A New Status Cuo for New York
How many shitty men does it take to get a woman as governor in New York, and why do state troopers always seem to be involved?
I’ve got some answers to those questions at The Daily Beast
I also discussed Cuomo’s last days on CBS Eye on the World With John Batchelor (and again with Katie Honan on a new FAQ NYC episode out later today), and wrote for the Daily News about Cuomo’s surprise resignation speech that felt suspiciously like a stump speech:
Harry Siegel: Yet another comeback for Cuomo? A farewell stump and more - New York Daily News
New York’s unstoppable force just met its immovable object and they were both Gov. Cuomo.
After a decade dominating the stage and insisting on himself as the indispensable man, it’s hard to imagine the state without Cuomo front and center — and clearly he feels the same way.
In his surprise resignation speech on Tuesday that sounded a lot like a stump speech, he mostly played his hits, talking about his virus response, and how the state has been transformed for the better on his watch, and how he’s stepping down because it’s the “New York tough, New York loving” thing to do even though the women accusing him of harassment and worse are probably playing politics and certainly misunderstood his grandfatherly attentions in a classic case of He Said, She Said, She Said, She Said, She Said, She Said, She Said, She Said, She Said, She Said, She Said, She Said.
That came right after he worked in one last petty abuse in a career defined by them, by having his personal attorney give a press conference trashing the investigator and several of the accusers in front of the state seal and with all the trappings of an official event.
The guy who’s been through humiliating falls from grace before, including his humiliating gubernatorial run and divorce in 2002, played for time until the end — if this is the end.
He gave himself 14 more days in office, and is leaving after that in the hopes that doing so will cut off an impeachment trial where conviction could have barred him from running statewide — not to mention potential criminal charges.
Those are some of the same sticks that compelled Gov. Eliot Spitzer to resign, and — without any follow-up from lawmakers or prosecutors — it wasn’t long before he was running for New York City comptroller against Scott Stringer. After resigning from Congress, Anthony Weiner ran for office again at literally the first opportunity.
If this is really a long-promised new day for accountability in New York, that starts by holding Cuomo to account rather than letting him mete out his own punishment.
If Carl Heastie’s Assembly has any scrap of the courage of its convictions, its members will carry on with an impeachment probe that involves not only the women’s allegations, but also questions about Cuomo’s response to the coronavirus and suspiciously low nursing homes death count (which his secretary Melissa DeRosa flat-out told lawmakers they were hiding from the Trump administration, with Cuomo himself then threatening Assemblyman Ron Kim when he called out the administration’s attempt to make the lawmakers culpable in that scheme), his $5.1 million virus book deal, and the dangerous design problems at the new bridge he named after his father.
It’s been an incredible fall from grace for Cuomo. When he collected a special Emmy for his TV performances counterprogramming against Trump less than a year ago, the idea that he wouldn’t match and then exceed his father’s three terms in office seemed almost unthinkable.
But the same way that Trump exiting the scene made it much harder for Cuomo to avoid scrutiny, Cuomo’s exit means the pressure is now on the progressives who’ve become a rising power in the legislature to put up or shut up.
It’s a big moment for New York City, as Eric Adams becomes the unquestioned face of the party and likely its most powerful elected official until 2023. And it’s a big moment for Attorney General Tish James, who it’s fair to assume is as much of an aspiring governor as Cuomo was and nearly every AG before him.
Less politically but more importantly, it’s a big moment for the accusers who bravely stepped up, with much to lose and little to gain, and for the people of Harassment Free Albany who after their own experiences with the capital’s abuses fought for and shaped the law Cuomo eventually signed, without crediting them, and then routinely violated.
One of my favorite bits in “His Girl Friday” — a flick where the quips come so fast that it’s easy to overlook the dark plot involving a condemned man who the pols and the press treat as a prop instead of a person — is the back and forth when a newspaper editor reconnects with his ex-wife and former reporter:
Sort of wish you hadn’t done that, Hildy.
Done what?
Divorced me. Makes a fella lose all faith in himself. Almost gives him a feeling he wasn’t wanted.
Now look, junior — that’s what divorces are for!…
You’ve got an old fashioned idea divorce is something that lasts forever, ‘til death do us part.’ Why divorce doesn’t mean anything nowadays, Hildy, just a few words mumbled over you by a judge.
That’s how Cuomo, holding on to his huge campaign warchest, is hoping to feel about taking (some) responsibility and resigning. The question now is if lawmakers, prosecutors and voters feel the same way.
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