Andrew Cuomo, Italian American Hugs, and Commonsense
More than 70 percent of polled New Yorkers signal that Governor Cuomo should step down. That was reported in the New York Times this Saturday.
- 42 of 62 elected country New York State officials feel he should resign.
- Most Democrats — from President Biden to Cuomo’s own existing legislature — confirm these trends.
What is blinding Andrew? His stubborn refusal to concede to the evident trend has taken on the dimension of a Greek tragedy, not an Italian comedy.
KEEPING PERSPECTIVE ON WRONG DOING
While his serious wrongdoing is not like the transborder sex crimes committed by the disgraced prior New York State Governor, Elliott Spitzer, the is plenty in the full report that shows all this a crime against commonsense, and a fatal crime against the public trust needed in any Governor’s realm.
He is guilty. You can see it in the report, and the reactions of the larger public to the report. You might call this public liability, as opposed to criminal liability. His father was a master of detecting the difference; Andrew Cuomo seems blind to the distinction. Governors need to keep in mind their license to operate depends on answering public expectations, relentlessly.
“HERITAGE IS NOT TO BLAME, ANDREW” writes Steve Villano in the Albany Times Union this morning. Villano should know. As the former Director of Mario Cuomo’s New York Press Office, Villano knows first hand the grace, and force, and wit of the legendary Father/Governor of this “family of New York.”
I worked, like Steve Villano, within the State Governor when Mario Cuomo ruled. He was warm, hard working, fun loving, generous, and supportive of many. In contrast, the corridors of power made his son — the fallen Andrew — a bad cross hybrid of Donald Trump and Bill Clinton.
When you get close to power, you can smell the stench at times.
In the pitiful public affairs attack Andrew Cuomo launched after the 11 sexual accusations were verified and documented by the Attorney General of New York State, Andrew told in images he “hugs” folks like a good old Italian American. Give us a break.
That is a distortion of public trust, and miscarriage of public norms. As Villano phrases it expertly:
“I thought I knew from experience how arrogant and insensitive Andrew Cuomo could be, but I never took him for being so misogynistic, or politically dumb…I watched Andrew Cuomo when he aired a pre-taped ‘commercial’ defending his awful, possibly unlawful actions, by splicing in photos of himself hugging and kissing lots of men and women as if to normalize his inappropriate behavior.”
“When he lamely claimed that he was so affectionate because of his ‘generational and cultural perspectives’ as an older Italian-American male, I went ballistic.” For those that do not recall, Steve Villano has written an entire book called TIGHTROPE: Balancing A Life Between Mario Cuomo and My Brother.” Steve knows first hand the complexities of ethnic prejudices. He, like many, will simply no longer buy another Andrew Cuomo lie.
Villano calls for Andrew Cuomo to resign.
He then suggests that the younder Andrew donate the $5 million in advance from his book to fight sexual harassment.
I do not know enough to comment on that last request.
But I do know Andrew is becoming a political fool. Everyone is watching this, until he resigns.
There is nothing he can win by remaining pig-headed. Once a bully falls to the ground, there is no one there left to help him up, neither father or mother or sister or wife are near.
BIO: Bruce Piasecki, in this case, is an innocent bystander.
