Local politics just got a lot less fun: Jimmy McMillan is giving up. The founder of the Rent Is Too Damn High Party says he’s putting it up “for sale, trademark and all.”
The problem, he tweeted: “decided to walk away due to the -0- zero support of the people.”
In a press release, McMillan complained of “totally brainwashed” voters. “Rent is too damn high is an international crisis,” yet “the people have ignored my warning.”
With his elegant silver whiskers and pristine white gloves, McMillan rose to fame after Andrew Cuomo insisted on letting minor-party candidates into the 2010 gubernatorial debates. McMillan’s explanation that night for his candidacy — “Why? Because the rent is too damn high!” — went viral on YouTube.
He was so wonderfully different from all the other politicians — well, mostly. It turned out he’d lived rent-free for most of a decade, and was paying a not-so-high $872 a month for his East Village apartment last January, when his landlord served him with an eviction notice.
Now 69, he’s got health problems and, evidently, money woes. Here’s hoping he finds a good buyer for the party.
Hmm. Know any gazillionaires who might need a ballot line?