Democrats Rarely Turn on One of Their Own. So Why Cuomo?

Democrats rarely throw one of their own under the bus, unless they commit a crime so serious it cannot be ignored. And even then, some of the most powerful politicians like Hillary Clinton still escape condemnation. So why are Democrats running like rats off a sinking ship away from New York Governor Andrew Cuomo? Politico ran an article a few days ago entitled, “Is Cuomo Wounded Enough to Take Down?” It would be helpful to know what happened, for future reference when it comes to other politicians on the left that need to go.

 

Cuomo was recently caught underreporting the number of COVID-19 patients placed by hospitals back into nursing homes by 40 percent. In addition, Cuomo's top aide, Melissa DeRosa, admitted in a private virtual meeting with state legislators last week that the state hadn't released its full COVID-19 death count of state nursing home residents last August over fears that Trump would use the information to launch a Department of Justice investigation against Cuomo. Over 15,000 have died, nearly double the 8,500 previously cited by state officials.

 

The DOJ and FBI have opened an investigation. There are calls from leading Democrats for Cuomo’s impeachment or resignation. A poll found that 40 percent of New Yorkers want to recall him (but there is no provision in law to do so). There are no term limits on governors in New York. A February 12 statement issued by 14 Democratic New York state senators proposed that Cuomo be stripped of his pandemic-related executive powers. The New York Assembly is now considering a proposal to strip Cuomo of his pandemic-related executive powers.

 

Democratic Assembly Member Ron Kim said Cuomo called his home and threatened to destroy his career if he didn't issue a statement supporting his handling of COVID-19 in nursing homes. Instead Kim went public about the threat. Kim lost a family member to COVID-19 last year in a nursing home. New York Mayor Bill De Blasio slammed Cuomo on MSNBC over his treatment of Kim. “It’s a sad thing to say, but that’s classic Andrew Cuomo. A lot of people in New York State have received those phone calls. The bullying is nothing new.” Democratic State Sen. Alessandra Biaggi also denounced him, “Gov. Cuomo’s statements today about Assembly member Kim are part of a disturbing pattern of behavior from the governor.” She linked it to “a disturbing rise in anti-Asian racism and violence in our state and across the country.” New York City Council Member Robert Holden, a Democrat, appeared on Tucker Carlson’s Fox News show to criticize Cuomo, saying he should be investigated.

 

What’s happening is the Democrats’ self-serving, unprincipled and special interest policies are finally butting heads with each other. Without an overarching philosophy that keeps everyone consistent and on the same page, such as the Republicans’ principles of freedom and individualism, the Democrats are always in danger of imploding. Most of the time, however, their hatred of the right unites them enough to stick together. Cuomo is such a disagreeable person he made things worse. The actress Cynthia Nixon, who unsuccessfully ran against Cuomo for governor in 2018, said that Cuomo is “notoriously vindictive.” In New York politics, there is a tendency to pile on when someone becomes persona non grata. Politics there are brutal.

 

Much of the falling out is because Cuomo butted heads with other prominent Democrats over how to handle COVID-19. Around 43,000 people have died in New York, more than in any other state. Nine top New York health officials quit instead of trying to deal with him. Much of that has been over his insistence on deciding how the vaccine distribution would be rolled out. Cuomo refused to let the feds work with individual cities, wanting top-down control. This worsened an already rocky relationship with De Blasio. Cuomo designated the Greater New York Hospital Association as a regional vaccination hub instead of the city’s 6,000-person Health Department. He blamed local authorities and public hospitals in New York City for the slow rollout. It all came down to petty power struggles. The Democrats want big government everywhere, and that mentality is doomed to clash when big state government claims to know best and big city government claims to know best.

 

The Brooklyn branch of the DOJ is investigating Cuomo, and since that office runs in the same circles as prominent New York Democrats, no doubt the investigation was prompted by powerful interests who have had enough of the power struggles with Cuomo. The investigation may go nowhere and Cuomo may come out relatively unscathed. But it serves as a lesson for the right on how we can make inroads into blue areas; an implosion on the left over its contradictory positions may leave a power vacuum, allowing someone on the right to take over that office.

Reprinted from Politicrossing

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