I think Andrew Cuomo did a pretty good job under ridiculously shitty circumstances last year.
And while, apparently, he wasn't always as straight up and honest about everything as he should've been, at least he was a calming voice, reassuring people that there was a huge effort going on that had some of the best professionals in the world working the problem. Which is a valuable thing, especially considering what a total FUBAR Qult45 was making of it.
That said, if it turns out Cuomo pulled some real shit, and this scandal really is a scandal - not just something cooked up by his rivals and his enemies - then he should burn.
I'm almost always with the Dems these days, but I'm not so stoopid as to stick with a guy who turns out to be a typically cynical manipulator just because they put a (D) after his name - I don't care what it says on his label, if he pulled some crooked shit, then let that shit land on his head.
WaPo: (pay wall)
As the coronavirus pandemic ravaged the country last year, New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo launched an Emmy-winning daytime television show, using his daily briefings to channel the nation’s grief, showcase how he was taking charge and share the secrets of his family’s spaghetti dinners. He published a best-selling book about his leadership, saw his state approval numbers rise to 66 percent and repeatedly denied any interest in the next logical step: running for president.
Now, cases of covid-19 in his state are receding, and so are the glory days of Cuomo’s third term as governor.
A former adviser has accused him of sexual harassment, fellow Democrats are publicly condemning what they describe as bullying backroom behavior, and federal investigators are probing the state’s handling of nursing home data amid allegations that Cuomo’s administration withheld the extent of deaths caused by the virus.
The sudden shift in fortunes for Cuomo, which has potentially clouded what looked to be an easy reelection campaign next year, comes as an abrupt turnabout for those who first encountered the governor during his daily news conferences. He was widely praised for offering the country the sort of strong leadership many saw missing from the White House under President Donald Trump. The International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences gave him an Emmy for “his masterful use of television to inform and calm people around the world.” He even welcomed the term “Cuomosexual” used by some of his online fans.
But for those steeped in New York politics, little is surprising about the recent turn of events, save perhaps how many people have publicly turned against the governor. The rough edges Cuomo once sold as an asset — “My natural instinct is to be aggressive,” he wrote in his last book — are now emerging as a liability.
“This is not just an aggressive politician. This is someone who has a narrative, and if you do not publicly agree with that narrative, he will threaten you,” said Monica Klein, a liberal activist who previously worked for New York Mayor Bill de Blasio (D), a fierce rival of the governor. “What that means is dissent is silenced.”
Aides to Cuomo have denied the sexual harassment allegation and defended his administration’s handling of nursing home data.
“New Yorkers know it was the Governor who worked night and day to get them through the worst of this pandemic and, from the strongest gun safety laws in the nation to a $15 minimum wage and free college tuition, he has a nationally significant record of progressive accomplishments that Washington is trying to match,” Rich Azzopardi, a senior adviser to Cuomo, said in a statement.
But public dissent is now spreading through New York political circles — and notably within Cuomo’s own party — as a growing number of rising politicians calculate that they can succeed without the help of the governor’s machine. Assemblyman Ron Kim (D) of Queens, who has been critical of Cuomo’s handling of nursing home data, said the governor threatened to “destroy” him earlier this month if he did not retract his comments.
Cuomo’s advisers denied Kim’s description of the call, and Cuomo attacked the lawmaker personally, suggesting at a news conference that Kim had improperly raised money from small businesses in his district whose legislative priorities he supported.
The piece goes on to recount several he-said-she-said exchanges, but the gist remains that this is most probably a new telling of the same old political story of (Talent + Success) x Adulation = Hubris and Misstep and Downfall.
The Downfall part remains to be seen, but the bloom is definitely off the rose.
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