The Truth About Andrew Cuomo & Why He Needs to Resign

Political Biases:

While all of us at Partisan Satire each hold our political beliefs, the call for NY Governor Andrew Cuomo to resign is an opinion indifferent to liberal or conservative values. Calling out on someone who has credibly sexually assaulted multiple women is not a Democratic or Republican value. Though Cuomo is a Democrat, this assertion would hold for anyone, regardless of political party.

Cuomo’s Three Pillars:

“I believe that government can be a source of inspiration, not degradation.” Andrew Cuomo spoke those words in his goal to encourage confidence in the New York government. In hindsight, Cuomo proved to be the definition of government degradation. During his time as governor, he has credibly shown to verbally abuse assembly members, threaten politicians, introduce toxicity to his administration, and most sinfully, sexually assault his aides. 

The past year and a half of Andrew Cuomo has shown Americans what New Yorkers have recognized since he succeeded former NY Governor David Paterson. The best way to describe Cuomo in these following few sections is to look at the three pillars the governor preaches.

The First Pillar - “This Is Fine”:

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Andrew Cuomo shined on the political stage. Even though the northeast became the epicenter for the virus, Cuomo orchestrated the best political theatre any governor could create. Using the help of his brother, Chris Cuomo, who works as an anchor for CNN, Chris Cuomo would playfully make fun of Governor Cuomo with props like an enlarged nose swab. These interviews, conducted in March 2020, showed a personable side of Andrew Cuomo.

Behind the scenes, though, the governor masked the reality of the handling of the pandemic. As Americans lauded him, with some saying that he should have run for President in 2020, New York withered into despair. At the beginning of the pandemic, New York averaged 10,000 cases per day. By the end of the first wave, more than 30,000 New Yorkers were dead. As of August 3rd, 2021, New York has the second-most COVID deaths per capita of any state, only shy of New Jersey’s deaths per capita. This disparity between statistics and Andrew Cuomo’s response is equivalent to the ‘This Is Fine’ meme. No wonder Governor Cuomo denied claims that he would run for President; he would not survive the national spotlight! 

Cuomo’s ineptitude, or negligence, is his first pillar to the three pillars of governing: act as if everything is normal. Other individuals have used this skill throughout the pandemic. Xi Jinping followed Cuomo’s first pillar in China’s initial response to the pandemic before implementing aggressive lockdowns. Donald Trump, throughout the pandemic, acted as if the United States knocked out the virus. Trump ultimately lost the 2020 election because of his lack of a proper response to the health crisis. Cuomo’s entire administration, even before the pandemic, relied on hiding the truth and painting an alternative reality. Nursing homes became a massive subject of Cuomo’s administration after the incorrigible deaths of countless seniors. Reports confirmed that the governor intentionally hid COVID nursing home deaths for political gain. While Cuomo’s administration reported 8,500 nursing home deaths, in reality, 15,000 seniors passed away. 

Degrading Dissenters: 

Cuomo had no easy task of hiding data from the public. Even though he used data to criticize former President Trump, Cuomo had to resort to his second pillar of governing to hide his statistics on nursing home deaths. That second pillar is abusing opponents. In a dictatorship, the structure involves a leader who independently governs by themselves, usually quashing dissent and silencing detractors. Andrew Cuomo, throughout his eleven years as governor, did what a dictator does. Cuomo’s demeanor was on full public display in mid-February, courtesy of assembly member Ron Kim (D). Kim, a progressive, questioned Cuomo’s handling of nursing home cases when everyone lauded him. 

Consequently, Cuomo allegedly began to threaten Mr. Kim. Based on his phone call with Cuomo, Kim stated that the New York governor could destroy Mr. Kim’s political career. This phone call would prove to be a bombshell for any other public servant, but for Cuomo, the phone call is a continuation of his past behavior. At this point, Cuomo has bullied almost every New York politician to shut their mouths if they could challenge Cuomo’s career.

While Cuomo has been noteworthy in New York politics for damaging other political careers, one of the individuals Cuomo bullied was not a New York politician. That individual’s name is Andy Byford, the former President of the New York Transit Authority. The organization, which oversees New York’s buses, trains, and subways, was undergoing a transformation after the 2017 transit crisis. Byford took the role of President to modernize New York’s public transit system. His career was built on helping transit organizations rebound from mistakes. Byford began to make changes to make New York City’s transit tech-friendly, with his marquee imprimatur being OMNY. Mr. Cuomo, though, did not appreciate that Byford took the credit for revitalizing a system that wore down on the governor’s watch. Instead of benefitting New Yorkers, Cuomo attempted to benefit himself by stripping powers away from Byford and letting him take charge. For example, Cuomo took control over the L-train restoration project, which renovated damaged tunnels on the Canarsie Line. Byford’s original plan would have temporarily shut down the tunnels to conduct work on restoration. Instead, Cuomo vetoed the plan and forced a new plan to close the tunnel only on nights and weekends. This new plan gave commuters minor delays but risked damaging construction workers’ lungs by introducing silica dust for fast repair work, a harmful mineral. 

Eventually, Byford could no longer handle Cuomo’s power-grabbing and resigned in early 2018. Even Byford, a calm and renowned public transport leader, could not handle Cuomo’s lambasting of Byford. In the eyes of the public, though, none of this was notable. News organizations rarely questioned Cuomo’s logic of stripping the MTA’s power and rendering the efforts of the MTA moot. Cuomo always took all credit for the good parts of the Canarsie restoration project while shrugging off the backstabbing Cuomo did to get to his goal. For any other governor, this behavior would not go unnoticed by the public, but somehow, this behavior goes through for Cuomo. The reason why Cuomo has been able to dodge negative press headlines leads to his third pillar.

When Power Leads Men to False Immunity: 

Sexual assault and abuse, in almost every case, happens when the perpetrator has evident power over the victim. As Spiderman says, “With great power comes great responsibility.” In reality, when most people receive power for an extended period, they develop the sense that they are immune from prosecution. Consequently, many men with power have exploited it to satisfy their wants. Mr. Cuomo exploited his power as governor to sexually assault his aides. For several years, Cuomo inappropriately touched women, groped strangers and close friends alike, and harassed individuals Cuomo finds beautiful. One example of unwanted aggression involved a state trooper assigned to Cuomo’s detail. In the 165 page investigation conducted by Joon H. Kim and Anne Clark into Cuomo’s misconduct, the governor encountered a state trooper at an event on the Robert F. Kennedy bridge. The governor used his powers to ask a senior member of his detail to add the trooper to the roster. Although the trooper did not meet the guidelines for being part of the governor’s Protective Service Unit, she was added to the team. As she maintained the oath to abide by the law, the governor did not. 

Among the allegations, Mr. Cuomo kissed the trooper once and tried a second time, moved his hand across the trooper’s stomach, and at one point, criticized her for not wearing a dress. These painful discoveries repeat themselves with multiple other women. As of now, Cuomo has supposedly groped a woman’s breast, nicknamed another woman “sponge” in a derogatory manner, and made a workplace environment women were afraid to engage in. In some ways, Cuomo’s workplace could not be described as a workplace. Instead, the executive offices at Albany are where Cuomo can live his weird dreams at the expense of other people’s dignity. That said, Cuomo’s advances towards women all fall into the pattern of abusing his power. The governor proved that he could safely win a third term (New York is one of a few states that does not have term limits, maybe New York should reconsider that) in a very Democratic state. The power he amassed silenced individuals into falling in line with what the governor wanted. As a result, Mr. Cuomo felt as if he had the freedom to bully more people and sexually harass anyone he wanted to. He hid this from the national political zeitgeist. As a result, even when New York Democrats knew Cuomo had a shoddy reputation, they had no choice but to vote for him because of the political monster he crafted.

The End of the Cuomo Machine: 

Time is the New York Governor’s worst enemy. His abusive actions were bound to flood into national headlines like a dam that breaks down. Cuomo, though, used his three pillars to avoid a political downfall. The governor did not orchestrate this act alone. Like Jeffery Epstein, Cuomo used confidants to suppress dissent. Like Donald Trump, he blasted the media whenever they wanted to uncover the truth. Unlike anyone else, Cuomo used connections of journalists through his brother Chris Cuomo to make the media love Andrew Cuomo. This contraption, though, could and did fail with the actions of only one person: Lindsey Boylan. By revealing her story, Boylan opened the floodgates for others to create an avalanche for Cuomo.

Cuomo’s perception of himself: greatness, NY toughness, and a proud father, are no longer held with eleven known women alleging sexual assault. The governor has single handedly corrupted the government of New York. Every part of New York’s government no longer functions how a state government is supposed to function, with power grabs visible in Albany and New York City. Unfortunately, most Americans did not see the truth earlier. Cuomo’s public speaking talent and press manipulation perfected the governor’s image like those who facetune for an Instagram photo. Cuomo’s self-perceived immunity, though, is just like his public image: a fallacy. New York is still part of America, and New York’s systems are working. The governor faces impeachment from the New York State Assembly and politicians like New York City mayor Bill de Blasio are considering a run to challenge Cuomo in the Democratic primary. Time is ticking for the 2022 governor’s election, and Andrew Cuomo will be in a fight for his political life. New Yorkers, though, are done with the governor’s shenanigans. While Cuomo is trying to cast doubt on the investigations into his misconduct, the two lawyers conducting the investigation have the credibility that the governor does not. 

With eleven women coming out against Cuomo in the investigation, Cuomo is experiencing a feeling he forced upon others: helplessness. For the abuser, though, his egotism is in denial. Using the same tactics he has used throughout his time as governor, Mr. Cuomo is trying to dig out a hole he made for himself, a hole that encompasses an administration that poisons New York. Right now, Cuomo is betting on a miracle, denouncing calls for resignation and declaring himself to run for a fourth term. The man should have used his own politician-esque words. Andrew Cuomo said himself, “New Yorkers deserve the truth.” As Andrew Cuomo attempts to create a political miracle like no other, pragmatically, he has no chance. The NY Governor can resign now and peacefully retire or succumb to the same fate as his father: kicked out of the governor’s mansion by the people of New York.