Being from California I’m less interested in the case of Andrew Cuomo than the national press obviously is. It seems like New York Governors are always in trouble for something and the relevance to the rest of the country is just a bit overstated by the media. However, Cuomo was recently lifted into national prominence by his role in the early COVID response so it’s inevitable that we’d be caught up in his downfall. It’s Shakespearean.
If you read nothing else about this, I highly recommend this piece by Rebecca Traister in NY Magazine. Andrew Cuomo is a raging asshole on every level, way beyond just sexual harassment. He’s a toxic bully:
That Andrew Cuomo is being characterized by fellow Democratic politicians as a lecherous tyrant who empowers his staff to threaten and intimidate should not, in some ways, come as a surprise. During his decade as governor, he has often strutted his thuggish paternalism while his top aides disparaged those who challenged him. Two years ago, a Cuomo spokesman called three female state lawmakers in his party “fucking idiots.” In 2013, Cuomo created the Moreland Commission to investigate public corruption, only to shut it down abruptly less than a year later amid allegations that he had obstructed its work; one of Cuomo’s closest associates, Joe Percoco, is serving a six-year term in federal prison on bribery charges.
But until now, none of this left a lasting mark on the governor. If anything, it burnished his reputation: Cuomo was a bully, but he was our bully.
Andrew Cuomo sounds like a slightly smarter version of Donald Trump.
This “he’s a bully but he’s our bully” thing is a big problem, in my opinion. I have succumbed to that idea in the past myself and have come to regret it. I embraced some political bullies under the impression that we needed some people like that to get things done even though it went against my instincts and my values. I always regret it. They are toxic regardless of which side they are on and only create chaos and misery.
I’m tired of bullies and I’m going to avoid supporting them in politics and avoid them in my own life from here on in. They ruin everything.