U.S. Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand weighed in on Friday urging an embattled Andrew Cuomo to resign as governor of New York, making his position with fellow Democrats about as precarious as it could be. The state Democrats are pursuing an impeachment inquiry, and prominent U.S. representatives from New York, including delegation dean Jerry Nadler, are also calling on Cuomo to resign.
Conservative media are lapping it up, as one would expect. State Republicans join their Democratic counterparts in demanding Cuomo’s resignation and favoring the pursuit of impeachment if he won’t. New York Republican congressmen and women have for the most part been a bit less vocal.
President Biden and VP Harris aren’t commenting. Meanwhile, the number of sexual harassment or misconduct accusers lining up against Cuomo has reportedly skyrocketed in less than a week to 30.
Will this presidential election be the most important in American history?
I don’t know. I may be the only person in America who sees potential merit – for others’ sake – in Cuomo sticking around and fighting.
Rep. Claudia Tenney, the New York Republican who was recently declared the winner in her narrowly-contested U.S. House race, gets at why, in comments from a radio interview she did on Friday with Fox Across America’s Jimmy Failla. As Ian Hatchett recorded at Breitbart, Tenney’s concern is this: “it’s starting to look like the Democrats have got to throw it on sexual harassment because this nursing home scandal is just so bad.”
Basically, it would be a big convenience for New York Democrats if Cuomo would go quietly because of the sexual misconduct allegations, and not remain to try to spread the guilt around about the elderly nursing home patients.
From what I can tell based on reporting so far, there’s guilt to spread. An awful lot of people seemed to know things but didn’t take action. Cuomo is also seen as a dirty political street fighter, and if he’s being menaced with an investigation and charges that would involve more than one miscreant – i.e., himself – he probably wouldn’t hesitate to take down as many people as he could with him.
Of course, Cuomo has been a fixture in New York for a long time. He could probably take a lot of people down for things unrelated to the events of 2021. So the harder he had to fight any inquiries, allegations, or charges, the worse it could get for other officials. The Democrats’ scramble to get him to resign seems to indicate they fear what he could reveal a lot more than they fear the bad press and temporary inconvenience of a resignation in disgrace by their state party’s de facto leader.
A lot could be swept under the rug if Cuomo would resign. A lot can’t be if he won’t. If the truly atrocious crimes alleged with the nursing home scandal are to get a useful airing, Cuomo trying to stick it out would at least keep the incentives matrix where it is for other state Democrats. Once the pressure of a fight by a cornered Cuomo is lifted, others who know things are likely to close ranks and protect each other.
Throwing Cuomo under the bus, especially on sexual misconduct allegations that don’t implicate anyone else, looks like where they’re headed. Would that be best for New York? You tell me. I don’t think it would be my choice. But of one thing I am sure: it won’t be up to me.
