April 23, 2020

Gov. Andrew Cuomo let loose his wrath in Sen. Mitch McConnell's direction after McConnell blithely suggested states should simply declare bankruptcy if their economies were suffering that badly. God forbid they should include money for the state governments to function, let alone recover from this crushing pandemic, in the second trillion-dollar economic stimulus package Congress is trying to pass.

GOV. CUOMO: This is really one of the dumb ideas of all time. And I said to my colleagues in Washington, I would have insisted that state and local funding was in this current bill. Because I don't believe they want to fund state and local governments. And not to fund state and local governments is incredibly shortsighted. They want to fund small business, fund the airlines. I understand that. But state and local government funds police, and fire, and teachers, and schools. How do you not fund police, and fire, and teacher, and schools in the midst of this crisis?
[...]
And then to suggest we're concerned about the economy. States should declare bankruptcy. That's how you're going to bring this national economy back, by states declaring bankruptcy? You want to see that market fall through the cellar? Let New York State declare bankruptcy. Let Michigan declare bankruptcy. Let Illinois declare bankruptcy. Let California declare bankruptcy. You will see a collapse of this national economy. So, just DUMB.

Then, though, Gov. Cuomo lit into the Senator for his absolute heartlessness. How much does it cost for that cryogenic chamber McConnell must step into each hour to keep his blood so damn icy cold? Cuomo ripped him apart for his cruelty.

GOV CUOMO: VICIOUS is saying when Senator McConnell said this is a blue state bailout. What he's saying is if you look at the states that have coronavirus problems, they tend to be democratic states -- New York, California, Michigan, Illinois, they are Democratic states. So if you fund states that are suffering from the coronavirus, they're Democratic states. Don't help New York state because it is a Democratic state. How UGLY a thought. Just think of -- just think of what he is saying. People died. 15,000 people died in New York. But they were predominantly Democrats. So why should we help them?

I mean, for crying out loud, if there was ever a time you're going to put aside -- for you to put aside your pettiness and your partisanship, and this political lens that you see the world through, Democrat and Republican and we help Republicans but we don't help Democrats. That's not who we are! That's not who we are as a people. If there was ever a time for humanity and decency, is now is the time. If there was ever a time to stop your political — obsessive, political bias and anger, which is what it has morphed into, just a political anger, now is the time. And you want to politically divide this nation now with all that's going on? How irresponsible and how reckless?

Viciousness. Irresponsibility. Recklessness. Obsessiveness. Anger. Pettiness. Stupidity. These are in the lifeblood of the GOP. This is the full description of Trump. And they're all in heavy rotation on McConnell's playlist.

Once the governor had moved on to the question period, he brought things back to the Senate Majority Leader, because he had just one more truth bomb to drop.

GOV. CUOMO: Let me just go back to my self-proclaimed Grip Reaper Senator McConnell for another second. He represents the State of Kentucky, okay? When it comes to fairness, New York State puts much more money into the federal pot than it takes out. Okay? At the end of the year we put in to that federal pot $116 billion more than we take out.

His state, the state of Kentucky, takes out $148 billion more than they put in. So he's a federal legislator. He is distributing the federal pot of money. New York puts in more money to the federal pot than it takes out. His state takes out more than it puts in. Senator McConnell, who's getting bailed out here? It's YOUR state that is living on the money that WE generate. YOUR state is getting bailed out. Not MY state.

Let's be real about who truly is getting the bailout, Mitch.

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