Stop the presses! Political comedian-turned-activist-turned-candidate for United States Senate Randy Credico has resigned his position as Director of the Kunstler Fund to devote himself full-time to defeating New York Senator Charles Schumer in his re-election bid next year. In the week since he dived in the race he already is creating a buzz with a New York Times article about him and surprising public support.
A new Siena Research Institute poll conducted from Nov. 8-12 shows that the political spitfire Credico -- the official comedian on the Fred Dicker Show, the most powerful and influential talk show in Albany, New York -- is gaining momentum in the race for the Democratic nomination next September. Credico's support in the poll skyrocketed to a walloping 9% as soon as he filed papers to enter the race.
Credico says that he has decided to challenge his opponent, incumbent Sen. Schumer, because no one is more responsible for the nation's financial meltdown than Chuck "Pay to Play" Schumer. Credico waxes, "He has taken millions in campaign contributions in return for gutting oversight and regulation of our financial sector. Chuck Schumer has been a prostitute for corporate America at the expense of the average citizen. Chuck Schumer has taken millions from Wall Street, bankers, traders and even got a check from Bernie Madoff -- although Madoff makes Schumer look honest."
Credico counts among his supporters Seinfeld co-creator Larry David and TV comedienne Roseanne Barr. He'll also be courting the millions of marijuana smokers in NYC -- including the 240,000 that have been arrested in the last 10 years -- with his message of ending the drug war and decriminalizing all drug use. "The war on drugs does not work and it destroys lives," he says.
Randy makes no secret of his previous drug use, and he takes pride in the fact that he once got arrested, he says, for tipping off teenagers to avoid a police "hot spot" for marijuana arrests.
Credico is no stranger to drug policy advocacy. In 1998 he co-founded the group Mothers of the New York Disappeared to build support for an overhaul of New York's draconian Rockefeller Drug laws, which were revamped earlier this year. Now he says he'll even fold marijuana into his campaign slogan: "Which candidate would you rather smoke a joint with, Credico or Schumer?"
Credico is also deeply attuned to the discriminatory impact of our current marijuana policies, noting that "New York City is the marijuana arrest capital of the world."
In 2008 alone, there were 40,000 marijuana arrests in New York City, most of them teens and young adults under the age of 26. What's more, 87 percent of those charged with pot possession were black and Latino. Nationwide, police arrest someone every 36 seconds on marijuana charges. A record 872,000 arrests were made in 2007, more than for all violent crimes combined.
"You have a right to inhale and enjoy marijuana without facing arrest," says Credico, who has launched a campaign website at www.Credico2010.com.
Credico's platform includes an ambitious list of priorities:
* Legalization of Marijuana* Immediate pullout of Iraq* Immediate pullout of Afghanistan* Ending Plan Colombia Immediately* End Drug War at home and abroad* Repeal Patriot Act* Abolish Mandatory Minimum Sentencing* Repeal 1996 Omnibus Crime Bill* Constitutional amendment abolishing death penalty * Decriminalization of all Drugs