JamBoi
08-31-2006, 09:31 AM
McCourt brings wit to campaign
By THE JOURNAL NEWS
THE JOURNAL NEWS
(Original publication: August 10, 2006)
Malachy McCourt was this close to getting run in by a cop. McCourt tells the story with irrepressible glee and faux outrage — the signature style of a larger-than-life Irish-American, the display of which should come as no surprise if you know McCourt at all.
The cop didn't know McCourt. Young guy, this cop. Must have been from Jersey or Suozzi Land, aka Long Island.
[link:www.malachyforgovernor.com/|http://malachyforgovernor.wordpress.com/files/2006/06/cropped-malachyufpj.jpg]
http://www.malachyforgovernor.com/
It happened this way, your honor. You see, McCourt was recently standing outside the Lyceum Theatre in Midtown Manhattan, peacefully gathering signatures for his petition to run on the Green Party line for governor. The theater's management didn't appreciate his presence, saying he was obstructing business.
They dispatched the off-duty cop to shoo him away.
McCourt, 74, stood his ground. After all, this is a free country. And much work was to be done.
Fifteen thousand signatures are needed to get on the state ballot. It's a tedious job, especially in the thick heat of summer. McCourt figures it takes about two minutes per signature.
"Most people are pretty nice," he says. "Others were saying, 'It's too hot! I'm sick! I'm going to a funeral! I'm dead! I don't vote!' You get all these wonderful New York responses and which I don't take personally at all."
Mostly, people love talking to him. But they don't talk about the issues. Instead, they'd much rather talk to him about his pursuits as an actor, writer, raconteur, and his colorful past lives as a bartender and WMCA radio host. They invariably ask him about his brother, Frank, the author of "Angela's Ashes."
McCourt is patient and charmingly funny with his admirers. He says things like, "Thank you very much, and I'm sorry you agree with me!" Turning up the Irish brogue a couple of notches, he'll quote rascals like "Honest John" Kelly, a Tammany Hall boss from yesteryear: "Honest John said, 'Show me an honest politician, and I'll show you a man who when he gets bought, stays bought!' "
That line pretty much sums up his appraisal of politicians in general, not to mention his putative opponents, Democrat Eliot Spitzer and Republican John Faso. These guys are "purchased," McCourt bellows. They collect college degrees and have never held real jobs.
"I know what it's like to work," he says, adding proudly, "I've flunked every course I've taken, except English."
Wages and prices are things he knows. McCourt can tell you the price of a quart of milk. It was $1.79 when I talked to him.
McCourt has a campaign theme song, "Wild Mountain Thyme." If you ask, he'll sing it for you while sober. Speaking of which, he's been stone sober for 21 years and has never voted for a Republican.
He believes in universal health care, endorses same-sex marriage, free public college education and pulling the troops out of Iraq. In short, his positions are those of a typical third-party candidate who can stick to his convictions while knowing he hasn't a snowball's chance of winning.
SNIP
http://www.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060810/NEWS02/608100345/1018/NEWS02
By THE JOURNAL NEWS
THE JOURNAL NEWS
(Original publication: August 10, 2006)
Malachy McCourt was this close to getting run in by a cop. McCourt tells the story with irrepressible glee and faux outrage — the signature style of a larger-than-life Irish-American, the display of which should come as no surprise if you know McCourt at all.
The cop didn't know McCourt. Young guy, this cop. Must have been from Jersey or Suozzi Land, aka Long Island.
[link:www.malachyforgovernor.com/|http://malachyforgovernor.wordpress.com/files/2006/06/cropped-malachyufpj.jpg]
http://www.malachyforgovernor.com/
It happened this way, your honor. You see, McCourt was recently standing outside the Lyceum Theatre in Midtown Manhattan, peacefully gathering signatures for his petition to run on the Green Party line for governor. The theater's management didn't appreciate his presence, saying he was obstructing business.
They dispatched the off-duty cop to shoo him away.
McCourt, 74, stood his ground. After all, this is a free country. And much work was to be done.
Fifteen thousand signatures are needed to get on the state ballot. It's a tedious job, especially in the thick heat of summer. McCourt figures it takes about two minutes per signature.
"Most people are pretty nice," he says. "Others were saying, 'It's too hot! I'm sick! I'm going to a funeral! I'm dead! I don't vote!' You get all these wonderful New York responses and which I don't take personally at all."
Mostly, people love talking to him. But they don't talk about the issues. Instead, they'd much rather talk to him about his pursuits as an actor, writer, raconteur, and his colorful past lives as a bartender and WMCA radio host. They invariably ask him about his brother, Frank, the author of "Angela's Ashes."
McCourt is patient and charmingly funny with his admirers. He says things like, "Thank you very much, and I'm sorry you agree with me!" Turning up the Irish brogue a couple of notches, he'll quote rascals like "Honest John" Kelly, a Tammany Hall boss from yesteryear: "Honest John said, 'Show me an honest politician, and I'll show you a man who when he gets bought, stays bought!' "
That line pretty much sums up his appraisal of politicians in general, not to mention his putative opponents, Democrat Eliot Spitzer and Republican John Faso. These guys are "purchased," McCourt bellows. They collect college degrees and have never held real jobs.
"I know what it's like to work," he says, adding proudly, "I've flunked every course I've taken, except English."
Wages and prices are things he knows. McCourt can tell you the price of a quart of milk. It was $1.79 when I talked to him.
McCourt has a campaign theme song, "Wild Mountain Thyme." If you ask, he'll sing it for you while sober. Speaking of which, he's been stone sober for 21 years and has never voted for a Republican.
He believes in universal health care, endorses same-sex marriage, free public college education and pulling the troops out of Iraq. In short, his positions are those of a typical third-party candidate who can stick to his convictions while knowing he hasn't a snowball's chance of winning.
SNIP
http://www.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060810/NEWS02/608100345/1018/NEWS02