By Jordan Heller
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer called GOP gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino a "racist bigot" Tuesday for comparing New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver to "an Antichrist" and "Hitler."
"This guy is unfit for public office, and there should be a huge outcry," said Stringer, according to the New York Daily News.
"This is absolutely bigotry at its worst, and this Tea Party mentality, going after Jewish elected officials who disagree with him on politics and policy is just something we've never seen in this state in the years that I've been around."
Stringer's comments came a day after former Tea Party Express leader Mark Williams called the Manhattan Borough President and Mayor Michael Bloomberg "Judenrats" on his blog.
Stringer added that Paladino supporters and Tea Party members should be "enraged" by the candidate's comments, the News reported.
"[He's] an out-and-out racist bigot and the fact that he's running for governor represents a new low."
Sean Coffey, Democratic candidate for attorney general, was also incensed about Paladino's latest remark, especially after the GOP candidate's recent offer to teach personal hygiene to low-income residents at prison camps.
Paladino's "Hitler" and "Antichrist" remarks originally appeared in the Oct. 27, 2009 edition of the Niagara Gazette.
According to the paper, Paladino referred to Sheldon Silver as "probably the most corrupt and incompetent human being to ever serve in state government in the state of New York."
"If I could ever describe a person who would fit the bill of an Antichrist or a Hitler, this guy is it," Paladino said, reported the Gazette.
The comments were picked up by blogger Jimmy Vielkind on Capitol Confidential.
