A few weeks ago, it looked like Andrew Cuomo was on course to break a curse in New York and pass a third term. But now, in a Covid scandal, his political future seems less certain.
Cuomo’s blatant controversy Wednesday against state lawmaker Ron Kim, until recently a relatively low-profile Democratic lawmaker, put an exclamation point on the hardball politics that New York lawmakers as well as inside and outside politicians have long erupted – but have largely felt that it was unproductive to challenge in public.
“This is classic Andrew Cuomo,” New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, whose asymmetrical warfare with the governor has landed him on the hot seat countless times, told MSNBC on Thursday. ‘Many people in the state of New York received the calls. The bullying is nothing new. ”
Kim, whose uncle died in a nursing home during the pandemic, was on a media tour and told what he said the governor’s attempts were to intimidate him by telephone. The legislature said Cuomo called him and threatened to destroy him in public if he did not change his statements about recognizing a Cuomo assistant that the state deliberately withheld information about the full death toll at nursing homes.
Cuomo responded Wednesday by publicly accusing Kim of having unethical behavior unrelated to the current scandal, claiming that the Member of the Assembly was ‘influenced by campaign money and pay-to-play’. The governor’s aides reinforced the attack, saying Kim was double and untrue in a way that justified their protest, although they denied the governor had threatened his fellow Democrats.
“At no time did anyone threaten to destroy someone with their ‘anger’ or to carry out a cover-up. It is beyond the pallor and is unfortunately part of a long-standing pattern of lies against Mr. Kim against this government, “Cu Azos senior adviser Rich Azzopardi said in a statement released on Wednesday.
This is life on the wrong side of Cuomo, whose credentials for those who stand in his way were created early in his first term by one of their own: ‘We work here at two speeds: come together and kill’, Steve Cohen, then Cuomo’s top assistant, said in an exchange that the Connecticut Post first reported in 2011.
The characterization, which came during a controversial conversation with Connecticut’s former government team-mate Dan Malloy, defined the mode of the Queens native as a cliché in political circles in New York. (POLITICO confirmed Thursday that the exchange at the time with several people was in Malloy at the time.)
The proverb has even become something of a tribute to some Cuomo staff in recent years, as they are convinced of their boss’ unique ability to bend the state government to his vision of Democratic politics.
Cuomo’s allies note that he has faced similar criticism of his instincts in public most of his time – his disastrous first attempt to overthrow the governor’s mansion almost 20 years ago – but he has nonetheless won the four nationwide contests. he entered, won properly and proved himself to be a wonderful fundraiser who is not afraid to use the war chest against opponents who blow less.
“This is a governor who works day and night to move the ball for the New Yorkers off the field and they know it, which is why he has been elected and re-elected three times in the last ten years,” Azzopardi said in a statement. and POLITICS Thursday.
Stories about the governor’s barefoot tactics are legion in New York and date back years, to his supervision under his father, former governor Mario Cuomo, for whom the younger Cuomo respects and has long been tremendously protected.
The current governor, an avid consumer of the newsletter, shares his late father’s penchant for calls at strange hours to reporters and others when he encounters something he finds unpleasant. (Mario’s moonlight as media ombudsman was extensively documented in a 1986 New York Times article.)
“This is a feature of Andrew Cuomo, this is not a mistake,” Republican Party chairman Nick Langworthy of New York told reporters in Albany on Thursday. “How many times have you received that bullying, screaming call from the governor or one of his henchmen in the media?”
The kajol can last for a better part of an hour and is usually very one-sided, as the governor indicates that he believes his position is right, according to people who were on the receiving end of the calls. Calls from his assistants can play out in a similar way.
In the private environment, many people will tell of all kinds of vitriol sent by people in Cuomoworld and which are disturbing and what they encounter elsewhere in a state with loud conversations.
The aggressive stance extends through the governor’s office and top figures in numerous state institutions and the Democratic Party apparatus he effectively controls. Some of the strongest insights from Cuomo’s camp do not come from him, but from helpers and allies – even though they have crossed the border more than once in the offensive.
The most recent broad figures against Kim and other scientific critics, many members of the legislature have been criticized for blaming the governor.
“We have no interest in name-calling – we strive to restore the right balance of power between the legislature and the executive,” reads a statement from more than a dozen Democrats in the House who support Kim.
The excessive reactions to differences of opinion and a relentless insistence on control have sometimes drawn unflattering comparisons with, among others, former presidents Donald Trump and Richard Nixon.
Yet it is unclear what, if any, lasting impact the saga will have on Cuomo’s image or political power. Potential challengers from both major parties are carefully examining whether he is vulnerable enough to take off if he chooses a fourth term but has yet to officially take the leap.
There are still many power players who find it fruitful to be on the side of Cuomo’s ledger.
“Although we sometimes differ, it has always been a professional, open-door working relationship,” the state said Sen. Joe Addabbo (D-Queens), who was previously at odds with Cuomo over sports betting and other issues.
Nevertheless, he said he had heard many “horror stories”.
“I have not been as sorry as other colleagues with the anger,” he said.