THE LEGISLATURE APPEARS to have closed its doors for the year. Andrew Cuomo, the designated prince of darkness, seems to have survived legislative wrath thus far. I have written any number of times that those who have made headlines by calling for his resignation, removal or impeachment should probably lock their doors and sleep with the lights on. I’m sure that you follow my meaning. Clearly, if Andrew is reelected governor, and I have been suggesting for quite a while that will happen, he will not be in a forgiving mood. I find it particularly interesting that the recent polling that shows that women like the younger Cuomo. Pretty fascinating, in that some of Andrew’s greatest detractors are women. Maybe some women like bad boys. Put another way, 73 million Americans, a lot of them women, voted for Donald Trump. Put yet another way, there does seem to be an enigmatic part of our contemporary politics in which the “Me too” movement is suffering a setback. Of course, the accusations against Andrew hardly rise to the level of those against people like Harvey Weinstein and it does seem that the governor is intent on riding his troubles out.
What’s more, there doesn’t seem to be any potential candidate to take him on. Some people are trying to push Letitia James into contesting with Cuomo but there’s no indication that she has the guts to do it. If Cuomo is in trouble, it will only be because one of the younger politicians makes a strategic mistake and really does try to politically or legally “off” him. My bet is that won’t happen, and it would spell political doom for whoever made that mistake.
None of this means that lightning won’t strike. Someone might still put themselves forward to take him on. Remember, there are people who really hate Andrew’s guts. I receive a weekly letter from a racist piece of garbage who interprets everything I say about Andrew to be “too nice.” In his letters, this guy always refers to my wonderful, beautiful African American grandson in terms that I think the police might be very interested in. The point here is that there are some people who just hate Andrew with an unimaginable passion. I have no idea why he brings this out in some folks. Perhaps it is because they intuitively know that he is a passionate man who does not shy away from his own strong, and sometimes over-the-top, beliefs. Let’s face it—the world is filled with people who were raised in such a way that their bellicosity is seldom repressed. Just look, for example, at the governor’s relationship with Mayor de Blasio. It just doesn’t stop. If Andrew had a wife like mine, she would be telling him to cool it, just like my wife does with me. However, there must be something that people like about his winner take all approach in life.
One person who really does deserve to be governor is Tom DiNapoli, probably the best public servant in New York. Unlike Cuomo, my friend Tom doesn’t have a mean bone in his body. Like the great comptroller he is, he puts his nose down, listens to his constituents and does what is right. He knows when to fold ‘em, too. Lately, he is developing a list of companies who New York State pension funds should not be investing in. In the past, he has always said that the prime function of the pension fund, of which he is the sole trustee, is making money for the state and local government and pensioners. Now climate change seems to be at the top of his to do list. His problem is that he doesn’t show the same passion as Andrew. Nevertheless, he would be a great governor.
