3.8 million –
more than half has come back to companies
he owns or controls
his accountant charts it all.
It’s the good old days in the Old First Ward
we may never have another person from this area
running for governor one man says
as even the democrats gather round their millionaire
neighbor to share Jimmy Griffin stories
and swell with the pride of reflected glory
from a guy who’s making it
proud for Buffalo
with sixth grade threats and innuendo
giving disrespectful downstate cousins
a dose of their own medicine
something to laugh about
or maybe not
it’s an election, baby.
References:
Michael Barbaro. Paladino Campaign Blames Reporter for Taped Confrontation. September 30, 2010. Robert McCarthy. Paladino steamrolls to stunning upset. September 15, 2010.
Harold McNeil. In Paladino Country, Democrats Rally. October 7, 2010.
David Halbfinger. As Paladino Spends on Campaign, He Often Earns, Too. October 6, 2010.
_____________________________________________________
Martha Deed's chapbooks, The Lost Shoe and This is Visual Poetry, were published recently by Dan Waber's chapbookpublisher.com and Naissance (2010). She edited and designed City Bird: Selected Poems (1991-2009) by Millie Niss (BlazeVox, 2010).
_____________________________________________________
